by Cynthia Dane
Monroe Industries was a privately traded company. Traditionally this meant there weren’t many shareholders, and the ones who existed had a lot at stake in the company. This wasn’t as true with this particular company, though. Its age and constant networking among patriarchs ensured enough small-fry shareholders to make memorizing their names a pain in Alice’s ass – or maybe that was the anxiety cramps flaring up in her stomach. Was her heart fluttering too?
Alice only had one job that day. It sounded like a simple enough job, until she considered most of these bigger shareholders were her father-in-law’s buddies and not likely to give sway toward her and her husband. Any respect they had for Damon Monroe died when they heard he married – and without his father’s approval. This was only confirmed when they reached the executive conference room on the top floor and saw a sea of discontent permeating the table.
Monroe only flinched the slightest. He’s nervous too? Fuck. Her husband was supposed to be her rock. If the one impenetrable man in existence was nervous, then how was Alice supposed to feel? He didn’t usually get nervous at these types of meetings… did he? Shit fuck shit fuck shit! She wanted to throw up.
“Mr. Avery. Mr. Cummings.” Monroe slipped right into his charismatic self as he shook hands and gingerly gestured to his wife. “Such a pleasure to see you again. Have you met my wife, Alice?”
No, they hadn’t. Or, if they had, they suddenly forgot who she was. Almost like they wanted to forget who she was. Fuck. Again. Nobody in attendance was happy to shake her hand or say hello. They only did it to prevent creating a scene.
Or to smile at the man approaching from behind.
“Ah, the kids made it.” Russell’s breath stabbed Alice right in the back. “I was afraid you two might be unaccounted for and I would have to lead the meeting myself.” Bastard.
“As you can see, Father, we made it in record time.” While Monroe spoke, Mr. Nigel Clayborn opened the conference door all the way to allow more people in. He accidentally shared a cold look with Alice.
Her stomach continued to churn. Was the room spinning? Shit. She ate breakfast, right? Probably not enough since she had no idea she would be working out as much as she did. Why did this meeting have to be before lunch? Alice put her hand on her stomach. When Alisha asked her if she was all right, Alice waved her assistant off and followed her husband into the conference room. I can feel her and Dee having their own conference… about me.
A fleeting thought entered her mind. Shit. Shit! Why now? Alice tore her hand off her stomach and took her spot at the front of the long table.
“Do I look okay?” she asked Monroe.
He hooked his arm around hers. “You are stunningly professional. I like what you did with your hair.”
All she did was clip it up into a no-frills bun. Even so, the weight of her hair pulled against her scalp. Did I do it too tight? Actually, she hadn’t done it. Alisha did it for her the moment she walked through the office door with an uninspired ponytail. Fine for a day around the office, but not so much for facing a team of shareholders who would rather see Russell Monroe in power than the next generation of meddling kids.
Alice may have only been in the company a couple of weeks, but they were an enlightening couple of weeks.
She looked around the room, recognizing only about half of the dozen or so attendees. They were all old. They were all male. She almost said they were all white, but two Japanese shareholders walked in five minutes late, citing traffic from the airport. Still old and male, though. Alice didn’t stand a chance. They dressed the same way Russell did, and carried that same sneer beneath their upper lips. Some of them gave Alice glances that were more curious than accusatory, but none of them inspired confidence.
Her chest continued to tighten. No, body, we are not having a panic attack right now. She had gone from having a panic attack a year to once a week. What next? Once a day?
The bulk of the meeting, which Alice was allowed to watch in silence while sitting down, was going over the profits and losses from the previous reporting period. Good that they were leading with that. It was more profit than loss, with a lot of good news from a project Monroe started shortly before meeting Alice. On the other hand, one of Russell’s pet projects had cost the company twenty-five million dollars. Money that came straight out of investors’ pockets.
Russell played this off with some jokes and an invitation for everyone to go golfing with him after the meeting.
