by Ciara Cole
It had taken him time to come to terms, to acknowledge the change and evolution of his character from drifting and irresponsible to someone who could take responsibly for his actions and not run from problems like he would have in the past, before he met Tia. She had changed him into a better man.
Johnathan knew he had to come through with what he set out to do. With Tia taking time off for her health, it was all up to him. He'd complete the deal and make sure Tia didn't get blamed for causing setbacks with the project. She had worked the hardest of anyone and laid most of the groundwork. Johnathan just had to make this happen and try to win her back.
That also meant confronting his brother, first with reconciling past differences and then, coming clean about Tia. He'd let Theo know that he'd found something working for the company that he never expected and didn’t even realize was missing from his life—purpose.
He could understand why Tia might be angry. She worked on the deal but wouldn't be able to close it. She'd probably always blame him for that almost as much as she blamed him for the unexpected pregnancy.
It was up to him to fix everything. His mother had warned him it wasn't going to be easy. She'd also told Johnathan it was okay if he got anxious. That meant he knew what was at stake and wanted to make a difference. If he didn't care, then nothing would have mattered. Not the company, not Tia or the babies.
Johnathan knew all the things that meant the most to him, and he was going to win them all back, one by one.
***
To say Theo looked shocked by Johnathan's revelations was an understatement.
"You and Tia? I never even . . . I mean she's gorgeous, yes, I noticed that. And very driven. I simply didn't picture her as your type. But then again, I see the attraction that could come into play between complete opposites. And you're saying you're expecting? Not just one baby, but three?"
Johnathan's jaw tightened in determination. "I'm not worried about that."
"Well you should be! That's a whole lot of fatherhood for a guy who never even liked to stay in one spot for too long. You and Tia will have your hands full raising your ready-made family. That's if you both even plan on doing it together."
"Oh, I definitely plan to be there for her and the kids as one unit, and that's why I said I wasn't worried. I know I can see myself making a family with her."
"I guess that leaves the one major problem the company now faces—completing the M&A deal. You've already hit a roadblock with Tia absent for now, and you only have a week left to fix the other issues that have arisen with the transaction."
Johnathan knew what Theo meant. Some unexpected setbacks had arisen, and now the M&A was at risk of being compromised.
"I'll find a way," Johnathan said. "I'm already working with a functional team to steer the transition. We will engage top players from both sides of the acquisition, those who've been closest to the action from day one."
He stalked the office back and forth, already working it out in his head as he spoke. "So far, there was no real accountability, and that's where problems arose. Also, some members of management have to be let go, and it has to be done quickly but carefully. We're just facing some strategic challenges, but I'm developing a cost model to increase the economies of scale. Tia already set up a well-defined work plan and so, even when conditions on the ground change, I can still pull it back. This deal is set to make a billion dollars for this company, and I don't plan on being the one to lose it."
Theo stared at his brother, impressed. "I think you just might pull this off," he said slowly. "You said you saw mother and you two had a talk? Maybe I should have gotten her to come home back sooner and kick some sense into you. And yet . . . Tia seems to have impacted you a great deal as well."
"She's the best thing that happened to me. Now, I have to prove that I mean it."
Chapter Twelve
It was barely seven am, and Tia already found herself at her mother’s kitchen table. It felt like she was either always famished or always eating. It was two weeks since she’d come home from the hospital, and she was well on the way to getting back on her feet. She felt a pang of unease thinking that soon, she would have to face going back to work. She wasn’t even sure if she was still in a job after the way she’d let everyone down.
Sighing, Tia grabbed an apple-crumb muffin and gulped it down almost whole. Having babies—three of them—was definitely hungry work.
Her sister, Wendy, came in, not dressed for work since it was the weekend. She grinned to see Tia eating so early and then went to make a large cup of Earl Grey tea for herself.
“Have you heard from Johnathan?” Wendy asked casually, sitting opposite Tia and burying her nose in her cup.
Tia almost choked and grabbed her orange juice. She glared at her sister. “You know he’s been blowing up my phone. And texting. But I’m not trying to see him yet.”
“Mom feels the way I do about you opening up more. If it weren’t for the babies—”
“I don’t want to be with someone just because we’re having babies together. Emphasis on babies.” Tia sighed heavily. “He’ll get over his little guilt trip soon enough and stop bugging. I don’t see him as the marrying type.”
“You didn’t see yourself as a mother either, not at twenty-five when your career is just kicking off.” Wendy arched a brow at her pointedly. “I know you, Tia. You wouldn’t have let a guy get close enough to knock you up—even by accident—if you didn’t have feelings for him.”
Tia bit her lip and sighed. Wendy was only one year older, yet if felt like she was much worldlier. “We matched up right from the start, and it was kind of scary,” she admitted. “I just didn’t expect us to be on the fast-track to making babies. I wasn’t looking for anything serious. Now, I don’t think I should jump into the unknown without a safety net.”
“Is that why you say his name in your sleep?” Wendy asked gently.
This time, Tia couldn’t even get angry at her sister. She felt her eyes roll to the ceiling as she fanned at them to fight back her sudden tears. “I know I miss him. But I feel like we’re just so different. He’s got everything and I’m just . . . me. How is that going to work?”
