Page 105 of The Spare
“Good thing I changed ownership over to Xander last week,” he grinned nervously. Secrets were still a sore subject. “Honestly, I forgot about it with everything that happened.”
I smiled. “It's okay.” I leaned in and pressed a kiss on his lips. His heart was in the right place, and change took time.
We looked up when we heard the door open and close. Xander and Henry were being let in. After Henry’s impromptu interruption a week ago, I was convinced a small staff wasn’t a bad idea. My assistant found Madeline, who served as a house manager of sorts and would handle filling out the rest of the staff.
“How are things in paradise?” Xander sat down next to me and looked at the computer screen.
“Stop.” Henry grimaced and took a silent seat across from us. He shifted uncomfortably. The animosity between him and Marcus was mostly gone, but there was still some getting used to what would be the new normal. To say he wasn’t entirely comfortable with Marcus dating me was generous.
“We’re moving in together,” I blurted. They’d find out eventually, and I didn’t want to keep another secret. I looked at Marcus, who looked like he was bracing for an argument. Xander didn’t look surprised, and Henry looked exactly as I expected. Visibly ill.
“Hen…?” I asked. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Henry ran his hand through his hair and stared at the papers in front of him. “This is normal, boring even. Doesn’t make me uncomfortable at all.”
I sighed and grabbed a croissant from the large tray in the middle of the table. I had hoped this morning’s get-together would be a move in the right direction with my brother. He and Marcus were seemingly okay when they were on their own, but when it was all of us, it was awkward.
“Ground rules.” Henry exhaled loudly. “Can you keep the kissing and general PDA to a minimum? And lock doors—”
“Good luck with that.” Xander laughed.
“A problem easily remedied by knocking,” I reminded him.
“Can we focus?” Marcus asked. He was quiet during the exchange, feeling equally uncomfortable.
“Yeah,” Henry said. “I’ll change the by-laws to require board members be present for votes. Then, I’ll call one.”
“Good. We confirmed all five of the friendly board members are available and in the city. We know two-no votes may not make it.” I added.
“And the swing-votes?” Xander asked.
“I’ve been meeting with all of them for the past month.” Henry assured him. “We should have at least one.”
I sighed. “We don’t have a backup plan.”
“We do,” Henry said, the corner of his mouth tipping up. “Technically, we have a spare.”
I smiled. “I don’t want any part of being CEO. So, this better work,”
We were quiet, uncomfortably quiet, over that possibility.
Marcus and I hadn’t talked about what that would mean for us. I couldn’t be a partner at the firm and CEO at the same time. The firm might be open to a sabbatical of sorts, but that was a longshot. Then there were the personal implications. If I headed the largest pharmaceutical company globally and Marcus was at the helm of the largest biotech, there would be scrutiny. While not illegal or unethical, the optics weren’t great. The last thing I wanted was having to keep our relationship a secret any longer.
“It will work.” Marcus slid the folder that laid beneath my laptop to Xander. “Do not, under any circumstance, let Sloan or Henry read any of that.”
“Blackmail on the board?” I grinned. Why was that so hot?
“Yeah, on all twelve board members. Using it was an absolute worst-case scenario.” Marcus eyes narrowed on Xander. “It would turn an otherwise amenable board member into an enemy, and no CEO needs that. If it needs to be used, Xander, you have to do it.”
“Corporate espionage is fun.” Xander paged through the documents. He closed the folder quickly and pressed his hands on top of it. “Holy shit.” His eyes were wide.
Marcus’s hand found mine. “I couldn’t tell you be—”
“Plausible deniability.” My thumb stroked the back of his hand. “I get it.”
Our life together was always going to be a little complicated, but easy was never something that interested me. I wanted the messy, overwhelming, all-consuming love I had with him over something simple any day. Everyday.
CHAPTER53
