“How did you find out about it?”
“Max told me.”
“Oh.” Maddie didn’t look too worried, definitely no inkling Max might have used the situation as leverage with Romi. “I don’t know why that would set my dad off. I mean he knows half the shares are going to you regardless.”
“Max didn’t tell me that!”
“Why not, I wonder?”
“Anyway, only my dad would have triggered the shares going to your dad. So, unless he wanted to take over Grayson Enterprises, his shares were safe. I didn’t think he wanted the company that badly.”
“Even if he did, it wasn’t going to happen. My dad and Max signed a merger contract. Grayson Enterprises is now a subsidiary of BIT.”
“That’s great. He’s protecting you already.”
That was one way to look at it. Was in fact how Romi chose to see Max’s actions. “He got Dad to go into treatment.”
Maddie’s eyes filled with tears and she hugged Romi. “I’m so glad, sweetie.”
“Me, too.” But something about what Maddie said had Romi thinking.
“So your dad was the only one who could trigger the share dump from the trust?” Romi asked, trying to understand.
“Yes. I was protecting your dad’s company from him.”
“But…” That wasn’t what Max had said.
To be fair, he could have misunderstood. Unlikely, but possible.
Not that it mattered. Romi hadn’t made her decision about marrying him because of the shares.
“Wait a minute, you’re giving me half of your shares?” she asked as that fact registered completely.
No. No way.
“Yeah, but you and I both know you’ll just put the money back into the school. My dad needed to understand that he couldn’t threaten you with impunity.” Maddie so clearly didn’t care about the wealth involved.
Romi was appalled. “But he threatened to have you committed.”
“That was never going to happen.” Maddie sounded so confident. “I’m not mentally fragile and even if he could get that self-serving doctor to say I was, Vik would never have let him get away with it.”
“It’s nice to know you have backup, isn’t it?” Romi wasn’t sure Maxwell Black would be as protective of her as Viktor Beck was of Maddie, but she knew he had her back in a way no one other than Maddie had in too many years to think about.
His deal with her dad showed that, no matter what justifications Max put on it.
“Yes. We’ve always been there for each other, but for a long time, we didn’t have the power.” Maddie was obviously as pleased by the turn their lives had taken as Romi was.
Romi’s smile was still wry. “Not being corporate sharks in the making and all.”
“It’s…I’m…I’m just so happy,” Maddie said, sounding a little flabbergasted by that reality.
Romi hugged her again. “And I’m incredibly happy for you.”
“Ditto, sis, ditto.”
Maddie assumed Romi was marrying for love and Romi let her keep thinking that. She’d spent her life protecting the people she loved and she wasn’t going to stop now.
Besides, it wasn’t a lie. Romi was marrying Max because she loved him and that was a truth that covered pretty much everything else.
“So, you’ll come to dinner?” she pressed Maddie.
Her SBC nodded firmly. “Of course we will.”
“Good. Max’s mom is going to be there.”
“She’ll love you. How can she help herself?”
Romi laughed. “You’re biased.”
“Family should be.” Maddie’s grin was conspiratorial.
And Romi returned it in kind. “Yes, they should be.”
Neither mentioned how that didn’t work with Jeremy Archer.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“DID YOU MAKE THIS, Ramona?” Natalya asked Maxwell’s fiancée.
Romi shook her head. “I’m afraid not.”
His mama looked up at him with a fond smile. “Did you cook, mishka?”
“No, Mama. We ordered in.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “Ramona does not cook?”
“She’s too busy saving the world,” Madison said with a laugh.
His mother turned her attention to Viktor’s wife. “Yes? I would think something might be left over for home.”
“Mama,” Max said in a tone he knew would get her attention. “I am not marrying Romi for her cooking skills. I employ a housekeeper for a reason and have more than one catering service on call.”
“Well, yes, of course.”
“Too bad Mrs. K won’t be coming with Romi. That woman is a domestic goddess, but the only person she’s more committed to taking care of than Romi is Harry,” Madison said with a smile.
“She’s besotted, but he’ll never see it.” Romi’s laugh was a welcome sound.
She’d grown increasingly brittle in his mother’s company. He didn’t know why Natalya was behaving like this, but he was beginning to question the wisdom of asking her to help plan the wedding.
Madison nodded. “It’s too bad, too.”
“Can you imagine my father and Mrs. K?” Romi asked with still overflowing amusement.
“You believe your father should not consider his domestic staff in a romantic way?” his mother asked with some bite.
Maxwell stifled the urge to roll his eyes.
“Under most circumstances, it would be very bad form,” Romi said with no give in her tone. “Making a pass at one’s employees is not acceptable behavior and my father has too much honor to do such a thing.”
“Does he?” Natalya asked, sounding unconvinced.
Maxwell wondered how long before he could offer to take her home. She did not like to drive and preferred his company over a car and driver.
“Yes,” Romi replied with exaggerated patience. “But in this case, I’m sure Mrs. K would welcome his interest.”
“She’s a law unto herself,” Madison agreed. “Mrs. K would run rings around him and I don’t think she’d give up her job.”
Maxwell’s mother sniffed. “Surely she would be happy to keep home for him as his wife rather than housekeeper.”
Instead of looking even a little offended, Romi’s expression turned thoughtful. “You know, Natalya, I believe you are right. She might just keep him on the straight and narrow, too.”
“Matchmaking thoughts?” Madison teased.
Romi made no effort to deny it. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before.”
“You wanted the best for Mrs. K and your dad was too lost in his grief and the bottle to be that.” Madison showed none of Romi’s tendency to ignore the tougher subjects.
Romi considered her friend’s words. “He still could be…lost in his grief.”
“No. He’s going to get better and come out of this treatment stronger. I just know it,” Madison said with certainty. “Right, Vik?”
Viktor nodded. “I am sure you are right.”
He didn’t even sound a little like he was just humoring his wife. The besotted look he gave her however, put anything he said in agreement under the light of suspicion.
The man had succumbed and there was no doubt about it.
“Alcoholism is a genetic trait,” Natalya pointed out with overt significance and a complete lack of tact.
Romi flinched and Maxwell stood without thought. “Mam, I will call for the car. Please gather your things.”
“What, mishka? What do you mean? I am not finished with my dinner.” She pointed to her only half-eaten plate.
He did not care. “You are.”
“I was just pointing out that you might not be choosing from the strongest gene pool for your future progeny,” she said as if that
should make her thoughtless words acceptable.
The look he gave his mother was one he could never remember turning on her. “Romi is the woman I am going to marry, the only woman I have ever considered having children with and the only one I ever will.”
“I didn’t say—”
“I know exactly what you said and so does everyone here. If you hope for an invitation to return, you will apologize to Romi before we leave.”
“But, my son—”
“What does mishka mean?” Romi asked, apropos of nothing.
At least in Maxwell’s viewpoint.
“Little bear, though there’s nothing little about my son,” his mother answered, appearing as confused as Maxwell felt. “It is a childhood nickname that stuck.”
Maxwell winced. Only with her had the nickname stuck and she only used it when she was reminding him that he would always be her son.