Thirty-Three

Morgan

Owen threw a few obscene words in my face before storming out of the conference room. And, just like that, it was over.

I breathed out heavily, deflating from the showdown I hadn’t even anticipated having. I’d been ready for anything. I’d been prepared. But I hadn’t known what Patrick and Jensen were going to bring into this meeting. I hadn’t known what would come out of that. Or Owen’s confession about my parents. Something I absolutely couldn’t even process right now.

“Well, that was eventful,” Jensen said, standing in the back of the room. “I’d say this meeting is over.”

A round of grumbles came from around the table as everyone stirred from their shock at what had gone down. Each of the board members moseyed out of the room. Some gave me a sort of apologetic head tilt, others a grim smile, and at least one of them didn’t even look my way.

It was only Curt who stopped and looked me in the eye. “Sorry about all this, Morgan.”

“We got it cleared up and snuffed out the real culprit here.”

“I wish I’d seen what Owen was up to from the start. We hired you for a reason. It was clear that my judgment was misplaced in this scenario. Accept my apology.”

I nodded. “All right. Let’s drop the oversight committee, and we’ll call it even.”

Curt laughed. “I think that sounds reasonable.”

We shook hands, and then he departed. My cousins sidled up to me next. I hated the look of shock in their eyes. The realization that must have come over them at their father’s statement.

“Are y’all going to be okay?” I asked Jordan and Julian.

They glanced at each other.

Jordan spoke, “I think it’s time for us to get home, is all.”

“We should probably talk to our mom. I think we might have been unfair to her all these years,” Julian added.

Jordan sighed. “Yeah. It’s not going to be pleasant.”

“Well, you’re both welcome back anytime. There’s always a place for you here. It’s kind of nice to have more family around.”

They both smiled and promised to come visit again. I hoped they would. Now that I could disassociate them from Owen, I found I wanted to get to know them. I hoped it wasn’t too little, too late.

Once Jordan and Julian disappeared, I turned to find Jensen leaning against the wall. I was about to open my mouth to say something when the door burst back open, and the rest of my family walked in.

“What are you all doing here?” I asked with a laugh.

Austin nudged me as he walked in. “Had to come see your big day.”

“What he means is, he wanted to know if you’d gotten fired,” Landon said.

“Y’all are jerks,” Sutton grumbled, flopping into a seat.

“Yeah, listen to Sutton,” I muttered.

I turned to my sister. She still didn’t quite look like herself. Dressed in black instead of her signature pink, but her nails were done, and her hair had seen a curling iron recently, the ombré locks waving past her shoulders.

“Where’s Jason?”

“I got a nanny,” she admitted.

“That’s great!”

“It feels ridiculous because I’m not working, but I needed to get out of the house.”

“Well, if you need a job, we just fired someone,” I volunteered with a laugh.

Sutton shot me an incredulous look. “Pass.”

I felt more lighthearted in that moment than I had in weeks. Maybe months! Had I really been carrying all of this stress on my shoulders for that long? Had I completely forgotten what it was like not to be stressed?

“So, you kicked ass?” Austin asked.

“She did,” Jensen agreed.

“I did,” I said with a laugh. “Though Jensen and Patrick certainly helped with kicking Owen’s butt out of Lubbock.”

“We did what we could,” Jensen said.

“Thanks,” I said. “Now, hold that thought…”

Then, I turned around and found Patrick standing in the same spot where he’d stood to defend me against Owen. He hadn’t said a word. Just stoically stood there as I’d dealt with all my problems. A half-smile appeared on his face, unassuming and beautiful.

“You,” I said, pointing at him.

“Yeah?”

I ignored the rest of my family standing behind me, walked right up to Patrick, stood on my tiptoes, and pressed my lips against his. My hands moved to his chest, gripping his button-up. He hesitated for a split second, as if he couldn’t believe we were doing this right here, right now, in front of my entire family.

Then, he relaxed, wrapping his arms tight around my waist and dragging me closer. Everything around me quieted down to that moment. I couldn’t hear the catcalls behind me. Only my own heartbeat ringing in my ears. The feel of his heat pressing into my body. The taste of him on my lips.

