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“No, this wasn’t you,” Kane said and his tone took a sharp edge. “Fucking Eli. Even when he’s down and out, he can’t lose gracefully.”
“You think he leaked it?” Liam placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.
“Who else?” Kane rolled his eyes.
As the argument worsened, I reached for Liam’s hand. “Sawyer shouldn’t be alone with him. You know what he’s like.”
A flash of realization crossed Liam’s face, then he darted across the room and into the office.
“Sawyer’s father is?—.”
“A monster,” I remarked bitterly. “I’ve seen how Sawyer is around him and I’ve seen how he treats him. That man is nothing but hatred wrapped up in a sour bow.”
“Wow,” Kane snorted softly. “We seem to attract those kinds of people, don’t we.”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the door, concerned for the outcome of such a terrible fight, when a thought crossed my mind. “If this was Eli… Do you think he’ll try something else? Something worse?”
“I won’t let him anywhere near you,” Kane said firmly, leaning against my desk and taking my hand. “His threats mean nothing. It changed nothing between us and it’s just his last, desperate attempt to try and publicly discredit Sawyer. You know the vultures will be all over Sawyer sleeping with an employee.”
I tore my gaze away from the door and gazed up at Kane. “Will he be in trouble?”
Kane grimaced and shook his head. “I don’t know, honestly. But whatever he wants to do, however he wants to tackle this, we will support him.”
The loud voices suddenly calmed and the door to Sawyer’s office ripped open. He strode out, his cheeks slightly red from the argument, and headed toward us followed closely by Liam.
Marcus remained in the office but it was clear from the look on Sawyer’s face that the fight was over. As he stopped next to me, my hands tingled with the urge to reach out and comfort him but I couldn’t. All curious eyes in the office were fixed on us, and now I knew that they had all seen the paper; I couldn’t make things worse.
“Are you okay?” I asked, giving him a quick scan over.
He met my eyes and a small smile flickered across his lips. “I’m fine.”
“Kane.”
“Yes?” Kane slid forward from my desk and straightened up.
“I believe I have a new proposal for you.”
34
CALLIE
“Happy Birthday!”
It felt like years had passed since we started planning Sawyer’s birthday celebration, especially with everything that happened in the weeks in between. It was finally here and the party was in full swing. Drinks flowed, food was shared, and all presents were stacked under the trellis of the roof garden. The music carried through the late afternoon air, and the pink sky was slowly giving way to the darkness that thankfully brought down the sweltering temperatures.
“I’m gonna teach you how to get an extra cookie from Daddy,” Marie whispered. She was balanced in my lap, talking slowly to the growing bump on my belly. “We can get matching bikes and if we’re really lucky…” Marie glanced up at me, then leaned very close to my belly and spoke in a low, soft voice. “Maybe we’ll get a dog!”
“Do you want a pet?” I chuckled, running my fingers through her hair as she sat back up.
“Yes! But Dad always says no because we travel so much.”
“Hmm,” I mused softly. “You don’t travel anymore, though, do you? You like it here. You have a new home and you’re starting a new school next month. That sounds like you’re not going to travel anymore.”
Marie’s eyes lit up, then she slid from my lap and ran off into the crowd likely searching for her dad. I leaned back in my chair, sipped my iced lemonade, and smiled.
Life was good.
Not only was this Sawyer’s birthday party, but it was also a celebration for the official rebranding of Golden Dove. After one very short meeting in the elevator a few weeks ago, Kane and Sawyer decided to dissolve their companies and merge them into one brand new company that was controlled by them. This effectively cut Marcus out of the loop—and Sawyer’s life—and gave them both an equal share in this new brainchild—with Liam, of course.
