“If you’re going to apologize for dinner the last time, don’t worry about it,” Aurora said and shuffled closer to me. “I explained to my parents that I wasn’t the most understanding girlfriend while we were together, and you just said all of those things to get a reaction out of me.”
I had no more surprise left in me for the person Aurora was. They thought I was apologizing? Aurora was not done talking.
“You know, I’m really glad you invited us here to apologize because I was so desperate I met up with Fiona to ask her to talk to you for me.”
“You did what?” I asked. Then I remembered Fiona talking about meeting Aurora. At the time, I thought Fiona had just been talking to get me to change my mind, but now I know better.
“I know, right? Who does she think she is? Just because I asked her to help me in my moment of need, she decided to use the chance to talk to me however she pleased. What did she say? She was in love with you?”
Aurora laughed at this part as if it was the funniest thing in the world. My chest expanded with joy; knowing that Fiona had told Aurora she was in love with me made me so happy. It made it even clearer what my goal here was today. Even if I didn’t want to draw a clear line between me and Aurora before, hearing this gave me all the clarity I needed.
“I don’t know why secretaries like to act up,” Aurora’s mother piped up, and then turned to her daughter. “Why did she think she could compete with you?”
Beside her, her father nodded in agreement. It was easy to see how they were a family. A family that I had zero desire to be a part of.
I sat straighter. “I’m sure you remember how I said I was in love with someone else at dinner the other day.”
“You don’t need to mention it,” Aurora said and took hold of my hand. “You just said that because you were pissed, right?”
I pulled my hand away from her and turned back to face her parents. “I wasn’t joking about it. I have no reason to joke about it. I’ve fallen in love with someone; if you must know, it is my secretary.” I looked at Aurora, who looked like she’d been slapped across the face. “The person I was talking about at the dinner was Fiona.”
“What is the meaning of this?” Kevin thundered, and I waved my hand, indicating for him to calm down.
“I still have a lot to say. Your daughter is not a saint, and I wasn’t happy while I was with her. I put up with a lot, and at the end of the day, she broke up with me. And what did I do? I still tried to make it work, but not anymore. That’s all in the past, gone with the wind.”
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not. There are a lot of things that I could joke about, but this isn’t one of them. I am in love with Fiona and intend to commit to her, and marry her somewhere along the line. I don’t want her to deal with you again.”
Aurora stood up so abruptly, the chair she was on fell back and hit the floor. Her father clenched his jaw.
“What do you think you’re doing right now?” Quinn asked. “Do you know what we can do? We can leave your company.”
I nodded because that is all they have to dangle over our heads. “You can pull out of the company if you want.”
“What?”
“I don’t care what you do. If you want to leave the company, do. I’m not going to force you to do business with us, but if you decide to remain with the company and continue with our partnership, I hope that we never have to discuss such unpleasant matters again. And in case you think I don’t know, your company needs us as much as we need you. Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
I got to my feet and buttoned up my suit. “I look forward to your decision on the matter.”
Aurora grabbed my hand before I could leave. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I hope you find someone who makes you happy.” I pulled my hand out of hers and walked out of the restaurant.
The weight on my shoulders felt like they were lifted. I pulled out my phone to call Allison. She needed to know what was going on, plus I needed to know if she was going to make it back for the dinner I hoped to have with my parents to discuss my relationship with Fiona.
Liam opened the door for me when I got to the car. I offered him a smile and slipped in while Allison answered the call.
“I just got done talking with Aurora and her parents.”
“Attaboy,” Allison said, and I could hear the excitement in her voice. “Finally. Do you think they will get the memo now?”
“I told them to pull out of the company if they deem it fit, but I absolutely will not be having this conversation with them again. So, I think they will let it go.”
“Good for you, I’m so happy for you. And Fiona?”
“She’s scared I’m going to leave the CEO position, and I’m scared I’m going to lose her if I don’t do something fast.”
“She does love you, you know that right?”
I grinned so wide that it was hard to reel it in enough to answer my sister. “Aurora said she tried to get Fiona to talk to me for her, but Fiona told her she was in love with me.”
I can even hear the smile in my voice. Allison laughed out loud, and I grinned even wider. I was that happy.
Chapter Nineteen
Fiona
Islowed down to a stop when I realized the figure I was looking at was actually Mason. He was dressed in a suit and standing in front of the house I now know belonged to his ex-wife.
Instead of walking past him like usual, I stood next to him and watched the house, too. He turned to look at me, but didn’t say anything because I didn’t look away from the house to acknowledge him. We didn’t get along well, but Christian has been kind enough to tell me it had nothing to do with me.
The sky was starting to take a tinge of orange, and any time soon, Christian would be coming to my house to drive me to dinner with his parents. I wasn’t sure how that was going to go, but I was terrified.
It was nice to see someone who was feeling the exact same thing I was feeling. The man who lived in the house with Cherie, the ex-wife, has not been around for a while. I knew because I’ve been keeping close tabs on the house.
Mason let out a sigh, but his eyes never left the house. “I have no idea what to say.”
