Baby Business(18)

"I think it'd be better for me to handle this," she said. "I can say  that I wasn't ready to talk to the press since I just gave birth and  that your family, out of concern for me, kept quiet." She gazed at him.  "What do you think?"



He was speechless. That Cassidy would take the blame for something that  wasn't even her fault was beyond his comprehension. He had to act. He  hadn't anticipated Theo going after Cassidy in such a public way.  Donovan was going to have to go in front of the entire board to get to  the bottom of this.



Judging by his mention of Cassidy in the paper, Theo was up to  something, and the power play wasn't one that Donovan was going to  respond to.



"I think that you're extremely generous, but you should let me take care of this," he said.



"Well, I think we should handle it together. I'm going to issue a  statement so that it doesn't seem as if I'm ignoring the media."



Donovan didn't want the story to go any further than it already had. He  needed to get Marcus on the phone and have his team meet him at the  office. It didn't matter that it was a Saturday.



"No. You will not do anything of the kind," he said. He pulled his cell  phone from his pocket and sent a text message to his staff. He looked  back up to see Cassidy glaring at him.



"What?" he asked, distracted.



"Did you just tell me what to do? Again?"



"Yes, I did. And I'm going to continue doing it."



"Excuse me?" Cassidy asked.



"You heard me."



"You are acting like a … "



"Jerk? I know. But you aren't prepared to deal with reporters shouting  questions at you. And you're too old to have your father do it. I'll  take care of it for us. This mess-"



"Mess? Do you mean our marriage and our son?"



Cassidy was on the verge of breaking down. He saw it in her eyes and in  the almost desperate way she was holding their son close to her.



"No, of course not. You and Van are the best things to ever happen to me."



The words were meant to bring her solace, but they resonated with him, as well. He did need Cassidy and his son.



The doorbell rang but Donovan ignored it. "I think it would be best if  you and Van kept a low profile until I talk to my people. Please."



"Fine," Cassidy said shortly.



Mrs. Winters knocked on the study door. "Sam Patterson is here."



The last thing he wanted was to have Sam here, but in light of the will  being made public, the two of them would have to address the stipulation  together.



"I'll be with him in a minute. Ask him to wait in the conservatory."



"No," Cassidy said. "Show him in here. I'll go upstairs and leave you both to it."                       
       
           



       



There was too much left unresolved between the two of them. He hadn't  come close to explaining anything to her, and it was only a matter of  time until she found out the entire truth.



"Cassidy?"



"Yes?"



"There's something I have to tell you-"



Sam entered the room without knocking. He gave Cassidy a vague smile and turned to Donovan. "We need to talk."



"Not now," Donovan said.



"Yes, now. You and Cassidy can finish your conversation later. Tolley-Patterson comes first."



"Not today."



"Really? Well then, our conversation will be short," Sam said. "I guess this means I'll be the new CEO."



"No, it doesn't," Cassidy said. She turned to Donovan. "Talk to your cousin. We can finish our discussion later."



Cassidy walked away, and as he watched her go, he began to understand just how much he loved her.



Loved her.



Chapter Nine

"Oh my God. You aren't going to believe it, but Donovan needed you and your baby." Emma burst into the sunroom.



"What are you talking about?"



"That's the weird will thing. The thing I told you I heard at the  cocktail party? Maxwell's will said that either Sam or Donovan would be  his successor and left them both some very challenging business  objectives to accomplish."



"Of course he did. That was what he always did with those two," Cassidy  said. "And it makes sense that either Sam or Donovan take over. They're  both young and have the drive and experience to take the company to the  next level."



"I'm not arguing that. But there was one more thing in the will … the reason why there are news vans outside your door."



Cassidy waited. She felt a trickle of apprehension, because there was  something that Donovan hadn't told her. Some secret he'd been keeping.



"They each have to be married and produce an heir before they can be appointed CEO!"



Cassidy was glad she was sitting down. She felt faint and her stomach  knotted. She thought about the new bonds she and Donovan had forged last  night, and she realized that he had just been playing his part. Doing  what he thought he needed to do to keep her happy.



She had feared being married for her child, but had believed that he'd  only do that out of a sense of responsibility. She'd had no idea that  he'd stoop this low. She knew that his company meant everything to him,  but he should never have married her without revealing this.



"Cassidy? Are you okay?"



"Yes, I'm fine," she said, but she knew that wasn't true. And yet it  was. Because she'd loved Donovan Tolley from the moment she'd met him  and he'd smiled at her. She'd loved him even though he always put his  job and career in front of her. She'd loved him even though he'd left  her alone all those months.



And finally, she thought, she didn't love him anymore.



Well, that wasn't true. She still loved him, but she finally had the  proof she needed that he didn't love her. That he wasn't ever going to  love her the way she wanted him to.



"I'm sorry," Emma said.



"What for?"



"Being the one to tell you. But I couldn't let you find out from some nosy reporter."



"Thanks, Emma. I did need to know this. What am I going to do?"



"Take Van and leave. Let Donovan know that he doesn't have a wife or  heir as far as you're concerned. Get him back for what he's done to  you."



"Emma … I can't do that."



"Why not? He obviously didn't care about hurting you."



Was that true? She didn't know, and right now she really couldn't figure  it out. She only knew that she hurt so much she couldn't think of what  to do next. She needed some space.



Her cell phone rang and she glanced at the caller ID. It was her mom.



"Are you going to answer that?"



"Not now," Cassidy said, hitting the ignore button on the phone. She put  it on the table and then reached for Van, pulling him into her arms.  She tucked him to her and let the love she felt for him soothe her. But  it didn't, completely. When she looked into his eyes, she was struck by  how much he was a part of both Donovan and her.



That he was a part of the lies that she'd been telling herself for so long.



Emma was staring at her, and Cassidy knew she needed to do something. "Thanks for telling me everything. I'm going to … "                       
       
           



       



Do what? She wanted in that instant to make Donovan feel the same kind  of pain she was experiencing. Because the more she thought about that  article she'd read, the more she began to suspect that he'd deliberately  kept quiet about their marriage, possibly to use it to his advantage  when the time came.



"I'm not leaving you. We'll fix this. I think the first thing to do is-"



"Nothing," Cassidy said. "I want to see what Donovan's going to do next.  I mean, he's had a plan all along and I want to wait until he gets to  his final move."



"And then tell him it's all over?"



Cassidy thought about that. Essentially, they were all over. This was  the kind of blow to a relationship that she couldn't fix. The only thing  that would fix it would be for Donovan to love her more than he did his  job. More than he did the one thing he'd always turned to and found  solace in.



Her anger mellowed as she realized they were both trapped in this thing  together, because Donovan couldn't change the man he was. And she didn't  want to stop loving him. The only way they'd both be happy was if that  happened.



Because Donovan was never going to love her, and she wasn't going to be  able to endure the humiliation of knowing that he'd come back into her  life and married her simply to beat his cousin to the finish line.



Emma watched her and Cassidy realized she had to start detaching herself  from her emotions. It was time for her to seriously move on. Or at  least create the illusion that she had.