His son rounded out the meeting with a presentation for his next big project. He motioned to Alice to join him at the head of the table. Alisha and the Clayborn siblings hurried to put together the visuals before sitting back down in their respective corners.
Alice couldn’t help but notice that Sarah Clayborn scooted away from her brother.
“Gentlemen.” Sheesh, even I would be swayed by his confidence. Alice surveyed the table in the hopes that nobody was glaring back at her. Oh. Half of them were. “Today I am excited to present a special project that my wife and I will be leading in the coming months.”
Russell’s chair squeaked. The man’s glower announced to the table that he knew nothing about this. From what Monroe said, his father often let him do whatever he wanted – in moderation, of course – with the company. Monroe had proven himself time and again to have a head for the business side of things. People were now seriously speculating whether or not he had a head for the personal, though.
Knowing that he was doing this with his wife whom nobody knew? That was a different issue. Luckily, Alice and her husband had rehearsed this enough times that she could recite her side of things as easily as she could recite “Hello, welcome to This Establishment. How many in your party?”
“Starting over the next few months, we will be taking Monroe Industries in a brand-new direction.” Monroe clicked something in his hand. The projector showing the company’s logo on a screen changed to a picture of the restaurant he took his wife to on their first date. Every time Alice saw it, she smiled. “For years we have dabbled in the hospitality industry without ever fully committing. My wife and I intend to change that. First, we will be gathering every relevant property under one brand: Culver Hospitality Holdings, in honor of my wife’s family.”
Yeah, they shouldn’t have led with that. Most of the room tensed in their seats or outright frowned. Who were these Culvers, again? What did they have to do with hospitality? What did the Monroes have to do with hospitality? Since when did Damon Monroe care about anything more than the few restaurants and nightclubs he owned? Weren’t they personal endeavors?
“Alice?”
She cleared her throat. Treat them like the most honored guests at the lounge, girl. Good thing she had years to perfect her fake smile and speak clearly even when she felt like shit. And boy did she feel like shit. Her heart was racing so quickly and so many butterflies collided in her stomach that she was on the verge of…
“Greetings, everyone!” No, no, too perky. What the fuck? “I know having me on board is a bit of a shock, but I want to assure everyone that I’m working closely with my husband and have spent most of my life in the hospitality industry.” Did she sound desperate enough yet? “I’m excited to get started on this project. To start with, we’ll be focusing on high-end ethnic eateries and… night…”
Her brain was blank. Metal courted her taste buds.
“Alice?” Monroe touched her elbow. “Are you all right?”
No. She was not all right.
She wasn’t all right at all.
“Alice!” Monroe lunged to catch her on her way down to the floor, but was too little, too late. Alice hit the floor with such a thud that it was safe to say the last thing she felt was a bruise instantly forming on her thigh.
Other than that? She was blissfully so out of it that even her husband’s shouts for an ambulance didn’t faze her.
***
“Alice?” Monroe patted her cheek. She came to, sitting against the wall in the conference room. The onl
y other person in there was Dee. “Come on, precious. Come back to me.”
She slowly opened her eyes. “Damon?”
“Thank God.” He kissed the spot where his hand had been moments before. “What happened? Are you all right? An ambulance is coming. They’re sending up first-aid right now.”
“I don’t need an ambulance. Just a panic attack.”
“That wasn’t a panic attack. I’ve seen enough of yours to know by now.”
She slumped against his chest. When his hand entwined with hers, she felt better. Not back on her feet better, but better. “Don’t make me live through it some more. Please.”
“If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I will make you get in that ambulance.”
At least he could afford it. Alice remembered a time when she carried a card in her wallet that asked people to please not call the ambulance if something happened to her. Like she needed that much debt on top of everything else!
Did she look pathetic enough when she raised her eyes to his? “I think I’m pregnant.”
“What?” he pulled away from her in shock. “Are you sure? Already? Why does that mean you’re passing out?”
