Chapter 35
Silvie
I’m sitting at my desk, trying to work while Wilby attends a few meetings for me, taking notes when my father’s assistant knocks on my door and steps into my office.
“Your father would like to see you in the boardroom.”
The boardroom. The room where decisions are made, votes happen, and where futures shift.
It’s where I’ve learned how to put up with men twice my age questioning me because I’m female.
It’s the place I’ve practiced never letting them see me sweat.
It’s where I’ve perfected my poker face.
My pulse spikes immediately, and my stomach turns.
This is it. This is when the board calls me a fraud and strips me of my company, no matter how hard I’ve fought to keep it.
“Now?” I ask, already knowing the answer. I glance around, wishing Wilby was here. He insisted on taking the meetings so I could get some work done. I’m regretting that now.
“Yes.”
I close my laptop carefully, buying myself extra seconds to compose myself.
I feel like I haven’t slept well in weeks, and I’m so tired.
If today is the day when I’m canned, so be it.
I just miss Cal. I haven’t talked to him since I left Coconut Beach.
I want to talk to him and to tell him about the baby.
I don’t know how he’ll react. I just miss him.
I keep replaying the last moment we had together, where he was so distant and angry.
He pushed me away. He told me to go and that he’d play his part.
As if we were in a play, acting out our lives.
Maybe that’s what we were. But it’s not what I want.
Maybe it doesn’t matter what I want, anymore.
Maybe I just get whatever fate hands me at this point.
I stand and smooth my shirt, slipping into my hot pink blazer.
Because pink is all I wear now. All the shades.
I refuse to conform to the man’s world any longer.
Maybe I’m channeling my inner Elle Woods.
I don’t care. I’m going to be me from now on.
And if they don’t like it, I don’t really care.
If this meeting is about the optics of my marriage and choosing love, I will fight.
I’ll fight for myself and my family. Because while I’m tired of fighting, I won’t stop.
I am going to turn this company around and make room for any woman who wants to work and have a family.
I walk down the long hallway, heels clicking on the tile, portraits of the board lining the walls. Ribbon cuttings, deals closing, empires built. A lot of black suits and all men. Yeah, that’s going to be changing.
The boardroom doors swing open as I step inside and everything stops. My dad is sitting at the head of the table. And Cal is sitting next to him.
Cal. My Cal. I start to feel my poker face fade away.
Because when I look at him, there’s no faking what I feel for him.
God, I love him so much. I’ve missed him so much.
And wait...he’s here? And he looks so good in his navy suit and light blue shirt.
He looks powerful and confident, as if he were made for this boardroom.
I look at my father, and he’s sitting with his hands folded in front of him, smiling at me. Smiling. What the hell is happening right now? My gaze lands on the table and there are flowers laid on it. Pale blush roses. My favorite. Next to them is a light pink velvet ring box.
My lungs forget how to breathe. I tremble, and Cal rises and comes to me. He stands before me, smiling, his hands by his sides. He looks nervous.
I glance over at my father. Neither seems angry. In fact, they seem friendly around each other which is new.
“What’s this?” I ask, my voice feeling small.
Cal looks like he wants to scoop me up. I want to run to him. I want to hold him so tightly and tell him that I’ve missed him so much. But I don’t. He told me to go. And while he may be here right now, he hurt me. I don’t know what this is. I’m not the one running this time.
My father clears his throat. “I believe this is your meeting. We can talk later.”
My eyes follow him as he steps past me. “Whatever you decide,” he says quietly. “You have my support.”
Support. That word has never come easy to him. He doesn’t give it easily. He’s driven, and the one thing that matters to him is what’s best for his company. It was never about support.
The doors close behind him, and it’s just Cal and me in this massive space.
“What are you doing here, Cal?” I ask softly, lifting my chin up.
He doesn’t try to touch me. “I needed to talk to you.”
I look down at his stubble already visible on his jaw, even though he probably shaved this morning. “You told me to go.”
He nods. “I did.”
Something disarms me in his tone and the way he’s so frank about this. “So, why are you here now?”
“Because I was wrong.”
My chest tightens, and I cross my arms over my chest, feeling protective. Because he has no idea how much power he has here. The power to break me and shatter me if he wants. And I’m vulnerable at his mercy.
“Oh, yeah?” I ask.
“You were right. I was using her as an excuse.”
“You were protecting your mom,” I counter. “And I get that.”
“I was hiding behind that,” he says. “I was afraid.” The honesty in his voice slices through me. “I thought if I braced for you leaving, it wouldn’t hurt me as much,” he continues. “I thought if I pushed you away first, you’d do what you needed to do, and I could control the hurt. It was dumb.”
Control. I understand control. I live it. A carefully curated and controlled world that I now realize I hate.
“And did it work for you?” I ask softly.
“No,” he says. “I just hurt you, and I’m so sorry, baby.”
My throat burns as he steps closer to me. He’s still giving me space. He’s waiting.
He moves closer to the table and away from me. “I came to do this right.”
I swallow at the word. Right. My whole life, I’ve been doing things right. I’ve been groomed to take over the family company since I was a teenager.
“Right how?” I whisper.
“Right for us,” he says. “What fits us. I’m here for you.”
He moves closer. “I don’t need you to give anything up. I need you to thrive, baby. I need you to fly and soar as high as you want to. I want you to know that I’ve got your back every step of the way. I’m right behind you. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
He finally closes the distance between us. “I just need you to be happy,” he says. “I need you to be you.”
He turns and gestures to the boardroom and the skyline beyond the glass. “You want to run this company forever? I’ve got you. You want to be the most powerful CEO this city has ever seen? I’ll stand behind you and clap the loudest. I’ll kick anyone’s ass who tries to get in your way.”
