Hello

The office was stuffy, humid, and Winnie could smell the intense cologne one of the bidders had splashed on his chin after shaving that morning. Eight of the ten chairs in the conference room were occupied by the owners of major publishing companies around the world. Today had been circled on their calendars for over a month and they were chomping at the bit. Lucas stood with his back turned to them facing the floor length window with his arms tucked behind him. His blue eyes gazed out on the city he had called home for the past few years.

“I’m pleased that you all could make it,” she chimed pushing open the glass door. The metal of the handle was cold in her palm. All eyes turned to face her, some full of suspicion, some eager to get this deal over with, and one pair of eyes that begged her to change her mind. “Sorry I’m late. Decided to walk here.” She shook the hand of every man and woman that stood from their chair smiling at each of them. Her short hair was brushed back out of her face and she adorned a tan pant suit with a white shirt, the tip of her bird tattoo slightly exposed.

“Winnifred,” a man spoke but she shook her head.

“Please, call me Winnie.” She straightened her jacket before sitting at the head of the table. Reaching into her pocket she placed her cell phone and a single pen down next to her now folded hands. Lucas pushed several folders in front of her and quickly sat down.

“Winnie,” the man corrected himself, “on behalf of Trinity Enterprises we just wanted to thank you for giving us the opportunity to bid for your company.” His black hair was slicked back and a pair of wire frames sat on the bridge of his nose. Several of the other visitors nodded in agreement.

“Thank you for taking time out of your schedules to come. I know some of you have flown from England and Spain,” she nodded in their direction, “and I promise that someone in this room will walk out of here with a very well made investment.” Sliding the folder in front of her, Winnie shuffled through a few sheets of paper and settled on the contract. Her eyes scanned over the wording on the cover page and for the first time since making the decision to sell she felt a pang in her stomach.

The conversation she had shared with Keziah suddenly replayed in her mind. She had built this company from the ground up in Chicago, had made a staple internationally, spent most of her early adult life signing her name on hundreds of contracts. Now in a matter of moments she would be signing her name for the last time. It would all be gone. A weight lifted off her shoulders she wouldn’t have to look back. She could take her packed suitcase, get on an airplane, and never have to step foot in Chicago again.

“Winnie?” She ripped her eyes from the paper to gaze at Lucas. His brow was lifted in worry. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, sorry.” Shaking her head she rested her hands on the papers. She took a moment to look at everyone and sighed. “It’s overwhelming, as you can imagine, to be giving away something you’ve known your whole life. All I ask is once this process is said and done, after the interviews, that whoever is chosen follows the principles and guidelines we have cemented in our policies. That you take care of our employees and our relationships gained through our tenure here in Chicago.” Lacing her fingers together she took a breath through her nose. “Let’s begin, shall we?”

Three hours later Winnie had her head in her hands. Lucas was still to her right reading through one of the final proposals they had been offered. She could still smell a hint of the cologne the man from Spain had been wearing. Rubbing her eyes she dropped her hands flat on the table and looked at her former assistant.

“What do you think?” Lucas closed the folder he was looking at and shrugged.

“They all look the same.”

“I know.” She let out a groan. “And we both know that as soon as I sign this over they’re going to take it all in a different direction than my father wanted.”

“The beauty of business,” he mused. He leaned back in the chair and watched Winnie carefully. “You could always not sell the company.” She gave him a look from under her hand. “I’m just saying. That way we both know we’re going in the right direction.”

“I see what you’re trying to do,” she pointed a finger at him, “and it’s not going to work.”

“You honestly want to hand over something you’ve built pretty much your whole life to one of these morons?” She scoffed. “You said it when you first came in, this is something you’ve known your whole life. What you grew up doing, understanding, molding yourself around, and you’re just tossing it into the wind.”

“Did Keziah talk to you?” She scrunched her nose up when he shook his head. “I swear you two are the same person.”

“She’s much prettier than I,” he replied with a grin. Winnie rolled her eyes and huffed.

“Let’s just pick one. They know the price; they’ve put in their work, the sooner I can get out of this office the better.”

“I’ll miss you too,” Lucas muttered. She gave him a pat on the arm.

“You know what I meant.” He nodded and gathered the proposals into a pile.

Two offers stuck out in Winnie’s mind that she would be comfortable signing over to. Putting those portfolios in front of her she spent the next twenty minutes scrutinizing their numbers and management plans, scribbling on the pages with the solo pen in the room. She crossed out the things she didn’t agree with and wrote in some of her own notes. In the end, it wouldn’t matter, once they had signed their check the company was literally out of her hands. She would no longer have control over what happened.

Mikaelson Publishing would cease to exist.