As nice as it was that he was so worried about her, Alice didn’t need his anxiety piling on tops of hers. “I know, okay?” The tenderness, the swelling breasts, the cramps… oh, and the discharge that freaked her out the first time she saw it. I’ve been ignoring it because of how stressed I am. The last thing Alice needed was to actually be pregnant, even though she knew what she was getting into the day she married this man.
“As soon as possible, we need to try for a baby,” Monroe had said as they discussed the terms of their marriage. “Not only do we need something to show for the fake doctor’s report, but it’s imperative we have a child as soon as possible.”
No real wedding. No honeymoon. A baby already on the way? God, where was Alice’s life going?
“We definitely need to get you to the doctor, then.” Before, Alice wouldn’t have seen the signs that Monroe was freaking out as much as she was. He was a master of a controlled demeanor and voice. Now she knew the signs. That throbbing of his throat. Sweaty palms. A slight pitch to his tone. “If nothing else, we need to have you tested.”
“I don’t think it’s been long enough to get an accurate test.”
“Even so!”
Alice hobbled to her feet. Nope. Still too dizzy. She managed to make it to a chair before collapsing.
“I swear to God, Alice, if you don’t willing get in that ambulance, I will carry you onto it myself.”
Through the glass walls she saw the shareholders milling about, mumbling, gesturing to her, to Russell. Her father-in-law could hardly contain his happy displeasure.
“Don’t look at them.” Monroe stepped into her view. “Focus, Alice. I’ll have Dee and Alisha go with you to the hospital. I’ll finish up the presentation and meet you there. All right?”
As much as she wanted her husband to go with her, Alice knew it was more important for him to seal some deals here. “All right.”
The paramedics rushed through the office. Alice was fully upright by the time they arrived in the conference room. After they took her vitals and confirmed who would be going with her, Alice Monroe was wheeled through the private exit and to the nearest hospital – this one did, in fact, have a wing named after the Monroes.
Chapter 11
A three-day weekend was forced upon her. Alice spent the rest of Thursday in a private hospital room, staring out the window and at the glowing green gardens her new family paid for. She waited – most impatiently – for her pregnancy results to come back, although the doctor warned her that they would probably be inconclusive.
Indeed, Alice did not appreciate the indifference on the doctor’s face when he walked into her room. Dee stayed a respectable distance away, but at this point she already knew about her charge’s supposed pregnancy. At least I have someone here who cares about me. Monroe had texted his wife when he had the chance, but he still wasn’t present.
“Mrs. Monroe,” the doctor said, handing her a copy of her test results. “I’m sorry. It’s too early. We suggest you come back for a test a few days after your period is supposed to start.”
Two more weeks? Alice was going to go crazy waiting that long. “Anything else?”
“All I can suggest is a few of my mental health colleagues to help you deal with all the stress you’re facing. Unfortunately, panic attacks and anxiety are entirely too common for your female colleagues. I want to make it clear that there’s nothing wrong with you in that regard…”
He went on to give her a speech about taking care of one’s mental health and how a good therapist could help her navigate the murky waters she now found herself in. Spare me. Alice was more interested in her future than her present. Could a therapist help her with her father-in-law? Not likely.
Monroe showed up half past five, giving Alice a terrible flashback to the last time they met in the hospital like this. Even though he covered her in kisses and demanded she accept the dozen red roses Ms. Sarah Clayborn brought in, Alice couldn’t get excited. I love that he’s here. I wish he wasn’t here. He should be either at home or at the office, taking care of business.
“How did the talk go?”
Her husband sighed. “We were a bit distracted. Yet they managed to barrage me with questions I’ve never faced before. You would’ve thought I was defending my thesis in business school, or embarking on my first venture like this. I’ve never had them so against me before.” Monroe took her hand. “I don’t want you worrying about that, though. I’ll deal with it. I’m more worried about you right now.”
“If you spend every moment of your life worrying about me, we would get nothing done. You need to think long-term.”
