Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele

Chapter 30 [Sydney]

"Agh! She did it again!," I scream at the phone as I pace back and forth. "I even...well, you know...and he left me to rescue her!"

I am pacing back and forth in my bathrobe, my father of speakerphone. He woke me up with news of Cordelia's daring escape from her prison. Atlas swooped in and rescued her like a white knight. "Now Sydney-

bear, calm down," my father cooed through the phone. "We have other ways to get Greyson Mills away from Steele," he refers to both the company and the woman, Cordelia. "You'll get the best of her. You're a Bryant. We Bryants never quit. Especially against a Greyson," "I'm just so tired of this game. I really like him, Daddy. I want Atlas."

As my father gives me assurances, I replay the day in my mind, trying to make sense of what went wrong. The trap was perfect.

[FLASHBACK-YESTERDAY AFTERNOON]

"Are you sure these will work?" I text my father.

"Of course, it will work," he replies, "Trust me."

Closing my phone, I look through the stack of papers that just arrived by courier. Purchase orders dating back five years, all of them with "Cordelia Greyson Steel" boldly scrawled on the bottom, approving each purchase.

"Gotcha, Ms Greyson," I sneer as I look them over. I don't know how my father got his hands on them, but they look real enough. It doesn't matter if they are real, the implication is damning.

Based on what is in my hands, Greyson Mills has been embezzling money from Steele Industries for YEARS and using that money to cover up their own crimes. It doesn't matter if Cordelia knew what she was signing, or even if she signed them at all. Cordelia Greyson is going to prison for a long, long time..

My spirit is bubbling over in anticipation of Atlas' reaction when he comes in to find these on his desk. I make a set of copies to send off to the Steele Industries Lawyers, and place the originals in a prominent position on Atlas' desk. Now it is time to stir things up.

Reaching inside my purse, my nails find the edge of my burner phone, securely tucked away in a hidden pocket. The number on this phone is untraceable. Typing up a cryptic message, I wait for her to call me.

Raising my speech tones an octave, I disguise my voice as Meghan Greyson shrieks through the phone. "I don't know who you think you are, but you aren't going to blackmail my family with your fabricated lies!"

"I don't know, these look very authentic..." I smile into the phone. She immediately begins swearing on the other end of the line. She's caught in my web and she knows it."

"If I were you," I interrupted her useless rant. "I'd lawyer up and let Cordelia take the fall," the phone grows

very tillert as Mrs Greyson considers her options. "It is, after all, her name on all of the documents. BUT if you do not cooperate, I cannot promise you'll be protected when this all hits the media..." "You wouldn't! If you blast this to the media well"

snap the phone shut and lean back in my chair to bask in my success. Mrs. Greyson is likely working right now to send her own daughter downstream in order to save herself. Typical Greyson behavior, Their whole family has no morals or sense of loyalty. Now for the final touches.

1 pick up my official company phone and call the head of Atlas' legal team.

"Yes, Mr. Michaels. Sorry to bother you but I've found some shocking evidence that you need to see immediately." I wait as he tells me to scan and email them over and I gladly comply.

As I complete my task, Atlas is wa

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END FLASHBACK]

through the door, his face red with anger.

7 know things are hard, Darling, but you need to hang in there," my father's voice soothes my frazzled nerves and I find myself relaxing as I stand over my phone. "Take a shower, put on your best face," he "Of course, Daddy," I sniffle, wiping away a stray tear.

"And remember your mother and I believe in you. We've believed in you since the miracle that brought you to us. You are the last of us, but you are also the best of us."

My heart lightens under my father's praise. He's right, today is a new day.

Picking up the brochure for the Los Angeles Fashion Expo, I know exactly what I'll do next to win his heart.

Cordella's days are numbered

Ficking up the phone I wear my sunniest smile as I request, "We are coming for the convention. Yes, we need the convention rate. Steele Industries..yes I understand...one room... Two people, one bed."