Twenty-Six

Morgan

Standing outside of Jensen Wright Architecture for the grand opening ribbon-cutting was utterly surreal. The building was a combination of brick and stone and had a homey feel. It was in complete contrast to the sleek, modern exterior of Wright Construction. I’d already toured the interior with Jensen earlier in the week. It had clean lines while with an easily accessible atmosphere.

The building had been his first pet project for the company. So, it was perfect. It had all the care and character that he put into his work. It made me consider building a house finally instead of living in the top-floor apartment I’d been in forever. Not that I was living in it much right now. Between long hours and Patrick’s house, I hadn’t had much incentive to spend time there.

But maybe eventually.

Jensen would make sure it was what I wanted when it came to it.

I was nervous about how the event was going to go down. In theory, it should be no big deal. Jensen would cut a ribbon. The building would open officially.

In practice, the least that I would have to deal with was my uncle and cousins. This was my first official event out with Patrick. We’d been out in the open since the Christmas party, but this was our first real time out in the world as a couple. And, of course, it was at a huge ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Hopefully, it would be no big deal, and everything would go as planned. But nothing was going that well for me right now. Especially not with my uncle around. I knew I needed to put on my happy face about the whole thing, but I couldn’t deny that I was worried about how it would all go.

“It’s going to be okay,” Patrick whispered in my ear. He squeezed my hand.

“I know,” I said with confidence.

This was Jensen’s big day. That was all that mattered.

A crowd had formed outside of the building, including reporters from the local newspapers. A group of us were all huddled inside for warmth. The temperature had dropped out from under us out of nowhere. This happened every year, but it was no less shocking when it was seventy-five degrees at noon and eleven degrees by five.

It was just about time to head into the frigid temperature when Owen and his two sons, Jordan and Julian, entered in through the side door. I sighed quietly. A small part of me had still hoped that they wouldn’t show.

“Sorry that we showed up so late,” Owen said with a big smile for everyone. “Julian couldn’t seem to find a tie.”

Julian rolled his eyes, and Jordan elbowed him in the ribs. I laughed at the display. But, of course, the room had gone quiet, and my laughter rang out loud and clear. I couldn’t catch a break.

“I thought it was entertaining as well. He had to borrow mine,” Owen said.

I took a deep breath. Kill him with kindness. “Actually, I thought it was funny how Jordan and Julian were acting. Reminded me of me and my brothers.” I shot him a bright, winning smile.

Fuck, I hope this works because it was killing me.

“I think you’d find that, if you get to know them, you have more in common with Jordan and Julian than you know.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” I lied. “Glad that you’ll all be here through the holidays, so we can play catch-up.”

Patrick coughed next to me, as if to say, Don’t milk it.

I tried to hide my smile.

“That’s great,” Julian said. He seemed to be the most genuine of the three. “Maybe we could meet up for drinks somewhere around here. Does Lubbock have bars?”

“You realize this is a college town, right?”

“It’s pretty small. I didn’t know.”

“It just feels small,” I assured him. “I’ll take you downtown and make you fall in love with my city.”

“As long as there are hot girls, I’m in.”

I laughed, actually amused by him. Though it seemed both his older brother and his father were less so. Apparently, he was supposed to be on his best behavior, too.

“Morgan, do you mind if I have a word with you before we all go outside?” Owen asked.

“Sure,” I said, standing my ground.

“In private.”

I ground my teeth. Of course, he was going to want to talk to me in private. He was going to dig into me, like he always did as soon as we disappeared from public sight. Honestly, being alone with him was a recipe for disaster. Jensen wanted me to make nice, but that was going to be next to impossible if Owen opened his big fucking mouth.

Patrick pushed me forward a step.

“Sure,” I said. “Let’s take Jensen’s office.”

Owen hadn’t been here yet, so I showed him through the building and into Jensen’s open office door at the end of the hall. It was immaculate. Jensen was one to bury himself under a stack of paper, like the rest of us, but this office clearly hadn’t been broken in yet.

“Nice place,” Owen said.

“Yep.”