“The way every relationship with differences finds a way around them, so long as both parties are ready to try,” Wendy said, squarely viewing her sister. “Tia, babies are financially overwhelming, and even if you are fiscally secure, there’s the whole psychological pressure that you shouldn’t have to face on your own. Not when the father is willing to be there for you, and not just for the fact that you’re having his kids.”
“How can you be so sure about that?”
“I can’t say I am,” Wendy said with a shrug as she rose to her feet to take her empty mug to the sink. “But I’m going to find out tonight. We invited your boyfriend to our family dinner.”
“Oh, my God!” Tia cried in agony. “You did not invite Johnathan here! And he’s not my boyfriend!”
“Whatever,” Wendy sniffed. “But you know you can’t go against Mom and me when we put our mind to it. I suggest you go shave your legs, paint your toes, and do all the sprucing up you can do for tonight, because that hunky man of yours doesn’t need to see you looking like you do right now. Even he doesn’t deserve that kind of punishment.”
Tia looked down at her bleach-stained tee and saggy leggings. She hadn’t combed her hair in two days. She groaned and jumped to her feet, knowing that Wendy was right and Tia couldn’t fight them on this. But she hated the fact that she had to toe the line when she’d rather just be left alone in the hope that things would work themselves out.
“I can’t believe you guys. Including Johnathan. I hope he does show up tonight because that means I can have the chance to throttle him,” Tia said angrily as she headed out of the kitchen for the bathroom.
“I just love it when a plan comes together,” Wendy said with a chuckle.
***
Winning back Tia’s trust wasn’t going to be easy—that much Johnath
an knew. He was just happy that at least they were back to talking after he’d come to her family home for dinner the first time.
Any awkwardness he’d have expected from her folks was happily non-existent. They were upright, yet just as open-hearted a family as he’d expect Tia to belong to. Her father was a kindly man, retired from the insurance business, while his wife seemed the bossier of the couple, but lovingly so as she ran the family with genteel precision.
He made it known that he was serious about their daughter during the private conversation he had first with her father and then after dinner, with her mother. He told them that Tia might not be ready for marriage to him, but he was sticking around for the long haul and he hoped he could change her mind—with their help, of course.
“We want the best for Tia, but it’s something she will have to decide for herself,” Tia’s mother told him, and somehow, it gave him hope since it meant that at least they weren’t against him.
That first night he dined with the family, Tia walked him outside to his car and there was a length of silence as he took her in properly for the first time. She was the most beautiful he’d ever seen her, and that glow surrounding her made him want to crush her to him and never let go.
“So . . . your dad told me you’ll be resuming work on Monday. Theo will be glad to hear that,” he ventured.
“I guess he needs to see me in person so he can fire me,” Tia said wryly.
“You know that’s not going to happen. That’s the day we’re closing the M&A deal, and if anyone is supposed to be there to witness it, it’s you. We wouldn’t have pulled it off without your impact. Everyone knows that.”
Tia shifted on her feet, not showing it but feeling happy despite herself. “Well, it was you who finalized the exit plan for the target company and worked a way through the loopholes. I’d say you made a good showing of yourself,” she said genuinely as she finally looked up into his face.
“Again, all thanks to you,” he said, eyes holding intense warmth as they scanned her features. He saw her shutter her emotions in an instant, and he sighed, deciding to turn the conversation back to business. It was clear that Tia was avoiding anything to do with talking about them, as she’d shown all through dinner. He wanted so much to tell her how she made him feel, her and the babies, but he knew he’d have to take things slow.
“As you know, it doesn’t end when the purchase agreement and other formalities are signed. The most important stage is getting the new joint company integrated, and that will take another few weeks,” he said. “It’s less heavy-duty than what we had to handle at the beginning of the project, but if you think you aren’t up to it . . .”
“Of course I am. I’ve taken a rest, and now I’m ready to get back on track. I’ll be careful, of course, but I definitely want to fight for my position in the company. I’m not giving that up—not unless Theo tells me otherwise.” She frowned, and Johnathan could see that she still worried that her job was on the line.
Johnathan let out a short breath. “Looks like ever since you met me, you’ve had to worry about a lot of things hanging on a balance. I feel like I only keep making things difficult for you.”
He took her hand in a gentle yet firm grasp as he held her gaze unwaveringly. “If you tell me that working together at the company is giving you trouble, then I’ll leave. Just say the word. I don’t have to work for Fox Company itself. If my brother truly wants me to take more responsibility, there are other family holdings I can take charge of here in New York. He’ll have to find an executive team to head Fox Financial Services if he insists on leaving for London to take the helm there.”
Tia gasped and pulled her hand from his. “I can’t ask you to do that. I’m not that selfish or narrow-minded. Your place is at Fox Financial and nowhere else. You should stay. I really want you to,” she said firmly.
Then she realized how that seemed to come out and bit on her lip in that cute way that made Johnathan want to kiss her. He felt hope take deeper root in his system, and he wasn’t worried about letting his gladness gleam in his eyes and on his smiling lips.
