Page 86 of The Mysterious Billionaire
I look at Gramps. He’s covered his shock, and now his gaze is thunderous. I understand why. If he pushes back, he’s saying he doesn’t trust his own granddaughter. I know he trusts my work, but if he agrees to this, he’s not going to be holding the reins himself. He’ll be giving up control… and he won’t like that.
He murmurs to my father, and everyone talks quietly while they wait to hear what he has to say.
I glance at Brielle, who winks at me. Then I look back at Caesar.
He’s watching me openly now, his head tipped to the side a little. When he sees me looking at him, he smiles for the first time. My breath catches.
My grandfather clears his throat, and everyone falls quiet. “Harry and I would like to talk to you and Caesar alone,” he says to Edward.
Edward nods, then says to the rest of us, “Can you give us the room, please?”
Slowly, we all get to our feet. I give Caesar a final glance, then go out through the glass door and wander back to the waiting room. Everyone grabs a coffee from the machine or a cup of water from the cooler, talking in hushed voices while they wait.
“Morning.” Marcus Ashford approaches me where I’m standing alone near the windows. He holds out a hand.
“Good morning.” I shake it. Then I look toward the boardroom. “What do you think they’re talking about?”
“Oh, I would imagine Tom’s trying to push back in some way, don’t you?”
I nod, and my heart slowly sinks. “He’ll be trying to insist a team runs the joint division. They want to get prestige and publicity for Verdant, not my soil program.”
To my surprise, he says, “Caesar won’t allow that. He’s only interested in the soil restoration program. And in protecting you.” He smiles.
I stare at him, shocked by his openness. “Oh…”
“He made it very clear that he wants you to run the joint division, and my father was happy to agree once Caesar explained your system. It’s very impressive, Maddie. We’d be honored to partner with you and build something exceptional together.”
“Thank you.” My face heats at his compliment. I get so few of them, I’m not used to it. I look across at Caesar, who’s listening to my grandfather speak. It’s partly why I loved being with him. He said such nice things.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Marcus says, bringing my gaze back to him. His eyes are warm.
“Ohhh…” I blush. “Yes. Thank you.”
“I’m going to be an uncle.” He grins. “You’ll be due around the same time as Wren. I’ll have to introduce you. She’d love to talk babies and birth plans and whatnot.”
“I… oh… um… I’m not sure Caesar would want that…”
To my surprise, he just laughs. “Yesterday he spent ten minutes insisting it would inherit Ashford coordination and Rutherford brains. So I think you’re safe.”
“Wait, what?”
I look over at the glass-walled boardroom again. Caesar has taken off his jacket, showing that he means business. He’s wearing a navy waistcoat over his white shirt. God, the man’s sex on a stick.
Has he really accepted the pregnancy? I can’t bear to believe it.
I watch him say something, and Gramps bangs on the table. Oh shit. Will Caesar be able to stand up to him? Or will heend up giving way to Gramps’s demands, the way everyone else does?
Is my moment of glory over before it’s even begun?
Chapter Twenty-One
Caesar
Watching Tom try to find a way to say he doesn’t want Maddie to run the show would be amusing if I wasn’t so fucking annoyed.
He doesn’t want to imply he doesn’t have faith in her work, but he’s clearly furious. Maddie’s father is quiet, though. Maybe he’s more supportive of his daughter than I thought. He’s just overpowered by the old patriarch.
“She’s a great scientist,” Tom admits grudgingly, “and I have the utmost faith in her work. But she’s not a businesswoman. She doesn’t understand the intricacies of running a whole division. She’ll be out of her depth, and that’s not conducive to a successful project.”