“What do you think I’m doing right now? For God’s sake, Alice, all I’ve been able to think about today is how you’re doing. The whole time I was giving that presentation I had you echoing in the back of my head. ‘I think I might be pregnant.’ Come on! How do you think that’s going to hit me?”
Alice knew he had a point. I wasn’t going to tell him yet. I was coming around to the idea myself. Her husband could find out after she had confirmation. Passing out and having tender breasts did not count as confirmation yet. The only reason Alice knew those signs were even possible was because her fancy and fast phone brought that information to her fingertips.
“I shouldn’t have said anything yet.” Alice rolled the hospital blanket beneath her palms. “I only said it to take your mind off worse things.”
“Alice.” His hand encircled the back of her neck, gently turning her head toward him. “It’s a serious matter. If you’re actually pregnant, we need to be careful. Besides…” a smile snuck onto his face. “This is a great thing.” His kiss was unexpected, but welcomed. “I love you, precious. I wouldn’t have asked you to become my wife, business partner, and mother of my children all at once if I didn’t love you and think you could handle it. Whatever you need, you know you can get it from me.”
“Thank you.” Was that the wrong thing to say? Alice didn’t know how else to respond. “But there’s no confirmation yet. The doctor agreed that it was too early to make a diagnosis.”
“If you think you might be pregnant, I’ll believe you, but that means some changes, right? No more alcohol, for one.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “To think, I didn’t even care for those drinks last night.” I was so stupid going drinking when I’m trying to get pregnant. All Alice had cared about was blowing off some toxic steam.
“I’ll speak to our chefs to make sure you don’t get something you’re not supposed to.” Monroe was lost in thought now. “Even if you’re not pregnant, we need to remodel the room we want to be the nursery. I’ll have Ms. Clayborn contact an interior designer.”
“Not her brother?”
Monroe scoffed. “Does it matter?”
“Just saying. One of your assistants seems to b
e mostly working for your father now.”
“It’s always been like that. My father is always stealing my assistants. Why do you think I have two?” Monroe scratched his five o’ clock shadow. “Are you trying to say something about Mr. Clayborn?”
“No, just…” Alice had never wanted to bring this up, since it happened seemingly so long ago now, but now she had to. She spoke of what happened the first time she came to his office and her father-in-law had Mr. Clayborn drag her into that conference room for some threats. “Tell me there isn’t something there, Damon. It’s bad enough your father is against me. I don’t need one of your assistants conspiring against me too.”
“I’ll kill him.”
Alice snatched his wrist before he could whip out his phone. “Don’t. You have to know how dangerous that is. I mean, not actually killing him… wait.” What were words?
“I know what you mean.” Monroe pulled his hand from her grip. “I’ll keep my eye out on him. He’ll also be far away from any sensitive meetings of ours. As for his sister…”
Alice’s eyes widened. “I have no reason to suspect her.”
“They’re related. If you haven’t noticed, Alice, blood tends to be thicker than water around here. Add to the fact that they’re twins…”
“All right. I get it. Thanks for fueling my paranoia some more.”
He kissed her hand before smoothing down her hair. “I know I’m the last man in the world who would ever say stay positive, but if one of us stays positive, perhaps the three of us will make it out alive.”
“The three of us?”
For the first time since she said something about it, her husband put a hand on her stomach. “You heard me. If I thought I would go insane if someone laid a hand on you before…”
Alice put her hand on top of his. She hadn’t wanted to express her innermost feelings right now, but a sudden sob wracking her body betrayed her.
“I’m scared,” she confessed. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
The safest place in the world was in his arms. Alice clung to his jacket as he held her tight, her sobs muffled by his hard chest. “You can do this,” he said with that demanding tone she first fell for. “You will do this. You will be changing the world before I even have the chance to catch up with you. I saw the potential in you the moment we met.” He cursed their unfortunate situation. “If anyone in the world can fill the role of Mrs. Monroe, it’s you, Alice. You’re going to be one of the most powerful matriarchs in this country.”
