Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
TAJ
If someone had asked me months ago about what my greatest fear was, I would’ve told them it was failure. If someone asked me that today, I probably would’ve said the same thing.
But the reasons for the response in each case were different.
Months ago, my biggest concern was my career, my reputation, and the legacy of our family business.
I wanted to be successful. Who didn’t? But my fear of failing at what my parents had entrusted me to do—something I wanted to do—was enough to have me working like nothing else existed.
Now, that fear of failure was over every other aspect of my life. My friends. My family. The woman I loved.
It hadn’t ever dawned on me that I’d do something that could put anyone I cared about at risk. Sure, it wasn’t intentional. But I had a responsibility to look after this woman. To love and care for her.
And I’d failed.
She was in this hospital bed now because I’d botched that obligation. If she suffered any long-term effects from this whole ordeal, it would be on me.
The doctors had been reassuring, insisting they believed she’d fully recover without any problems, but that we’d have to take it a day at a time.
Her injuries amounted to a nasty gash just above her eyebrow and a severe concussion.
It was determined that both had happened when her car had careened off the side of the road and crashed.
I hadn’t let her out of my sight from the moment I walked onto that plane hours ago. Despite that, I was still so worried about her.
“You look like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
At the sweet sound of that angelic voice, I looked up from where I’d been holding her hand in mine and found her looking at me.
“Baby,” I whispered, lifting her hand to my lips, and kissing her. “Are you okay? Do you feel any pain?”
“I’m okay, Taj. Are you?”
I shook my head. “I’m so sorry, Olivia. I don’t know what I was thinking. I should’ve taken you to lunch and dropped you off.”
“No. You can’t blame yourself for this. For what he did. I can’t stomach that.”
“But you were hurt,” I said. “That never should’ve happened.”
A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I know. But thankfully, it wasn’t any worse. And I’m here, Taj. Because of you.”
I kissed her knuckles again. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t have done to find you and bring you back. Even if that plane had taken off and landed back in New York, I would’ve found you.”
“How did you know? How did you find me?”
All the tension that had been building inside me from the moment I’d gotten that call from my sister until now was slowly unfurling. Talking to Olivia, knowing she was coherent and not suffering from worse symptoms, was helping tremendously.
“I was at my parents’ house when Savanna called me and shared that you hadn’t shown up for lunch.
She thought I’d held you up longer. I knew something was wrong, so I took off to try to find you.
My parents had their friends over, and my dad wound up leaving the house with one of them to follow behind me.
I found your car, thought you’d just gotten into an accident, but you weren’t there.
Some woman had seen everything, witnessed him driving erratically, crashing into you, and hauling you into his car.
But her phone was dead, so she couldn’t call the police. ”
“And you assumed he took me to the airport instead of the hospital?”
Shaking my head, I answered, “No. I had no idea what to do. But Zane called his brother, Levi, for advice and help. Levi owns Cunningham Security, a private investigation firm in Windsor, which is Rising Sun’s neighboring town.
Anyway, I guess years of doing what he does for a living meant that he knew precisely how to handle the situation.
He asked about your ex and what he did. I told him what I knew, and when he asked if I knew where he’d take you, I confessed that I had no idea, that you were both originally from New York.
When Levi learned that your ex had no ties to this town, he figured the best thing we could do is check the closest airport.
He had the means to do that rather quickly, and when he found there was a private jet that was heading to New York, we knew it had to be you. ”
Olivia’s features softened as she rested her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes. “I was so scared, Taj.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Her hand squeezed mine. “I knew you’d find me, though.”
My muscles grew taut. “What?”
She swallowed roughly, rolled her head along the pillow, and looked at me.
“I begged them to let me go. That it’d be worse if they took me back to New York.
They had no idea what I found here. Who I found.
I tried to explain I was happy, that I didn’t love him, and that I wasn’t interested in continuing to pursue a career in modeling. They didn’t care.”
