Chapter 33
ZACH
By the time I reached downtown Chicago, I’d already texted Adeline six times. We had no new information yet, but she was panicking and I was trying to keep her from spiraling while also white-knuckling my way through traffic and contemplating homicide.
The only thing I knew for sure right now was that I wasn’t about to let that asshole back into their lives. Not for anything. We all knew this was a powerplay, but the thing about those was that you had to be the most powerful guy involved to win.
In this case, he wasn’t. That title went to me and I wasn’t about to let him stand in our way or dictate how things would go from here.
ME: I’m at the office now. Don’t let Louis scare you. I’ll handle it.
Her response came in just as I opened the car door.
ADELINE: I know. I’m trying to stay calm. The girls are missing you already.
A strange warmth spread through my chest. I knew protectiveness and possessiveness, and this definitely had elements of both, but it was neither. Shaking my head, I shoved my phone into my pocket and focused on the task at hand.
Later, I could work out why I was feeling the way I was, half-crazed and on a mission unlike any other, but for now, I stormed through the doors of Westwood and Sons, heading straight for the executive floor.
The receptionist tried to talk to me as I stalked off the elevator, but I blew past her without stopping.
I liked Nelly. She’d been the main receptionist on the executive level for years, but I knew that if I paused for even a second to talk to her, I’d only manage to pry myself away two hours from now.
I seriously didn’t have time for that. Instead, I stayed the course, shoving open the doors to the executive conference room at the end of the hall without hesitating. I’d called Alex’s assistant on my way over, only to be told he was in a meeting all afternoon.
It seemed the message I’d left that I’d be here soon hadn’t reached him, because when he looked up as I burst in, his eyes widened in surprise. Thankfully, Jesse and Nate were in the meeting too, which would save me the time it would’ve taken to track them both down.
About six other executives were with them, every last one turning to face me as I strode into the room. I met each of their eyes in turn and lifted a hand to point at the door. “Get out. Now. If your last name isn’t Westwood, you’re leaving.”
Alex sighed. “Zach, what are you doing here? This is the quarterly—”
“Everyone out,” I said, speaking over him, and chairs finally started moving. “We need to talk and we’re going to do it now.”
Executives gathered their laptops and papers at record speed while Jesse, who’d been lounging back in his chair looking heavily bored, seemed to be ecstatic about this development. He straightened up, grinning from ear to ear.
As the room cleared, he glanced over at Alex. “You better keep a firm hold on your position, big brother. Zach might actually make for a damn good CEO.”
“Shut up, Jesse,” Alex muttered.
The doors finally closed behind the last executive and I looked directly at Alex. “Where are we at with the Louis situation?”
He folded his hands calmly on the table. “We’re handling it. I told you that over the phone.”
“No,” I snapped. “I don’t want the corporate runaround. Tell me what’s really going on. I want a solid plan on the table. This is an emergency. Act like it.”
Nate leaned forward, watching us with the kind of wariness one would imagine he’d only employ while witnessing two wolves circling each other over territory. “Calm down, Zach. This has more to do with Louis trying to get something from our family than it does with Adeline or the kids.”
“Then give him something,” I said firmly. “Write him a check. Buy him a yacht. Send him to another continent. I don’t care. Just fucking do something already.”
Alex’s jaw tightened. “It’s not that simple.”
“Why not?”
“Because it would validate his argument that we influenced their divorce settlement to push the marriage through.”
A bark of dry laughter escaped me. “So you’re all treating Adeline’s life like a chess move. That’s excellent fucking news.”
Alex’s gaze sharpened. “Watch it.”
“No, you watch it. She’s terrified right now and I won’t let this devolve into yet another situation when everyone else is making moves that impact her life without her having any say in it.”
Alex reached up to massage his temples. “Marrying her immediately protects her from most of Louis’s bullshit. Legally, at least. You’ll have to take care of it from an emotional standpoint.”
“No,” I snarled. “I’m not dragging her to a courthouse or forcing the girls to be okay with this overnight just because it’s convenient. If we’re doing this, I’m doing it right. Like I should’ve from the very fucking beginning.”
“Legal protection is more important than your need to see her in a white dress,” Alex snapped. “Shit, Zach. I’m not saying it’s right, but that’s the situation we find ourselves in right now.”
“Okay, but what happens after?” I demanded. “Do you think Louis is just going to disappear because there’s a marriage certificate? He’ll go after the girls next. We talked about this and you agreed.”
Nate grimaced, clearly agreeing too, but Alex rubbed his jaw, letting out a deep sigh before he looked at me again. “We can handle Louis’s claims once there’s a legal marriage between you two.”
“Can you guarantee that?”
Jesse rocked in his chair, watching the showdown with interest, shamelessly entertained. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he found a way to make popcorn materialize in his hands.
“You two are terrifyingly similar,” he commented lightly. “Honestly, it’s fascinating.”