My eyes sting because I didn’t realize how badly I needed to hear this.
“You don’t want a family? Fine. I’ll be your family. You want to split your life between Coconut Beach and the city? I’ll pack up.”
He looks at me like I’m the only thing that matters to him. I’ve never been looked at like this. Chosen.
“And what do you want?”
He smiles. “I just want you, Silvie. All of you. CEO you. Beach you. Every version of you that you’ll give me. I want the whole damn thing.”
No one’s ever said anything like this to me before.
“You’re my wife,” he says softly. “And I came to get you back.”
He steps closer and brushes his thumbs across my cheeks, catching tears I didn’t realize were falling. “You only run from things that don’t matter. You run to the ones that do.”
My heart aches because he’s right. I ran from my wedding, and I almost ran from him. And it felt so wrong because he feels so right.
“Do you want this?” he asks, searching my eyes.
And there’s the real question. It’s not power, responsibilities or business. It’s love. It’s family.
“I love you so much. I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you, Callahan Bennett.”
He opens the ring box, and it’s a new ring. It’s an oval set on a gold band, with an eternity wedding band encrusted with diamonds around it. It’s me, and it’s perfect.
He takes my hand and gently removes our old rings, the ones he bought online right before our fake ceremony. He slides the new ones on, and I love the way they look on my hand.
I step into him and kiss him like I’ve been starving for him.
Because I have. Everything around us disappears, and it’s just him and me.
His hands are on my waist, his mouth covering mine as he’s equally as hungry.
He holds me like he’s never letting go, and when we both come up for air, we just stare at each other. He rests his forehead to mine.
“I missed you so much,” I confess.
“I missed you more,” he says.
“I hated you a little for not fighting for us.”
“I deserved it,” he says softly.
“There’s something I have to tell you. It might change everything.”
His expression shifts, and he braces himself. I recognize the protective and focused look. “What is it?”
My stomach dips. “I found something out after I left.”
His brow furrows. “Found out what?”
My hands shake because I’m terrified of what he’s going to say right now. “I’m pregnant.”
Silence.
“You’re going to be a dad.”
His eyes lock on mine, and he’s still. For a second, I begin to panic.
“I know this is a lot,” I rush out. “I didn’t plan it. I don’t know how I’m supposed to be a wife and a mom and run this company and be this person and...”
He cups my face gently. “Hey.”
I pause and realize his eyes are glassy.
“I don’t know either. I never had a dad. I had Jonah, but not a dad who lived with us,” he whispers.
The vulnerability in his voice nearly breaks me, and he continues. “But we can figure it out together.”
I close my eyes. Together. Yeah, we can.
“I’m going to be a dad,” he says as he lets out a shaky breath, as if he can’t believe it either. “You’re going to be a mom.”
His hand slides to my stomach, and he whispers in my ear, “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.”
“We’re building a family. And we’ll do it together,” he says quietly.
My heart swells, and all that fear that I had in me that he wouldn’t want this is gone. Instead, he looks happy.
“I was scared to tell you,” I admit. “I didn’t know if you’d want this.”
He looks at me like I’m insane. “I want everything with you. You never have to be scared to tell me anything.”
I didn’t know how badly I needed to hear those words from him.
Cal kisses me softly. “I think you’re going to be a great mom.”
“You’ll be a great dad,” I whisper back. “This baby is lucky to have you.”
The diamonds on my finger shine in the sunlight, and I lift my hand to his chest, the steady beat of his heart beneath my palm makes my throat tighten.
He kisses me gently at first, and then he deepens it with his mouth, not urgent, or rushed, just confident. Like he’s promising me something and I’m giving it to him.
He threads his fingers through my hair and picks me up and sets me on the boardroom table. I kiss him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him to me, his hard body to mine, and moan a little.
“Silvie,” he murmurs my name, low and reverent like he’s choosing me again.
And for the first time in this building, I’m being chosen by the one who matters. He’s holding me instead of me being the one to hold everything together. And somehow, I know that everything is going to be just fine.
Cal and I walk hand in hand back to my office, and I close and lock the door. I turn to him and take my jacket off, and he grins.
“I’ve never had sex at work,” I admit. “But I can’t go another minute without you.”
He slides off his jacket and lays it over a chair. He unbuttons his shirt, slowly. “You have to be quiet.”
“I am quiet,” I bite out.
He tips his head as he takes off his shirt and I sigh at the sight of his tanned and tattooed chest.
I slide off my shirt and unbutton my pants, kicking those down. I’m standing before him in a soft pink lace bralette and lace panties.
“Oh, shit. That is what you were wearing under that suit?” he grits out.
“Yep.”
He grins and steps out of his boxers, letting them drop, coming toward me wearing nothing. He cups my face, kissing me urgently and hungrily. His hand dips to my panties and he groans into my mouth. “Fucking soaked baby.”
“I need you,” I plead.
“I need you more,” he says as he slides them down and pulls my bra off quickly. He cups my bottom to him and slowly enters me while my body trembles.
“Cal.”
“You have to be quiet, baby,” he whispers. “You can be loud as you want at home, but at the office, I’m in charge of fucking you good at your desk.”
I roll my head back and moan as he takes me hard and tension builds and builds until I moan, “Cal.”
His hand cups my chin. “Come for me, baby.”
I pant and moan as he goes harder, gripping me to him. “Come on...”
I let loose and let go, and he grips me harder, coming hard as he pants. “Good girl.”
“That’s so hot. I need you to do this more often.”
He chuckles. “I plan to.”
“At the office,” I add, still breathless.
“Might be weird, but sure.” He grins and then leans forward to drag his lips over my neck. In a sweet whisper, he says, “I love you, Mrs. Bennett.”
“I love you, Mr. Bennett.”