I’d desperately wanted to know what happened to her on that plane, but I didn’t want to bring it up until she was ready to discuss it.
Now that she had, I felt I could ask questions.
“I don’t agree with any of what happened, but I can wrap my head around your ex doing this.
Were your mom and your best friend really in on this whole thing? ”
Olivia nodded. “Raven wasn’t what I would consider a best friend.
We were acquaintances, and she was the closest thing I had to a friend merely because she was the only one who was always around.
We were always friendly enough with one another, but she was so different than me.
Raven was always seeking the next professional opportunity when I cared more about personal happiness.
In the end, her best move for her career was getting romantically involved with Conrad. ”
It made me sick to learn just how lonely Olivia had been all these years. She really didn’t have anyone she could rely on, nobody who truly had her back.
“And your mom?”
“She only sees the money, Taj.” Olivia sighed.
“She was furious with me for running out of the wedding. She believes I destroyed my future and didn’t hesitate to share that.
But even if I was willing to ruin the relationship I had with Conrad, my mom wasn’t interested in allowing me to ruin the career she worked so hard to build for me.
Because without me working, she doesn’t make anything. ”
My fingers tickled the skin along her arm. “I can’t imagine how difficult this has all been for you on an emotional level.”
Olivia smiled. “That’s just it, Taj. It’s no longer difficult.”
“What?”
“When I was on that plane, I might have been disoriented, but there were some things that were very clear to me. And I didn’t hold back that information.
” Olivia lifted her hand to the side of my face.
“I told my mom about you. When I said that I found someone I love who makes me happy, she made it clear she believed you were only with me for my money.”
My lips twitched. “Oh yeah? And I presume you had something to say to that?”
“I did.” Soft laughter escaped, the sound like music to my ears.
“I told her you weren’t interested in my money, especially when you were the CEO and heir to a business worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
She was shocked to say the least, but I didn’t stop there.
I told her that even if they got me back to New York, you wouldn’t stop looking for me.
That you would find me, and that you’d make them suffer for what they did to me. ”
There wasn’t anything Olivia said to her mom about what I’d do that was untrue, but to know she understood that would’ve brought me to my knees if I hadn’t been sitting. Maybe I hadn’t failed her completely.
“I’m still going to make sure that they pay for what they’ve done to you, baby.
Legally, of course. They’re never going to have the opportunity to touch you again, and I’m going to make sure they feel the consequences of the decision they made to come here.
And in doing that, we can make sure to correct the one thing you said that wasn’t true. ”
Her brow furrowed, but she winced when she realized it hurt the injury above her brow. “I lied about something.”
I chuckled. “Not intentionally. I just don’t think you knew the full scope of things.”
“What is it?”
“Blackman Boards isn’t a company worth hundreds of millions.”
“Oh. Well, I didn’t know for sure. Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me if it’s worth that much, half that much, or nothing at all. You’re the only thing that matters to me.”
“I know. And I’m glad. Because Blackman Boards is worth more than a billion dollars.”
Olivia’s eyes rounded. “My mom would’ve been so pissed.”
I laughed. “We’ll make sure she knows you’ve found something so much better than you had.”
“She should already know it,” Olivia reasoned.
“But I want you to know that I don’t love you for your money, Taj.
I love you for the way you’ve loved and respected me.
For the way you’ve brought so much joy and adventure to my life.
For the way you listen. For the way you laugh at my jokes that I know you don’t think are actually funny.
And for the way you hug me. Kiss me. Make love to me. ”
I couldn’t help myself.
She’d said all that, I wasn’t going to continue sitting there, simply staring at her. I rose out of the chair, leaned over, and kissed her. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too.” Olivia stroked her thumb along my cheek. “You know, there is one downside to this whole thing.”
“What’s that?” I asked as I returned to the chair but kept her hand in mine.
Her lips moved in a way I knew she was stifling her laughter. “I suspect there’s going to be another Saturday afternoon you’re going to have to give up with me when I need to reschedule today’s lunch plans with your sister.”