“Not now,” Nate muttered. “Shit, man. Timing.”
Alex ignored them, his eyes still fixed on me. “What exactly do you suggest we do then?”
“I’m not forcing her into a courthouse wedding just because a bunch of lawyers are nervous, but I’m also not putting those girls in front of a judge or opening them up to threats from Louis.”
Jesse let out a low whistle. “Ooh, someone’s in love love.”
“Shut up.”
He grinned wider, but I’d had enough of all of them, so I started toward the doors. “That’s it. I’m handling this my way.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Alex asked, but I didn’t answer him.
Instead, I just walked out. If I stopped moving right now, I was probably going to say something that would either end my career or my brother. Potentially even both.
The elevator ride down to the parking garage felt six years long, and by the time the doors opened, my blood pressure had reached levels that usually belonged to middle-aged men arguing on golf courses.
I stalked to the car I’d borrowed this morning, hit the unlock button, and yanked open the driver’s side door hard enough that the tiny vehicle rocked slightly on its suspension. Before I could climb in though, footsteps echoed through the garage behind me.
I twisted to see Jesse racing after me. “Hey, you can’t just storm out like you’re in an HBO succession war—”
Whatever argument he’d been about to make died instantly when he stopped a few feet away, obviously noticing the car I’d been about to climb into. “What the fuck is that?”
He choked out the words, eyeing Amber’s little slug-bug sitting between Alex’s Bentley and Nate’s Range Rover. I sighed. “It’s a car.”
“No.” He scoffed down laughter. “That’s a toy or something. All I know for an absolute fact is that it is not a car.”
“I left the Cullinan in Wisconsin for Adeline and the girls,” I muttered, shoving my briefcase into the passenger seat. “They needed a reliable car while I was gone, not this horrible thing.”
Jesse stared at me, his lips parted and his brow puckering. “You traded a half-million-dollar SUV for this?”
“It gets good gas mileage,” I said, not really knowing why I was defending it. “Plus, it got me here and that kept them safe.”
Jesse started laughing so hard, he braced a hand against the hood of Nate’s Rover. “Sorry. I was just imagining you driving that thing all the way here from Wisconsin. It’s hilarious.”
“I’m going to run you over with it if you keep that up,” I muttered, but that only made him laugh harder.
“Well, you can try, but I think its top speed is forty miles an hour. Max. By the time you get it started and turned around, I’ll be all the way back in my office.”
I paused for a beat, but then I shrugged. I couldn’t argue with that. “Yeah, that’s fair.”
As I relented, it was like I gave permission for the weight of everything that’d happened today to crash into me all at once.
Waking up to Alex’s phone call. Being discovered in bed with Adeline.
Learning that her kids had grown up with our story.
Driving all the way here in the fucking bug.
Even that argument upstairs with Alex, who I’d honestly thought would advocate for me.
Jesse’s laughter faded. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
I hadn’t meant to be honest with him, but Jesse had been trying so hard lately to forge a connection with all of us again, and honestly, I was beyond trying to play it off like nothing was bothering me. I’d been doing it for years and the truth was that I wasn’t okay.
“I’m tired of this, Jess,” I admitted finally. “I’m so fucking over it. For years, everybody’s been asking me why I don’t date seriously, why I never wanted to get married, and why I practically live at the office. Like there was something wrong with me because I didn’t move on.”
He squinted at me. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“There is. I watched the love of my life get ripped away from me,” I said roughly. “Then I found out that she was miserable the entire damn time. She suffered immensely because of the same fucking marriage system our family swears by.”
“Adeline got shoved into a marriage that was wrong for her,” he said after a minute. “I won’t argue with you about that. I just want to know why you’re bringing it up now.”
Because the guilt lived in my chest for so long that it feels permanent now, like scar tissue wrapped around my ribs. I shoved both hands through my hair and shook my head.
“I’m not doing that to her again,” I said firmly. “I’m not treating this like another setup or just another contract. She deserves better than that and I’m going to give it to her.”
I waited for him to argue, to tell me I was being irrational, emotional, or reckless.
I expected him to remind me that what needs to be done isn’t always the same as what we want.
Already bracing myself for impact, I was wound so tight that I nearly shattered when he spoke again, taking me completely by surprise.
“Yeah, you’re right.” He slid his hands casually into his pockets and cocked his head at me. “Does that mean you have a ring already?”
I blinked hard. “What?”
“Oh my God,” he said, grinning like a maniac. “You really don’t know how obvious you are, do you?”
I just stared back at him, standing there like he had all the answers in the world. “No, I don’t. I’m not obvious. What are you even talking about?”
“A ring,” he repeated slowly, enunciating every word like he thought that might help me understand better.
“For the proposal you’re clearly planning in your head.
You’ve said multiple times today that you want to do it right, which means you want to go down on one knee and offer her a ring.
So I’ll ask again, do you have one yet?”