Blaire’s eyes softens a little. Her arms droop. She looks less defensive now.
“Okay,” she replies and I nod. That’s it. I literally have nothing else to say to her, so I turn to walk back into the house.
“What happened to your wife?” she blurts, making me stop in my tracks. I turn to her slowly and I can see she regrets it already. Blaire is shaking her head.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. I know I don’t make it easy for you to like me…”
“Anya’s mother and I were never married. But to answer your question, she died in a skiing accident. She was on vacation with a group of friends. Anya was living with me at the time.”
I see Blaire gulp dryly. Don’t fuckin’ cry because I won’t be able to handle it!
“I’m really sorry for your loss. For both your…”
“Don’t you have that dinner to go to?” I growl and shut the door.
I know I shouldn’t have done that. Fuck! This is the first time we have actually come close to having a civilized conversation.
But I’m not sure I can handle it. If I let her in, if I reveal myself to her, even in the smallest way, I’m afraid I’ll cave. I’ll want to tell her everything. I’ll want her, and I won’t be able to hold back.
And I can’t do that to Anya. She deserves to have a relationship with Blaire without me ruining it for her.
6
Blaire
I wish Kim was here so I could discuss everything with her, but she has moved in with her parents and left the city ever since she found out about the pregnancy. I’ve offered her a room in my apartment. She knows I would be more than happy to have her here with me, but she insists on living with her parents.
I know I need to speak to Kirk too. I need to level with him and make him answerable for the whole situation. Kim says she heard him telling his brother how he didn’t think much of their relationship. Even though she doesn’t want to confront him, I know I will. Kirk has a lot of flaws, but he’s not an idiot. I know he can see what I see—that they are meant to be together.
But I wish Kim was here for another reason too. I want to be able to discuss with her the meeting I had last week with Calvin Surrey from the Habitat Financial Group. They want to procure my company, and from the initial conversation, it seems like they want it pretty bad and are willing to pay a lot of money for their share.
I have received a few offers like this since I started the company, but it was never this big. I wouldn’t even have considered an offer like this if I didn’t think ahead. I want my company to grow bigger. Maybe even branch out and try other things. The money and support I could potentially get from Habitat would definitely help me in that direction.
I’m excited and nervous. I will have to sell a large chunk of my voting stock to them, which means they will have some control over my company—but it would also mean a lot of positives for me too. According to Calvin, they will take over all the risks of the assets, be able to work with my finance team to reduce tax expenses and help me grow and evolve by bringing in their own financial expertise.
I’ve been in and out of meetings with my lawyers. They want to look at a contract, of course, but they don’t see anything wrong with the arrangement as it stands.
I called Calvin today and told him I want to meet with him again to go over an actual offer. This time, I want the meeting to be at his office. I want to get a feel of the company, maybe meet the CEO or the management board. I want to be absolutely sure of what I’m getting into before I jump in.
The meeting is set up for tomorrow, and I am so excited.
I have pulled out all the stops for my meeting today. I’ve picked out a rich wine-colored pencil skirt and have a rose silk blouse tucked in. Black pumps. A long black blazer to go over the outfit. Dainty gold earrings.
I’ve styled and neatly tied my hair in a smooth bun. My makeup is delicately pink. I’ve been up since six in the morning, preparing for this.