“There they are!”Dad rose to his feet and pulled Callie into a warm hug.“The woman of the hour!”
She laughed, her cheeks flushing prettily.“Thank you, Thomas.I couldn’t have done it without all of your support.”
Meghan was next, enveloping Callie in a tight embrace.“You were amazing up there, Cal.I’m so proud of you.”
The conversation flowed easily as we sipped our drinks.Dad regaled us with stories from his early days at Price Industries.Every few minutes, I’d catch Callie’s eye, and she’d bat those ridiculously long lashes at me.Just the memory of her writhing against the glass, her pussy clenching around my fingers, had me semi-hard under the table.
I was subtly adjusting myself when I saw Wick marching toward our table, a look of utter rage on his face.Was that…was that look aimed atMeghan?I had never heard them exchange so much as a harsh word.
By the time he reached the table, I was already standing.“Hey, man.Didn’t know you were coming.”
His eyes darted between me and my sister, his mouth set in a hard line.“Yeah, I, uh…Meghan texted me, so I figured I’d come help you celebrate.”He took a deep breath, then turned to address Callie.“I heard you kicked some ass today.Good work.”
Wick took the open chair next to Meghan and drummed his fingers on the table.An uncomfortable silence descended until my dad spoke up again.
“So, Callie, now that Emmett is president, we’ll need someone to lead Special Projects, and we know Glenn doesn’t want the job.”He took a sip of his drink, mischief glinting in his eyes.
I didn’t even try to hide my smile.Dad and I had talked about it at length, and I had his full support on my succession plan.It was coming a bit sooner than I had expected, but he would have known that when he decided to oust Gene and appoint me as president.I reached across the table and clasped Callie’s hand.
“Actually, Dad, I’ve already made my decision on that front,” I said.“I want Callie to take over as head of Special Projects.”
Callie gawked at me.“Wait, what?Emmett, I just started as a full-time employee.I’m nowhere near qualified to lead an entire department.”
I brushed my thumb over her knuckles.“You’re more than ready for this, babe.Don’t sell yourself short.When I first took over Special Projects six years ago, I was fresh out of business school with no clue what I was doing.But I had Dad’s support and an amazing team behind me every step of the way.”
Dad nodded with an expression of fatherly pride.“I had faith in you, son, just like I have faith in Callie now.”
“Exactly,” I said, refocusing on Callie.Her face had taken on a shell-shocked look.“I believe in you, Cal.And I’ll be here to help guide you through it all, just like Dad did for me.”
Meghan piped up from across the table.“You’ve got this, Callie.We all saw how incredible you were today.Bring half that attitude to this role, and you’ll have poor Glenn at your beck and call in no time.”
Callie narrowed her eyes at me.“How long have you been planning this?”
Dad chuckled.I just grinned and shrugged.“For a bit.”
Callie’s phone buzzed on the table, and when she looked down at it, her brows shot toward her hairline.She flashed me the screen, and I looked at the text.It read, “Congrats, boss.”
Dad smiled smugly.He must have sent a text of his own to give Glenn the heads up.I shot him a look—one that I hoped said, “I’ve got my eye on you, wily old man.”
“This is not real life,” Callie muttered, causing us all to laugh.
“I assure you, Cal, that this is real life.”I scooted my chair closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against my side.Despite the laughter and joking around the table, I sensed her trepidation.This was a tremendous opportunity, but also a massive responsibility.
“Listen, babe,” I said, brushing my lips against her temple.“I know this seems daunting, but you’ve more than proven yourself capable of taking on this challenge.Your work ethic, intelligence, and passion for this company are unmatched.”
She tilted her head to meet my gaze, her eyes searching mine for reassurance.“But Emmett, I’m still so new to all of this.What if I screw it up?”
“You won’t.”
She nodded.The look on her face transformed from distraught to determined before contorting into horror.
“Does this mean I report to you?Am I sleeping with my boss again?!”
The entire table roared with laughter.I was delighted to see Callie join in.Maybe it had finally sunk in that she didn’t have to choose between her career and the man she loved.
And me?All I could see was her.My future.My partner.My equal.All the things I stopped daring to hope for a long time ago had been delivered to me in a Callie-sized package.
I’d thank fate for that every single day.
