25
Pray apologize to him for my having disliked him so much before. I hope he overlooks it.—Pride I shouldn’t have left those photos on my phone.”
“No, you can’t be blamed for this. It’s Noah’s fault. The blame lies with the perpetrator, not the victim.”
“If I ever see him again, I will get my revenge. I’m going to make him wish he were never born.” Ah, there’s the old Lydia.
“I pity the man.”
“Nah . . . he doesn’t deserve pity.”
“You’re right. Lydia, I’m just sorry you’re dealing with this. What can I do?” I pull into the Pemberley parking lot.
“I don’t need help. I’m only calling because I saw you on the news and realized I had info that might be useful.”
“Yes?” I park the car.
“Noah bragged that his dad was next in line to take over Pemberley, and he had a plan to make it happen.”
“That is helpful.” I turn off the car and hop out. “Thank you, Lydia.”
I rush into the building. Caroline and Ms. Reynolds wait for me in the lobby, both looking all business.
“I understand you were trying to get home for your sister’s birthday,” Liam’s assistant tells me. How does she know this? Did I tell Caroline? I don’t think so. She must have talked to Liam. The thought flusters me. “Coming back for this meeting will make you late. I took the liberty to buy you a plane ticket for tonight.”
“Thank you! That means a lot.” I want to say more but Caroline interrupts me.
“Here’s your outfit and shoes,” she hands me a black garment bag and a pair of T-strap black heels with red stitching. I’m instantly in love with the shoes. “Carmen will be by soon to help with hair and makeup.”
I can imagine a scenario where I would be annoyed with Caroline suggesting that I need someone else to do my hair and makeup, but I’m so frazzled, I am simply grateful. “Thank you. And Caroline, could you contact this woman for me?” I text her the real name of Ms. Book Boyfriend. “See if you can find out who gave her the photo of Liam and me.”
“I’m on it,” says Caroline. Ms. Reynolds takes me to Liam’s office to change. I’ve never been here before, and the spacious, light-filled room makes me think of Liam. I feel a pang of sadness looking over his tidy desk. I want to study it, but I need to hurry.
Caroline came through with a fabulous wool black pantsuit and a Swiss dot blouse with a high neck tied with a big droopy bow in front. The ensemble is just vintage enough to feel like me. Just as I’m buckling the T-strap heels, there’s a knock on the door and Carmen enters.
“Lettie, I’m going to paint your face.” As always, Caroline’s stepmom looks glamorous. But she wears a lot more makeup than I do. I’m not sure if that look would work on me.
“Oh! Good,” I stammer.
“The look on your face... ” Carmen laughs. “Priceless. Don’t worry. I do my makeup extra fabulous. That’s me. I’m a lot. But I can see that you’re more into a natural look.”
“Perfect.” I let out a little breath of relief.
I sit still as Carmen massages moisturizer into my skin. Her fingers touching my face relieve some pent-up tension.
“I can’t bear to have Joe Whittaker take over Pemberley,” she says as she rubs rouge on my cheeks.
“Is he that bad?”
“Worse! He’s been doing everything he can to steal leadership away from the Darcy family. Joe just can’t stand the idea of Liam being in charge. He’s old school and doesn’t like the changes Liam has made such as actually paying overtime. Profits aren’t as high as Joe would like. He’s been campaigning to replace Liam, and now he finally has his ammo.”
“And I gave it to him. I promise, Carmen, I had no idea my stupid book would cause so much harm.”
“I wish you hadn’t written it. But it’s totally loco that the board is listening to Joe on this. Liam should not lose his job because an overbearing boss in a self-published romance resembles him. The TikTocker made things worse by throwing around accusations of sexual harassment.”
“Where did that come from? It’s not in the book. I swear.”
“I know, sweetie. I read it. It’s a fabulous book. These are the most baseless accusations. That’s why we need you here.”
Inwardly I groan. “I promise I never wanted to hurt Liam or this company.”
“Close your eyes,” she says as she brushes mascara on my lashes. I do as she says.
“I mean, there was a very brief time when I did want to hurt him,” I confess. “But that was a long time ago.”
“I know, dear, remember, I was there at karaoke.”
I want to correct her, set the record straight, tell her that’s my standard karaoke song. I wasn’t singing “Crazy for You” to Liam. But who am I kidding?
