“I’ll tell Josh that you said hello.”
“Of course.” She tilts her head. “And do be careful. Failure is not an option, dear.”
“I don’t plan on failing.” I turn and head to the door then stop. “And Aunt Sylvia?”
“Yes, dear?”
“You should call my dad more often. I think he’d like to hear from you.”
“Would he?” she asks.
“You two used to be close, right? I think he misses his sister.” I shrug and open the door. “But what do I know? I’m just an only child.”
She laughs as I leave her room. I shut the door and head back downstairs. I give the girl at the front desk a smile as I walk back to Josh’s house.
Aunt Sylvia’s words keep running through my mind. She does whatever she wants… and what I want is worth fighting for.
The problem is, I’m not sure what I want.
I know I want this merger. I can say that for sure. But beyond that, I don’t know if I want to stay with Josh, if I want to be more involved with the company, if I want any number of things.
I just don’t know.
But as I climb the stoop to Josh’s house, I realize one thing.
I’ve been happy here. Ever since my fake marriage, ever since that night at the party, I’ve been happy. Each day is exciting with him. Every moment is fun. Even the boring moments, the moments where we’re sitting on the couch together, my feet up on the coffee table, and we’re both just reading in silence. That’s good, that’s comfortable. That makes me happy.
I have to hold on to that.
I open the door and step inside. Josh is in the kitchen and something smells good. I walk over and find him making bacon and eggs. He looks over his shoulder and grins at me. “Hey there, how’d it go?”
“Good.” I walk over and he turns to me. I kiss him, kiss him hard. He seems surprised but kisses me back. “Sorry. I just wanted to do that.”
“Don’t have to apologize for kissing me,” he says, and grabs my ass.
I laugh and push him away. “Is this for me?” I ask, nodding at the food.
“Yep. Figured you’d be hungry when you got back. And if you weren’t, I’d just have a feast.”
“I’m starved.” I lean against the counter. “Hey… do you know what you want? I mean, from your life, long-term.”
He hesitates and looks at me. “I think so,” he says.
“What is it?”
“I want our companies to merge,” he says. “I want to build something… with you. And with your father. But mostly with you.”
I smile and tilt my head. “Really?”
“Really. You haven’t thought about that? I mean, your dad won’t be the head of Bushings forever.”
“I have… and he did say something about leaving me in charge when he was finished.”
Josh laughs. “Perfect. That’s what I want. You and me at the head of our company… leading it together.”
“But why me?”
He tilts his head like the question surprises him. “Because I like you,” he says. “Because I’m happy when you’re around. Now grab some coffee and sit your pretty ass down. I’m almost done cooking.”
I smile at him, my heart beating fast. I stand there for a second, taking in the scene, before doing what he says.20JoshI stand outside of the board room with Maggie, trying to keep myself calm. The entire board is in there, talking amongst themselves.
“It’s going to be okay,” Maggie says, touching my lapel. She straightens my tie and puts her hands on my shoulders. “I believe in you.”
I smile and kiss her. “I know. And this isn’t even the hard part.”
“Just go in there and kick ass, okay? Do what we discussed.”
“I will.” I hesitate. “You’re coming in with me.”
“I am?” She frowns. “I thought it was a closed meeting.”
“It is. They can try to throw you out if they want.”
She laughs. “Okay then. I kind of doubt any of them could throw me though. I mean, they’re all pretty old.”
“Good point. I could just beat them all up and get what I want.”
“Oh, boy, what an alpha. I’m so attracted to you right now.”
“Shit, if I knew all you needed was for me to beat up some old guys, I would’ve been going on a rampage at an old folks’ home already.”
She groans and pushes me toward the door. “Get in there, idiot.”
I take a breath and nod. I open the door and step inside, and as soon as I enter, the talking in the room dies down and all eyes are on me.
Maggie slips in behind me and takes a seat by the wall, away from the table. I walk to my position at the far end and stand there, looking at the full board.
Guava smiles at me, quirky and goofy, and gives me a little wink. Elizabeth nods once, and Duncan Trucking gives me a thumbs-up. At least my allies seem to still be on my side, although Elizabeth will abstain from the vote.