Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele

Chapter 00 Chapter 90

[Cordelia]

I didn't go straight back to the office. I couldn't. I needed time to think. So I rode the elevator to the bottom, stepped off, and took a walk around town.

It doesn't seem to matter what I do, Angelica wins.

Maybe I should just stop fighting. I have more important things to worry about right now than a romance between myself and the man who was supposed to be my brother-in-law.

It is time that I build a life separate from Atlas Steele. Maybe we will come together when it is all over. Or maybe we will both have moved on. Either way, I need to create some distance between us. Not just for Angelica's recovery but for my own sake as well, My heart cannot take all this back and forth of emotions. If I let myself feel too much, it will continue to break my heart.

I think of calling Tilly, or even Clark, but I already know what they are going to say and I don't want their opinions to cloud my decision. I need to remain strong, and if I am always looking to Atlas for validation, I will always be dissatisfied.

Even now, even with him declaring that he wants me, that he needs to be with me, he still can't let her go. I'm not sure he ever will.

But he cannot have us both. We all deserve better than that.

So if he won't be the one to make this decision, I will force his hand.

I make a few more circuits of the block and then head back in. I have a new plan to win over my staff, one that doesn't involve bribery. That was my mistake-you can't buy someone's affection and trust, not if you want to make a meaningful connection You need to earn it.

Heading back to my desk, I go over the list that Theo gave me yesterday.

Using the map to take a basic tour of the facility, I make a plan to speak with each department head and give them a chance to tell me what they think is working or not working here at Steele Industries. Atlas had taken me around the day he invited me to work here, but I was far too exhausted to appreciate everything he was trying to show me. Besides, this time I can see everyone at work and get a better idea of what they do and how it all works.

This is what I should have been doing on day one. Getting to know every part of the design department.

At each stop, I spend some time talking not only with the managers but to each employee, introducing myself and making notes about things they want to see improved, I write down additional names and answer questions. I then let the managers bring me into their offices and tell me everything they have pent up inside.

One person started to cry. She was so worried the entire department was going to be fired as soon as I arrived that she had spent every afternoon since she learned I'd be here interviewing at other design houses.

+25 BONUS

Chapter 90

"The economy is tough right now," she explained to me. "And with so much of our business moving overseas, there isn't a lot of job security."

I heard similar stories from other department heads as well. When the merger with Bryant Trading Company went south after Sydney's arrest, they all knew their days might be numbered. Fashion is a tough business, even when you are a success, but when you are on a downward slope, it is only a matter of time before everything falls apart.

When I make it back to my office, Theo is watching me over a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. She gives me a small smile and nod of approval before turning her attention back to her work.

Tired, I open the door to my office, sit down at my desk, and place my head on my folded arms. It was a busy morning, but a successful one.

For the first time, I feel like I belong. Like I am a member of a team.

Looking over, I see the note of encouragement that Atlas had left me the day before.

Poor Atlas. I can only imagine how terrified he must be underneath the surface. His grandfather built this company from nothing. He was practically raised here after his parents died. He must feel so much stress trying to keep this all going. And then add the additional burden of Angelica and her needs, I can't imagine he is doing well.

Does he have any friends? Anyone he can talk to?

He always seems so alone.

By the end of the day, I feel I have finally had a breakthrough, not only professionally but romantically.

I might not be okay dating Atlas right now, not with everything that is going on.

But I can be his friend.