Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
MY FAMILY
Scarlet – six months later
Across the office, Toby leapt to his feet. He punched the air then danced on the spot, his tone far calmer than his actions as he ended his phone call with a polite farewell.
I surged from my chair, my stilettos snagging on the tough carpet. “Was that about the McKenzie building?”
“Yes! They’ve agreed!”
Toby flew down the aisle and high-fived me, then we both hopped up and down, howling at our luck.
Between us, we’d pulled off one hell of a deal. It had taken six months of planning and a lot of hard negotiating, but the building lease had been signed.
We were expanding.
After taking on the management of Storm Force, I’d worked with the staff to design our five-year plan.
The label had initially been established by my dad with a home audience in mind, but we’d found one of the biggest sellers was to foreign markets.
Local specialisms, such as Callum’s whisky, sold like hot cakes in trial runs in the US, Canada, and a number of other countries.
So we’d taken the decision to focus business development around these.
And relocate half of HQ to the Highlands.
Part of my team, Toby included, since he’d jumped ship to come work for me, was moving to Inverness.
Through Toby’s clever negotiating, he’d secured us a gorgeous office in a converted mansion in the countryside outside of Inverness.
The place was impressive and would act as a selling point for the investors we wanted to attract.
The brand had a true identity, and the board had agreed to fund the expansion, on the proviso we could deliver the whole package.
This was on. It was happening!
I could finally reveal my plan to Ally. If it hadn’t worked out, his disappointment would have killed me.
Though I lived in Scotland now, Edinburgh was still a long way from home. I loved my job, but the hours could be long, and early morning meetings meant frequent overnight stays.
Cait was growing. She noticed when I was away.
I hated not coming home to tuck my daughter in at night.
“I can’t wait to tell Ally. He’s going to flip.” I eyed the clock on the wall. I’d taken the next two days off, leading up to the weekend, so a four-day holiday stretched ahead of me. And hopefully one very happy boyfriend. Except there was work still to be finished.
“Do you want to go now? What have you got left on your plate? Can I do it?” Toby asked.
“Actually, there’s something else I need to talk to you about first. Follow me.” I left the open-plan office and slipped into one of the private meeting rooms.
Toby followed, his expression sober. “Did I mess up somehow? If so, please don’t fire me. I’m too cute for unemployment.”
I forced back my grin and perched on the table, crossing my feet at my ankles. This was the problem with having my friend as my PA. Trying to keep boundaries between fun and work.
That had to change.
“With the changes we’ve got underway, I’m going to be stretched pretty thin. I can’t easily split myself between both offices and concentrate on the two lines. Also, I want to drop a day a week so I’m home with my family more.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“There’s a new managerial position opening. It’s part time to start with, but if you want it—”
“Yes!” he yelped. “Are you kidding?”
“It’s yours!”
We hugged it out with much mutual rejoicing, this day turning into a winner all round.
Toby wiped his eyes then snorted in laughter. “That explains the call I had this morning. Devon said he’d heard about a potential vacancy from his grandfather. He wanted to apply. I said I knew nothing about it and would pass the message to you. Consider the message passed.”
“Ew.” I shuddered. “He’s got some nerve.”
“Shellie and Tara would strike if he was allowed back in the building.”
“We all would,” I agreed. “I guess that means he’s not happy in Hong Kong.”
Toby side-eyed me. “He’s not. Can I tell you a secret? I heard it from one of the other PAs that he’s being released from his contract.”
I gaped. “No! Why?”
After I’d refused the job with Jeremiah Jones, Devon had got wind of it and petitioned the board hard to take up the opportunity. He’d used every trick in the book, and, eventually, won, though with a six-month probation to prove himself and none of the nice add-ons Dad would’ve given to me.
I’d called him the moment I heard about his plan, and I’d warned him about what kind of man Jones was. I’d concealed any information about Ally, but Devon’s words, and I quote, were: ‘You’re a girl. Don’t expect to understand how big business works.’
It’s hard to argue with stupid.
Toby stifled his grin. “He punched Jeremiah Jones. I don’t know anything more than that, but he hit him! Can you believe it! Oh, to be a fly on the wall.”
“God!” I snapped my hands to my mouth. “I’m trying so hard not to giggle over that.”
“You did warn him. And Jones got the punch to the face he deserved.”
I carried that happy image back into the office, busy with my staff working hard on our fun projects.
