30. Ian
30
IAN
“Okay, yeah, let me know what the board suggests, and I’ll take it into consideration before making any statements,” I said into the phone, keeping my voice low.
“Just make sure you don’t wait too long to respond.” My dad’s voice on the other end was steady but firm. “It’s better to get ahead of this.”
“Yeah, I hear you,” I said, nodding even though he couldn’t see me. “Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll touch base with you later.”
“Take care, Ian.”
“You too,” I said before hanging up.
I slipped the phone into my pocket, exhaling a breath. Turning around, I ran a hand over the back of my neck, the tension there refusing to ease. Then I saw that Maddie had just stepped back into the waiting room, her expression a mixture of uncertainty and exhaustion.
Her lips were pressed together, like she was trying to hold something back, and when our eyes met, I could tell she’d overheard the end of my conversation. “So,” she said, crossing her arms and tilting her head, “I guess you heard that we apparently made the news?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, my jaw tightening. “That’s what Bronwyn was calling me about when we were driving here. I would’ve told you earlier, but with everything going on with your dad…” I sighed. “It didn’t feel right to pile that on you, too.”
She gave me a small, understanding nod. “It’s okay. I get it.” Then her brow furrowed slightly. “What exactly has been reported? The nurse in there—” She hooked her thumb over her shoulder toward the hallway. “—said she’d seen a story about our engagement. That we’d secretly dated for a few months. Is that basically it? Just what we were telling people at the conference?”
I shifted uncomfortably, licking my lips. “That’s…part of the story.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “What else is there?”
I hesitated, not wanting to drop this bombshell on her, but knowing I had no choice. “Well,” I started carefully, “it sounds like someone posted a video of the conversation with Slade last night.”
“What about the conversation?” She sounded wary, and her jaw tightened visibly.
I grimaced. “The video’s audio isn’t great, but apparently, you can hear Slade joking about us being engaged because you’re…” I trailed off, reluctant to say it.
“Because I’m what?” she asked, her tone sharp now, panic rising in her voice.
I exhaled. “Pregnant.”
“What?” Her jaw dropped, her face paling. “People—random people on the internet who I don’t know—are saying I’m pregnant?”
I nodded, trying to gauge her reaction, but she was already pacing, her hands running through her hair. “Oh my gosh. This is…this is insane.”
“It’s obviously not true,” I said quickly, hoping to ground her. “So we can try to squash all the rumors with a statement.”
“Have you talked to your family?” She stopped pacing and looked at me, her eyes searching mine. “Do they think…this?”
“No.” I shook my head. “My dad knows the real story. I called him when you went to see your dad. I wanted to make sure they heard the truth before hearing anything else.”
Her shoulders sagged slightly. “So he knows everything?”
“Yeah. He gets it,” I said, trying to sound reassuring. “But before I even called him, he’d already gotten a few calls from people on the board who’d seen the story.”
“And they’re upset about it?” She winced.
“There have been pretty mixed reactions, actually.” I let out a dry laugh, still wrapping my head around it. “Apparently, there are quite a few board members who are actually relieved to hear I’m settling down.”
Her brows shot up. “What?”
“I know. I’m in shock, too. I mean, they’ve already been relieved that I stopped making headlines with my, uh, escapades. So while they’re not thrilled to see my name popping up again—especially with a pregnancy rumor—I guess my dad’s stories about how marrying my mom helped him focus stuck with them. They seem to think the same could work for me.”
“And me?” She blinked, clearly trying to process that. “What do they think of me?”
“I don’t know all their thoughts,” I admitted, “but they know you’re a hard worker, responsible. They probably think you’re exactly what I need—someone grounded.” Then I added softly, “Which you are.”
She opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again, her expression lost and overwhelmed. “This is just…a lot for me, Ian. I mean, I’ve dealt with gossip before—my last year and a half of high school was a nightmare with all the pregnant teen chatter —but this?” Her voice wavered as she gestured helplessly. “This is all over the internet. How the heck are we supposed to handle something like that?”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, my voice gentle. “This is all my fault. I wish you hadn’t been dragged into my drama. But I promise I’ll do everything I can to figure it out.” I licked my lips, then hesitated as I recalled what she’d said about the nurse. I asked, “Did your dad’s nurse mention the part about you being pregnant?”
“No. Thankfully, she didn’t say anything about that. Just the engagement to a billionaire part.” She shook her head like she still couldn’t believe any of this was happening. “But still. He just had surgery. What if he thinks it’s real? He’s recovering from a heart attack, Ian. The last thing he needs is more stress.”
“Maybe he didn’t fully register it?” I offered weakly, knowing full well it was probably wishful thinking.
She let out a short laugh. “I guess it’s possible. He is pretty hopped up on pain medication. Maybe he thought he was dreaming. If he even caught onto what Amber was saying at all.”
“I’m crossing my fingers for you,” I said. “But if not, I’m more than happy to help explain everything to him. Set the record straight. Let him know the gossip sites are wrong and I didn’t actually impregnate his daughter just three weeks after meeting her.”
Maddie’s eyes widened, her expression a mix of shock and disbelief, and I immediately realized I’d been too blunt. Again.
Man, I really was great at sticking my foot in my mouth.
I cleared my throat, raking a hand through my hair as I tried to backtrack. “What I meant was?—”
“Forget it.” Her lips twitched, and for a moment, I thought she might laugh. Instead, she shook her head, her gaze drifting around the waiting room. “Where’s everyone else? Did they already head out to get food?”
“Yeah,” I said, latching onto the change of subject. “They offered to pick something up for us, but I told them I’d take care of it.”
Her gaze settled back on me, and for the first time in the conversation, a hint of relief softened her expression.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to,” I said simply. “Are you hungry? Anything specific sound good?”
She hesitated for a beat before nodding. “Now that I know Dad’s okay, I could definitely eat.”
“Good. I looked up a few options earlier,” I said. “There’s a pub nearby. They’ve got a chicken salad that looked solid. Or a pastrami burger if you’re in the mood for something heartier.”
Her brows lifted slightly, and the corners of her mouth curved just enough to let me know she appreciated the effort.
“Chicken salad sounds great,” she said. “Ranch on the side?”
“Perfect.”
“And if they have potato munchers, I’d love some of those, too.”
“I’ll look into that, then.” I couldn’t resist the half-smile that slipped on my lips. As I pulled out my phone to order, I glanced at her. “Have you talked to Grant yet? Told him about your dad?”
“Not yet.” She shook her head. “I didn’t want him worrying when we didn’t know anything. But now that Dad’s okay, I think I’ll call Jaxon and see if he can bring Grant to visit. Dad would love that since Grant’s basically his best friend.”
I smiled at that, imagining Maddie’s son bringing some light to an otherwise stressful day. “That sounds like a great idea.”
From how much she adored her son, I figured he’d bring Maddie some joy, too.
She gave me a small smile before pulling out her phone to make the call. As I stepped aside to place the food order, I realized something I hadn’t expected: I liked taking care of Maddie like this. I liked being the one she could lean on.
And I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I knew one thing for certain—I didn’t want it to end.