Baby Business(23)

"True. So can you do it?"



"If you can convince the board? Then, yes, I'll go for it."



"If the board doesn't meet my terms, I'm walking. I've given this  company everything, and to have them tell me who I can marry is going  too far."



Donovan had thought about it good and hard before he'd come to the  office today. Leaving Cassidy behind in bed had been difficult. He'd  wanted to be there when she woke so he could make sure she understood  that he wasn't letting her walk out of his life.



"They won't respond to a threat," Sam said.



"They will respond to the bottom line. You and I have already impacted  revenues in ways that Theo never could and won't be able to. He's too  stuck in the old way of doing business."



"Right. Do you have documentation to back up the figures?"



"I do," Donovan said. He took out his BlackBerry and sent a quick text  to Marcus. Then he sent another note to Cassidy. Just a quick one to  tell her that he needed to see her as soon as he was done with this  meeting.



Because if this morning had done one thing, it had reinforced to him how much he loved her-and he needed to tell her that.



"We're ready for you both now," Theo said from the doorway.



"I need a word with Donovan." His mother stood behind his uncle.



"Fine. We can wait five minutes," Theo said.



His mother began walking down the hall toward his office. "Mom?"



She turned. "We can't talk in the hallway."



He nodded and followed her past Karin, his assistant, who glanced up,  arching her eyebrows at him. He signaled her to hold his calls.



His mother walked over to the window overlooking downtown Charleston and crossed her arms.



"What is it?" he asked.



"I owe you and Cassidy an apology."



Okay. That he hadn't expected. "Why?"



"For hiding your marriage from the board and Sam. I know that you meant  to hide it from the public just temporarily until Van was born, but I  kept hoping that the marriage would fall apart."



"It isn't going to," Donovan said. "Her family isn't as bad as you make them out to be."



"I know. That's why I'm apologizing. I told the board that you two are married and that the marriage is a solid match."



"Did that sway them?" he asked, aware that his mother had in her own way  gone to bat for him. And he appreciated it more than he'd thought he  would.



She shrugged. "It was a written vote, not vocal, so I have no idea of the outcome."



"Thanks, Mom. What changed your mind about Cassidy and the Franzones?"



"Cassidy did. She brought Van by to visit us yesterday. She was very  frank with your father and I about the lies you'd told her and how that  made her feel. She said she had no idea how much longer your marriage  would last, but she wanted Van to know his grandparents."



Donovan wasn't surprised. Cassidy was kinder than he deserved. And if  she had any idea of the things his mother had done, apparently that  hadn't stopped Cassidy from doing the right thing.



"That girl is a keeper, Donovan," his mother said.



He agreed with his mother, which didn't happen that often.



As his mother left and he prepared to go to the boardroom, his  BlackBerry vibrated. He glanced at the screen to see a message from  Cassidy, informing him that she was aware that he had to divorce her to  become CEO. He stared at the words, wondering how she knew what had  happened in the boardroom.



He dialed her number and got her voice mail. He left a message, but had  the feeling that Cassidy wasn't interested in listening to anything he  had to say.





Cassidy and Van were having a quiet evening at home. Well, at her home.  She hadn't been able to go back to the mansion she shared with Donovan.  She also wanted to be away from her family, as they were acting as  though they had a right to make decisions in her life. She'd set them  straight and told Adam to mind his own business.



The doorbell rang just before seven and she opened the door to find Jimmy standing there.



"What are you doing here?"



"Delivery again."



"I don't need any soup."



"It's not soup."



He handed her a padded envelope and gave her a smile before he walked  back to his car. She closed the door and stared bemusedly at the  envelope in her hand. It had her name written on it in very distinctive  handwriting-Donovan's.                       
       
           



       



She wasn't ready to deal with anything else from him right now. The  jewelry box sat on the table in the foyer, still unopened. She tossed  the envelope next to it and walked back to the family room, where Van  was sleeping in his playpen.



Ten minutes later her cell phone rang and she checked the caller ID before answering it. "Hey, Emma."



"Hey, girl. Did you open the envelope?"



"Which one?"



"The one Jimmy delivered."



"No, and how do you know about it?"



"Because I'm coming over to babysit."



"I don't want to talk to Donovan."



"Trust me, on this you're going to want to at least give him a chance to explain."



"I've already given him three chances with my heart, and each time he's let me down."



"I know. If you didn't love him then I'd say to ignore him, but you do,  so give him a chance to explain and make things up to you."



"What does he have planned?"



"I don't know. Open the envelope. I'm going to be there in fifteen minutes."



Cassidy hung up and went back to the foyer. She brought the envelope and  jewelry box into the living room and sat down where she could see Van.



She opened the envelope first and inside found an invitation requesting her presence at the yacht club tonight at nine.



She shook her head. Romance and romantic gestures weren't going to win  her over. But a part of her … okay, all of her, wanted her relationship  with Donovan to work. As hurt as she was by his actions, she still  hadn't had time to fall out of love with him. She didn't know if she'd  ever be able to.



She opened the jewelry box and found inside a platinum charm bracelet.  There was only one charm on it. A photo of her, Van and Donovan, a small  version of the photo that hung by Van's crib at her parents' house. On  the back of the charm was a small engraving that read, This is my world.



She felt a sting of tears as she read it. She wasn't sure what Donovan  had in mind for later this evening, but she knew now she was going to go  and hear him out. She owed it to the both of them to give their  relationship one last chance.



She took the baby monitor down the hall to her bedroom and got changed  out of her jeans and shirt into a cocktail-length sundress. She put her  makeup on with a steady hand and touched up her curls.



When Emma arrived a few minutes later, she was almost ready to go. She put on her wedding rings and her charm bracelet.



"I'm going to take Van to my place for the night," Emma said.



"Emma … "



"If you need to come and get him before morning, don't worry. But I have the feeling you're going to be otherwise occupied."



She bit her lower lip. She needed more than another sexy night in  Donovan's arms. But she had no idea if he could give her anything more.  Romance was fine, but she needed his heart. She really needed him to be  the man she'd always believed him to be.



A limo arrived just after Emma, and she hugged her friend and dropped a kiss on Van's head as she left.



In the backseat of the limo she found another envelope. She opened it,  and a piece of vellum paper dropped out. On the paper was a poem written  by Christopher Brennan called "Because She Would Ask Me Why I Loved  Her."



The poem was beautiful and sweet, and the scrawled I love you at the  bottom made her heart beat a little faster. She wanted to believe that  Donovan was making this gesture because he loved her, but a part of  her-the part jaded by his betrayals-feared he was going to ask her to  remain his secret wife.



Chapter Twelve

Donovan was waiting on the dock when the limo pulled up. He had spent  the evening making sure every detail was in place. For once, he was  nervous, but not because he was afraid of the outcome. He'd always been a  winner, and there was no way he'd settle for anything less than  complete victory with Cassidy tonight.



"Good evening, Cassidy," he said as he took her hand and helped her out of the back of the car.



"Donovan."



The night sky was filled with stars and a warm tropical breeze stirred off the water. "Thank you for joining me."



"You're welcome. I'll admit I came only because I want to hear what you have to say."



"Did you read my notes?"



"I did."



"And?"



She hesitated.



"I love you, Cassidy."