We stopped at my desk, and Toby gestured at the clock. “Okay, give me a task list and get going. If you’re quick, you’ll miss the traffic.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
Ally and Cait were waiting for me, and I needed to get back to my family.
Ally
The doorbell rang just as I wrapped up the latest phone call with my solicitor. This time, it was good news: The private prosecution I’d taken out against the driver who had almost killed me had moved on. The man had made an offer.
A large one.
I’d wait to discuss it with Scar, but the relief that I wouldn’t need to go to court again had me hopping with glee.
“Hey!” I swung open the door.
Georgia waited the other side. “Am I early?”
“Nope. Come on in.”
She followed me to the lounge where Cait gurgled in her playpen. At the sight of her aunt—who we called Georgia—she clambered to her feet, almost making a stand.
“That’s my lass!” I called, scooping her up for a hug.
“She’ll be walking soon. Then you’ll be in trouble.” Georgia took a seat. “Here, swap. You take this, and I’ll get a baby cuddle.”
She traded off Cait with a book.
“What’s this?” I opened it to find a picture of a little girl looking back at me.
“That’s Kaylee as a child. She’s about four there, I think.”
Oh.
I flipped the pages, finding more pictures of Cait’s birth mother as well as family shots. All were labelled with what looked like names, ages, and dates. My sigh came heavy. “Thank ye.”
“It was important to do it. Ever since Scarlet suggested it, I’ve had it in my mind every day, and I’ve been working out the important facts for Cait to know as she grows up.
” She jiggled my daughter on her lap. “You and her mum can show it to her when she has questions, then I’ll be around to answer anything new. ”
I took a breath, emotion rising. But Georgia wasn’t done. She reached into her bag and produced an envelope.
“These documents are more for you. Cait shouldn’t see them until she’s older. It’s Kaylee’s medical reports, her pregnancy progress from her midwife, plus I met the doctor who delivered Cait and had a frank conversation with her. I wrote down what she told me, and that’s in there, too.”
“Christ,” I muttered. I’d wanted all of this, but it would be hard to read. For Cait’s sake, I needed to know the facts so when she asked, I’d be ready.
“Kaylee was told never to get pregnant because of her heart condition. Non-hereditary, by the way.”
“I thought her father died of heart problems?”
“A broken heart, maybe. He took his own life after his wife died from cancer. Kaylee was seventeen and she never got over it. She always talked about having her own big family.” Georgia sniffed once.
“Even if she had issues with keeping in touch with the remaining family she had left. She cut us all off, you know, even Morag who only found out she was dying at the last possible moment when Kaylee must have realised it was the end and finally asked for her next of kin. Anyway, despite the risks, she went ahead with a pregnancy. And it cost her her life. Here’s the important thing: At the very end, she knew her baby was safely delivered,” Georgia forced out, her voice thick with tears.
“And that she was a girl. They were able to tell her that and they were certain that she understood, even though she was on life support and too sick to speak. Cait might find that important.”
I dipped my head, staring at the envelope. “I took her to visit Kaylee’s grave already. I’ll do it again when she’s old enough to understand. She’ll know she can talk to us about it whenever she wants. I can’t thank ye enough for what you’ve done.”
“It was my pleasure. I didn’t want Cait, or you, to have unanswered questions, and it helped me work through my feelings, too.”
Life, for us, had moved on. In almost every respect, it was perfect. Scarlet and I now considered her to be Cait’s ma. Other people assumed it when we took her out and, one day, about a month ago, Scarlet asked if I thought it would be okay for her to use the title.
Happiest day of my life.
Since then, all I’d done was plot this evening’s plan.
Scar would be driving home from Edinburgh tonight, and I had a lot to prepare.
The doorbell rang again.
Georgia stood. “I’ll go now. Thanks for seeing me this afternoon. Is Friday next week good to bring the children?”
“Perfect. She’ll love to see them.”
We made our way to the door, and Georgia handed my daughter back and left, making way for Gordain, a baby carrier strapped to his front.
In the spring, Ella had given birth to a wee dark-haired lass they’d named Viola.
A pretty tribute to her musical heritage.
She squawked at Cait who babbled back, her sounds almost words now.
“Ready?” Gordain asked.
He was taking Cait for a sleepover with Viola, giving Scarlet and me some much-needed time alone.
“Aye. I’ll grab her car seat and her bag. Ted is in there with her blanket.” Cait wouldn’t sleep without the bear Scarlet had given her.