“Morgan, we only have a minute, so I’ll come right out and say it.”

I braced myself for what was about to come out of his mouth. I’d been blunt and angry with Owen at the Christmas party. I hadn’t apologized for what I said. Nor did I have any intention of doing so. But I’d pushed him off to David more times than I could count, and I had known I’d have to deal with this eventually.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot,” Owen said.

I tilted my head in surprise.

“You’re not what I expected. And, to be honest, that’s a good thing.”

“Um…thank you?”

He laughed. “I know I can be a hard-ass. I know I take a lot of this really seriously. But I think we have the same concerns for this company. We both want it to be the best that it can be.”

“That is what I want. That’s what I’ve always wanted. I’ve dedicated my life to Wright Construction.”

“See? We have that in common.”

“I guess so.”

“Can I confide something in you?” he asked.

I raised my eyebrows. “Sure.”

“The reason my brother, Ethan, sent me away to Vancouver was because the board wanted me to replace Ethan as CEO.”

“What?” I gasped.

He nodded. “Hard to imagine now. He’s revered around here, but at the time, he was a raving alcoholic. He was obstinate and opinionated. He was sarcastic to a fault, narrow-minded, and egotistical. He made few friends and a whole host of enemies. This was before you were born, of course.”

Well, that did sound like my father. But I’d never heard that they wanted to replace him.

“When we first met, I thought you were just like my brother.”

I winced. “Well, thanks.”

“See? That dry sarcasm is classic Ethan.”

“Is there a point to all this?” I couldn’t help asking.

“I’ve been here for several weeks now, and I think I was wrong. I let old wounds impact our relationship. I’d like to start over.” He held his hand out. “What do you say?”

With hesitancy, I stared down at that hand outstretched toward me. I was still reeling from what Owen had said about my father. I couldn’t believe that anyone had ever wanted someone else to take over the company. That Owen had been a favorable alternative and that my father had sent him out of the country to get him out of the picture. But, at the same time, the way he’d described my father…was so on point. He hadn’t been an easy man to have as a father. That was certain. And…I was like him. In more ways than one. I was sure I had as many of his baser qualities as I had his ambition and strong work ethic.

But, if Owen was extending an olive branch, would I be an idiot for refusing?

Swallowing my pride, I held my hand out. We shook. And, just like that…things were different.

Not wholly different. I still had my guard up. But at least this was a start. An unexpected one for sure.

“How’d it go?” Patrick asked when I stepped to his side.

I shook my hand from side to side to say, So-so. “I think I made a deal with the devil.”

He laughed and then tried to cover it with a cough. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

“We’ll see. He said we got off on the wrong foot. Still skeptical as to whether he thinks that foot is him calling me a secretary or me not treating him like he’s royalty.”

“The apology at least was something.”

“Better than the way he’d been treating me up to this point.”

I braced myself for the chilly weather as we all stepped outside. This ribbon-cutting reminded me of how much I loved being close to my friends and family. Jensen was surrounded by his new staff, but Emery stood by his side through it all. Heidi and Landon were laughing at each other. Austin kept swooping down to kiss Julia. She’d swat at him, but I knew she didn’t mind. Sutton had Jason on her hip while she listened to David speak animatedly. She would need more time to recover, but I was glad that she was here with everyone else. That she had David, even just as a friend, to help her through this hard time. Even having Owen, Jordan, and Julian here wasn’t completely awful.

The whole thing was over in a record fifteen minutes. Jensen made a speech and used some giant scissors to cut a red ribbon. Everyone applauded. There were a series of photographs, and then we all rushed back inside where snack food and drinks were waiting.

“I’m so proud of you!” I told Jensen when he was finally free.

He pulled me into a hug. “Thanks, Morgan.”

“Big brother, all grown-up.”

“Just now?” he asked with a laugh.

“Just now.”

“I was CEO for all those years and not grown-up?”

“Nah,” I said. “Not until at least Emery.”

“I appreciate that,” Emery said with a grin. “See? You weren’t complete without me.”

“That’s a fact,” he agreed.

