41. CHRIS
41
CHRIS
M y office was my favorite part of the Blackwood Inc. building. Clean lines, rich wood paneling, and the kind of view that made every headache worth it. Why would I want to work somewhere that didn’t tickle me pink to be in every day?
Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the skyline, and the ocean stretched to the horizon, and the city of Newport buzzed below, oblivious to the shitstorm that had been Monaco.
The sunlight filtered through the glass, catching the edge of the sleek leather couches where Ben and Alex sat, whiskys in hand.
We didn’t do business without something tasteful to wet our lips, and the whisky of choice today was Macallan 25, a bottle that cost more than some people’s rent. Smooth, rich, and exactly what we needed to fuel a meeting like this.
Who said we couldn’t mix business with pleasure? As far as I was concerned it was the only way to run a business—make it fun, make it delicious, make it worth every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears that went into it.
Alex sprawled out like he owned the place, his tie already loosened despite the fact it was barely noon. The CEO of the company had become a lot more relaxed the past couple of years with Charlotte in his life.
Women did that to us. I was starting to get it now. Alex had always been a pain in the ass, uptight as fuck. But since Charlotte stepped in, he’d become the man he’d always meant to be.
And that was how I felt about Bella, too.
Ben, on the other hand, perched on the edge of his seat, scrolling through something on his phone, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. I leaned against my desk, arms crossed, trying to project the relaxed confidence I didn’t feel.
“Alright, let’s get into it,” I said, breaking the silence. “We all know Monaco was a fucking disaster. Let’s talk damage control.”
Ben looked up, his mouth twisting in that way it always did when he was trying to soften bad news. “Yeah, no shit. The rumors are sticking harder than we’d hoped.”
“Of course they are,” Alex chimed in, tipping his whisky toward me. “Eli’s got a big mouth and a bigger grudge. He’s spinning this like it’s the fucking yacht apocalypse.”
“Let’s recap,” I said, walking around my desk to sit down in the leather chair behind it. My stomach churned at the thought of revisiting it. “What exactly are we dealing with?”
Ben sighed, pulling up a document on his tablet. “First, the materials rumor. He’s claiming we’ve been cutting corners, using cheaper materials to save costs.”
“Bullshit,” I muttered, leaning back in my seat and sipping my own whisky. “We’ve never cut corners. We always use the best of the best.” The taste was smooth, but it had an afterburn that felt a lot like the bad taste Eli Moretti left in my mouth.
“Yeah, well, clients don’t know that,” Ben said. “Then there’s the financial instability angle. He’s making it sound like we’re one misstep away from bankruptcy.”
Alex snorted. “Which is ironic, considering his business is basically a house of cards. But whatever.”
“And the cherry on top?” Ben continued. “The leadership drama. Thanks to that little show you put on in Monaco, people are whispering that you’re volatile, unreliable.”
I flinched. I’d handed Eli that one on a silver platter because I’d let my personal life and my work life twist together into one fucked-up braid. “Alright,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady despite feeling like there was a storm inside. “No use crying over spilled milk.”
“Or blood,” Ben chimed in.
I rolled my eyes. “How do we fix it?”
Alex leaned forward, his expression shifting from sarcastic to serious. “We need to hit this from every angle. Reassure the clients, clean up the PR, and make Eli choke on his own damn lies.”
Ben nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it, too. First step? Client reassurance campaign. Private event, our top clients, all the bells and whistles. Show them what we’re really about.”
“A yacht showcase,” Alex added. “Exclusive, elegant, impossible for Eli to undermine. He’s not here, and that helps a lot. We can do damage control from this side of the world much better than if we’re right in his playpen in Monaco.”
“Fine,” I said. “That can work. What else?” I hated the idea that a lot of this shit was my fault. If I’d handled myself better back in Monaco we wouldn’t have so much drama. But not all of it was on me—Eli had been working this for a long time, and even if Bella hadn’t been on the yacht, the shit would still have hit the fan one way or another.
“Transparency,” Ben said. “We’ll do a behind-the-scenes feature on our design and build process. Let people see the quality for themselves.”
“Behind-the-scenes? Like a documentary or something?” I asked.
“Why not?” Ben asked. “It will be good to see how it all works. Especially with our eco-campaign Alex started a while back. It can be a double-whammy, get both in at the same time so our customers are truly convinced.”
I considered it. Cameras in my factories, reporters in my design rooms, people looking over my shoulder as I worked… but seeing how we did it would help. And I loved my job—maybe if the rest of the world could see the passion I had, they would understand that this wasn’t just about making money.
It was a dream.
“We’ll add client testimonials,” Alex threw in. “We’ve got plenty of happy customers. Time to put their stories front and center.”
I nodded, the knot in my chest loosening slightly as my brothers came up with plans rather than pointing fingers and telling me that I fucked up.
Maybe they knew I knew I’d handled it wrong. And they understood that we all made mistakes.
“And Eli?” I asked.
Ben’s eyes gleamed. “We’ve got the papers Bella left you. That’s our smoking gun. Legal action’s one option, but we can also use it strategically. Let’s show the right people what kind of snake he really is.”
