Chapter Twenty-Five
Marcus
G igi and I walk into Jax and Audrey’s penthouse. My nerves are out of control with telling them our plan, especially with the reaction I got from Linc when I told him. The evening starts out in its normal fashion, Millie settling in my lap, everyone talking a mile a minute, food being delivered. Once all the food is unpacked, we move to the dining table, Millie between Linc and I in a high chair, Gigi in between Audrey and me. Jax walks into the room after laying Adam down for the night, sliding into a chair beside Audrey and kissing her cheek.
“How was everyone’s week?” Audrey asks as she passes the salad bowl to Melonie.
Linc doesn’t look at me as he scoops potatoes onto his plate. “Marcus, anything interesting you want to talk about with the group?”
I roll my eyes. “Smooth, Linc.”
Jax grabs three rolls, then looks at me. “What’s going on?”
I spin my wine glass. “I need to tell you all something, and I need you to be supportive. This hasn’t been decided haphazardly.”
Melonie looks concerned. “We’re always here for you, Marcus.”
Gigi clears her throat, glancing around the group. I can feel her leg shaking under the table. “I’m going to marry Marcus so he can inherit the business.”
The room goes silent as they freeze. The only sound is Linc chewing on a mouthful of potatoes.
Audrey shakes her head. “I don’t really know what to say here. Surely I wasn’t expecting this to be a topic covered at dinner this evening.” Her eyes shoot to Gigi. “Wait, what about Lewis?”
“We’re over. I walked in on him cheating on me.”
“Gigi, what the fuck? When did this happen?” Melonie reaches for Gigi’s hand.
“Like a week ago?” She answers like she had to think about it. Damn, has it only been a week? It feels longer.
Audrey gets up and puts her arms around Gigi. “We didn’t get a floats notification for this?”
“I opted for whiskey this time.”
Melonie puts two and two together. “So, this is why you were drunk the other evening?”
Gigi nods. “Partially.”
Jax looks at me. “Is he still alive?”
I look him in the eyes. “Unfortunately, yes.”
He shakes his head. “Gigi, I’m so sorry.”
She tips her nose up. “He’s the one you should feel sorry for. He lost me.”
He smirks. “True. So how did this go from cheating asshole to you two getting married?”
Gigi turns to look at me. “Marcus deserves to run that company, and I have time on my hands now.” She looks back at our friends. “His father gave him such a short timeline. So I figured, let’s meet his idiotic demands so Marcus can move on.”
Audrey shakes her head. “This is straight out of a romance novel.”
Gigi perks up. “I know, right?”
Linc finally speaks. “Have you two really thought this through?”
I nod. “We sat down and planned out the entire timeline. We move through the steps we laid out. Hopefully, my father believes everything along the way and once the business is handed over to me, we start the process of a believable break up.”
Linc leans forward. “Gigi, you’re willing to give up the time needed to pull off this plan?”
“Without a doubt.”
Melonie leans back in her chair. “There’s no talking you two out of this, is there?”
I look at Gigi as she responds, “Not really.”
Jax sets his fork down. “So, how do we help?”
My shoulders relax as Gigi runs through our plan. Linc leans over Millie’s highchair tray so only I can hear him. “What do you have planned for the proposal?”
I shake my head. “Not telling you, I want it to be a believable surprise.”
He studies me for a moment. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. “Better be good.”
I lift my glass of wine. “It will be.”