Chapter Twenty-Seven
When Alayah reached Derek’s room, she heard talking, so she paused outside the door.
She’d wait there for them to finish and use the time to take some deep breaths and remind herself of what Selina had said.
Derek had the right to make his own decisions, and she had to respect that.
The conversation inside the room reached her ears and she paused.
“What happens to Black Marlin Technologies now?” Derek asked someone.
“It’s a real mess,” the man answered, and she recognized Anthony’s voice. “I’ll straighten it out while you recover, so don’t fret about it. Salma sang like a jailbird once they offered her a reduced sentence to come clean.”
“She told me most of what she’d done while we were in the hall.”
“Did she tell you that she was having an affair with Josh Hunt?” Anthony asked.
“What? No, she said he wasn’t blackmailing her, but he was too up in her business about the app, so she got rid of him.”
“As the lawyer for the business, I’ll get to read her statement, but from what I understand, she claims they were partners in their endeavor to take control of Black Marlin Technologies.”
“Considering how hard he was working to get the app from Hugo, I would buy that. Why’d she kill him?”
“Salma claims it was an accident.”
“Blunt force trauma to the head is always an accident, right?” Derek asked sarcastically.
“It’s not my monkey, but I would guess it will take many months of tracing their movements to find the real truth.”
“I’m worried the rest of the board knew about her plan,” Derek said, but that was one thing Alayah was certain wasn’t true. The odds that four people would all agree to this plan didn’t work for her.
“From what I could ascertain, they didn’t, but Minneapolis PD is questioning them as we speak. I’m confident they’ll seize computers and records until they’re happy Salma was the only culprit here.”
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a struggle to wrap my head around it.
Both what she’s done, and that the company is now mine,” Derek said weakly.
Her heart clenched. Alayah wanted to run to him but didn’t want to interrupt his visit.
She’d wait for an opening. “The saddest part is that two men are dead because of her greed. Hugo was a good man, and while Josh had his issues, he didn’t deserve to die. ”
“Agreed on all accounts,” Anthony said. “The only immediate suggestion I would make on the company’s behalf is to offer the other three board members a severance package and cut ties with them.”
“I need someone there who can run things while I’m recovering,” Derek said.
Alayah’s heart sank. He was going back to the city. She’d suspected he would, but she hadn’t anticipated how painful it would be to hear it confirmed.
“We’d bring in a tiger team to keep the company running and the employees on task. They’re experts in this type of situation, and I’d be there to oversee it as well. You would be in the loop via video and phone until you recover enough to return to the office.”
“What if I don’t want to return to the office?” he asked, and Alayah’s heart stuttered to a stop momentarily. “The idea of returning to the city and jumping back into that life, the life that killed a man I cared deeply about, has lost its appeal.”
“Then you don’t return to the city,” Anthony said, and she noticed him shrugging when she moved closer to the open door.
He had his back to her and blocked Derek’s line of sight, so they didn’t know she was there.
“You own Black Marlin Technologies. If you want to move it somewhere else, do it. If you want to sell it, do it. If you want to hire someone else to run it, do it. I’ll help you sort it all out, but Hugo would never want his gift to become a burden. ”
“Thanks, Anthony. I want to continue running Black Marlin, but I want to do it from a little house where I can see the lake in the morning as the sun rises, and a beautiful woman in my bed every evening as it sets. Is that asking too much?”
“Not in my book,” he said, turning to see Alayah at the door. He smiled, motioning her in. “Speaking of beautiful women, one is here to check on you, I’m sure. I’ll let you two talk, but I’ll be back later once I get a handle on Salma’s confession.”
Anthony shook Derek’s hand, and then, with a wave, he left them alone. She approached Derek’s bed and noticed a chair beside him with a stepstool and booster seat in it.
“Hi,” he said, a weak smile on his face. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Hi, I’m so happy to see you awake and talking. Is this for me?”
“The nurse assured me you’d be able to hold my hand in that contraption,” he said as she climbed up into the chair.
When he slipped his hand through the railing, she grasped it tightly.
His right arm was in a sling against his chest with a pressure bandage under his hospital gown. “Looks like she was right.”
“I’ve never been so scared as I was last night,” she whispered. “I’m glad you’re going to be okay.”
“What you did tonight was ridiculously brave, but you shouldn’t have put yourself in danger, sweetheart. Did Cal read you the riot act for bringing me that gun?”
“Not yet. He’s been focused on Declan, but I’m sure it will come. I did what I did and have no regrets.”
He nodded, his gaze drifting to the ceiling. “They told me about Declan. Distraught is the only word I can use to describe my feelings. His life has been changed irrevocably because of me, and that doesn’t sit right.”
She wanted to placate him, but she wouldn’t.
He would have to come to terms with what happened in his own way, and she’d support him in any way she could.
She dropped his hand and moved the stool over to the side of his bed, using it to climb up and sit beside him on the left so she didn’t hurt him, before she wrapped her arms around him.
There was no talking, just comfort offered and accepted in the face of a traumatic and terrifying situation.
After a few minutes, he kissed her forehead and sighed heavily. “The moment you wrapped your arms around me, my pain slowly ebbed.”
She turned her face to his and smiled. “I’ll be here for as long as you need me to be.”
“So forever then?” he whispered, dropping a kiss on her lips despite an oxygen tube in his nose and machines beeping all around them.
“Forever?” she squeaked, his gaze so intense she wondered if she’d combust from the need building inside her. “What about Black Marlin? I don’t do well in the city, but if that’s what you want, we’ll find a way.”
“The only thing I want is a quiet place to enjoy my life. Hugo’s life and death taught me there’s no time to waste when true happiness is within reach.”
“You’re saying…”
“I’m saying I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
This time, her heart stuttered in a wonky rhythm of hope and fear that left her struggling to think of the right things to say. “I love you, too, but I can’t ask you to stay,” she said, tears falling down her cheeks. “My package is small and complicated.”
“And beautiful,” he whispered, kissing her again.
“It might take you the rest of your life to convince me of that,” she said, her lips tipping upward as her heartbeat switched into a new rhythm of hope, love and anticipation.
“If that’s what it takes, then I’m in,” he promised.
“Together, we can face any storm. We’ve already proved that to the universe this week.
And before you say it, I’m not feeling this way because we’ve been in a state of trauma since we met.
The moment I laid eyes on you, my soul settled in a strangely uncomfortable way. ”
“That’s encouraging,” she muttered, which got her a muted chuckle.
“What I mean is, everything fell into place. Every piece of my life I’d been struggling with moved into position, and the picture of my new life came into view.”
“Like a soulmate?”
“How does that sound to you?” he asked.
“Like something I don’t deserve but want all the same,” she answered honestly.
“Then let me be the one to prove to you that you deserve the world. You’re the hero I didn’t know I needed, Alayah. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered, pressing a kiss of forever to his lips.
* * * * *