Silver Tears(57)

She sighed.

“I’ll follow your instructions. You’re the boss.” Ylva shrugged. “But I have to say I think you’ll regret it if you don’t act more forcefully.”

Faye didn’t reply. She was drawing figures on the desk with the tip of her finger. Her mobile buzzed. A text from David. Faye couldn’t contain her smile.

Ylva leaned toward her.

“You look happy.”

Faye nodded.

“I’ve never been happier with a man. I think I’m in love—I’m acting like a teenager. We both are.”

“Good. You of all people deserve it. I hope I get to meet him soon.”

“We’ll arrange it. He’s got a lot going on, what with his soon-to-be ex-wife.”

Faye squirmed a little. What she was about to ask Ylva made her uneasy. Especially after the discussion they’d just had. She knew her former rival well enough to know that she would think it was unprofessional to let her feelings for a person give him an edge in the process. On the other hand, Revenge was Faye’s company. Ylva was an employee. Faye could do as she pleased. All the same, doubt was gnawing away at her.

Asking for something like this was exposing herself, showing a crack. She looked across the office, through the glass doors she had insisted on when they had renovated, so that the staff could always see her when she was there. As CEO and chairman, she had personally recruited many of the staff. She had invested time and money in them—she wanted to see them develop and gain wind beneath their wings. She couldn’t let them down.



Fuck it, Faye thought to herself.

“Speaking of David, he wants to become one of our investors,” she said in as neutral a voice as she could.

Ylva nodded unsmilingly, not looking at Faye.

“That’s nice.” Her voice was cautious.

“I’d like you to go through his proposal and finances as soon as possible.”

“So I should prioritize him?”

Faye nodded.

“Okay. No problem. Like I said, you’re the boss.”

There was silence for a while. Faye leaned back in her chair and contemplated Ylva, who was determinedly staring down at her laptop.

She took a deep breath. “You think I’ll bring David on board regardless of how good his proposal is?”

Ylva looked up.

“No, you’re way too professional to do that. I admire you and I think you know what’s best for Revenge. I’ve only been here for a few weeks. Does it really matter what I think?”

“Yes, it matters to me.”

Ylva sighed and folded the screen of her laptop down. She ran a hand across her brow.

“You’ve been seeing each other for, what? A month? You’re in love. You’re moving in together. That’s wonderful. But getting him involved in Revenge? I don’t know, but I think it’s paving the way for trouble. Don’t make the same mistakes you’ve made previously. What’s more, you don’t seem all that worried about making sure there’s a company left to invest in. So, to be honest, your question is pretty much rhetorical. Tomorrow you might not even be at the helm any longer.”

Faye felt her irritation rising.



“He’s going to be a passive investor. He’s got a lot of money and he happens to believe that Revenge will take the USA by storm. He believes in me. And he’s the best man I’ve ever met. He’s not like other people.”

Ylva raised the palms of her hands toward Faye.

“As I said, do what you like.”

“But?”

“No but.”

“Well, there’s something.”

Faye was pissed off. With herself for getting angry and being unable to stop herself from asking for Ylva’s opinion. And with Ylva for sticking her nose in, even though it had been Faye who had insisted she speak up.

“I can’t say that I know Johanna Schiller,” said Ylva. “But I have been to several dinners with her. She seems a pretty decent person. Not at all crazy and aggressive like you describe her. Perhaps you should hear her side of the story too. At least if you and David are moving in together.”

Faye snorted and shook her head. She leaned toward Ylva, who calmly met her eye.

“People change. Once upon a time, Jack was a pretty decent person too. But both you and I are painfully aware that he changed. Johanna Schiller is fighting tooth and nail to keep David in her life. She’s even using his daughters against him—making sudden changes to plans and taking them abroad. Refusing to sign divorce papers.”

“How do you know that?”

“How…”

Faye stopped herself.

Ylva, for whom she had done so much, despite everything that had happened, despite all the betrayal, was sitting there accusing David of lying. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and steady her voice.

“Because he’s told me. Because I can see how this situation is close to destroying him. She’s trying to crush him using their children.”



Ylva held out her arms.

“You’re probably right,” she said in a low voice.

Faye continued to stare at Ylva, who looked down at the table. She didn’t feel as though she was done, but she regretted it before the next words even came out.