“Right. Calliope. I’m sorry for the past few days. I know they must be insanely confusing and make it seem like I don’t care,but I swear everything I’ve been doing is because I do care about you, deeply.”
Her expression doesn’t change.
“When you… when you told me about Nick… I couldn’t breathe. It felt like the world was spinning but somehow, I had stuck staying still. You know that falling sensation you get in your chest sometimes when something is just… too much? It was like that but amplified.”
Calliope’s brows waver slightly.
“I had no idea. No idea about Nick, no idea that you could have gotten pregnant. If I’d known, I would have been here, I swear. I know that means very little now, of course. So when you told me, after the initial shock passed, I suddenly realized something. I love you, and that puts you in danger. In fact, the very nature of our relationship put us both in danger, not just because we’ve been loosely dating, but I knew how it would look legally if anyone were to find out about the merger without my revealing that an employee is the mother of my child.”
My racing heart gradually calms as more and more words flow.
“I needed to make sure you were protected. So I went to the office and I called my lawyer and my CFO, Buster, and I told him everything and he immediately knew what to do. Dating an employee was breaking the rules and would continue to break the rules, not just within Angelic Jewels but also within Amber Limited. All I could think of was someone finding out and using it to not only force you out of a job but also open you up to being sued for manipulation, or worse. I…” My breath catches so I pause briefly.
Calliope’s face is slowly melting from angry to concerned.
“So I had an idea. We pored over every detail of info we had and it turns out Buster had sent out a few fake samples to see who in the company would bite. He felt that whoever bit would be the one greedy enough to try and sell these for profit, and he was right. The stock made it in a shipment but didn’t make it to the internal stock numbers and from there, the code used to access that shipment’s tracking was also the code used to access all of the other shipments that were written off and stolen.”
Calliope lifts a hand to her chest. “Who?”
“Your boss. Jimmy.”
Her eyes widen. “What?”
“Mmhmm. CCTV confirmed a few cases of his being active on the account whenever that code was used. Once I confronted him about it yesterday, he basically confessed in not so many words and then flew into a fit of rage and attacked me, one of the cops, and tried to throw my desk chair through the window.”
“Oh my God! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I assure her quickly. “Promise.”
“I… all this time, it was him? All the shit he gave me about stock numbers and profit while he was the one skimming off the top? That bastard!”
“I’m sorry. I hadn’t planned on confronting him so soon because I wanted to secure you first.”
She shakes her head and her hand moves in circles around her chest. “Secure me?”
“We can’t work together. No lawyer would sign off on it, and I knew I wasn’t letting you lose your job. So… if Victoria had let me finish, I would have told you all my plans.”
“Your plan,” she repeats softly.
“Yes. Angelic Jewels is closing down, that’s true. Everything will be initially absorbed by Amber Limited, and then we’ll create an as-yet-unnamed sister company. I want to hire you as the head of marketing for that company with a fully detailed, clear contract stating the nature of our relationship and signed so that you will be forever protected in employment at that company, regardless of what happens between us. It was… it was the only way I could think of to ensure that you got the recognition you deserve for dragging your department through the mud with that bastard. If you accept, you’ll be getting a pay increase and benefits, including medical, and everyone under Angelic Jewels will be let go and then rehired if they so choose. They will be rehired under the sister company and we are closing the stores, but only because Buster, my CFO, has found great locations to move them to.”
I have to pause, slightly breathless from the rush of words. Calliope watches with slightly narrowed eyes as if she’s searching for a lie in my words.
“All of that, I had to get in place before I spoke to you because I knew if I said anything before it was all legalized, then I would put both of us at risk for conspiracy and God knows what else. I had to make sure you knew nothing. It was the only way, and I’m sorry. And if you hate me, I understand. If you can’t trust me, I understand. If you want to tell me to fuck off, not sign, and make me leave, then I understand that too. Regardless of what happens between us, you will be hearing from my lawyer in the next day or two because I’ve set up a fund for Nick. It’snot extravagant. I don’t want you to think I’m suddenly trying to compete or anything because I’m still… I’m still reeling from the fact that he’s my kid and I can’t imagine how hard it’s been to raise him alone. The fund is for the years I’ve missed in his life, including birthdays and Christmases, and I’ll keep paying into it until he’s twenty-one. I…”
My heart leaps up into my throat and forces a quaver into my words.
“I would love the opportunity to get to know him. To spend time with him and get to know my boy. I don’t want to disrupt his life, but if there’s a chance, Calliope… then I want it. And if not, then I will always be available if he ever wants to look for me. I want to be in his life. I want to be in your life, but only on your terms.”
My shoulders slump and I close my eyes for a brief moment. It was a lot to get through. I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to remember everything I had to say, given how hectic these past few days have been. I pray Calliope can hear how honest I’m being, but deep down, I’m scared. It might not be enough. My disappearance might have been the last straw.
“Wow,” Calliope murmurs after a second, and I open my eyes. “As… explanations go, that was intense.”
I smile weakly. “Sorry.”
She shakes her head and blinks, then her eyes suddenly sparkle. “I thought—” Emotion chokes her. “I thought you were so angry with me for keeping Nick a secret that you were going to fire me. That yesterday was all a giant show to humiliate me.”
My brows lift instantly. “Do you think I would do that to you?”
