Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele

Chapter 24 [Atlas]

Watching Cordelia fall into the street, knowing that I was the one who put her there, made my blood run cold. Regardless of ho

things may have turned out between us, I would never do anything to risk her safety.

And yet, that is exactly what I did when I let my anger get the worst of me.

I hope she can forgive me.

I was going to send the rest of her things from our house to her new address, but it's close

enough to my office that I decided to hand deliver it. That way I can check in on her at the same time and make sure her injuries do not need greater care. She may not be my wife anymore, but I will always feel honor-bound to be responsible for her. It is what her sister would have wanted.

But also, it is what I want. I want her to know that she can always depend on 'me and that she gever needs to fear me again.

The drive to her place from my office is short. Soon I am standing on the sidewalk underneath her balcony, looking up at the warm light coming from her living space.

Good, this means she's home and awake.

But she is not alone.

He is there. Her "friend."

She is smiling sweetly, her eyes twinkling. I've never seen her so happy.

Was she really that miserable with me?

I am about to ring her doorbell when she leans forward and kisses him.

She doesn't need me. Not anymore.

Placing her box of belongings on the porch,

I'm in a thoroughly foul mood by the time I reach the office to finish off my day before heading home. I turn around and head back to the office, the image of her body pressed against his seared into my mind, visible even when I close my eyes. I know it shouldn't matter to me that she has someone else in her life now, but it does.

On my desk is a stack of papers waiting for my approval-the last set of purchase orders from Greyson Mills to pay our vendors. As per our agreement, I am still responsible for covering these last few debts that accrued before our agreement was terminated.

The first one is a purchase order for a large quantity of fabric. $100,000 to a textile mill here in LA under a -name I do not recognize. Picking up my phone, I call the number listed.

"Environmental Protection Agency, Los Angeles," the voice on the other end answers. "How can I redirect your call?"

H

I hang up quickly. This is not a fabric store.

I flip through the stack. There are at least 8 other purchase orders for the same vendor, all of them with the same phone number. The amounts of the orders range $100,000 to $250,000.

In this stack alone, that is almost 2 million dollars in expenses to a company that doesn't exist.

My phone rings. It's my lawyers. We spend the next 30 minutes discussing what I just discovered while they tell me about the reason for their call, some disturbing proof that Greyson Mills had been embezzling from Steele Industries for years. With these purchase orders a They advise me to turn everything over to the police and to cooperate in any way I can with their investigation

Within minutes of calling the police, they send an investigator from their white-

collar crimes division to collect the purchase orders and to take a look through our accounting records. After Sydney is done guiding them to our financial department, she comes back to my office and closes the door.

"Hey Boss," she gives me a small smile, "Are you okay?

"I'm fine," I groan as I cover my eyes, pressing them into my head in an attempt to relieve my growing migraine. "Is there something that you need?"

"Actually, I was thinking of doing something for you!" she bounces over towards me excitedly, leaning over the desk. "My friends are having a bonfire party tonight and I told them I'd be bringing a friend. You!" she points at me. "You can't say no, I already promised." "Don't you think I'll stand out at a party with a bunch of your college friends? I am almost old enough to be their dad."

"Pff, not even close," she shakes her head. "More like a sexy, young uncle or a handsome new older stepbrother." "I don't think I can..."

"You have to come," she starts to whine. "I told them they'd get to meet you. They all can't wait to see my new boyfriend."

"I am not..."

She rushes over to kiss me but I turn my head in time for her kiss to land on my cheek. She caught me unaware last night. "Listen, Sydney, we need to talk. About this and the kiss. I...Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

I was about to tell her that we aren't dating, that we can't be dating, but the image of Cordelia kissing the other man flashed through my mind.

Maybe I should give Sydney a chance.

"Okay," I agree.

She bounces up and down and pulls me into her.

She throws her arms around my neck.

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