The Re- Claim

Chapter 22

-Athena-

''Oh shit! Shit! Shit! I'm late!'' I shout as I stumble from my bed to grab my alarm clock. ''Oh crap it's 07:45! I need to get to the office.''

I walk to the bathroom in my drowsy state and take a quick shower, then put on some casual clothes. I grabbed a granola bar from the kitchen cabinet and rushed to my car in the basement.

As soon as I get to the office, all the staff turn to look at me, waiting for me to give them orders. ''I want the heads of all the departments in the board room in 10 minutes. Nancy! Get me a coffee stat! black. No sugar, no milk.''

''Umm...excuse me Ma'am?'' Someone says from behind me. I turn to find Summer who is holding a few files in her hand. ''Nancy is off for the weekend and doesn't resume until Monday,'' she says timidly.

Oh great. I have a busy weekend and my assistant's not here. ''Very well then, Summer, you're my acting assistant until Nancy resumes. Now leave those files and get me my coffee, then take a notepad and meet me in my office in 05 minutes!'' I order her. She nods and hurriedly goes to the food court.

I sit at my desk and take in a deep breath and sigh in relief. Blocking the mate bond was a good idea. I don't feel bounded anymore. Speaking of, I haven't heard from Theo since last night. After he left abruptly, I didn't know what to do, so I gathered my stuff and left the apartment.

His words however, left a stinging mark on me. Am I really that selfish? Was I wrong to want to leave Crimson and continue with my life here? should I apologize to Ethan and Mom? Did I do wrong by them?

The more I thought about it; the more it all started to make sense. Theo was right, I am selfish and proud and vain. I only care about myself. But from what he said, I was not this person before. Who was I then? Was I a kind hearted person or was I mean? I left my family to grieve my dad on my own. Months have passed by now but not even once have I properly honored him. Oh my god, I'm a monster! Does that make me a bad daughter?

They were right! Theo was right! This is not me; this cannot be me. I need to get my memories back.

''Oh god, oh god,'' I start hyperventilating, ''what have I done? What have I become?'' I clutch my head in my hands. ''I need to apologize to Ethan and mom.''

I'm about to get up from my desk and leave the office when Summer walks in, ''Your coffee ma'am and Mr. Oliver is here to see you,'' she says politely then places the coffee on my desk and takes a few steps back.

Oh right! The fashion show. Damn it! I can't leave now; I can't even leave this week. I close my eyes and massage my temple before looking up at Oliver, our chief accountant. ''Hi, what brings you to my office today?''

Guess my visit to Crimson will have to wait. I just hope the self-revelation I felt a few seconds ago doesn't go away by then.

''Well Athena, I've actually come to discuss finances with you,'' Oliver starts. I gesture him to take a seat then lean back on my chair and motion for him to continue.

''If we are showcasing our designs at the awards this weekend, we need a large amount of capital. My team has done the calculation of the money we need and the total looks like this,'' he hands me a paper.

I skim my eyes over it and an involuntary gasp escapes me. ''Okay, wow.''

''Yup, that sounds about right,'' he folds his hands in front of him. ''How about we discuss this in the meeting,'' I tell him and as if on cue Summer's head pops into my cabin. ''Everyone is ready ma'am.''

''Thanks summer. Oliver, please, after you,'' I offer and we both head towards the board room with Summer at my heels.

''Thank you all for coming to work on your day off and thank you for joining me today. As we know we are one of the few lucky ones to be given the opportunity to showcase our designs. We are required to present seven of our all-time best selling clothes. So without further ado, let's get started on what we need for next Saturday.''