Chapter 1

Ingrid’s POV

Ding! The elevator door slid open. 

I hurry out, straightening my dress that crumpled with every step I took. The heels of my red shoe slapped noisily against the quaint marble floor, but thankfully the dreadful sound is cloaked by the shuffling of other feet and clinking of heels. The bustling sound of people moving about, the opening and closing of doors, the ringing of telephones and muffled voices, all amped up and reverberated in my head, aggravating my headache. The bright light made it even worse. 

Darn hangover! 

Last night was the last time I ever allow Kate convince me to party on a weekday evening. Kate was probably still in bed in her favorite purple pajamas, snuggling one of her favorite pillows and here I was, with my chestnut hair rolled up in the worst possible bun, the ghosts of the too many tequila shots doing summersaults in my head and my dress struggling to stay down. 

I was not one to be late for a meeting, especially one with ten billion dollars on the line. There’s a first time for everything, surely, but this was the worst time for firsts.

I slowed down as I approached the conference room, taking calculated deep breathes to steady my nerve. The first time I’d visited Finnegan industries was all a blur now, but I remember wandering the sixth floor looking for the conference room. But then a kind older woman had found me and walked me to the office. 

Through the glass walls, with Finnegan Industries emblazoned on it in white color, I could see a tall man, in a black suit that hugged his broad, defined shoulders tightly; addressing the committee. I had never seen him at any of our meetings before, but he probably came in today, for the final signing of the merger documents. 

I took one last deep breath and straightened my black dress that hugged my figure a little too tightly. The black dress, with long sleeves, exposed minimal skin around my cleavage and stopped abruptly just below my knee. It had seemed like a great choice when I picked it out this morning, but now not so much. Never make fashion decisions with a hangover, I sighed. Thankfully, the long slit at the back provided just enough space for my legs to be able to move about comfortably.

I pushed the door open and almost choked on the air when my eyes fell on the brown-skinned man, with curly black hair, addressing the committee. 

Kareem Finnegan.

I had seen him on television and magazines but never in person. The young billionaire that had started his multibillion-dollar industry, at the age of twenty-five, from a cheap flat somewhere in the streets of New York. When he wasn’t on the news for his latest business deals and innovation, he was on the news for one scandal or another.

My late entrance certainly did not go unnoticed, everyone in the room took turns to pass glances at me. 

How I hate being the center of attention, especially for the wrong things.

I quickly settled into an empty seat beside my boss. The merger committee was made up of six people, three people from our side and three people from Finnegan constructions; with people from TAT at one side of the table.

Tim gave me a concerned look, I knew how much this merger meant to him. Tabib Aircraft Technology had gone bankrupt, and my boss, Tim MacBride, unwilling to sell, proposed a merger with Finnegan Industries.

“Sorry Tim,” I mumbled, placing my file on the table.

Tim bobbed his head. He was a fat man, with a bald head and lipid blue eyes. He always wore a frown and did not talk much. He was married three times and they all ended in a divorce, and his last divorce had hit him badly and was also the major reason the company became bankrupt.

“As I was saying,” Kareem continued, giving me a weird look. “You would have to lay off at least five thousand staff nationwide to….”

“Why?” Everyone turned to look at me, surprised.

“Miss?” He smiled smugly at me.

“Ingrid Wilde,” I replied, looking him squarely in the face. His dark brown eyes made it difficult to look him in the eye without wavering, but one thing I’d learned in my eight years of doing business with men, is to never show any sign of weakness. Don’t stutter, don’t blush, and always look them dead in the eye or they will walk all over you.

“Miss Wilde, Finnegan constructions already have top notch employees, so we cannot accommodate all your employees, you will have to lay off some of your staff,” he explained with a smug smile plastered on his face.

“TAT also have top notch employees, so for the benefit of our employees, both companies would have to lay off their staff. We will lay off three thousand workers, to be fair, and your company will lay off two thousand staff.”

Through the corner of my eyes, I could see Tim staring at me with pleading eyes, he did not care about the layoffs, he just wanted to save his company. I also wanted to save TAT, but I also had to think about our staff who had been here from the get go. It was not fair to them in any way.

