Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Enzo
Whenever I heard stories about people who said their life changed overnight for whatever reason, I never really believed things like that happened. Stuff didn’t change overnight.
But as November turned into December, my job at the Wythe Foundation took on more of a focus on assisting Shawn with the company’s philanthropic endeavors, and my body started to soften and fill out, I was definitely starting to believe in lightning bolt change and miracles.
I’d been to a super fancy obstetrician a couple times now, who had confirmed that I was actually pregnant.
It was all real. At least the baby and I were healthy.
Shawn had bought me a whole new wardrobe of business and casual clothing, too.
I felt awkward as hell about that, but I had to admit it was necessary for my new life.
And we had our own washer and dryer in the condo, so I didn’t have to risk pervy alphas watching me wash and fold my underwear anymore.
My life had definitely taken a turn for the better, but it still seemed surreal.
“None of this seems like it should be happening,” I told Shawn as the two of us snuggled in bed early on the morning of December twenty-third, delaying getting up to dive into the final preparations for tomorrow’s big event.
“Why shouldn’t any of it be happening?” Shawn asked, rolling until he had me on my back, pinned under him.
“And what are you referring to, the event that you’ve put all this hard work into, the two of us building a life together, or this baby I swear I can feel inside you?
” He balanced on one arm and spread his large hand over my belly.
“We made that baby in this bed, you know.”
My alpha’s touch was enough to turn me into a hot, giddy puddle of sexy goo.
He was right about making the baby in the bed we were in now.
Since the Christmas Eve supper was to take place in Norwalk, we’d temporarily moved from Shawn’s fancy penthouse apartment to, well, a fancy penthouse hotel suite.
My whole life seemed to be up in the sky these days.
“All of it,” I said, sliding my hands over his hips to grab delicious handfuls of his tight glutes. “I keep waking up thinking I’m late for my shift at Variety Warehouse.”
Shawn chuckled and dipped down to kiss me.
Neither of us was particularly fresh, but his kisses always made me feel good.
“I can assure you, all of this is very real,” he said.
He arched one eyebrow as he went on with, “And my parents’ disappointment will be very real, too, if we don’t make this the best Christmas Eve supper the Wythe Foundation has ever put on. ”
I grunted. If ever there was a mood killer, that was it.
“Alright,” I said, wriggling out from under him and climbing out of bed. “Your papa is going to be at the Pullman Center today for the final set-up, isn’t he?”
Shawn sighed, like he’d been denied the activity he really wanted to participate in.
“He is,” he said glumly. “And Dad is coming in later today. I don’t know if Walt will actually show his face, but Dad said if he continues to behave like he doesn’t want anything to do with the family or the company, he’ll make that a reality. ”
I frowned as I walked into the bathroom to wash for the day. That was the biggest thing I’d learned in the last few weeks of being an adjacent part of the Wythe family. They looked slick and perfect on the outside, but they were a roiling ball of secrets, infighting, and manipulation on the inside.
The thing was, I couldn’t figure out why.
They had everything, money, respect, a great company that did a lot of good things for people.
I’d been working with Walt on the Christmas Eve supper for weeks now, and although he had some serious boundaries that kept us from becoming friends, he was actually a nice guy.
He was also brilliantly intelligent. I’d interacted with the omega Mr. Wythe, Anthony, a few times, and he was actually pretty nice, too.
It would have been easy to say that Mr. Wythe was the problem element in the family, but that didn’t really hold up either.
Yes, he was an overbearing alpha who ruled his family with an iron fist instead of showing them affection, but the more I interacted with people from Wythe Industries and those it had helped over the years, the more people told me that Mr. Tristan Wythe was a genuinely good human being, just a little grumpy.
Basically, the Wythe family didn’t make sense to me.
“My turn,” Shawn said, entering the bathroom, then stepping up close behind me as I stood at the mirror, brushing my hair. The way he loomed behind me, the heat radiating from his body, and the fire in his eyes as he met mine in the mirror sent shivers all through me.
“I know what you’re thinking,” I told him, grinning at his reflection. “And for the record, any time you want to play nasty Santa and show me what happens to omegas on the naughty list, I’m all for it.”