My head dropped back, and I groaned. But if I were honest, those words and her teasing hit me square in the chest. After all that she’d endured today, after all the worry I’d felt over her safety, I didn’t care if she needed to have lunch with my sister every weekend.
As long as she was safe and happy, that was all that mattered to me.
OLIVIA - SIX WEEKS LATER
My gut instincts hadn’t failed me.
Six weeks ago, as I was being loaded into an ambulance, I told myself I was going to be okay.
I was right, even if I hadn’t realized just how good things were going to be for me.
At Taj’s insistence, I took a few days to heal from the physical injuries I’d sustained at Conrad’s hand. But I was eager to get back to what I was doing before he showed up in town with my mother and former friend in tow.
It seemed to surprise Taj that I wasn’t sitting around feeling bad for myself. That I didn’t break down entirely over what the three of them had done to me. In a way, I guess he was relieved, but I’d noticed the way he’d been watching me.
From where I stood, I just didn’t see the point in wasting precious energy on people who couldn’t be bothered to care about me and my well-being. And since I’d lived for so long without the real love, care, and concern from them, it wasn’t as though I’d felt a massive loss.
For their part, they’d all been arrested.
Conrad received the worst of the charges, considering he’d used the rental vehicle to run me off the road before kidnapping me.
But my mother and Raven were accessories to the kidnapping.
I got the feeling the two of them might have been able to get off without much more than a slap on the wrist and some fines, but Taj refused to allow that to happen.
He’d followed through on his promise to make them pay for what they’d done to me.
It was still too soon to know how it would all work out in the end for them, but I suspected I’d never need to worry about them again.
I was glad about that. Because now I was here, with Taj, at the grand opening of the old warehouse. The project was finally complete, and the place looked spectacular.
An overwhelming sense of pride washed over me as I took it all in.
Sure, I wasn’t solely responsible for this project coming to fruition—that had all been Taj—but I’d been part of the process—the best part, if I’m honest—and it felt good.
For the first time in my life, I was genuinely proud of the work I’d done.
Strong, loving arms wrapped around me from behind, and a smile formed on my face. I’d recognize Taj’s hold anywhere.
As I dropped my head back onto his shoulder, he nuzzled his face against my neck and kissed me there. “You did it, baby. This place looks incredible.”
“I only made it look nice. You did all the hard work.”
“I never could’ve done what you did here. And I hope this proves just how talented you are. Everyone has come up and told me how great it looks.”
A thrill of excitement moved through me. I knew how much Taj approved of the work I’d done all along. He hadn’t hesitated in sharing. But to know that others had felt the same meant everything to me. Especially because this was just what I’d needed.
Spinning around in his hold, I draped my arms over his shoulders and smiled. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For giving me this opportunity to discover something that I’m good at and that I enjoy.
If it hadn’t been for you, I’m not sure I would’ve ever realized my talent and love for interior design.
And after how much I’ve enjoyed this project, I’ve decided I’m going to try opening my own business.
I don’t know anything about running my own business, but I figure I have a guy in my life who can help guide me. ”
Taj’s features softened. “There’s not a chance you’ll fail, Olivia. You’re entirely too talented. But if you need me, I’ll help you any way that I can.”
“I love you, Taj.”
“I love you, too.” He brushed his knuckles down my cheek. “Are you ready to join me up front, so I can make a big deal over you when I’m thanking everyone for making this happen?”
I beamed at him. “Try and stop me.”
Laughter spilled out of him. “Come on. Let’s get that out of the way, so the rest of our friends and family can celebrate and love on you, too.”
Warmth spread through me. They were all here.
All of Taj’s friends and their parents came to celebrate this huge accomplishment.
It was the way it was supposed to be. I was so glad Taj had people like this around him all his life.
And I was beyond grateful he’d been gracious enough to share them with me.