Chapter 9
ZACH
My first instinct was to pick Adeline up and run. To where, I didn’t know, but running was out of the question anyway. First, because I just wasn’t that kind of guy, and second, because she’d never leave her girls behind. Frankly, neither would I.
I still had her wrist, my thumb pressed against her racing pulse. The speed at which it was galloping told me she wasn’t unaware of what was happening in this room. What this particular gathering of these particular people meant.
Like me, she’d put it together without a word being said. I’d be willing to bet on it.
She was still staring up at me with those same big, icy blue eyes that had looked so deeply into mine that night she’d told me she was getting married. To someone else. That night I’d let her go instead of fighting for her.
Instead of turning to her grandfather or even her cousin, it was me she was looking to for answers. Me she was waiting for to speak.
Somehow, despite all the years between then and now, it was like we were back in our own little bubble. One where we’d leaned on each other, counted on each other, and trusted each other no matter what.
This fucking bubble we were back inside was also one of the reasons I still felt guilty about what had happened back then. Deep down, I’d known all along that I should’ve fought harder, either for her or against that marriage.
I’d pounded my chest a bit, for sure, but I hadn’t fought the way I should’ve. I sure as hell hadn’t fought the way I would now.
With that thought in mind, I let go of her and turned to face the other men in room. Alex had risen from his seat at the table and was now standing with Nate near the windows, both of them looking glum. I appreciated the thought, but I didn’t need it.
Dad sat beside Clark Morris—not the senator, but the original Morris. The almighty grandfather, ruler of the clan. Each of them had an attorney at their sides and stacks of paperwork between them. I hadn’t been given any of those papers yet, but I knew those would be the contracts.
Simon Morris, Adeline’s cousin, was a stranger to me. She’d mentioned him in passing once or twice back in the day, but the two hadn’t grown up particularly close. As far as I knew, he was an attorney now as well, and it looked like he’d been tasked with getting her here.
He cleared his throat when my gaze met his, offering me a slight nod. I didn’t quite know what to make of it, so I was reserving judgment about him until later.
“Adeline’s divorce will be finalized by the weekend,” he started, but she scoffed and finally took a step forward, shaking her head when every eye in the room landed on her.
“I’m afraid that probably isn’t true,” she said as she looked around, then focused only on her cousin. “Louis has been giving me the runaround. You know that, Simon. We were talking about it five minutes ago. He won’t sign your papers unless I hand over my trust fund.”
“Give it to him, then,” her grandfather said, drawing every eye in the room to him now in turn.
Personally, I was stunned. One glance at Adeline told me she felt the exact same way, which meant this was probably the first she was hearing of it too, but Old Mr. Morris just leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his belly.
When he caught both her and me gaping at him, he simply shrugged.
“Let him have it. Most of it is gone now anyway, correct?”
On an instinct it seemed I had never stopped possessing, I moved closer to her. My fingers were itching to reach for her hand to hook our pinkies together, like we used to when we’d been kids, about to get in trouble together.
My dad rose from his seat, sliding his hands into his pockets as he looked around the table.
It had been so long since I’d seen him, longer yet since I’d seen him in a suit, but it suddenly felt like no time had passed since he’d been here every day, ruling these boardrooms with an iron fist and expecting everyone to just fall in line.
“This is what’s going to happen now,” he said, his tone even and measured, as powerful as ever despite the fact that he’d spent the last year fishing, golfing, and God only knew what else. “The Westwood and Morris families are going into business together.”
My eyebrows shot up and I glanced at Alex, but he looked as shocked as I was. Despite all the time he’d spent with Dad in DC, it seemed the older men still had a few tricks up their sleeves.
“Alex will be acquiring an entire third of the stock of the Morris Company,” Dad said, and I nearly fell over.
Alex was blinking like he was standing in a sandstorm without goggles and Nate looked like he’d been caught by a petrification spell, he was standing so still. Dad smiled at Clark Morris, who was still leaning back in his chair like he found all of this incredibly relaxing.
“I’m eighty-five, kids,” he said on another shrug. “I’m finally considering retiring, and while I have four sons, who have sons of their own, and so on and so forth, the Westwoods have been around long enough that I’d feel better knowing everything is in good hands.”
On the word everything, he looked directly at Adeline, like she was either a possession or a division of the company. My head was shaking before he’d even finished the sentence. I’d finally had enough.
I hadn’t fought for her or for what she wanted eight years ago, but I’d be damned if she got railroaded again now. I’d only walked into this mess less than ten minutes before she’d arrived, so I hadn’t had a chance to give her a heads-up, but it was time for both of us to take a fucking breath.
