“Not mine anymore.”
“But you built it. You founded it.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Carter. It matters.”
“No,” I said to her. “It doesn’t. All that matters to me is the future, and Emily, you’re my future. Do you understand? You’re my future. I couldn’t have everything, not in this situation. It was my fault that I let it get to this point, and I couldn’t let you and your mother suffer for my past mistakes. I did what I had to do to make it right.”
“Carter,” she said softly. “Are you sure?”
“I’m very sure. There’s going to be a huge media frenzy soon, but I promise I’ll keep you safe. We’ll hole up in my mansion, ride it out together.”
She laughed. “Who says I want to be locked in that stupid house with you?”
I grinned at her, kissing her again softly. “Too bad. You’re mine now, and you always will be.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, laughing.
I couldn’t have what I really wanted without making sacrifices. Maybe that was difficult for me to see before, but it was plain as day to me now. I had to sacrifice my company if I was going to have Emily.
Releasing financial information about Valor was more for my own revenge, though. There wasn’t enough in there to prosecute anyone, but there sure as hell was enough to embarrass the whole company. Stocks were going to take a huge dive and the company might never recover after all of this comes to light. If Bruce hadn’t taken all those papers and notebooks from my room, I probably would have had enough to get them all thrown in prison.
As it stood, I was going to have to be okay with embarrassing the fuck out of them and watching them all squirm.
It didn’t matter now, though. I was done with Valor, done with it all. I had Emily and whatever future we had together was completely up to us.
I was starting a new life with her. I was starting the only life I needed.
“Come on,” I said, taking off my tie and tossing it aside. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Wait,” she said. “Think you’ll ever come back?”
“Nope. I’m done with this place.”
“What about my mom?”
“I’ll get her a better job. Don’t worry about that.”
She sighed. “You’re an ass, you know that, Carter?”
“Sure am.” I grinned at her. “Come on.”
We walked out together, leaving my office. We walked past Evelyn, waving, and headed down the hall, the same hall I’d walked through thousands of times over the years. We passed break rooms, meeting rooms, cubicles, places that I had a million experiences, some of the best days of my life.
I kept my eyes on Emily and I never once looked back.
27
Emily
Two Years Later
I could hear the ocean lapping at the shore outside of the window. I rolled over and felt Carter’s spot, still warm from his body, but empty. The sun had just risen, and I slowly got out of bed, my back aching.
I got up and went into the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror. I was so damn pregnant, practically ready to burst, and I couldn’t wait. I wanted to give birth so badly, but I still had a few more weeks before I was really due.
The stones were cold under my feet as I padded down toward the kitchen. The old house was gorgeous and had been modernized, but eighteen century French countryside houses didn’t typically retrain warmth very well, even when they get gutted and rebuilt.
I found Carter cooking breakfast like he always did.
“Morning, gorgeous,” he said.
I kissed him on the cheeks. “What’s on the menu?”
“Eggs,” he said. “Fresh from the coop.”
“Delicious.”
“Told you raising chickens wouldn’t be hard.”
I made a face. “It’s easy for me because I won’t go near them.”
He laughed. “Exactly. I do all the work.”
“They’re still gross.”
He put a plate of eggs, some fried tomatoes, and orange juice in front of me. “But so delicious.”
I sighed. “So, so delicious.”
He laughed and sat down across from me, sipping from a steaming mug of coffee. I ate my breakfast, sneaking glances at him as he opened a local paper and started it read. I was still amazed that he could speak and read French fluently, but Carter was full of surprises.
We’d lived in the south of France for the last year, hiding away from the media. After everything dropped, especially the bits about our relationship, the mansion was inundated with reporters and drones at all times. We stayed there for a year only because there were still interviews to do, plus there were some pending legal things to deal with. But as soon as we were cleared to leave the country, we got the heck out of there.