Champagne Brunch: The Stiletto Sisters Series by Ainsley Claire (easy readers .txt) 📗

that I miss being an entrepreneur. I want to be here for Diamond, but I have other ideas I want to work on, and Flirt was just the start. I think if we find the right CEO—someone who can step in with me still here so our stockholders become comfortable with them—we won’t have a sell-off.”

Sandra drops her pen on her pad of paper. “You’re probably right. If I could kick Alex’s ass, I would. You got that scrappy taste back, and now you want it again.”

I shake my head, laughing. “That’s right. Although I will admit, it’s not quite as scrappy as it was the first time.”

I update the board about all the attempted breaches to the company website, and then Jim explains to everyone that once Clear figured out Victor was the only person who had access to my computer, they were able to match him to a video of someone on the floor when the trojan horse was planted. It was feeding information to an outside source. They then broke into his email and discovered he was communicating with someone who has been linked to the Chinese embassy. Hence his field trip with the FBI this morning.

The board then has a variety of reports for me, and after four hours of meeting, I think I’m mostly up to speed with what’s been happening at Diamond. Now I’m more than ready to get to the Tiger Den. As the board members file out, I send Jim and Mason off, and Jennifer remains with me.

When I open my phone, there’s a text I missed from Axel that warms my heart.

Axel: I know you’re going to do great today. I’m thinking of you and I love you. I want to take you to the City of Love. Please?

Paris? Who can resist Paris with the man you love? I call, and he answers on the first ring.

“How did it go?” he asks.

“The arrests went off without any issues. I have to admit, there is a level of satisfaction in putting your enemy behind bars.”

“Are you ready for the press release dealing with Russian and Chinese spies?”

I snort. “Funny you should mention—I have our PR team working on that very messaging. But then my board greeted me by resigning.”

“Ohhhhh shit.”

“It all worked out. The board members felt they were being pressured—which they were—and once I explained the arrests and things going on, they felt better. They agreed to stay on, but I also gave them a year’s notice.”

“Notice of what?”

“I’m going to step down as CEO. I know we didn’t talk about it, and we probably should have, but I didn’t know I would do that until I got into the office today. I don’t want to work at Diamond anymore. It will always be my baby, but I loved building Flirt. And I have several other ideas I’d like to explore. Do you mind?”

“Are you kidding? No way! I love it. You’ll have the freedom to join me for Spring Training camps and games all over. We can work on your goal of seeing a game in every stadium.”

“I love that idea!”

“When will you be home tonight?” he says softly.

“I’m going to meet the girls for drinks, but maybe afterward we can grab a bite.”

“Sounds perfect. I’ll be the naked man in your bed when you get home.”

When I walk into the Tiger Den with Jennifer, the girls are ready with a round of lemon drop martinis.

“This is perfect.” I take a big sip. “I swear, these are the best in the City.”

“Well, don’t leave us hanging,” Toni says.

I regale everyone with the tale of what has happened over the last three weeks and the wonderful feeling I had when my shady chief financial officer was arrested.

“After Clear handed the video of Victor over to the FBI and got wiretaps, the rest is history.”

“Holy crap! That’s huge,” Claire says.

“Well, that and because my most difficult board member thought it appropriate to collude with Victor, they caught him in an attempted coup while stealing from the company. So, we said bu-bye to him today as well.”

“Damn, girl. You sure do like to do it big,” Ryder says.

“I’m done doing it big.” I twirl the stem of the glass and try hard not to look at the girls. “Axel and I are making plans to go to Paris for a few days, and I’m going to forget about all of this.”

“Wait. What? You’re going to Paris?” Elena asks.

“Well, not tomorrow or anything.” I drink the rest of my drink. “But he wants to get away.”

“Do you think he’s going to propose?” Caroline asks.

I can’t let myself think that. We’ve not been dating long enough. “I think it’s a little early for that.”

Caroline shrugs, her eyes dancing. “If he does, you can always do a long engagement…”

Chapter 34

Axel

“Are you ready?” I ask. Because I certainly am. This trip has been a long time coming.

Thank goodness we’re taking a chartered jet to Paris. Mia has spent the last two months nearly nonstop setting up a framework that will help Diamond Analytics prepare for a new CEO. So right now, the first order of business is to make sure the Wi-Fi on her phone is disabled for the flight. No calls. No texts. No email. I want her to decompress.

She pulls her luggage behind her. “I’m ready. But is this a good idea to escape while your sister is moving?”

“She has movers,” I remind her. “Kelly is there to help her, and the kids are with Nina. If I were there, I might be supervising, but the pros are doing the heavy lifting.”

“Sometimes just having your big brother near is what’s important.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Nice guilt.”

Mia