Stepping forward, I made eye contact with every person in the room and jerked my head toward the door. “Okay, that’s it. Adeline and I need a minute alone.”
When no one moved, predictably, I sighed and repeated myself, a little louder and a little harsher this time. “Adeline and I need to talk and we need to do it alone. Everybody out.”
Finally, Alex and Nate kicked off the wall, Dad motioned to his lawyer, already walking around the table himself. Clark Morris eyed me intently as he stood, and on his way out of the room, he paused for a beat right beside me.
“I should’ve seen what kind of man you’d become,” he murmured.
Despite that fact that I was pretty sure it was supposed to have been a compliment, I bristled and shut the door firmly behind them all once they were out. Damn right, you should’ve seen the fucking man I was going to become, you old fart.
With all of them gone, however, the room suddenly became very, very quiet. Instead of speaking immediately, I let the silence settle and drifted over to the windows to look out at the skyline. I tried to gather my thoughts.
As I turned to Adeline to at least ask if she was okay, a soft giggle sounded from underneath the table and I frowned, bending over to catch a glimpse of my nephew’s round, blond head before he tried to scurry back into hiding.
“Cam?” I strode over to the table and crouched down, sighing when I saw Cameron sitting there, staring back at me. “What are you doing here, buddy?”
“Daddy!” he said proudly and I groaned, grabbing him when he tried to bolt to the other side of the table.
I scooped him up and carried him over to the door, considering giving my brother a stern talking to for bringing his toddler to my surprise marriage negotiations, but then Cam smiled at me and I shook my head.
“Okay, buddy. Let’s hand you over to Daddy.
I just didn’t know you were going to be here today, is all. ”
I opened the door and all but tossed him out into the crowd of people obviously waiting for me to tell Adeline our lives were about to change forever—and that we had no choice but to comply. Alex raced forward just as I extended my arms, catching a laughing Cam and giving me an apologetic smile.
After I shut the door again, I locked it this time and blew out a long, deep breath. My eyes slid shut, my thoughts still as murky and scattered as they had been just after everyone had left.
“You’re good at that,” Adeline said softly.
I opened my eyes but didn’t look at her. “Good at what?”
“Catching fast-moving children.”
I finally turned to face her then, her soft smile betraying the worried, we’re-so-fucked look in her eyes.
It was then that I remembered she wasn’t a novice at this.
Her family operated the same way as mine, and in our case, a match had been made that benefited both families in different but shockingly equal ways.
Adeline would get security and W&S got a huge piece of the pie without having to lift a finger. When our gazes caught and held, all of that flew through my head and my thoughts finally settled into a logical order.
“They’re going to ask us to get married,” I said, not beating around the bush. Not with her. “Well, no. That’s not really accurate, is it? They’re going to tell us that we are getting married.”
She swallowed hard and nodded, averting her gaze as she wrapped her arms around herself. It was easy to forget this wasn’t her first rodeo, but I saw it now, the way she’d already been braced for it.
It fucking slayed me that after everything, we were going to wind up married anyway and, to add insult to injury, to have it happen like this. Back in the day, I’d had a plan for how I was going to propose to her and it hadn’t involved contracts, lawyers, or a sterile conference room.
“We can’t do that, Zach,” she said when she finally brought those gorgeous, soft blue eyes back to mine. “I’m afraid I’m still married, which means, of course, that I can’t enter into another marriage right away.”
I nodded, both of us glancing through the frosted glass doors at the not-so-hidden shadows of the people eavesdropping outside. With them refusing to leave us alone, neither of us could talk freely. At least kicking them out had bought us a moment to breathe, but that was about it.
“We’ll talk about the details once you’re divorced,” I said in my client voice, like this was just another deal to close.
It was the only way I could cope right now.
“Obviously, we know that there are certain legalities that need to be finalized before you and I can get married, but that’s what this is about. ”
“I know,” she said softly, those eyes catching on mine again and just staring into them.
The last time we’d been truly alone like this, she’d been breaking up with me because of family obligations. Now, we were looking down the barrel of a gun to get married ourselves. Fuck, are we ever going to be able to just talk again?
As I looked back at her, I wanted to tell her that I knew she knew, and so much more, but this wasn’t a private place and what I needed to say was for her ears only. “Alright, well, as long as you know that no one is rushing you into anything.”
She smiled. It was tight, but at least it was there. “Thanks, Zach. I appreciate that. More than you know.”
I inclined my chin in a nod. “We’re still having lunch today.”
With that, I strode back to the doors and threw them open for our chaotic families to re-enter and seal our fates. At least I’d bought us—her—that minute to breathe. Just one goddamn minute.
It wasn’t much, but the way she’d looked at me when she’d told me she appreciated it had made it worth it nonetheless.