Jane Aweek later, I paced the carpet outside the Thayer boardroom like it might give me answers if I wore it down enough. Colin mirrored me on the other side of the hall, his hands shoved into his pockets and his shoulders rigid. We k ept circling each other, stopping just short of colliding, then turning again. If anyone walked by, they’d probably think we were unhinged, but I didn’t care. “If the counter-sale doesn’t go through, we’re out,” Colin said for the third time in ten minutes. “That’s it for us. We’ll both have to find new jobs.” “I know,” I said, my voice calmer than I felt. “We’ll land on our feet, though. If that’s what it comes down to, I’m sure we’ll find something else.” Part of Mallory’s husband’s offer had been a complete restructure of our existing executives. They’d called it a clean slate, bringing in an all-new team for the entire management level of the company. “It would be the end of the Thayer dynasty,” Colin muttered. “In a few years from now, no one will even remember the name for anything other than the scandal.” I nodded, the reminder still stinging. Even now. The whole of this last week had been a blur of emotion and corporate warfare, lawyers on speed dial, documents flying back and forth, and emergency meetings stacked on top of each other like a bad joke. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Alex had pulled off what could only be described as a miracle. Nate had cornered me after their board vote last week, grinning like he’d just witnessed something historic. “Your husband went full alpha,” he’d said. “He didn’t ask or tolerate any negotiation. He just told every last board member what was going to happen and then put it up for a vote.” “What do you mean, told?” I’d asked. Nate had laughed like I was being hilarious. “What I mean is that no one even asked a question. No one argued. He was so firm about it, it was like the decision had already been made and they were just there to nod.” I’d bitten the inside of my cheek then, refusing to let my smile break free. I would have loved to have seen that, though. Alex was always hot. That was just a fact of life. But something about him when he got like that, focused, dominant, and utterly unshakeable, did things to me I wasn’t pr epared to unpack while the fate of my company hung in the balance.
Another hour crawled by with no news from inside the conference room. My thoughts skipped from Alex back to what was happening in that room right now, my husband fighting tooth and nail to avoid the complete obliteration of my family’s legacy. Although I’d never told him in so many words why I’d fought as hard as I had, Alex understood it. Sure, I wanted to be the CEO of Thayer. I always had and I’d worked my butt off to make sure I’d earned the role, but it was about so much more than just a job for me. My brothers carried the Thayer name even though I no longer did. They were stuck with it for the rest of their lives and I’d always been intent on making sure it meant something. Well, something other than just being synonymous with infidelity and fraud. There had been a time, a long time, when our name had been worth more than even Westwood, our social status in much higher regard. Being a Thayer had been something to be proud of and I’d wanted my brothers to have that benefit as they st epped out of college and into the real world. That was what Alex was fighting for in there, and all I could do was pace until my feet ached and my heart felt like it was trying to es cape my chest. Then the door opened and Nate st epped out. I snapped to attention so fast, I nearly tripped. “Well?” He looked at me and shook his head once. “We’re not done.” My stomach dropped, but Colin beat me to actually formulating words. “How are you not done yet? It’s been over an hour.” Nate was already turning back to the door. “We’re still talking. Alex just sent me out to tell you not to worry, and not to go anywhere.” As soon as the words were out, he was gone again, swallowed by the boardroom and the quiet click of the door closing behind him. I stared at the wood grain like it might crack open and bleed out all the secrets of what was happening on the other side. “What did his face say?” Colin asked, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the closed door right with me. “He didn’t look stressed, did he?” “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Nate is pretty good at not letting his face do the talking for him.” “Asshole,” Colin muttered, then shook his head and resumed pacing. I drew in a de ep breath, finally releasing the door from my stare and raking my hands through my loose hair as I willed my heart to stop racing. Five minutes later, Mom appeared at the end of the hall. She looked different somehow, smaller and a little grim. Her shoulders were drawn tight, her mouth set in a line I’d only ever seen when things had already gone very wrong.