Bella had saved the day by doing what she’d done. I’d thought she’d gone behind my back but the truth was that she’d been there with me—and there for me—every step of the way.
It only made me love her that much more.
If loving her more than I already did was even possible.
She’d very quickly become my everything back in the day, and I’d realized when I’d seen her that first time in the bar in Monaco, before the show had ever started, that it had never gone away.
I’d never stopped loving her, no matter how much I’d tried to convince myself otherwise.
“Chris?” Ben’s voice pulled me back. “You with us?”
“Yeah,” I said, clearing my throat.
“Transparency, client reassurance, and testimonials. That’s the trifecta,” Ben said, ticking the ideas off on his fingers. “I like it.”
Alex nodded. “And we can package it all with a little rebranding. Fresh look, fresh message—it’ll shut Eli’s bullshit down before it gets any more traction.”
I frowned, the word rebranding setting my teeth on edge. “You think we need to rebrand? Our name’s already solid.”
“It’s solid now,” Ben said. “But perception is everything. People love a redemption story. Legacy and innovation—show them we’re not just bouncing back. We’re redefining the game.”
I leaned back, swirling the whisky in my glass, letting the idea settle. Rebranding felt like admitting defeat. But Alex and Ben seemed sold on it, and the more I thought about it, the more it started to make uncomfortable sense.
“We should consider if we really need to do that,” I said, thinking about what rebranding would mean.
Alex tilted his head, considering it, too.
“I think it’s a good idea. It’s about evolving. Showing people we’re not just the best—we’re untouchable.”
“It’s a good move,” Ben added. “Legacy with a modern twist. People eat that up. Especially if we’re talking family, and the Blackwood Legacy, with the four of us standing together, is exactly the kind of family we need to show the world.”
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Fine. Let’s do it. All of it. But when it comes to rebranding… I’d rather you be the one who has to talk to Dad about it.”
Ben smirked. “Deal.”
The tension in the room eased as the conversation shifted to lighter topics. Alex leaned back, stretching his legs out before pinning me with his dark eyes. “Alright, spill. Why the hell do you look so… happy?”
“Happy?” I raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got a funny definition of the word. We’re just wrapping up fixing what I fucked up.”
“Come on,” Ben said, grinning. “You’re suspiciously less of an asshole than usual. What gives?”
I snorted. “Thanks for that. I feel so fucking loved right now.”
Alex and Ben laughed, high-fiving each other.
I shrugged, nonchalant. It wasn’t like I had anything to hide anymore. I’d been open with Bella, and my brothers were bound to find out sooner or later, anyway. Besides, I wanted them to know. I wanted to share it with them—they were the people I was the closest to.
“Bella and I… we worked things out.”
Alex’s grin widened and he slapped his thigh. “About damn time.”
“We always liked her,” Ben added with a nod. “She’s good for you. Keeps you grounded.”
“Yeah, we can’t keep you in check. Thank fuck she’s getting on board, maybe she can keep you in line.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I’m not that bad.”
Alex and Ben both stared at me without saying anything.
“Fuck off,” I said with a laugh, and they burst out laughing, too.
“There’s more,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “She’s pregnant.”
The room went silent for a beat.
“Holy shit,” Alex said, the laughter replaced by pure surprise. “The lone wolf suddenly settles down and you’re going to be a dad? Talk about a double whammy.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, well… there’s even more than that.”
“What does that mean?” Ben asked, frowning. He glanced at Alex, who looked just as confused as he shrugged.
I took a deep breath. “It’s twins.”
They stared at me as if they’d frozen in time for a second before Alex let out a low whistle. “Twins. Fuck, Chris. You don’t do anything halfway, do you?”
Ben jumped up, coming around my desk and he clapped me on the shoulder, his expression equal parts shock and pride. “That’s incredible. And terrifying. But mostly incredible. Jesus, twins… I don’t even want to know what that must be like. But it’s fucking fantastic, Chris. Well done.”
I laughed, feeling stupid. “I didn’t exactly do it on purpose.”
“And you’re up for all of this?” Alex asked, looking worried. “The last time something like this came up…”
“I know, I know,” I said. “But it’s different now. I talked to Bella, told her the truth about my past, about everything that held me back…”
Ben whistled through his teeth. My brothers knew exactly what that was like. They’d been right where I’d been—a past that had eaten them alive and stopped them from moving forward.
If anyone ever understood, it was them.
“It’s a lot,” I admitted. “And I won’t say that I’m not terrified about dealing with all of this. But I’m ready. For the first time in my life, I feel ready.”
Ben nodded, sitting down again. “You know we’ve got your back, right? Work, advice, hell, even play groups with Tommy and Carina—”
“Which will probably happen,” I said with a grin.
“—whatever you need, we’re here.”
Alex raised his glass. “To Chris. The most unlikely family man of the century.”
“Hear, hear,” Ben said, raising his glass, too. “To family.”
I rolled my eyes, raised my glass and laughed. “Thanks, jackasses. To family.”
The laughter that followed felt lighter, freer, like a weight had been lifted. For the first time since I’d lost Bella a decade ago, I knew everything was going to be alright. Come what may, I would protect her and hold her until my dying day.