Outside His Shadow

Chapter 20: The Horse Whisperer

Michael's POV

Elena didn't look surprised when I walked up to her; she just slowed her pace to a walk, her face flushed from the run. She didn't say a word about my wrinkled shirt or the fact that I looked like I’d spent the night in a gutter. She just waited for me to speak.

"I pushed her too far" I said, the words coming out more jagged than I wanted. "Olivia. She kicked me out. She knows everything, Elena. She’s known for years."

Elena stopped by the edge of the fountain, leaning back against the stone. She didn't offer me a look of sympathy. "Of course she knew, Michael. Did you really think she was that stupid? Or did you just need to believe it so you could keep doing whatever you wanted?"

I looked away, staring at the front of the villa. "Sloane told me Olivia hit her. I actually went into that room and asked her about it. I stood there and questioned her loyalty while she was sitting there holding three years' worth of my mistakes."

Elena let out a short, dry laugh. "Sloane didn't even try to make the lie believable. She was desperate. But the fact that you even asked Olivia... that’s the part she won’t forget. You chose the word of a woman who is essentially a stranger over the woman who built your life with you."

"I need to fix it," I said, stepping closer. I hated how desperate I sounded. "I told her I’d send Sloane away. I told her it was over. But she wouldn't even let me touch her. She looked at me like I was a ghost."

Elena wiped her forehead, her eyes turning thoughtful. "You can't fix this with a check or a new dress, Michael. Not this time. You’ve spent three years treating her this way, and then you acted like she was the one who was broken. If you want her back, you have to prove you’re willing to actually see her."

"How?"

"She needs to get out of this house," Elena said, her voice dropping. "Away from the meetings and the merger and the eyes of everyone watching her. Julian and I were going to go riding this afternoon. There’s a trail that leads up to the ridge. It’s quiet there."

I nodded, my mind already moving. "I’ll go with her."

"No," Elena interrupted. "If you ask her, she’ll say no. I’ll invite her. I’ll tell her I need the company. You meet us at the clearing near the old stables. It’s neutral ground. It’s hard to keep up a wall when you’re on a horse in the middle of nowhere."

I reached into my pocket, my fingers brushing against the edge of a card I’d intended to give her earlier. "Tell her... just get her there. I’ll do the rest."

"Don't do 'the rest' Michael," Elena warned, pointing a finger at my chest. "Don't perform. Don't be the CEO. Just be the man she actually fell in love with—if that guy still exists somewhere under that expensive suit."

I watched her walk toward the house, her pace steady. I stayed by the fountain for a long time, the sound of the water the only thing filling the space. I had a plan now, but for the first time in my life, I wasn't sure if the deal was going to close.

I headed back to the library. I had a merger to finish, but for once, the billions of dollars on the table didn't feel like the most important thing I stood to lose.