Free The Heir & I: Precarious Passions by Lara Hunter Page B

And I think I have the drive and the determination now to do so.”
     
    Vic shook his head.
     
    “We’d love to believe you, Oliver,” he reassured me, adding as he cast his gaze downward, “But with a company of this size and scope of responsibility, we just can’t take a chance on you.”
     
    I sighed.
     
    “Well, Vic, you’ve always known your stuff around here—maybe you are spot on with this one,” I admitted. “Yet if there’s one thing my dad always refused to do, it was give up. I might not have what it takes to run Clark Industries—but I’m still not sure, though, that I shouldn’t try.”
     

~
     
    Chapter Twelve
     
    ~

Lily
 
     
    After being practically thrown out of my boyfriend’s home, I decided to retreat to my own. For while I did want so deeply to help and comfort Oliver, I realized that he needed his space right now and, truth be told, so did I.
     
    After calling the police department, I learned—much to my consternation—that no suspects had been identified in the invasion and desecration of my home. Yet seeing as how I’d received no threats and seen no further signs of trouble, I finally settled the matter in my mind; mentally pinning the crime on a random group of rowdy teenagers that probably knew better than to make a return visit.
     
    So with this in mind I set about cleaning, clearing and organizing my home, removing and disposing of all remaining traces of the awful act that had robbed me of my security and peace of mind.
     
    Finally at the end of the day I took a long moment to admire the results of my handiwork, smiling with contentment as I realized that my house was once again my home. Then I headed off to the kitchen to throw together a quick dinner of lasagna and salad, savoring its taste as I sank tiredly into the confines of my favorite easy chair and watched the evening news.
     
    I cringed outright as the news announcer—a striking redhead who often, very gleefully announced that she had her fingers on the pulse of breaking news in Bennington, which was not a very lofty goal in my mind—announced the death of local finance mogul Harry Clark. I hoped against hope that Olli wasn’t watching and ached to call him; pulling back when I realized that, in all likelihood, we both needed to be alone right now.
     
    With this in mind I took my plate to the kitchen and headed next to what I jokingly called my master suite; washing my face and brushing my teeth before slipping into a comfy pair of flannel pajamas and collapsing in the cottony, comforting confines of my own bed.
     
    Tomorrow, I figured, I could make things right with Trisha and Kirk; reconnecting with them at the office and getting back to work. Then I could make a pass by Oliver’s house and see if he was ready for some company; offering if I could, to help with any funeral or memorial service arrangements in regards to his father.
     
    For now, though, it was time for me to focus on myself; to get a good night’s sleep in my own bed, and in a house that once again looked and felt like a home.
     
    As I finally relaxed in my sheets and drifted off into the realm of dreams, I pictured myself once again in a place of billowy clouds; running fast and free across a heavenly dreamscape, searching once again for a man that seemed illusive.
     
    Finally I saw him; the bronzed, gorgeous man that I loved so dearly, this time greeting me with open arms and the dazzling, white toothed smile I hadn’t seen in a while.
     
    Returning his beam with a relieved sigh, I spread my own arms to consume my lover in a warm, loving embrace; a gesture that surely would serve to erase all distance between us, both physically and emotionally—to reunite us once and for all.
     
    My grin dissolved moments later as my lover disappeared; his form rendered invisible by encompassing clouds as my arms remained empty.
     
    Letting loose with a strangulated moan I surged upward in my bed, tears falling free down my face as I