Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele

[Atlas]

I could not bear to stay in the room any longer.

"What are you doing," Angelica demands. "Why are you chasing after her? What aren't you telling me Atlas?"

Angelica is holding her head as she paces back and forth. She is close to having another attack, I can tell by the way that her arms are shaking and her breath becomes more ragged. Each attack is different than the one before in intensity or length, but they all start the same way.

"I'm sorry this is confusing you, Angelica, but I don't have time right now to deal with this," I grab a dress shirt and pants and head to my bathroom. "Please be gone before I get back. You should be in your room."

"But Atlas," she stops, standing still, her beautiful body on full display as her robe opens again. I am man enough to notice her beauty, but not fool enough to touch. I don't want her, I want Cordelia, and if I lay even one finger on her sister both my wife and my heir will be lost. I know it.

"Do not wait up for me tonight, Angelica," I grimace as shut the door behind me, locking it to ensure I am not interrupted. It was bad enough that she snuck into my room again last night. I'm not sure how she got the key to my room, but she managed to enter quietly. I was so tired, that I almost didn't wake up until I felt her hand moving its way down my waistband.

When I jumped out of bed, she sputtered awake. She claims that she was sleepwalking, but when I suggest that she lock her door, or take something to help her body rest, she freezes in fear. Whatever. happened to her that she cannot remember has given her fear of closed doors and medication.

I dress and shave quickly, leaving the house in a rush. Pushing the engine of my car to its limits, I swerved in and out of traffic, moving around cars and almost causing an accident as I crashed my way into the Steele Industries parking lot.

"I need to see Theo immediately," I shout as I storm through the design department, the door slamming loudly behind me, "Where is she?"

I spy her across the production floor. She looks furious as she argues with one of the seamstresses. As I approach, the ferocity of her anger is so intense I almost turn around and flee.

"WHO gave you this?" she demands holding up another copy of the design changes that Cordelia had handed me back at the manor. "This doesn't have my seal!"

"I don't know her name. Pretty blonde, very fancy," Manny, our sewing lead sputtered. "It has Mr. Steele's signature. I thought it came from him so I..."

"I don't care if it was signed by God himself, Jesus Christ, and the Virgin Mary!" she spits, slamming the paper on the desk. "I sign off on all changes. ALWAYS. Nothing gets produced without going through me first. Pack up your desk! You're fired!" Theo turns. Looking up through her glasses her face goes completely white.

"Boss," she gasps. "Mr. Steele I..."

"Is Ms Greyson here?' I force myself to stay calm.

"She was," Theo looks towards the dark, empty office. Her body deflates, slumping forward. "I don't think she is coming back, Sir. Not today, not ever."

"What happened here, Theo," I demand my anger rising once more. "It is your job to make sure that things. like this do not happen in the first place.

"You are right, Mr. Steele, and if you need to fire me, I understand," she apologizes. "But I didn't approve these changes, and based on your expression, you didn't either."

I nod.

"When I left last night, everything was being produced as it should. I left my assistant in charge with very clear instructions. When I came in this morning she had called in sick and this mess," she waves her hands dramatically, slapping her hands against her thighs as she sighs loudly, "No, this disaster was waiting for me when got here. I was busy trying to fix things when Ms. Greyson came storming through. She was so sad." her voice drops. "I'm surprised she wasn't angrier. If something like this had happened to me I'd want to burn down the world.".

I leave Theo to her work, trusting her to fix the flaws in the design. "Find everyone involved with this change and make sure they've been interviewed and appropriately disciplined," I command. "I expect a report before the end of the day."

Locking myself in my office for the remainder of the morning, I call every vendor responsible for any part of the production. I discovered that several of the sewists were paid "bonuses" for making the last-minute

changes.

I also call every shop waiting for this production line and pay the late fees from my personal funds. A few shops wanted to cancel their orders, but I was able to give them enough incentive to keep the line in their stores. Cordelia's reputation has been saved, at least for now, as long as we can make our next production deadline.From NôvelDrama.Org.

By the time lunch had rolled around, I heard a soft rapping on the door.

Theo holds out a manila envelope.

"You might want to call your attorney," she suggests as she places it gently on my desk. "I have a feeling this news is going to cause some...complications." Taking a deep breath, I open the envelope.