Outside His Shadow

Chapter 19: The Master of Redirection

Michael's POV

The library smelled like stale coffee and the half-glass of scotch I hadn't even finished. I’d spent the whole night sitting in one of those oversized chairs, staring at the door and waiting for it to be morning just so the silence would stop being so loud. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard that sound Olivia made—that jagged, broken sob that felt like it was tearing a hole right through the floorboards.

I looked down at my hands. They were steady, but I felt a weird, buzzing vibration deep in my bones. I was still in my clothes from yesterday. My shirt was a mess, my collar felt like it was choking me, but I couldn't bring myself to go back upstairs. I couldn't walk into that suite and look at the bed and see the space where she was supposed to be.

By 6:00 AM, I was done sitting in the dark. I called Julian and Miller.

"It’s early, Mike," Julian said as he walked in, squinting against the light. He stopped when he saw me, his eyes running over my wrinkled shirt and the dark circles under my eyes. "You look like hell. Did the deal go south, or did you just forget how to sleep?"

"I want the final signatures by noon tomorrow," I said. I didn't look at him. I started pacing, my hands shoved so deep in my pockets I could feel the seams. "We’re moving everything up. I want the audits done by lunch. I want the legal team on the phone before the sun is fully up."

Miller dropped his bag on the desk, frowning. "We had three days for this, Michael. If we rush the audit now, we’re going to miss things. It's risky."

"I don't care," I snapped. The volume of my own voice surprised me. I cleared my throat and kept moving. "I want it done. We've been in this villa long enough. It’s too... it’s time to move. Let’s get the numbers right so we can get back to the city."

Julian and Miller traded a look. It was that look people give you when they think you’re losing it but they’re too afraid of your paycheck to say anything.

"Is this about the merger?" Julian asked, his voice careful. "Or did things blow up with Olivia? You’re acting like the house is on fire."

"The only thing I’m worried about is the Q3 integration, Julian," I lied. It was a cold, professional lie, the kind I’d told a thousand times. "Don't go looking for a soap opera where there isn't one. Now, look at these projections. We’re losing time."

For the next two hours, I made them talk about debt ratios and acquisition clauses. I focused on the math because the math didn't scream at me. The math didn't ask me about Beatrice or Sloane.

I was right in the middle of tearing into Miller about a decimal point when I saw something move outside.

Elena was jogging up the driveway, her breath coming out in little white clouds in the morning air. She looked steady. Normal.

I stopped talking. I just watched her through the glass. She’d been with Olivia yesterday. She knew what Sloane had done. She probably knew exactly what Olivia was thinking right now.

"Michael?" Julian called out.

"Keep going with the audit," I said, already headed for the doors. I didn't explain myself. I didn't care what they thought about my clothes or my attitude. "I need to talk to her."

I stepped outside, and the cold air hit me hard. Elena was slowing down near the fountain, wiping sweat from her face. I needed a way back into that room upstairs, and I had a feeling she was the only one who could tell me how to do it.