Chapter 12
ALEX
Will, Nate, and Zach stood in my office, all of them in various stages of shock as they looked between me and my wife, who was sitting across the hall in a glass-walled conference room we conveniently had a view of.
Jane sat alone at the sprawling, polished table, a cup of coffee cradled between her hands and her shoulders tight. She was surrounded by the files we had on her board members, already working on the strategy we would take with them.
I doubted she even realized she was being watched. Her gaze flicked from one file to the next as she scribbled notes on the pad beside her every so often. Meanwhile, there were four pairs of Westwood eyes near constantly gawking at her.
Well, I was gawking. My brothers were more processing. Frankly, I was still processing too, but I also hadn’t been able to stop staring at her all damn day.
Her blonde hair had been pulled into another elegant knot at the nape of her neck, that pantsuit hugging her curves in a way that left me wanting so much more.
It was modest but perfectly fitted, the jacket fastening just under her chest and framing her breasts like it was trying to offer them to me.
On the other hand, the high-necked blouse she had on underneath didn’t offer so much as a hint of cleavage.
Fuck, it almost didn’t even offer a hint of neck, and yet, it was what wasn’t on display that was driving me nuts.
Absolutely up the fucking wall. Especially now that she had my ring on her finger.
But here we were, at the office hours after vowing to spend the rest of our lives together. Figures I’d be at work on my wedding day instead of buried deep inside my wife like every other guy on the planet ever.
“Well, congratulations,” Will said, dragging my mind out of the gutter and back to the present, where the three morons were still blinking between Jane and me.
I shot him a glare sharp enough to slit his throat, but Nate stepped between us, sliding his hands into his pockets and putting his back to her. “What’s your plan now?”
My plan. Of course. Because we’re just pieces on the chessboard.
“I’ve already had my secretary pass the update to the PR department,” I said. “They’ll circulate the announcement. By lunchtime, the world will know Jane is now a Westwood. Then it’s up to the Thayer board to react.”
And react, they would.
“What if they’re not aware of the stipulation?” Nate asked carefully. “They might not know that her husband gets two votes with his ring.”
“They know,” I said, the corner of my mouth curling slightly upward, because no matter what, this had still been a fucking solid deal. “Trust me.”
As if on cue, Zach’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen and then looked up at me, lifting an eyebrow as a smirk ghosted across his lips.
“Well, what do you know? It’s one of the board members I was trying to seduce out of his seat with a nice plushy retirement.
I guess he finally has something to say. ”
He answered with cheerful politeness, slipping effortlessly into the role he played best, the nonthreatening charmer who was always working an angle but no one ever realized it.
“Let the games begin.” Will smirked, clapping Zach on the shoulder as the two headed out. Zach shot me a wink, mouthing congrats before disappearing into the hallway.
I exhaled a long, controlled breath, but my gaze drifted immediately back to Jane. She still hadn’t moved, her thumb sliding absently along the rim of her mug and her expression unreadable.
The light caught the gold band on her finger, the vintage ring I’d chosen on instinct because it’d felt like her.
At the time, I’d thought it was crazy. I hardly knew this woman and thinking I knew what she’d like on her finger for the rest of her life had probably been absurd.
Yet, I’d seen the look on her face when I’d slid it on.
I’d be willing to bet the house that I’d gotten it right.
“She’s lovely,” Nate said quietly beside me.
“She’s a monster.” It slipped out under my breath, but not quietly enough because I felt Nate’s stare sharpen and I knew what he must’ve heard in my voice, the pride I wasn’t bothering to hide. “A killer. I want her on our board.”
Nate choked, an actual sound coming out of him. “The Westwood board of directors?”
“Yes.”
He stared at me like I’d suggested hiring a live grenade as our CFO. “You cannot be serious.”
“Oh, but I am,” I said, not even having to think about it. “She’s brilliant, Nate. She does a good job of hiding it, or maybe she’s been forced to hide it, but she knows more about business than anyone. More than us, even.”
As I glanced at her again, she shifted, rubbing her temple before reaching for another document. I turned back to Nate. “I’ll save Thayer for her, of course. That was part of the deal, but I want more of her than just that.”
The protectiveness in my voice startled even me. Nate’s light eyebrows drew together, his head slowly cocking. I didn’t miss the implication behind that look, like he was trying to figure out what exactly I meant by more of her.
“She’s useful to all of us,” I corrected, straightening up a little. “People like her are rare in our world. Dad will agree. Uncle Harlan just needs to meet her, but he’ll see the same thing I do. Sterling’s wife got a seat on the board. It’s only fair that my wife gets one too.”
