Deep inside, where she kept those dreams of happily-ever-after alive, she wept, but on the outside she simply smiled and stood up with her son in her arms.
"Let's go out," she said to Emma. She wasn't about to hide.
Sam paced around Donovan's office. He'd always seen his cousin as an adversary, and nothing in either of their lives had ever really changed that. The few times they had worked together, they'd both done so in their own way and with their own agenda.
This situation was no different. They were never going to be friends. But when it came to Tolley-Patterson, he knew that they both would do anything to make sure the company prospered and its profits continued to grow.
"We need to find the leak. This kind of press leaves us vulnerable and the investors aren't going to be too happy with the fact that a wife and child are the main requirements for their new CEO."
"Indeed," Sam said. "I've got Kyle from my team using his contacts to try to locate the source of the leak."
Donovan nodded. He was going to check with Jamie later to see if he'd found out anything more on the media side.
"I'm going to ask Theo and the rest of the board to address this. I already sent a message to Franklin in PR. I had asked him to draft a press release in case this situation arose," Donovan said.
"Why did you do that?"
"Granddaddy's will was too sensational for someone not to talk about it. Cassidy's friend Emma already had heard some rumblings, so it was only a matter of time."
"You should have kept me in the loop on this."
Donovan shrugged. He probably should have, but the will had been one of the things that he and Sam had never seen eye to eye on. If they'd both protested it, they could have gone to the board and had it thrown out. But Sam had steadfastly refused to do that.
"It's too late now. Franklin will issue an official statement from the company, and I think you and I should say ‘no comment.'"
"I've asked the board to schedule an emergency meeting for tomorrow afternoon to give everyone time to get into town. I think we should both be prepared to make an argument for a new CEO appointment. Theo isn't equipped to deal with this, and I think our investors are going to need some reassurance," Sam said.
"I agree. I've got two of my guys monitoring our competition to ensure we know what they're doing."
Sam cocked an eyebrow at Donovan. "I guess we're working together on this."
"Seems like it."
"Did you ever wonder why Granddad always set us against each other?" Sam asked.
"Not really. I imagine you and I were always competing. I can't remember a time when we weren't."
In college, he'd gone to Harvard and Sam to Yale. They'd both interned at Fortune 500 companies, Sam at a company owned by one of Maxwell's cronies, Donovan at another one. For every major moment in his life, Donovan realized he'd basically been alone.
He was simply better by himself than working with others. And that was part of what made him leery of this current situation with Sam and the company.
"I don't know if I can work with you on this," Sam said. "My instinct is to go to the media and do my own thing."
"But that wouldn't be best for Tolley-Patterson," Donovan said.
"No, it wouldn't," Sam said a bit ruefully. "Do you ever wish we were just two normal guys?"
"Hell no."
Sam laughed. "I wonder if Granddaddy had any idea that our path to the chairmanship would go this way."
"Who knows? The old man was good at thinking through every variable. But I don't think he could have predicted what happened with Cassidy and me."
Sam leaned back in his chair. "I'm not so sure about that."
"What do you mean?"
"Just that one look at Cassidy and everyone could tell she loved you. And I think Granddaddy always wanted that for you."
Donovan wasn't sure what Sam was getting at, but he didn't want to discuss Cassidy or how she felt about him with his cousin.
Donovan took control of the discussion and soon had the feeling that even Sam knew he was the right choice to lead the company. They spent the rest of the day in his home office on the phone with the board and different investors, working together to assuage them.
"Thanks for all your hard work today, Sam," Donovan said as his cousin prepared to go.
"You don't have to thank me. It's my company, too."
"True, but after today I think we both know that I'll be taking the helm."
"How do you figure?"
"You heard Theo say that they refused to waive the stipulations from the will. And with the board all meeting tomorrow, I'm going to push for a vote for the new chairman. Clearly I'm the best candidate."
Sam got to his feet. "Keep telling yourself that. If I ask the board to postpone the vote or to consider the fact that my wife may now be pregnant … "
"Whatever you do, I think we both know that waiting isn't the best course of action. We need to take the stand as a company that we have a bigger story than Granddaddy's will, and the only thing bigger than that is a new CEO. And I'm the most logical choice," Donovan said. He opened the door to his office to show Sam out.
"Don't bother," Sam said. "I know the way."
Cassidy collided with Sam on his way out the door. She had Van strapped to her chest in a baby carrier and her arms were laden with packages from her and Emma's shopping trip.
He steadied them both and glared at Van. "I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into."
"What do you mean?"
"By having a child with a man who lives only for the company."
Cassidy wasn't sure what had happened, but she'd never seen Sam so hot under the collar before. Though she wasn't happy with Donovan right now, she wasn't going to talk trash about him with his rival.
"Donovan always does what he thinks is best for Tolley-Patterson because he wants what's best for his family."
Sam's eyes narrowed. "I can't believe you're defending him. You know he used you."
"How do you figure?"
"He came back to you to beat me. How does that make you feel? You're nothing more than a broodmare to an egomaniac."
He wasn't telling Cassidy anything she hadn't already figured out for herself. And though she was angry with Donovan for his actions, she wasn't about to condemn him.
"You're nothing but a bitter man who's afraid to admit that he isn't as good as the competition," Cassidy said, desperately trying to hold on to her composure. Sam had just vocalized everything that she'd been thinking for a long time.
She believed, just as Sam did, that Donovan had been using her. Probably from the very beginning when they'd dated over a year ago. Long before Van had been conceived and his grandfather's will had demanded an heir.
Even her realization that Donovan probably couldn't help being the way he was didn't change the fact that he'd lied to her. That he'd made her believe that he'd come back to her because of a change of heart. But she'd begun to comprehend that maybe she hadn't really loved him as well as she thought if she hadn't understood that his love and focus was always going to be on work. She knew that. She had known that forever.
"I feel sorry for you," Cassidy said at last, running her hands over the back of her sweet, sleeping baby. No matter why she and Donovan had come together, she had Van, and that counted for a lot in her book.
"Why?"
"Because you're so busy looking at Donovan and blaming him for your failures that you haven't looked at yourself. You're the only one who can control your actions."
"I could say the same of you."
"How so?" she asked, setting down her packages so she could remove Van from the carrier.
"You see him as you want him to be and not as he really is," Sam said. "Turn around and I'll unhook the carrier for you."
Sam's entire demeanor changed and suddenly he was the rather mild-mannered man she'd met a few times before. It was odd to think that he was the competition for Donovan, because personalitywise the two men were polar opposites. Sam was more easygoing and inclusive … more of a team player than Donovan would ever be.
Donovan was a loner. And that was something she should have realized a long time ago.
"I don't know if I trust you with my back turned."
"Look," Sam said. "I'm sorry I attacked you like I did. Seeing your son … he reminded me of a conversation I had with Granddaddy last Christmas."