I knocked on my uncle John’s office door, sensing a thin film of perspiration appearing on my forehead. This was it. If I hadn’t been able to convince him now, it was all over. Everything I had done, everything I made Jessie do…would be gone to waste.

When I heard his voice, I stepped in and saw my cousin Marcus sitting on a chair across from him.

“Ah, Leo! Come in come in. Have a seat.” John said.

Marcus glared at me, and I glared back, like two rabid wolves fighting monstrously over a pound of flesh. I didn’t care what Marcus thought of me. I was willing to fight for my legacy to my last breath.

I unbuttoned my jacket and sat down, keeping my focus on my uncle instead of the nasty looks Marcus was throwing at me.

I could see a newspaper open in front of John. Pictures of Jessie and me at Central Park were splashed all over it.

“So…I see that you’ve taken care of the problem at hand.” John began.

Before I could say anything, Marcus had sprung up to action.

“This is outrageous, uncle! Surely, you see that this isn’t going to fly. How long is Leo going to keep up this sham marriage?” he growled.

John gulped, staring at Marcus and then turned to me.

“Do you have a plan regarding the aftermath?” he asked me.

“Jessica and I have agreed that we will remain married for a few more months, till the rumors die out and people forget about Kylie. I give it three more months at the max. People’s attention span is short these days.” I told him, and John nodded.

“And after that?” he asked.

“We get the marriage annulled and keep it under covers. A few years from now, if the news gets out that our marriage is over, it wouldn’t matter to anyone anymore. Kylie Musgrave would be long gone and forgotten.” I replied.

John sighed, squaring his shoulders while Marcus shook his head.

“This is ridiculous. Someone is going to find out, and then we’ll be back to square one. Things like this don’t remain a secret for very long,” Marcus snapped.

Before I could retort, it was John who turned to him this time.

“Nobody other than the board, you and the couple themselves know what’s going on. It is in all our best interest, for the sake of the company; to keep this a secret. If word ever gets out, we will know it was leaked by someone from this group. Do you understand, Marcus?” John spoke firmly to him.

My cousin shifted in his seat uncomfortably and then nodded.

“You’ve done well, Leo.” he continued, turning to me again. “You were faced with a problem, and you found a solution. As undesired as that solution was.”

I couldn’t explain to him that these past two weeks had been some of the happiest days of my life. Waking up every morning to see Jessie’s face, eating breakfast with her…going on dates…tasting her body…nothing else would ever be good enough.

“When my father passed the company on to me, he had handpicked the son to give it to. As you know, he had three sons to choose from. Me, your father, Leo, and your’s, Marcus. When he died, he told me that you, Leo, were the most deserving heir to the company and my father was always right.”

I felt a lump in my throat. I remembered that day vividly, at my grandfather’s deathbed in his stately home in Vermont. I was just a kid then, but I knew what my grandfather had told me would affect the rest of my life. Since then, I’d focused on nothing else other than proving myself worthy of the task.

“I don’t have children of my own, the choice really has always been between the two of you. And believe me Leo, you were always my number one.” John continued and stood up.

I stood up with him, while Marcus remained sitting stubbornly. I could sense that he didn’t want to be in the room with us.

John held a hand out to me.

“The job is yours, Leo.” he said. I shook his hand, and a sense of relief washed over me like a cool shower.

I couldn’t help but smile. My first instinct was to call Jessie, tell her the good news. I knew she would be happy for me.

“Make me proud, Leo.” John declared and thumped my shoulder affectionately.

With a smile on my face, I left his office, with Marcus scurrying behind me with his head hanging low.

Neither of us spoke to each other. I was in the mood to forgive, and I would have forgiven him then for all the nasty things he had said and done over the years to undermine me. But he didn’t wait to talk.

I had a spring in my step. It felt surreal. The Cormack brand was now going to be headed by me, and I was bursting with new ideas. I was looking forward to taking this company ahead into the future, pass it on to my own children…

Children. I hadn’t thought of that before. I’d spent so much time working for the company and my success and ambition, that I’d never taken the time to think about the other things in life that should have mattered.

I was walking out of the office, heading for my car. Jessie would have returned home from her office by now. Home…my home, what was our home for some time. Now that I had the company, she had no reason to remain there. She was free to leave and continue with her life.

As much as I wanted to delay telling her, I wanted to do the right thing. I didn’t want to force her to be in this vague relationship with me when she didn’t have to anymore.

My feelings for her weren't going to be enough if she didn’t love me too.