Nate waited, probably expecting me to take it back or soften it, but I didn’t. I gave him a moment to argue. Instead, he just watched me with something like awe mixed with a little concern. The moment passed and I nodded, then jerked my head toward the stack of investment proposals on the credenza.
“Start making moves for that investment into Adamson.” We’d been circling that project for weeks. It would bolster our position no matter what Thayer’s board did next. “Line it up. Quietly.”
He gave a short nod, almost visibly shifting back into strategist mode, but I didn’t stay to help him map it out.
My mind was already back on Jane and the fact that she’d married me this morning.
The warm weight of the ring on my finger was an unavoidable, constant reminder I didn’t need, but it was like it was urging me on, wanting me to be a husband in addition to just a CEO.
I left my office and crossed the hall to the conference room. She must’ve sensed me before she’d even turned. Her shoulders straightened a little, her fingers stilling on the mug.
When she finally looked up, spinning a half turn on her chair to face me, she didn’t mention the fact that I had the files that were now spread out in front of her.
She didn’t have to. The look she gave me said everything, I know what you were doing with all this information.
I know you were fishing for anything that would’ve helped you take my board.
Until our marriage solved all those issues for us.
In business, anyway.
“Would you like me to take you to your office?” I asked, even though I really didn’t want to not have her in my sight today.
“I’m taking some time off.”
“That’s wise,” I said, arching an eyebrow at her. “Are you waiting for the fallout once the news of our marriage reaches them? Because if so, it’s already happening. I figured I should let you know.”
“I have been acting like the CEO all year without the title, the power, or the salary.” She leaned back slightly, her eyes hooded but steady. “I keep that place running. I figure I’m due for some time off.”
I braced my hands on the table and leaned in, close enough to catch the subtle scent of her, suede and cashmere dusted with vanilla. It tempted me more than it should have.
“They’ll suffer without you,” I murmured.
She looked up at me for a long moment, those gray eyes sliding from one of mine to the other. Then she shrugged. “Let them.”
That was the moment I knew she wasn’t just sharp. She was fearless too—and damn if that didn’t do something dangerous to me.
“All right, Killer,” I said on a slow exhale. “Dinner then. It is our anniversary, after all.”
Her eyebrows swept up. “Anniversary? We just got married.”
I lifted my wrist in an exaggerated movement and checked my watch. “It’s our… four-hour anniversary.”
She blinked at me, taking a turn to be stunned for a change, and then shook her head. “I didn’t take you as a romantic.”
“I doubt that’s what you’re into, anyway.” I straightened up and extended a hand toward her. “I’m starving and we have a future to discuss, wife.”
“Husband,” she replied, the word pitched with a mix of disbelief and something else, but she didn’t take my hand.
Instead, she just stood and smoothed out her suit with those elegant, decisive motions that made everything she did look intentional.
Fine.
I let my hand drop. She collected herself, her bag, and her poise. The conference room lights haloed her, catching the gold band on her finger and turning it into a quiet declaration neither of us had fully digested yet.
Without hesitating, she walked past me toward the door when she was ready and I followed, resisting the urge to touch the small of her back. Too soon. Too forward. Too obvious.
But I wanted to. I already want way too much if I’m being honest.
As we left the conference room, the office buzzed with the usual workday noise, phones ringing, quiet conversations, and keyboards clacking, but something in the air shifted when people saw her.
Or maybe I was just imagining things, but if I wasn’t and it was real, she walked through it with her chin held high, her expression unreadable, and her stride steady.
Anyone who didn’t know better might think she’d been born into this building instead of dragged out of a sinking ship and tossed into this.
I didn’t want to catch up to her until we reached the private elevator, preferring the view from behind.
Then I stepped up to her side, wondering where her head was at with all this.
“You’re quiet,” I said lightly. “Are you doing okay?”
She pressed the call button without looking at me, just easing back on those high heels. Her gaze flicked up at the digital counter. “I’m thinking.”
“I’m going to go ahead and assume that’s usually dangerous.”
Her lips twitched but only barely. “You’ll survive. Don’t worry.”
The elevator arrived and I motioned for her to precede me. Both of us strode in and turned at almost the exact same time to watch the doors slide shut. In the mirrored steel reflection, I saw us standing side by side for the first time and I had to admit we looked really good together.
Perhaps our marriage was one of convenience, but when something worked, it worked, and I had a feeling she and I were going to work really fucking well together. I just had to get to know her first.