***
It’s more than a little nerve-racking to stand in the boardroom before six men and three women and tell the somewhat embarrassing story of how I ended up writing Liam Darcy as the villain in my book. I try to leave out the more humiliating moments. No one needs to know that when he first met me, he called me tolerable. But I still have to tell them about our disastrous date and how, after, I wrote him into my book as a revenge revision. I let them know we’ve been emailing and texting for several months now as friends, maybe more. I told them how I revised the book, yet again, to write him out of it. This last revision baffles the board.
“So, which character is supposed to be Liam Darcy? The man who owns the construction company or the wildlife photographer?” asks a white-haired man in a navy suit.
“Neither,” I answer. “I’m guessing you read the most recent edits in the eBook version where the villain is nothing like Liam.”
“I see. So, the sexual harassment is in the other version?”
“There was no sexual harassment in either version,” I say.
“But I saw this video that said there was,” says another man in a navy suit; I believe his name is Tom.
“She just said that,” Fiona, the woman I met at the gala says, waving her copy of the paperback. “I read the version inspired by Liam. Nice job, by the way.” She winks at me. “There’s no sexual harassment in the book.”
“This feels like a coverup,” says the first man in the navy suit. “Why, if there’s nothing wrong, did she change it?”
“Because this is all much ado about nothing,” says Fiona. She hands the first navy suit the paperback. “Read this, and you’ll see there’s nothing to be upset about.” She glares at Joe.
“That works for you,” says Joe. “No one has time to read it before we vote.”
“I’ve read it,” says an older gentleman in a sweater and a bowtie. “And I’m with Fiona. This meeting is an absolute farce.”
“Whose fault is that?” says Joe. “Liam is the one who dated this young woman. We need someone more stable and mature to run this company.”
“I don’t get it,” the white-haired man asks. “If you like him, why did you make him the villain?”
“I was hurt and angry when he said he didn’t want to see me again in February. But to be clear, I was not his employee, and nothing, not even a kiss, ever happened between us when I worked for him.”
“And you made him a villain?” asks another man. “That makes no sense.”
“For goodness sake,” a woman with silver hair in a pixie cut exclaims. “Stop grilling her. We all do stupid things for love.”
“Are you in love with him?” asks the first navy suit.
I bite my lip. This is something I’d much rather tell Liam in person. But also, I will do everything I can to help him.
“Liam and I have been writing to each other for the past six months. From his emails, I’ve learned a lot. Can I share an email from him?” There are nods around the room. I pull his email up on my phone. I read slowly and deliberately, leaving time for each word to sink in.
I’ve received so many offers to sell the various Pemberley companies. Some have been very tempting. Not just the money, but also the promise of more free time. Running this business requires long hours, and someone is always angry at me. But then, I’m reminded of how good it feels to feed the world. I’m proud to run this family business. The benefit of owning a private company is we don’t have to cut jobs with every bad season; and we can pay a fair price to the family farms who supply us. So, sure, running Pemberley can be a headache, but it’s worth it. For me, this job is the best way to do the most good in the world.
I pause for several beats, letting his words sink in.
“Liam was just writing a letter to a girl. He wasn’t trying to defend himself to a boardroom.” I hold up my phone with his email. “But this! This is the man you’re questioning. He loves this company and always gives his best. I don’t think it’s fair play for you to hold this meeting while he and the rest of the owners are out of the country. I stare at Joe Whittaker, who has the decency to look away, ashamed.
“Furthermore, on my way here, I got a phone call informing me that Joe Whittaker’s son, Noah sent these photos to the influencer who raised the questions about Liam. I’ve since received a text from Ms. Book Boyfriend confirming that she was first tipped off to this story by a user with the handle @NoahWay.”
“Is that so?” Fiona turns to Joe, sitting beside her, and gives him a haughty, condemning look.
“I can’t stop my son.” Joe throws his hands up into the air.
“Yes, but you’re all too eager to benefit from his misdeeds.”
“The influencer said that this same @NoahWay is the one who first told her about the book and the villain’s uncanny resemblance to Liam,” I continue. “I have notes and records of his reaching out for anyone who needs confirmation.”
Astonished murmurs travel through the room. Everyone is as shocked and dismayed. Caroline told me all of this immediately before the meeting. My best guess is that Noah found out my pen name when he was reading over my shoulder at work. He finally read my book and saw a way to get revenge on Liam and his family.
“That’s all good,” says the white-haired man in the navy suit. “But you never answered my question. Do you love him?”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” I answer.
“I find it very relevant.” My heart stops at the sound of Liam’s voice. He stands in the doorway, looking rumpled and haggard like he came straight from the airport from an overseas flight. He’s wearing a blazer over a T-shirt and jeans. He has dark circles under his eyes and his hair is disheveled. In other words, he looks absolutely perfect.