I’d been an idiot, blaming Patrick for everything that had happened and pushing him away when I was distressed. It hadn’t been fair. It wasn’t even what I’d wanted. There was no reason that I couldn’t work and have a love life. Jensen did it. Millions of other people had done it before me. Patrick had tried to tell me that, but I’d been too stuck in my own head to see it. Too worried about my job and not seeing clearly.

This right here was what I needed. Patrick Young’s lips against my own and his body against mine and all the cares in the world dropping away.

Slowly, as if in a dream, Patrick pulled back, and I broke to the surface of the water I’d been under. His baby-blue eyes were lit up, and a cocky smile touched his lips.

“So, I guess we’re back together, huh?” he asked.

“What gives you that idea?” I teased.

“Pretty sure you just made out with my face.”

“I mean, if you beg, then maybe I’ll consider.”

“You’re a hellion.”

I winked. “And don’t ever forget it.”

Austin grumbled noisily behind us. “Is this ever going to stop? I’m getting sick to my stomach.”

“Oh, give it up,” Sutton muttered.

“We don’t want to watch this,” Austin protested.

“It’s just a kiss,” I told him, leaning back into Patrick’s arms. “I’ve seen you do worse with Julia in public.”

“Julia and I are totally innocent,” he said with a devious look in his eye. “We’re both virgins, you know? Saving ourselves for marriage and all that.”

“Does anal count as losing your virginity?” Landon asked from the back of the room.

Everyone burst out laughing, and Austin just shook his head. “Dude, not cool.”

“Children,” Jensen said playfully.

“What did you think of Owen’s confession?” I asked Jensen.

He shrugged. “I don’t know what to make of it.”

“What did he say?” Landon asked.

I repeated Owen’s sordid story. It was particularly embarrassing for me to think that the whole reason he hated me was because I looked like his lost love. But, of course, I’d gotten my father’s temperament. Minus the alcoholism, thankfully. Though the rash temper had obviously come my way. I’d lashed out at Patrick with hardly any provocation. I’d need to be mindful of that in the future. As mindful as Austin was about drinking.

“Whoa,” Austin said when I finished.

“That’s fucked up,” Landon added.

Sutton bit her lip and looked away. It didn’t help mentioning that he’d ended up divorced because he had been mourning his brother’s wife. Mourning and death were not great topics around Sutton at the moment.

“I think the entire exchange was just sad,” Jensen finally concluded. “Obviously, our parents weren’t here to confirm or deny any of his claims. All we have is his very jaded word. What I do want to say about it is, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” I asked. “Why?”

“You told me over and over again that Owen was treating you like shit, and I told you to deal with it. That it was just business. What I should have done is listen to you. I didn’t know that he had ulterior motives. I thought he was treating you how he’d treated me when I became CEO. Pretty much like a dick.”

“Well, it’s okay. He had everyone under his spell. No one knew what he was doing.”

“And here I thought, I looked like Mom,” Sutton said sarcastically.

“Mom would never have gone blonde.”

“Hey!” Sutton said, fingering her hair. “It’s balayage.”

“Fancy word for blonde.”

“You’re keeping your job. You’re supposed to be happier than this and nicer to me.”

I laughed. “You’re right. I think I’m going to take the rest of the day off.”

“What?” all of the guys said in shock at the same time.

“Yeah. I’ve earned it.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Patrick said next to me.

“Thanks. Don’t you have work?”

“Well, I got the rest of the day off, too.”

“Great. Let’s get out of here.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded, offering him my hand. He entwined our fingers together. I smiled at my family as I walked out of the conference room without them. I appreciated them being there and how much they cared for me in my moment of need. I knew that I couldn’t live without them and was really lucky to have them.

But I had also fucked up something really great with a man who had never wavered in his feelings for me from the moment he made them known. While I was the one over here, who had claimed to have wanted him forever. Now, I needed to show him exactly what he had taught me was true. I could have it all.