“Then I’ll stay,” he said huskily.
***
Tia could sense how wired with excitement everyone was about the closing dinner coming up.
Theo had made it clear that he intended to celebrate the success of the high-profile M&A deal that was now fully implemented. Major earnings in the bank for the company, a pass score for all involved, and just a feeling of fulfilment had the environment at work feeling upbeat from the head management to the lowliest intern.
Hank and the others were curious if Tia was going to attend, and she merely laughed and waved it off. “I don’t think I’m in the mood for any wild soirees. I’ve heard some stories, like how the last closing party for some mega deal took place in Vegas.
“We’re not sure of the venue yet, but rumor has it that Theo wants something simple yet entertaining. What with the whole gloomy business atmosphere for the other companies such as heavy job cuts, massive overhead, and trading losses,” explained Hank with a sudden wry shrug, “It wouldn’t be seemly if our company is reported of celebrating in too-high spirits than the economy calls for. We have to be discreet, you know, but we’ll still have a blast.”
“Or now that you’re becoming a mom, you’re turning into more of a homebody?” teased one of the secretaries.
“It’s not that,” Tia said with a faint smile. Thanks to her nice-sized bump, which she didn’t try much to conceal, it was out that she was pregnant—though no one knew the details of who the father was. She knew that because she was expecting multiples, she would look further along compared to a pregnant mother with a single baby.
“Okay, I’ll think about making it to the closing party—or dinner or whatever it is,” she finally agreed, and the others cheered. At that moment, Johnathan walked in and a slight hush came over the gathering.
Tia knew that the news had slowly spread that Johnathan would soon be heading the company once Theo left for the London branch next year. Tia admired that he still maintained his easygoing manner with the staff and made them treat him like he was one of them, but she could tell they were awed by him and the fact that he’d already achieved so much for the company in such a short time there.
They tried to get him to give them any clues about the upcoming party, and he finally caved in and said he could only tell them it was a catered party at a swanky venue. “Knowing my brother, he’ll manage to make even the most low-key affair seem like a splurge,” he assured them, earning beaming looks and more cheers.
Tia watched as the rest of them dispersed, yet Johnathan lingered. He turned to her with the smoky look she had now come to expect whenever they were alone. It was now a month since that day they found out she was pregnant, and she was already at twelve weeks. Johnathan had insisted on going with her for the most recent doctor’s appointment. Tia had secretly felt happy that he’d been able to be there with her. It made her braver, and it certainly felt good to share the awe and joy with him when they saw the ultrasound images. Their babies were becoming real people now, and they could even open and close their hands and curl their tiny toes. They’d already told the doctor they’d wait to find out the sexes of the babies, though he did tell them it was highly likely they’d have a mix of genders.
Tia had totally settled into her happy place over the pregnancy. She was excited, thrilled, and getting more and more emotionally attached to her babies. Their babies. She had to remember to always make Johnathan a part of it all because he was making sure she had no doubt about it.
She had to admit that she loved that he kept an extra eye on her around the office. He’d even helped her through a recent panic episode, where she’d suddenly felt physically sick and had to quickly exit a meeting. Though she’d tried to be unobtrusive, the ever-watchful Johnathan had noticed. Minutes later, he’d found her in the bathroom, where she was sitting on the toilet, feeling hot and extremely dizzy. Her head had been resting
against the wall and sweat coated her neck. Johnathan didn’t even say anything but crouched beside her and rubbed her back, calming her until the episode ended. Several minutes later, she told him she was calm enough to go back to the office, though she still felt a slight trembling.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t go to the hospital?” he’d asked with gentle concern, and she’d seen the worry etched on his face. She’d felt touched, but she assured him that it had happened before and the doctor explained what it was.
“He said it’s nothing to worry about,” she told Johnathan. “Just my body responding to the increased demands of the pregnancy on my cardiovascular system. It’s pretty common. I just have to be careful not to fall and hurt myself.”
That was over a week ago, and she hadn’t had another experience, but Tia knew Johnathan still wasn’t totally worry-free and kept an even closer eye on her at work.
As for outside work . . . well, even if she hadn’t let them spend much private time together, they did meet a lot since she was still staying with her family and Johnathan had taken to visiting regularly. Trust that infallible Fox charm that had him being allowed into the Lowry home with steadily increasing welcome from her parents and siblings.
He was showing such constancy, and truth be told, the more she got to know him, the more she fell for him. But could she let emotions crowd her judgment and cause her to finally give in and trust Johnathan? Or would she always have that deep-seated fear that one day he’d just leave again?
“Now that you’ve made up your mind to attend the closing party,” Johnathan said, bringing Tia’s scattered thoughts back to the present, “I’m open to playing escort.”
Tia huffed and rolled her eyes dramatically. “If this is your whacky way of asking if you can be my date—”
“Oh, so you get to railroad me to attend a movie premiere with you, and now you can’t even give me this little payback?”
Now Tia’s mouth hung open in affront. How dare he bring up that night all those months ago in LA? “I did not railroad you. I simply made the suggestion since your chosen date became unavailable.”
