I was about to find out for sure.
“No problem. I’ll have Charlotte get it rescheduled.”
“Thank you.” I waited a beat then turned toward him. “On second thought, could Charlotte make me an appointment for a full gynecological exam in the office instead? I’m due for a pap smear and all of that. The doctor can renew my birth control at the same time.”
He raised an eyebrow, and for half a second, I thought he suspected. “I didn’t realize the time had flown so quickly. Of course you’re due for your yearly. I’ll get that scheduled immediately. Sorry I hadn’t thought of it myself.”
I turned back to the mirror and smiled at his reflection behind me. “You would have,” I assured him. “Don’t beat yourself up. Let me have the rare victory of thinking of it before you.”
Again he wrapped himself around me, the scent of his body wash making me weak in the knees. “Yes. Have your victory. I do know how you need those wins.”
I appreciated that he could laugh at himself, and I chuckled with him, but the humor I felt was for an entirely different win. Because, while I had every intention of going to that doctor’s visit, I knew that changing the scope of the visit would make it much easier to hide the fact that I had no intention of getting that shot.
I’d have my baby just as Edward had had his revenge. It would be on my terms. No obstacle too great to overcome, even if the obstacle was my husband. I knew that once I was pregnant, he’d come around. The same way he’d ruined me, I’d ruin him and we’d both be better for it.
This time when I met his eyes in the mirror, the urge to fly felt different, as though my wings were unfurling and readying to fly toward something, not away. The sky above me wasn’t gray or numb—it was sunlit and cloud-free. I was no longer Edward’s little bird. I was a phoenix, and I was rising.
One
Edward
A suit-clad arm shot out to hold the lift doors open as I approached.
“Thank you,” I said in earnest as I slid inside the crowded car, the words out of my mouth before I had time to assess who the saintly gentleman had been. “Ah, Pierce. Edward Fasbender. It’s a pleasure to finally have a real meeting.”
I held out my hand to Hudson Pierce, the CEO of Pierce Industries. We’d seen each other in passing before, maybe even shaken hands once or twice, but we’d never really spoken. We had plenty to speak about, though, which was why I’d made the four o’clock appointment with him.
Subtly, I glanced at my wristwatch. Was I running early?
Three forty-seven. Perhaps he was just returning from lunch.
Hudson smiled as he took my hand, an expression that didn’t reach his eyes. Not because he was cold, necessarily, but because he was guarded. The way men in his position had to be in order to survive the dog-eat-dog environment they existed in. I imagined my own expression was as severe as his.
“Yes, I’m glad for this opportunity as well,” he said. “I must admit, though, if I’d known it were you I was holding the elevator for, I might have let the doors close. By the time you arrived upstairs I would have been safely in my office, and you would have had no idea how late I was running this afternoon.”
Stoic but had the ability to laugh at himself. I appreciated that in a rival, if that’s what he was to be. Hopefully, I’d know by the time I left his office later this afternoon.
“I’ll make a stop at the little boy’s room, if you’d like. Pretend I never saw you.”
“Ah, but that would never do. You and I would both know the truth. I have to accept that my first impression has already been made. Excuse me for a moment.” He pulled out his mobile and hit a contact that must be called frequently since it was at the top of the list. “Patricia, it’s me. I’m headed up now. Edward Fasbender is with me. Would you make sure the coffee is fresh and…” He looked to me, an eyebrow lifted in question. “That there’s water for tea?”
I shook my head. “Coffee’s fine.”
“Nevermind the tea. See you shortly.”
The doors opened and half the people in the car emptied out before they shut again.
“It hasn’t been a bad impression,” I said when Hudson had pocketed his mobile again, moving to occupy the space that had opened up. “You did hold the door to the lift for a stranger.”
“I’m surprised I had enough sense about me for even that.” Hudson’s features relaxed, and now I glimpsed the man underneath the mask. There were shadows under his eyes, his lids appeared heavy. “Twins,” he said in explanation. “I went home for lunch, hoping to sneak in a nap. They’re only a month old, and I haven’t timed it for sure, but I don’t think a full hour passes that they both stay asleep. It’s why I sent my brother in my place to your gala on Friday. I would have been a zombie if I’d gone myself.”
Being a parent with a newborn brought an exhaustion like no other. I’d been spared much with Hagan and Genevieve. Because I’d been the type of asshole father who left the upbringing to my wife and the children’s nurse. Marion’s insistence on separate rooms only helped feed into my detached style of parenting—I didn’t have to be disturbed by the sound of a baby’s cries over a monitor.
Still, I hadn’t been immune to the fatigue. It had spread through the household like a contagion. I remembered it vividly, lethargy setting into my body at the thought like muscle memory.
“You didn’t miss anything at the gala.” The charity auction had been merely a diversion for Celia, something to keep her mind off the press about her uncle’s arrest as well as something that would show her name in a good light. “I did see Chandler at a distance. I didn’t get a chance to speak with him directly, but my daughter connected with him. I suspect it was more of a social conversation than anything pertinent.”
“Knowing my brother, I’d suspect that as well.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Genevieve hitting it off with a Pierce, but at least it was something to keep her preoccupied. Hagan had pressured me to bring her to the States as we aggressively pursued Werner, and though I’d conceded, it had been reluctantly. Perhaps she’d be focused on this boy now instead of trying to involve herself in what would likely eventually become cutthroat business.
“As for the lack of sleep, I can only imagine what that must be like,” I offered in sincere sympathy. “Congratulations and consolation. My wife is pregnant, and I’ve been dreading the coming exhaustion since she told me of her condition. I’m much relieved at the moment that we only have a single baby on the way. I don’t think I have the stamina for more.”
“You find it when you need it. Even if it has you running late to the office on a Wednesday.” His back straightened and the weariness disappeared from his features, tucked behind his mask of professionalism once again. “Please accept my congratulations to you as well. I’d only just heard that Celia was expecting.”
I surmised what that news must have meant to Hudson. He’d claimed to be the father the first time she’d conceived, hiding that it had actually been his father who’d knocked up my wife. He’d likely been relieved when she’d lost the baby since it had alleviated him of his duty, but if he was a decent man—as I supposed he was—he’d probably felt guilty for feeling that way when the loss had hurt Celia so terribly.