“Miss Wilde,” a thin man with graying black hair called, he was seated at the opposite side of the table. “We are doing your company a favor by accepting this merger, you are not in a position to make demands.”

“I beg to differ,” I stated. “Finnegan industries does not have an arm in aero technology and thanks to us, you have diversified and you will be working with the good reputation we have garnered over the years. I think this is a fair bargain.” The nerve of this baldie.

“Is that all you have to offer?” He scowled at me.

“We all can agree that a good reputation in the consumer market is one of the greatest things a company can have. We have big clientele in the aviation industry within and outside the company,” I arched my eyebrows questioningly.

“Maybe you should let the men do the talking, Miss Wilde.” He turned his gaze to Tim, who had been listening quietly.

“Mr. Lancaster, that is enough,” Kareem turned to look at me. “You make a good point Miss Wilde,” he smiled. “Do you have any other inputs or suggestions?”

I felt the air stuck in my throat, why did he have to be this beautiful? The magazines did not do him justice. I looked away when he caught me staring.

I cleared my throat, “That will be all Mr. Finnegan.” 

“Well then, why don’t we get to the fun part?” He picked up his pen. I produced the document from my file and handed it over to his lawyer, who sat very close to him. 

As the lady scanned the document, I could feel Kareem’s gaze on me. I moved uncomfortably in my seat.

The lawyer skimmed through the document and pushed it to Kareem, who appended his signature and passed it to Tim who readily signed the document. 

“Congratulations.” Kareem stretched out his hand which Tim took, muttering a thank you. While they went about congratulating each other and shaking hands, I quickly packed my bag and arranged my files. Julie would be dropping off my nephew at 7 pm, she finally decided she was ready to start dating, and I, as her number one motivator, got the responsibility of watching Liam. 

Not that I was complaining or anything, Liam is a delight and all, but this was bad timing. I had my hands full from the workload from the office and the stress of transitioning into a new workplace. 

“I will be leaving now,” I whispered to Tim, who nodded in response. I needed to get a head start at work, to be able to accommodate my nephew tonight. I hurried out of the office and made my way to the elevator. I pressed the button and waited for the elevator to arrive. Thankfully, the headache had eased up a bit, I should be able to go about my day normally. I hope.

Ding! 

I scurried into the elevator, tripped, and my files went crashing to the ground and its content spilled out.

Fuck!

Today was certainly not my day. My dress barely had enough allowance to accommodate my movement, how the hell was I supposed to squat to pick up the content of the files that were inconveniently scattered inside the elevator? 

First thing first, I tapped the button for the ground floor, then went on all fours and started picking up the papers, with my back turned to the door.

Just before the door slid shut, I heard someone step in. The musky perfume filled the elevator, causing me to look back.

My jaw dropped.

“With a little adjustment, I can think of something we could do in your current position,” Kareem smiled smugly, his hands tucked into his pocket.

I felt color rush to my cheeks and an unexpected warmness between my legs. Flushed, I look away and continued with arranging my papers.

“You are quite scary for a female, Miss Wilde,” he continued. His every word felt calculated and intentional. 

I stood to my feet, hugging the files closely to my chest. I don’t look his way, for fear of my knees buckling under me. There was something about him that made me want to surrender and move with whatever flow he dictates. And that was new to me, because I have always been domineering and strong.

“You did not seem like the silent type a while back,” he took slow, calculated steps and halted right in front of me.

What was he doing? I look up at him, and the air got stuck in my throat. I felt my eyelids flicker weakly and a wave of strange emotions wash all over my skin.

Why was I reacting this way to him?

“I’m…not…” I clear my throat. “I am not.”

“Didn’t think so.” His right hand left his pocket and made its way to my face. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. He moved even closer, his face a few inches away from mine. His finger left my hair and gently drew invisible lines down my cheek. 

I felt a wave of electricity course through my being, my eyelids flickered shut and my lips parted slightly in anticipation.

“Ingrid?” the softness in his voice made my knees tremble and when I felt his arm wrap securely around my slim waist, I leaned into him mindlessly.

“Be mine.”

At first, I struggled to process what I heard, or at least what I thought I’d heard. 

My eyelids flew open, “What?”

But then he repeated it again, with a little more force in his voice.

“Ingrid, be mine.”