“You have my attention. But it’s waning quickly.”
I nodded, acknowledging that he was already giving me a favor by letting me in the room with him at all, then got to the point. “I know you aren’t going to go through with the Accelecom merger.”
“Did your stepdaughter tell you that?”
My mask broke, and I could feel my brows rise in surprise. “Genevieve?” What the hell did she have to do with anything?
Chandler pounced. “You aren’t the reason she’s gotten close to me, then? That wasn’t your idea?”
Hudson frowned, his gaze demanding I answer.
I was baffled. Though her room was next to ours, I’d barely seen Edward’s daughter since she’d come to the States. “I didn’t even realize you knew each other. Genevieve and I aren’t particularly close. We definitely don’t talk business. If you’ve already told her the merger was a no-go, she didn’t pass it on to me or Edward.”
That might have been a lie. It was very possible that she’d spoken to Edward, that he had her on some mission that I was unaware of, but if so, I didn’t know about it. And considering how adamant he had been not to involve Genevieve in revenge-related activity, I was pretty confident what I’d said had been true.
Unless I didn’t really know Edward anymore either.
I didn’t want to think about that possibility.
Thankfully, Hudson distracted me from those thoughts. “If Genevieve didn’t tell you, then how did you know?”
“I know there’s no way you’d hand over the company to my husband.” I flicked my eyes toward Chandler, wondering how much he knew, then deciding I didn’t care. “It would contradict the reasons that you bought it in the first place.”
“Let me guess—you’re going to try to convince me to give him the job anyway.”
His sardonic expression ruffled my feathers. “You really do have a bad taste in your mouth where I’m concerned, don’t you? I hope you understand when I tell you I feel the same.”
He took a beat, growing somber. “That’s fair.”
It felt like he’d given me some ground, and I did my best to stand on it, delivering the speech I’d prepared. “In answer to your question, no. I’m not here to convince you to give him the job. Frankly, I’m happy with our lives the way they are. I’m not interested in moving back to the States, and I’m especially not interested in that kind of move with a baby on the way.” Nevermind that we were here indefinitely at the moment.
“Then the favor you want is for me not to give the job to Edward?”
Guilt wrenched my intestines. “I didn’t say that.”
I considered backpedaling, considered trying to fight the other side, considered begging on my knees. But as much as I was doing this for our baby, I was also doing this for Edward, even if he didn’t see it that way.
I pushed on. “Let’s be clear—I’d love for Werner Media to be back in the hands of my family. I simply know that isn’t an option on the table.”
“Then what is it that you’re asking?”
I thought about what I really wanted, for Edward to come away from this unscathed. I wanted him to let this go on his own. I wanted him to walk away and focus his energy elsewhere. On Accelecom. On me. On his baby.
Hudson couldn’t grant that, no matter how much power he had.
But there was one person I could try to protect, whether or not he deserved it. “My father,” I said. “This company is his pride and joy. His legacy. He wants Edward to take his place because he thinks it will make me happy, yes, but mostly because he thinks it will be good for Werner Media. He hasn’t even considered giving the job to anyone else. You and I both know that you will give the job to someone else. I’m willing to help convince him that’s best.”
“If…what?”
“If you let him believe it’s his idea.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
It was satisfying to find I could throw Hudson Pierce for a loop. It gave me confidence to plunge ahead with what I knew would be a near impossible request. “I’m saying go ahead and pick who you want to pick for the job—I know you have other names in mind. I’m confident that you’ll select the best person to head Werner Media in the future—you’d never let a good business fail, no matter how you feel about me. It’s not in you. I just want my father to believe the decision is still up to him. Let him leave his company in a dignified fashion. Let him think it’s his creative vision he’s implementing, not just yours.”
“What a noble endeavor,” he said, and he almost didn’t sound like he was mocking me. “Unfortunately, I don’t know how I would begin to convince your father of anything.”
I didn’t either. If anyone could, I’d hoped it would be him, that he’d have enough dignity to try to keep the ruse up, especially when I’d kept my end of our bargain and left his family alone.
I was seconds from saying just that when Chandler shot to his feet.
“I’ll do it. I can do it,” he said. “Get me a meeting with him, and I got this.”
“Chandler?” Hudson was as surprised by this as I was.
“The proposal I was telling you about. I’m confident Warren will be interested in it. I just need to be able to present it to him. Thirty minutes. That’s all.”
I didn’t know anything about Chandler’s professional abilities, but he was eager, and he wanted to try, and I was so grateful, I almost fell to my knees. “I can arrange that. If Hudson agrees.”
Hudson studied me intently. I knew what he was looking for, and even though I understood why, it still stung that he couldn’t just see me for who I was now instead of who I’d been. Hadn’t he said the same to me once upon a time? Implored me to see that he had changed when he’d given up The Game? I hadn’t wanted to believe him then. Was this my karma? That he wouldn’t believe me now?
See it. See me.
After what felt like a full minute, he gave up. “I can’t figure out what game you’re playing.”
“Maybe I’m not playing any game,” I said, my voice oddly raw.
“Wouldn’t that be the most conniving scheme of all?”
“Wouldn’t it?”
Our eyes locked, and something shifted. Not by much, but by enough that I could see glimpses of the man he must be now—a father, a husband. A person who did good in the world instead of harm.
Could he see something of the same about me?
“Random acts of compassion aren’t like you. Thinking of anyone else’s feelings isn’t either.” But he didn’t seem to be accusing me, more he was puzzling. Then his eyes widened like he’d figured something out. “You fell in love.”
Now Hudson had thrown me.
Because of course I had. Of course that was exactly the reason I was here. Because I’d met a man who had ruined me so completely that I would now care enough to ruin him in kind.
I’d loved Edward more for it. Could he love me more as well?
I couldn’t think about it and not fall apart. “Do you want the meeting or not?” I asked stiffly.
“We’ll take the meeting.”