Run, Girl (If You Can)

Aaron's meeting with Alistair trying to convince him to promote Bruce hadn't gone all that well so he was not in a good mood when Cameron came into his office.

He knew what was wrong immediately. "No luck?"

"None," Aaron said frostily. "Why he won't promote internally rather than bring in someone new, I'll never know. It doesn't seem like good business sense. Shouldn't you reward the people who serve you well?"

"I think so."

He dismissed Cameron's opinion instantly; of course he would think that. He directly benefited from Aaron's policy of looking out for loyal employees.

Aaron wasn't seeking validation anyway; he knew his father was a rigid, inflexible man with outdated ideas. He didn't help the company grow nearly as much as Aaron had and yet he was always going on about how amazing his leadership was.

If his son hadn't caught him in time, his 'amazing leadership' would have run Hale Investments straight into the ground. Nobody trusts an investment company that does insider trading.

Not only was he outdated, classist, and a terrible father, he was a criminal. All Aaron had to do now was prove it quietly and the man would be gone for good.

"There are still other investors in the middle ground that you can get on your side," Cameron said optimistically. "You already have a third of the board voting with you."

Aaron clenched his fists. It wasn't enough. He either needed Alistair's criminal activities to come to light or to have more than half of the board firmly in his camp. Last time he hadn't been able to do either until it was far too late to matter.

"I need more than that," he growled.

Cameron understood his boss' frustration but still had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that he was only determined to take over the company for a completely average girl. Hurricane Aaron was brewing and he didn't want to be in the path when it hit.

"I have something that might cheer you up," Cameron said mysteriously, pulling out his phone. "Give me a minute."

He checked Instagram and was pleased to find what he was searching for. Clicking on it, he held his phone up for his boss to see. It was a picture of Keeley wearing a pineapple dress, yellow sneakers, and a pineapple topper hat with her lab coat and goggles next to another girl dressed like a cat that was also wearing lab attire.

"I guess NYU allows their students to wear costumes on campus for Halloween."

Aaron's stormy expression softened. She looked really good in yellow even though it was a ridiculous outfit. Cameron was right; it did cheer him up.

"Do you have any plans tonight?" he asked out of a vague curiosity.

His subordinate seemed surprised by the question. "Yeah, I'm going to a party especially for singles to meet each other. It's been too long since I've had a girlfriend."

It had been too long since Aaron had a girlfriend as well but he wouldn't settle for anyone but Keeley. She was the only one he would accept.

"Is Aiden going with you?"

Cameron huffed. "I asked but he said there was no point because he wasn't single. With such a long-distance relationship he may as well be. I'm flying solo tonight, unless you feel like joining me."

"I'll pass," Aaron said disdainfully.

A singles party? Most people in the city had at least heard of him, even if they didn't recognize his face. No matter how bored he was, he wouldn't put himself out there at the risk of attracting more psychopaths like Lacy.

"What's Keeley doing?"

"She's going to a party with her friends," he replied frostily. "And before you ask, no, I don't know where it is. I prefer staying at home on Halloween."

Aaron hadn't celebrated Halloween since he was maybe seven years old and his nanny at the time took him trick-or-treating. Well, that wasn't entirely true.

Keeley was working on Halloween their junior year of college but during their sophomore and senior years she insisted on celebrating somehow. He suggested watching scary movies even though he didn't like them because he heard some guys in his dorm bragging about how the best way to get close to a girl on a date was to take her to a scary movie.

It certainly worked. She got scared easily and turned to his arms for comfort. He soaked up the affection like a sponge, which was why he was willing to do it again the next Halloween they spent together despite not being a fan of the holiday.

Keeley was a cuddler but even so Aaron could never get enough of it back when they were dating since he had spent most of his life touch-starved in a cold, austere environment. He never would have thought the arms of one warm person could have such an effect.

He wished she were watching scary movies with him again this year. He missed her. She was supposed to bring him brownies in two days but that seemed so far away right now.

"I better get back down to the analyst department," Cameron said while stretching his arms over his head. "Have fun doing nothing on a holiday."

"Good luck at that singles party."

After he left, Aaron examined his files on the other shareholders again. Bruce seemed like a no-go. Who should he try and go after next? His father and Samuel were out.

Alexander was a possibility but there was also a strong chance that he would report Aaron's attempt to win him over to Alistair. That only left Carol and Emilio. Even if he got both of them on his side, it was only 8% of the shares as opposed to Alexander's 10%.

Trying to figure all this out was exhausting.

Aiden had been monitoring Alistair's and Brann Knighton's emails but so far there hadn't been any further communication. Did they know someone was onto them and changed the way they contacted each other or had they stopped their plan momentarily?

Why did everything have to be so hard? It seemed like no matter what he did, his goals were just out of reach.