“Janey,” she said softly when she reached us. “Can I talk to you? Alone?” Colin hesitated, but I met his gaze and nodded. “It’s okay. Give us a minute.” He exhaled sharply but st epped away and once again resumed his pacing. Mom gestured toward the empty conference room across the hall. We went inside and she shut the door behind us while I walked to the windows overlooking the city, my back to her as I folded my arms and stared out at a view I’d grown up with, but might never get to see again after today. Not like this. Not from the vantage point of Thayer Steelworks’ executive floor, and it was largely because of my mother. While it wasn’t solely her fault, she’d been the last domino and she’d fallen with just the tiniest push. For a few long seconds, neither of us spoke. I could hear her shuffling further into the room behind me, but I didn’t turn to look. There were too many emotions swirling through my chest, the anger and disbelief from last week having given way to a de ep, profound sense of loss and disappointment. “I’m sorry,” she said finally, her voice cracking. “I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t think... No. That’s not true. I thought about everyone exc ept you.” “And Isaac?” My chest tightened because she still didn’t get it. Her vote hadn’t only affected me. My brothers would be far worse off, and knowing she still didn’t understand that made some of the rage from before bubble up again. “Both he and Holden are studying engineering, Mom. Why do you think that is? Ryan’s in business. Wyatt n —” “I panicked,” she said, cutting me off. “When I saw the numbers and heard the offer, all I could think about was security. About never being afraid again. I told myself it was for the family.” She let out a hollow- sounding laugh. “Isn’t that always the excuse? We do what we do because we think we know what’s best for the family.” “You voted yes, Mom,” I said lamely, closing my eyes. I pulled in a de ep, calming breath. “You voted for the end of the Thayer name in the business world, which is the world your kids are still living in. The world three of your four sons have spent the last few years studying to become a part of.” “I know,” she whispered. “I saw your face when it happened, Jane. I watched you walk out of that room like something had been ripped out of you.” I heard her take a st ep closer. “I betrayed you. After everything you’ve done and all the years you held us together while I fell apart, I thought this would put you back together. If I could stop leaning on you n —”
I shook my head, emotion rising fast and sharp. “You didn’t trust me. You still don’t. That’s what hurts.” “I do,” she said quickly. “I didn’t trust myself to be able provide any other way, but instead of admitting that, I took the easy way out.” Silence fell between us until she spoke again, her voice shaky and her words spaced a beat too far apart, like she was thinking through each one and uncertain of what to say next. “I was wrong, honey. I don’t expect forgiveness, but I needed you to hear it. I was so worried about you and how hard you were working that I thought it would be better for you to just relax and let Alex take care of you in all the ways I should have, but couldn’t. I didn’t realize until it was too late that you’re not like me.” My throat burned as I finally spun around to face her. “I needed you to believe in me, Mom. You’ve always known that I’m not like you. I just needed you to believe that I knew what I was doing.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I do believe in you, Janey. I’ve realized that I was wrong and that you’re so much stronger than me. I’m sorry that I only realized it when it was too late, but I know now that you want to be part of fixing our family’s company. Our legacy. You might be a Westwood now, but you’re too strong to give up on Thayer.” I let out a breath I felt like I’d been holding for years. “I don’t know what this looks like going forward. Our relationship.” “I’ll take whatever you give me,” she said. “I just don’t want to lose you.” I hesitated but then nodded once. “We’ll figure it out, but not now. We need to get back out there. Alex is trying to fix what we broke. We have to be there if he needs us.” It wasn’t absolution, but it was something. The truth of the matter was that I could see the sincerity of her apology in her eyes, and while I got where she was coming from, I needed time to be able to forgive her. Time we didn’t have today. As we st epped back out, the boardroom door down the hall opened. My heart slammed into my ribs as Alex st epped out, flanked by Nate and a small army of lawyers. He looked composed, calm even, but I knew him well enough now to see the tension in his shoulders and the sharp focus in his gaze. Whatever had happened, it still wasn’t over. Mom squeezed my hand and inclined her chin toward my husband. “Go to him. I’ll be back.” She walked past me toward the boardroom with her spine straight and her face set with purpose. I stayed where I was, watching my husband walk toward me and knowing everything was about to change—one way or another.
