I stand in the hotel lobby like a chump while I wait for someone to exit the ladies’ room.
“Mr. King,” a voice booms. I look over and see Rob Baker walking toward me. Rob Baker, as in the father of Sylvie Baker. “What are you doing here tonight?” He’s genial—surprising given what’s about to go down between our companies.
“King Contributions works closely with the Lindor-Hodge Foundation. I’m glad I happened to be in town to attend.”
“My receptionist mentioned you were in town. I apologize I was in a meeting when you came by. Were you able to get your question answered?”
I nod. I hadn’t really gone there with a question. I’m just thankful he was in a meeting and Sylvie wasn’t. “I did, thanks. Your daughter was able to help.”
“She’s pretty incredible,” he says.
God, he doesn’t even know the half of it. I glance toward the bathroom. I’m still nervous about what’s going on in there. “While I’ve got you here, sir, I just want to thank you for being so amenable to this takeover. I know it’s not your preference, and I know this hasn’t been easy.”
He shakes his head. “No, it hasn’t, but I always want what’s best for the company, and it was my daughter, actually, who helped me see that Baker hasn’t been thriving the way it used to. She showed me some research she did that proved King has our best interest at heart. I’m no longer in a position to reach the kind of numbers we used to. I’ll hand that off to you. I’m not happy about it, but some things in this life are more important than work, and I can’t stop you anyway. I’ve accepted my fate.”
I nod, feeling oddly choked up, maybe because he mentioned his daughter, and she defended me to him. Maybe it’s because I know the secret—he’s not healthy enough to continue running the company, but for some strange reason, he trusts me to do it. He shouldn’t—just like his daughter shouldn’t have trusted me with his health information—but maybe the knowledge that his future is uncertain is enough to push him into trusting someone else with his family business. He has bigger issues to deal with at the moment.
“I’m learning that, too, sir,” I say.
He reaches out his hand, and I shake it firmly. I respect the hell out of this guy, and I suddenly feel like the feeling might be mutual.
He nods and excuses himself as he heads back to the ballroom, and my attention focuses once again on the ladies’ room.
This is taking much longer than it should. They’re in there, the three of them together, and I’m panicking in the lobby. What the hell are they saying to her? There’s no way they’re going to let her in and out without a word.
This can’t be good.
I finally see Sylvie appear from the hallway leading to the restrooms. Her face is flushed and she’s holding a hand to her chest, and she looks more gorgeous than I’ve ever seen her. She doesn’t notice me in the middle of the lobby because her eyes are laser focused on the doorway to the ballroom. She rushes over toward it.
“Sylvie!” I call.
She hears me and stops, and I stride across the lobby toward her. She turns to look at me, and her eyes are hard. She looks angry, but even worse, she looks hurt. Her face isn’t just flushed; her eyes are red. She still holds a hand to her chest as she gives me one long look, and then she spins on her heel and rushes into the ballroom before I have the chance to say a word to her.
I was so close to getting her. I was so close to a breakthrough, and now… My heart drops into my stomach and everything aches.
I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around and see Courtney and Emme.
“What the fuck did you two do?” I hiss.
They both look nervous, but it’s Courtney who speaks first. “We were just talking. We didn’t know she was there.”
“What did you say?” I glare at both of them in horror.
“Just about how you’re different.”
“Different how?” My tone hardens.
Courtney clears her throat and looks at Emme before her head swings back to me. “Um…just how you’ve never really been interested in just one woman before.”
I close my eyes and rub my forehead with my fingertips, trying to get rid of the sudden headache that’s coming on. “Tell me exactly what you said.”
Courtney’s eyes flash with guilt. “There may have been some jokes about you hooking up with a random woman or a waitress.”
“Or Lindor’s wife,” Emme says.
“And she heard?”
They both nod.
“But we told her how you’ve got it bad for her,” Courtney says, her voice filled with desperation.
“Thanks, that’s real helpful.”
Courtney looks hurt at my sarcastic tone, but not nearly as hurt as Sylvie looked as she ran toward the ballroom. I’ve got to fix this…I just have no idea how to do that. I need to find a way to talk to her. I need to clear up whatever these two meddlers just said to her, and I need to do it before she decides she’s better off without me—better off with the lawyer.
I take a deep breath and walk away from Courtney and Emme. They stand rooted to the spot, both of them looking sorry for what they did. Sorry isn’t going to cut it, though. They might’ve just cost me the one thing I want most—maybe the one thing I need most but didn’t recognize until I watched it slip right through my fingers.
I find myself out by the hotel pool. Palm trees line the tropical oasis; it’s truly an elegant resort, and the night is warm with a hint of a cool breeze. I pace back and forth in front of the pool, wondering what the fuck my next move is supposed to be. When I saw her here with the lawyer, I knew I needed to find a way to talk to her tonight, but I didn’t feel as desperate about it as I do now.
I think through my options. I could text her, but I don’t know if she has her phone with her. I could wait it out and see if she leaves the room to use the restroom again. I could send someone over with a glass of wine and a note of apology.
None of those seem like quite the right solution. So, as I pace in front of the pool, I decide what to do. I’ll just walk right up to her and tell her I need to talk to her, lawyers be damned.
Just as I make my decision to head back inside, the door opens and my brother steps out. “What are you doing out here?” he asks.
“Getting some fresh air.”
He nods toward some chairs, and we both sit.
“Court told me what happened.”
“Yeah. Thank your meddling wife for all her hard work today. I’m pretty sure she just fucked everything up for me.”
“Don’t blame her.”
I give him a pointed look, and he shoots one right back at me.
“Did she say anything that wasn’t true?” he asks.
I roll my eyes. “Is this where you lecture me for the sins of my past?”
“The sins of your past? As in last week?”
“Fuck off, Carter.”
“No, Carson, you fuck off. Court’s right, you know. She said she’s never seen you like this, and neither have I. You actually spent time with the kids today rather than running off to meet some woman. You went to your hotel last night alone. This is a different you—a better you—and if she means that much to you, you need to tell her before it’s too late.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“You remember how hard I had to fight for Courtney, don’t you?”
I shrug and let some silence sit between us, but the truth is that I do remember. He was a changed man from the minute she stepped into his life, and he’s only grown stronger because of her. He’s turned into a father and husband because of her, and he’s whole now.
“I get it,” I say. “Okay? I understand why people love love, but that doesn’t mean it’s meant for everyone.”
“I think it’s easy to say that when you’ve never experienced it.”
“You’re the expert on everything now?”
He shakes his head. “Most days I feel like I’m the expert on nothing, but I do know that the very second I met Courtney, my life changed. It was like I was sleeping my whole life until I met her, and I suddenly snapped awake.”
I think back to expressing the exact same sentiment to Sylvie the day I met her. When you whirled into my boardroom, it was like I woke up from a lifetime of sleeping.
Is this what my parents felt when they fell in love literally the day they met?
Is this what love is really like?
I was raised believing in love at first sight, but I never believed it for myself, not really. While I appreciate what my parents have, I never believed it would happen to me. I still don’t think it’s love, but what the fuck do I know?
I don’t know Sylvie well enough for it to be love, but my parents didn’t know each other very well when they knew. Carter didn’t know Courtney that well when he knew.
What if it is?
Even if it’s not, does it matter?
Either way, Sylvie is worth fighting for, and it’s time for me to prove it.