“Do you really need the answer?” I ask.
He nods. “But not now.” His eyes hold mine. I stand on the far side of the room. Between us sits the entire board of Pemberley Almonds and yet, for a moment, the space between us contracts.
“These board members have been asking why I put you in my book,” I tell him. “I didn’t give them the whole answer because it seems like something you should hear. Now that you’re here, I’ll answer.”
“Please do.” He ambles over and takes his seat at the head of the table, all the while keeping his steadfast, earnest gaze on me.
I swallow. “Okay, well... as I said earlier, when Liam and I first met, it was a bit of a rough start. I liked him, but I didn’t want to because we got in a fight. But I liked him so much, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. The only way to get him out of my head was to put him in a book.”
“So, you do love him!” The white-haired man in the navy suit slaps the table.
In response, I shrug, then nod my head.
“We got our answer,” says Fiona, smiling a knowing smile. “Now, let’s leave the young woman alone. I think we have enough info to vote.”
There’s a general murmur of agreement. In the end, it’s unanimous; every single person votes to have Liam become the permanent CEO of Pemberley Almonds, even Joe Whittaker votes for him. He can probably see the writing on the wall and wants to stay on Liam’s good side. If that’s even possible after the stunt he pulled today. When the votes are finished, a crowd of well-wishers throng Liam. I stand back, patiently waiting for my chance to talk to him. Caroline taps me on the shoulder.
“You did it!” she says.
“Thanks to you. Also, I love this outfit.” I wave down my body. “You’re good at your job.”
“So are you. I read your book, and I have to say you totally captured Liam.”
“Thanks, though that’s still a bit of a sore subject. I never meant to hurt him.”
“I can tell. I read it so fast because I was totally shipping Lizzy and Ivan. You have to write a sequel where she ends up with him.”
“That’s . . . not a bad idea.”
Ms. Reynolds walks over to us, her sensible heels tapping on the wood floor. Being Reynolds, she doesn’t emote much. But I can tell she’s more than pleased by the half-smile that reaches her eyes. “Lettie, your ride’s here.”
“Already?” My eyes stray to Liam, surrounded by so many people. I don’t feel I have the right to interrupt. But after what I said to him in front of all the board, you’d think he’d have a moment for me. Perhaps he’s still angry. I turn to Caroline, “Do you need these clothes?”
“Consider them a Christmas gift.”
Reynolds takes quick strides, walking with me out of the building. “All your luggage has been packed in the Uber.” She’s been so nice to me, I assumed she was on my side. But the way she’s ushering me out has me wondering if maybe she disapproves of me. I mean, she has reason. “I have arranged to have your car delivered to your home in Iowa.”
“Thank you!” I give her the keys. During all of this, I hadn’t even thought of Gretta’s car. “Do you have my address?” I ask.
“Yes, Liam gave it to me.” Perhaps she’s acting under his orders, and he wants to get rid of me, which also makes sense. He might be happy I saved his job. But that doesn’t mean he’s forgiven me. I not only risked his position but also the security and comfort of so many employees.
I drag my feet, glancing back every few minutes, expecting Liam to come running out of the shiny doors. But he doesn’t. Reynolds hands me my ticket. I slide into the back seat, and we’re off.
Not till I make it through airport security more than an hour later do I get a text from Liam.
Liam
I still have my job. Thanks to you
Lettie
You almost lost it. Thanks to me
I am so very sorry
Liam
I know. So am I.
Well, there’s that. Maybe he didn’t send me away. Or maybe he did and now regrets it. When I reach my gate, it’s time to board because—ooh la la, Reynolds bought me a first class ticket. I’ve never flown first class. I wonder idly if Liam has ever flown lower than first class. Before I can overthink it, I shoot him a text.
Lettie
Have you ever flown coach?
His rapid response is satisfying.
Liam
Maybe? When I was a kid. I’m not sure
Lettie
This is my first time flying first class. Thanks for the fancy ticket
Liam
Thank Reynolds, not me. If it were up to me, you’d be hanging out with me and Fitz
Lettie
Sounds nice
Liam
Doesn’t it?
So maybe he’s not mad at me anymore. The flight attendant asks us to put our cell phones in airplane mode. But I keep on texting.
Lettie
Are you going back to England?
Liam
No, my mom and sister are coming here.
Lettie
Going to the cabin in Tahoe?
Liam
Yeah, it should be a good Christmas