Chapter 38 Elijah #2
“I had no idea. No idea about Nick, no idea that you could have gotten pregnant. If I’d known, I would have been here, I swear.
I know that means very little now, of course.
So when you told me, after the initial shock passed, I suddenly realized something.
I love you, and that puts you in danger.
In fact, the very nature of our relationship put us both in danger, not just because we’ve been loosely dating, but I knew how it would look legally if anyone were to find out about the merger without my revealing that an employee is the mother of my child. ”
My racing heart gradually calms as more and more words flow.
“I needed to make sure you were protected. So I went to the office and I called my lawyer and my CFO, Buster, and I told him everything and he immediately knew what to do. Dating an employee was breaking the rules and would continue to break the rules, not just within Angelic Jewels but also within Amber Limited. All I could think of was someone finding out and using it to not only force you out of a job but also open you up to being sued for manipulation, or worse. I…” My breath catches so I pause briefly.
Calliope’s face is slowly melting from angry to concerned.
“So I had an idea. We pored over every detail of info we had and it turns out Buster had sent out a few fake samples to see who in the company would bite. He felt that whoever bit would be the one greedy enough to try and sell these for profit, and he was right. The stock made it in a shipment but didn’t make it to the internal stock numbers and from there, the code used to access that shipment’s tracking was also the code used to access all of the other shipments that were written off and stolen. ”
Calliope lifts a hand to her chest. “Who?”
“Your boss. Jimmy.”
Her eyes widen. “What?”
“Mmhmm. CCTV confirmed a few cases of his being active on the account whenever that code was used. Once I confronted him about it yesterday, he basically confessed in not so many words and then flew into a fit of rage and attacked me, one of the cops, and tried to throw my desk chair through the window.”
“Oh my God! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I assure her quickly. “Promise.”
“I… all this time, it was him? All the shit he gave me about stock numbers and profit while he was the one skimming off the top? That bastard!”
“I’m sorry. I hadn’t planned on confronting him so soon because I wanted to secure you first.”
She shakes her head and her hand moves in circles around her chest. “Secure me?”
“We can’t work together. No lawyer would sign off on it, and I knew I wasn’t letting you lose your job. So… if Victoria had let me finish, I would have told you all my plans.”
“Your plan,” she repeats softly.
“Yes. Angelic Jewels is closing down, that’s true.
Everything will be initially absorbed by Amber Limited, and then we’ll create an as-yet-unnamed sister company.
I want to hire you as the head of marketing for that company with a fully detailed, clear contract stating the nature of our relationship and signed so that you will be forever protected in employment at that company, regardless of what happens between us.
It was… it was the only way I could think of to ensure that you got the recognition you deserve for dragging your department through the mud with that bastard.
If you accept, you’ll be getting a pay increase and benefits, including medical, and everyone under Angelic Jewels will be let go and then rehired if they so choose.
They will be rehired under the sister company and we are closing the stores, but only because Buster, my CFO, has found great locations to move them to. ”
I have to pause, slightly breathless from the rush of words. Calliope watches with slightly narrowed eyes as if she’s searching for a lie in my words.
“All of that, I had to get in place before I spoke to you because I knew if I said anything before it was all legalized, then I would put both of us at risk for conspiracy and God knows what else. I had to make sure you knew nothing. It was the only way, and I’m sorry.
And if you hate me, I understand. If you can’t trust me, I understand.
If you want to tell me to fuck off, not sign, and make me leave, then I understand that too.
Regardless of what happens between us, you will be hearing from my lawyer in the next day or two because I’ve set up a fund for Nick.
It’s not extravagant. I don’t want you to think I’m suddenly trying to compete or anything because I’m still…
I’m still reeling from the fact that he’s my kid and I can’t imagine how hard it’s been to raise him alone.
The fund is for the years I’ve missed in his life, including birthdays and Christmases, and I’ll keep paying into it until he’s twenty-one. I…”
My heart leaps up into my throat and forces a quaver into my words.
“I would love the opportunity to get to know him. To spend time with him and get to know my boy. I don’t want to disrupt his life, but if there’s a chance, Calliope…
then I want it. And if not, then I will always be available if he ever wants to look for me.
I want to be in his life. I want to be in your life, but only on your terms.”
My shoulders slump and I close my eyes for a brief moment.
It was a lot to get through. I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to remember everything I had to say, given how hectic these past few days have been.
I pray Calliope can hear how honest I’m being, but deep down, I’m scared.
It might not be enough. My disappearance might have been the last straw.
“Wow,” Calliope murmurs after a second, and I open my eyes. “As… explanations go, that was intense.”
I smile weakly. “Sorry.”
She shakes her head and blinks, then her eyes suddenly sparkle. “I thought—” Emotion chokes her. “I thought you were so angry with me for keeping Nick a secret that you were going to fire me. That yesterday was all a giant show to humiliate me.”
My brows lift instantly. “Do you think I would do that to you?”
“No! But… but I didn’t know. I dropped a bombshell on you and I had no idea how you would react, and then you just left.
I was so scared and my mind was running and running.
I was scared of that, I was scared you’d be so angry that you would sue for custody, I was just…
” She lifts a trembling hand to her mouth. “You must think I’m awful.”
“No,” I say as I move around the coffee table toward her. “Not at all. You’ve been protecting Nick. You’ve always been protecting Nick. I can’t ever fault you for that.”
“But I thought all those horrible things about you. My mind just kept running and running.”
Once I’m close enough, I gently reach for her hand against her chest and take it. “Given everything that’s happened, I can’t fault you for that being your default. But I’m right here, Calliope. I’m not going anywhere unless you ask me to, and even then, I’ll only be a phone call away.”
“No wife this time?” she jokes weakly, sniffling.
“No wife this time. But there is this woman I like so I can’t promise that no wife will stay permanent.”
“Oh, really?” Her eyes flood with fat tears that cling to the bottom of her lashes, and my chest throbs with the urge to stroke them away.
“Really, really.”
“I can’t… I can’t believe you whipped up a company out of thin air just so we could be together.”
“What can I say? I’m a dedicated man.”
“And you mean it?” She sniffles and looks up at me with shimmering eyes. “I’m not losing my job?”
“I mean it. I meant it yesterday when I said I was promoting you. It was the only info I could give.”
“I don’t know what to say,” she replies, her voice dropping to a whisper. “It’s insane to think about.”
“Say yes,” I encourage, sliding my fingers between hers. “I’m right here.”
“You said you love me.” Her brows knit together as if she’s trying to fight her tears.
“I… I do. I’ve never felt like this before about anyone, and it took me a second to realize what it was I was feeling but I…
I do. I truly do. You make me laugh. You make me feel seen.
You make me… you make me want to create brand-new companies just so we can be together. ” I laugh softly. “It’s my truth.”
“Oh my God.” Calliope closes her eyes and the tears pour down her cheeks, so I cradle her face and wipe them away with my thumbs.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to make you cry.”
“S’good tears,” she whispers, opening her eyes again. “I can’t believe you’ve done all this for me.”
“All you need to do is sign if you want the job. Whatever you want to do. I just want to be with you.”
Calliope suddenly throws her arms around my shoulders and pulls me in, crashing her damp, tear-kissed lips into mine. Keeping one hand cradling her face, my other drops to her waist and I draw her in.
“I do,” she whispers against my lips. “I love my job. I want it. And I’ll sign because I love you too. I do. I think I did from the moment I saw you again.”