The Man to Be Reckoned With Read Free Page A

worked toward the past four years is hanging in the balance. And all you’re talking about is late night shopping, things catching your fancy. Maybe living your life on the periphery of civilization all these years, cut off from your fellow man, traipsing through the world with no ties—”
    â€œRiya, no....” She heard Drew’s soft warning behind her. But she was far too scared to pay heed.
    â€œâ€”has made you see only profit margins, but for us, the human element is just as important as the bottom line.”
    â€œYou make me sound like a lone wolf, Ms. Mathur.”
    â€œWell, you are one, aren’t you?” She closed her eyes and fought for control. “Look, all I care about is what you intend to do with the company. With us.”
    Something inched into his features, hardening the look in his eyes. “Leave us alone, Mr. Anderson.”
    â€œNo,” Riya said aloud as Mr. Ramirez walked around the table and toward her. Panic made her words rushed. “There’s nothing you have to say to me that Drew can’t hear.”
    Stopping next to her, Drew met her gaze finally. The resignation in his eyes knocked the breath out of her as nothing else could. “Drew, whatever you’re thinking, we can fight this. We own the patent to the software engine—”
    â€œDoes nothing else matter to you except the blasted company? Statues possess more feelings than you do.”
    Bitterness spewed from every word, and the hurt festering beneath them lanced through her. She paled under his attack, struggled to put into words why.
    â€œI’m done, Riya,” Drew said, with a hint of regret.
    â€œBut, Drew, I...”
    His hands on her shoulders, Drew bent and kissed her cheek, all the while the deep-set ice-blue gaze of the arrogant man who was kicking Drew out stayed on her without blinking.
    Something flitted in that gaze. An insinuation? A challenge? There one minute, chased away by a cool mockery the next.
    But Riya didn’t look away. Locking her hands by her side, she stood frozen to the spot.
    Stepping back from her, Drew turned. “I’ll set up something with your assistant, Nathan.”
    Without breaking her gaze, the hateful man nodded.
    â€œGoodbye, Riya.”
    The words felt so final that Riya shivered.
    Leaving her flailing in the middle of the room, Drew closed the door behind him. It felt as if she were locked in a cage with a wild animal even as her mind was sifting and delving deeper.
    Nathan...Nathan...Nathaniel Ramirez. Owns a group of travel and vacation companies called RunAway International, has traveled the world since he was seventeen...
    A strange shiver began at the base of her spine, inched everywhere. She pushed her fingers through her hair, a nervous gesture she had never gotten over. “What did Drew mean?”
    â€œMr. Anderson decided he wanted to move on. From...” His gaze swept over her, a puzzle in it. “...
Travelogue
,” he finished, leaving something unsaid.
    Riya felt as if he had slapped her. He had said so much without saying anything, and she couldn’t even defend herself against what she didn’t understand. She had never felt more out of her depth. “Who the hell do you think you are? And you can’t just kick him out. Drew and I own—”
    â€œHe sold his share of the stock. To me. I now own seventy-five percent of your company. I’m your new
partner
, Riya. Or boss, or really...there are so many things we could call each other.”

CHAPTER TWO
    A ND JUST LIKE THAT , her name on his lips, spoken like a soft invocation, unlocked the memory her mind had been trying to grasp from the moment she looked into that ice-blue gaze.
    â€œShe’s dead. And she died knowing that your trashy mother is just waiting at the gates, ready to come in and take her place. I hope you both rot in hell.”
    The memory of that long-ago day flashed through her so vividly that