“You certainly wouldn’t have listened to anyone if they’d told you to wait a year for Emery,” I said, nudging him.

“Oh God. I’ll say it again. That’s not what I meant,” he groaned.

Emery eyed him. “What’s this all about? Are you bothering her about Patrick still?”

“No,” he said.

Emery turned to me. “Well?”

“He suggested that it might make more sense for me to wait a year before getting a boyfriend.”

“That’s not what I said! You took it the worst way possible.”

“How else was she supposed to take it?” Emery asked.

“It was a joke. I was only saying that it’s easier to be CEO and single.”

Emery’s eyebrows rose. “Well then, what are we doing together?”

He sighed and shot me a death glare. “Thanks. Now, I’m in trouble.”

“Anytime,” I said with a broad smile.

“Morgan is a great CEO. She and Patrick are great together. You boys all just need to get over it. Don’t make me get Heidi over here. She’d have a thing or two to say.”

“She’s my handpicked successor. I think I know that she’s perfect for the job. And it was a purely theoretical suggestion. I didn’t think they’d actually break up.”

“Good,” Emery said with a head nod.

I laughed. “You two are adorable.”

“Just trying to keep him in his place.”

Jensen rolled his eyes. “And where is your place?”

“Probably right here.”

“Probably?”

She shrugged. “You’re kind of stuck with me.”

“That’s good,” he said.

Then, Jensen pulled a powder-blue box out of his pocket and sank to one knee. Right then and there, in front of everyone.

Emery’s mouth dropped open in shock. “What are you doing?”

“Proposing,” he told her.

Her head swiveled from side to side in disbelief before landing back on Jensen when she realized this was real life.

“Emery, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

“Can I wear a black wedding dress?”

Jensen chuckled. “Whatever you want.”

“Oh, we’re already off to a good start.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Of course it is. Stand up already.”

Jensen obliged with a pointed head shake. Then, he slid the Tiffany ring onto her finger and dragged her in for a kiss. The entire room erupted with cheers and calls and whistles. I was clapping and smiling so hard, my cheeks hurt.

I couldn’t believe this. Jensen had been so adamant earlier this year about not getting married. He’d already done it once. Once was enough. He and Emery were happy the way they were. I’d completely written off the possibility.

My eyes found Patrick across the room where he was standing with Austin. His smile was magnetic, and when he met my eyes, he did a little dance that made me laugh.

Goof, I mouthed to him.

He did the dance again. I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing harder.

Everyone started to crowd in around Jensen and Emery, so I moved out of the way. I watched Austin and Patrick step up for congratulations and took that opportunity to pull out my phone. I’d left the office early for this, and I knew I’d have to play catch-up tomorrow. I absentmindedly scrolled through my emails, categorizing them by subject and priority. My system was pretty intense.

“Are you freaking out?” Julia asked.

“Oh my God, it’s amazing!” I told her, glancing up from my phone. “Sorry, work.”

“No big. I can’t believe he proposed. Emery said they didn’t want to get married.”

“I know. Jensen said that, too.”

“I wonder what changed his mind.”

Both our eyes drifted across the room to where Sutton stood with Jason. She wore a sad smile but was putting on a strong face for all the excitement. Both of us had a pretty good guess as to what had changed Jensen’s mind.

“Are you excited to be a bridesmaid?” I asked.

“Do you think I will be?”

I laughed. “Um…yes. You and Heidi are her best friends!”

“Weird. I hadn’t thought about that.”

I shook my head and glanced back down at my phone. Another email had just come in. I checked the recipient and frowned.

“Huh,” I muttered.

“What?” she asked.

I opened the email and started to read it. My stomach dropped.

I read it again. My heart raced.

I read it again. I thought I was going to be sick. I reached out to steady myself against the wall as all the color drained completely from my face.

“Morgan, are you okay? You’ve gone pale.”

“Do I need to get someone?” Julia asked.

I could hear her. I could tell she was worried. But fear and horror were the only things that crossed my mind.

“Morgan!”

I finally glanced up at her with glassy, wide eyes. “We lost the Texas Tech construction contract.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m totally fucked.”