Shawn blew out a breath on a laugh and leaned down to kiss my shoulder. “Maybe some other time,” he said before peeling away to get into the shower. “Some other time when you least expect it,” he added in a menacing voice.
My heart was light and my body glittered with the expectation of future sexy times.
This was the longest stretch of time I’d gone without logging onto the Dark Fantasies Club app that I could remember.
But I didn’t need the app or the club anymore.
I’d found the alpha I wanted to be with, and we were going to be so happy together.
I got dressed in the bedroom, then moved into the main room of the suite to get some coffee brewing.
The suite had a full kitchen, but since Shawn and I had arrived three days ago, we’d only eaten out or ordered room service.
I noticed one of the slips that the hotel staff slid under the door during the night asking for our orders for later lying on the floor by the door, so as the coffee maker did its job, I walked over to pick it up.
My heart stopped cold as I turned the note over and saw unfamiliar handwriting instead of the usual order form.
“You can’t back out of our deal just like that. My client wants you, and he gets what he wants.”
I felt sick. Panic rushed through me. I tore up the note and rushed to throw it away in the nearest trashcan before I could make myself stop and assess the reality of the situation.
But what was the reality of the situation?
I’d gotten involved with some super shady people who evidently thought I’d made a real promise to them instead of just asking questions about what might be possible.
Rick and whoever this client of his was didn’t actually have any claim on me.
I didn’t think that would matter to them, though.
On the other hand, I now firmly belonged to a wealthy and powerful alpha.
We hadn’t bonded yet, but every day I could feel that ineffable something between us that was apparently the beginnings of a bond.
I had gone to work for his family company and was pregnant with his baby.
One way or another, I was reasonably certain that the Wythe family was more powerful than Rick Deluca.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t a little bit scared, though. I was mostly scared of what would happen when Shawn found out I’d been such an idiot. I didn’t want him to get upset over what I’d almost done.
“The coffee smells good,” Shawn said as he strode into the main room dressed in a suit and looking gorgeous and powerful. He saw me leaning both hands against the sink and noticed the queasy look on my face and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied, pushing back and forcing a smile. “I just had a wave of morning sickness or something.”
Shawn frowned as he came over to take me in his arms. “You haven’t had morning sickness so far.”
“I know,” I said, closing my arms and sagging into him, where I felt safe and sheltered. “I’ve been lucky, I guess.”
As long as I stayed with Shawn, I knew my luck would continue. He would protect me, even against people like Rick, my dad, and that entire class of nasty, slippery conmen.
“Mmm. I could stay here like this all day,” Shawn sighed, then kissed my forehead before stepping back. “But we’re in the home stretch of this event, and we need to get going to the Pullman Center.”
I didn’t want to leave my alpha’s embrace, but he was right, we needed to go.
There was a lot to be done before tomorrow night.
Shawn, Walt, and I had worked tirelessly for weeks to get businesses and job training companies to sign on and donate their services for the supper, but since the whole thing had been so last-minute, we still had to work with the Pullman Center to find places for them all.
And someone had to do all the paperwork that would allow them to write off the event on their corporate taxes. That person was me.
Shawn and I were going over the to-do list in the car on the way to the venue when my phone rang. I didn’t think anything of it until I noticed Walt’s number on my screen.
“That’s weird,” I said. Walt never called any of us these days, we called him when we needed him or he sent text messages.
“What’s weird?” Shawn asked.
I answered, “Hey, Walt,” while looking at Shawn in answer to his question.
“Hi, Enzo,” Walt said, sounding incredibly nervous.
“Everything alright? Is the baby okay?” I’d developed a vested interest in Walt’s baby, since it would be a cousin to mine, but I still hadn’t told Walt I was pregnant, too. Shawn had vetoed me when I said we had to tell him. Yep, welcome to the Wythe family.
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Walt said in a rush. “But I’m going to be at the Pullman Center today.” I blinked, thinking he had an odd way of saying that. Then he added. “In person.”
“Ohhhh,” I said slowly as I realized what that meant. “Today’s the day, then?”