We were back to where I’d started the day, outside the boardroom, pacing like our collective anxiety might somehow influence the outcome inside. Only this time, it wasn’t just Colin and me. It was all of us. Alex came to a standstill beside me, close enough that I could feel the heat of him through his suit jacket, one hand tucked into his pocket and the other resting lightly at my back like a steadying weight. “I can’t vote on this,” he said, maddeningly calm for someone who had just wagered close to a billion dollars on my future. “Neither can Sterling. It’s a conflict of interest.” Sterling leaned against the wall a few feet away, his phone in his hand, but he wasn’t actually looking at it. Colin hovered near the window with his jaw set so tight, I worried he might crack a tooth. “What does that mean?” I asked quietly, glancing up at Alex’s profile and noticing the knot at the back of his jaw. “If you guys can’t vote...” “Nora has to vote in our favor,” he finished honestly. “But even if she does, we need a full majority to swing this. Her vote alone won’t be enough.” I searched his face for doubt or fear, but there was none. All I saw was anticipation and urgency, a need for this to be done and to get to work. He glanced down at me, the expression in those green eyes so steady and sure that looking at him made me feel like I’d had a warm, comforting blanket wrapped around my shoulders. “Our offer is sound,” he said. “They’d be idiots to turn it down.” I so badly wanted his certainty, to crawl inside it and hide until the vote was over, but I couldn’t, so I just slid my hand into his and waited. Time seemed to do strange things in that hallway, minutes stretching and warping. Every sound felt amplified, from the hum of the lights, to the distant ding of an elevator, and Colin’s foot tapping against the floor until I shot him a look and he stopped. Alex leaned down when my brother’s incessant tapping cut off, looking de ep into my eyes as he murmured, “Are you okay?” “I think so,” I lied. He squeezed my hand but didn’t say anything else, just staying by my side like he’d never leave. That was becoming my favorite thing about him, not the grand gestures or the scorched-earth devotion, but the way he knew when to fill the silence and when to let it be. When the door finally opened and Mom st epped out, everything in me went still. She didn’t smile right away, her face a mask of composure. For half a second, I was back in my childhood, trying to decipher her moods like it was a survival skill, but after taking in a de ep
breath, she looked at me and smiled. “Westwood and Sons is now the owner of Thayer Steelworks,” she announced. “You did it. It was a unanimous vote.” I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until it came out of me in a broken rush. My vision blurred instantly, tears springing up faster than I could blink them away. Colin let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob. He pulled me into a crushing hug. We’d done it. We’d actually fucking done it. No, he’d done it. The Thayer lawyers came streaming out of the room next, already talking about next st eps, timelines, and public announcements as they passed us. Some stopped to shake Alex’s hand while Sterling clapped him on the shoulder, saying something about drinks later that I didn’t quite catch because Colin was still holding on to me like if he let go, it might all vanish. When he finally released me, I pressed my face briefly into Alex’s chest, breathing him in and grounding myself in the solid strength of him. Oh, my God. He actually did it. We’re not losing Thayer. Or our jobs. I get to rebuild our name without Andrew or anyone else calling the shots. It was almost too good to be true, but then Alex leaned down, his mouth brushing my temple. “We should celebrate.” I huffed out a wet, half-laugh and lifted my head to look up at him, his face blurry through the tears I only now realized had welled in my eyes. “All I want is to go home.” He pulled back just enough for his gaze to meet mine. “Yeah?” “Yeah,” I said, my voice hushed with disbelief, awe, and the startling realization that he’d actually saved the company. “Let’s go home and watch our shows in our pajamas. With food that didn’t come from a catered pastry tray.” His mouth curved into that soft, private smile he saved just for me. Then he caught my lips in a gentle, lingering kiss that was completely unconcerned with the fact that half a dozen people could see us right now. “I guess that’s what people do for fun when they’ve been married for seventy-five years, huh?” he murmured against my lips. I laughed, the sound bubbling up through the exhaustion and relief. “Yeah, I guess so.” “Perfect,” he r eplied quietly. “I’ll order in whatever you want. Even if it’s from that place with the weird noodles you like so much.” “They’re not weird,” I protested. “They’re authentic.” “They’re de eply weird.” He pumped his eyebrows once, then turned to let Nate and Colin know we were leaving.
My mom was already gone, and for the briefest moment, I wished she’d still been there so that I could thank her, but ultimately, I supposed we both needed space and time to process everything that had happened. So I just took Alex’s hand and we walked away from the boardroom together, neither of us looking back. As we climbed into his car, it hit me all at once that we were finally safe. The company was safe. My job was safe. My place in the world, something I’d fought for with everything I had, was finally, truly secure. And somehow, impossibly, so was this, the marriage we’d entered into as an arrangement. Ironically, in the end, the votes Alex had procured through the deal hadn’t been what had saved the company. What had done it was me letting someone stand beside me, say I’ve got you, and actually mean it. Alex Westwood had done it all his way, and simply by trusting him enough to do it, we’d not only made sure Thayer would remain standing, but we’d found love in the last place I would’ve gone looking for it—a business deal. A deal that had changed every aspect of my life for the better, even if I was still waiting for my youngest brother to come around to the idea. Teenagers, man.