Emily felt pleasantly dreamy the next morning at breakfast."Well, it's confirmed," Byron said, "My mom admitted to destroying Christine's tabloid. She reported it for health code violations because of how dirty the office was, and they hadn't paid their rent, so it was all too easy to take them down.""Huh," Emily said."Your eyes are unfocused," Byron remarked, "What are you thinking about?""Last night was fun..." she said. Her whole body felt soft and pliable after everything they did the night before and well-rested after sleep. "Reminiscing about it already?" he asked."I guess so.""Why don't we do something to bring it back to the present?" he suggested."Now?" she said, surprised, "Okay.""I don't want us to ever reminisce about the good old days," Byron said, "Some couples give up too easily and lose their passion.""I don't think we're there at all," Emily said."Not if I can help it." Byron lifted her up with ease and placed her on the couch. "Now, what is it th
Emily's clothing company was doing really well. She got a bigger space for her boutique, and her designs were sold in several department stores around the country. She didn't want to tell Byron too much about it yet since he was suffering from the downturn of the economy and the artificial lowering of his stock thanks to Christine's machinations.He got home much later than Emily did, but even in the evenings he would be on his phone talking to brokers and financial advisors.The door to his home office was left half-open, and Emily peeked in after getting a midnight snack. Byron was on the phone, and he sounded desperate."I've got to have some capital hidden away somewhere," he was saying into the phone, which he clutched with a white-knuckled grip. "You already emptied those accounts? All of them? Damn!"Emily couldn't hear what was being said on the other side, but it was clearly not good."We could get another loan from the bank..." Byron was saying. "Well, keep trying. Thank
Emily couldn't stand the thought of Byron losing the business empire he had worked so hard to create and possibly sinking into another depressive bout. He was doing remarkably well and seemed well-balanced, considering the destructive forces working against him. But she was going to make sure he didn't lose his companies.Her meetings with Byron's financial advisors went very well, and she was soon ready to introduce Byron to her new plan.When Byron walked into the office of Julian Markle, his financial advisor, Emily was there waiting for him. Byron looked surprised but happy to see her."I knew you couldn't stay away from helping with my finances," he said, greeting her with a kiss."There's a plan I've been discussing with your financial advisors," Emily said. "They think it's quite reasonable."Byron looked amused. "Are you plotting to take over my company, Miss Danzi?""You may be closer to the truth than you realize," Emily said. "What I have in mind is a merger. My clothi
As spring blossomed into summer, Emily hoped to spend more time with her boyfriend, but all he seemed to think about was work.Merging their two companies had done the trick. The financial crisis was mostly behind him, but he couldn't relax. He was up at all hours, and then wake up at six in the morning and head to work again, his handsome face marred by under-eye puffiness.This had to stop. When they had dinner, one of the few times of the day when Byron was not buried in work, she brought up the issue."Are there some other financial troubles I don't know about?" she asked."Huh?" he said, his mind obviously not focused on the present."I read the reports," Emily said, "I read the business news even though it's really boring. Everything says we're doing well. Why are you working so hard?""I'm not," he objected, "this is how much I normally work."Emily gave him a look to indicate he wasn't fooling anyone. "Are you still worried about the company?""A little bit," he said,
Byron was in the middle of trying to assess the value of his slowly growing stock portfolio when he was interrupted by the doorbell. He was expecting a courier from the office, but it was his old friend, Nathan."Hey, come in," Byron said crustily."You're being turtle-y again," Nathan stated, making himself comfortable on the living room couch. "You won't take my calls, and you barely reply to my texts.""Maybe your texts with so-called funny memes can wait while I make life and death business decisions?" Byron said."Ouch. Are you saying my texts are not funny?""I'm just a little busy.""Not too busy to host a whole pack of wild hounds," Nathan said, patting the two dogs who came over to sniff him."I don't remember the last time I walked my own dogs," Byron said. "I know you're putting your business empire back in order and all that," Nathan said, pouring himself a drink, "but surely by now you're back on solid ground?""I believe I am," Byron agreed. "And I'm sorry I hav
What Byron had not told anybody was that he had received a direct message from Christine. It came from a phone number he didn't recognize, probably so no one could trace it back to her. It said:This was just part one of Pollock's offensive against you. Part two is coming, and sadly we might have to destroy your girlfriend's company along with yours. Of course, if you cooperate with me, part two won't be necessary... Your choice.CFor a few days, Byron was completely and utterly furious and didn't respond. His company was on more solid ground now, and he wasn't sure whether Christine really had the power to ruin him again. But he knew he couldn't afford to take another financial beating, especially now that Emily's company was involved.It was time to formulate a plan of his own. It was what Emily had suggested to him before, but he had always thought it was too risky. A few days later, everything was ready. Byron arranged a meeting with Christine. It was only on the day of the
Emily was ready to go on a trip to New York City since a retailer had made a serious offer to promote her design company. Emily had booked the tickets back when things had been more bleak: Byron was working himself to death and she needed space from the relationship.She was reluctant to leave now, when Byron was finally coming back to normality, even though he was still working fairly long hours and had some kind of secret project going on. No matter how she tried to find out what it was, he was silent on the subject. The only thing she knew was that it involved cupcakes because she had overheard him putting in an order from a bakery once. Although she wasn't completely sure if that was related to the secret project or just some work function.Still, going to New York was always an exciting prospect. The fashionable city could be the key to getting her designs out to the world.Although he was always busy, Byron dropped her off at the airport."Go see your mother before she disown
When Emily got back to Vancouver, Byron still refused to tell her what the surprise was, other than it involved a trip. She packed a few outdoorsy outfits and something for a night out, just in case. They set out the next morning in the BMW, and she still had very little idea of where they were going.At last, when she saw Byron taking the turn-off for one of the highways leading out of town, she was pretty sure they were heading for the mountains."This is exciting," she said, "I still don't know exactly where we're going, but looks like you've picked a good direction to travel.""It's one of the many things I love about you," Byron replied, "You find our spontaneous trips exciting rather than annoying.""Well, of course I do." She definitely enjoyed a little mystery and adventure. And she was always flattered and grateful that her boyfriend took the time to plan these special trips for the two of them to experience together.They drove on for a couple of hours, and then Byron ma