Her phone vibrated, the sound making her jump in her chair, and she snatched the device into her hands. She had completely forgotten it was turned on. Lucas chuckled at her movements but she ignored him, a single message illuminated on her screen. Although the number wasn’t saved in her phone the digits had been imprinted in her mind since the first time she entered them. The thousand questions racing through her mind vanished. Every ounce of uncertainty drained from her system and she squeezed her eyes shut to fight the sting of the tears.

“Call them back in. I’ve made my decision.”


Keziah handed her boyfriend a cold beer before plopping down on the couch next to him. She swung her legs over his lap and felt his hand rest on her thigh. Jonathan had his arm draped around Lindsey’s shoulders while the blonde boy in the room aimlessly flipped through the channels. Today was their off day, the first one in two weeks, and neither hockey player wanted to do anything other than lounge around. Tonight they would find out who they were playing in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Keziah was well prepared to make dinner for the four of them and listen to the two go back and forth on the terrible techniques the other teams had.

“Wait,” Jonathan pointed his hand at Patrick, “go back.” Keziah nearly choked on her beer when the face of her former best friend showed up on the television. “Turn it up.”

”I’ve made my decision to not sell this company on two accounts. The first, on behalf of my late father, as detrimental as our relationship was, would not hand his legacy over to anyone that didn’t follow the path he had laid for this business. There are only two people he trusted more than himself and I have the honor of being one of those people. I have no doubt that with the leadership Lucas Freyer and I will provide that Mikaelson Publishing will stay cemented in the communities globally.”

“What’s the second reason?” The reporter gave an expectant look and Winnie just smiled softly.

“It was time to come home.”

Keziah felt the heat rushing to her face. Patrick sat frozen with his lips pressed in a firm line. Jonathan leaned forward to set his beer on the table and slowly turned his gaze to his teammate. Lindsey leaned back into the couch with a scowl.

“Mind if I have a word with you Pat?” Keziah tried not to cringe at Jon’s tone of voice. Patrick gently pushed her legs off his lap and set his drink down. Jonathan was the first to stand and make his way down the hall toward the spare bedroom, Patrick slow to follow. Keziah let out a breath once she heard the door close.

“What’s that all about?” Lindsey looked down at her nails.

“Like you honestly don’t remember,” Keziah scoffed. She took a long drink from her beer.

“I remember,” she sneered in response, “but why is it such a big deal? So what? She’s back. It’s not like she reached out to anyone to let us know.” Lindsey watched Keziah bite her bottom lip. “Unless you guys did know and failed to mention it to Jonathan and I.”

“You aren’t really a big concern of ours,” Keziah answered sarcastically.

“Yes you’ve made that very clear for the last year and a half.” She looked over her shoulder when Jon’s voice grew louder. “How the tables have turned.”

”You didn’t think it was a big deal?!” Keziah winced. ”Are you fucking stupid?!”

Silence followed for a few seconds before the door was pulled open. Jon’s footsteps echoed until he turned the corner. “We’re leaving.” Not bothering to answer him Lindsey got up from the couch and grabbed her jacket off the back of a chair. With a glare in Keziah’s direction she took his hand and ignored Patrick as he passed. It felt like the entire apartment shook from the force Jon used to slam their door and Patrick rubbed his face in annoyance.

“That sounded heated,” Keziah finished off her beer.

“I didn’t think it was a big deal because I didn’t ever consider she would actually stay. The way you talked she was ready to go.” He lowered himself next to her on the couch and let his head fall back. Keziah spun the still cold bottle in her fingers.

“I thought she was too,” she said quietly. Patrick turned his head to see her better. “I know what she did was wrong, stupid, and it hurt all of us. But seeing her again, being able to talk to her, it felt like my heart exploded in my chest. I miss her.”

“I know you do baby,” he cooed. He squeezed her thigh and she caught his gaze.

“I text her this morning.” His brow furrowed. “I told her to stop running and to come home.”

“You did what?”

“I know, it’s crazy.” She rested her cheek on his shoulder. “And I’m so mad at her that I could wring her neck the second I see her. I just, I couldn’t let her go again. I had to try something.”

“You’re unbelievable,” he muttered. His lips touched her forehead and she smiled softly. “It clearly worked. Keziah Lewis works her charm once more.”

“I have magic powers,” she teased wiggling her fingers.

“This is going to be a train wreck,” Patrick groaned. “Jon’s obviously still in love with her. Lindsey is going to be a jealous nightmare, and the playoffs aren’t going to get any easier.”

“Nothing like a little drama to spruce up the wedding, right?”

“We already have enough drama because of you, miss picky.” He poked her nose and she playfully snapped her teeth at him.

“You love me.”

“I do.”