The Executive's Decision

by Bernadette Marie

  Her mother was waiting for her at the door and enveloped her and held her to her bosom as Regan sobbed. Carlos had called her as Regan had asked him to do; she just couldn’t make the call herself and hear her mother’s voice while she drove away from the man who had hurt her so badly, again. Her mother held her as she walked with her to her bedroom. The bed had been turned down, and the lamp on the nightstand gave a soft, comforting glow to the room.

  Regan fell onto the bed and lay back. Her mother pulled her shoes from her feet. “You are going to rest. Eventually this was bound to happen, but I won’t let it destroy you, and neither will your family. Alexander Hamilton is a bastard. Zachary Benson isn’t.”

  “Mama, it can’t work now.” She wiped her eyes.

  “Someone gave you and your sister to me so I could love you. People don’t look at you different because of that, do they?” Regan shook her head. “So imagine what a wonderful thing you did giving up your angel to someone. Don’t you think he’ll see how special that was?”

  “But, Mama, I lost him the biggest contract of his career. And I wasn’t honest with him about the baby. How can he still love me?”

  “Regan, you are a wise woman. You know that he will see past all this.” Her mother kissed her and left the room.

  Regan rolled to her side. It didn’t matter. She couldn’t see him again. She was too hurt and too humiliated. It was over.

  Zachary paced his office for two days. Any business he tried to attend to only ended with him thinking about Regan.

  Mary Ellen had come to his rescue, bringing the baby with her. She sat on his couch, nursing her daughter under a small blanket. “You’re being an ass. Just go to her.”

  “I can’t. She won’t see me.” He pulled his fingers through his hair as he paced again by the window. “I’ve been by her house. Carlos tells me she’s not there. I’ve gone to the hospital, and Curtis says to give her time. Her mother smiles at me and kisses me on the cheeks and says that her daughter loves me.” He leaned against the wall. “If she loves me why won’t she see me?”

  “Zach, until you have a child, you can’t imagine the pain of giving one away. Imagine making that decision thinking you were going to die,” Mary Ellen said in a calm adoring manner. “Do you love her?”

  “Yes. I love her so much.” His heart ached when he said it.

  “Are you angry with her?” She lifted her daughter over her shoulder and patted her back.

  “No. How could I be?”

  “She thinks she’s done you wrong.”

  “But she’s done nothing.” He moved to her and sat down next to her on the couch to ease the wobbling in his knees.

  “Be patient, then.”

  He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to be as patient as everyone had said. He was dying inside. It hurt.

  “I’ve done a few things that I know she’d like. If I can just get her to be with me for a few minutes, I can show her that I still want forever. I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t want her to either. I want forever, and that’s what I’ve planned for.” He offered to take the baby from Mary Ellen and held her carefully in his arms. The baby adjusted and Zach settled. “Will you help me get some time with her?”

  Mary Ellen buttoned up her shirt and smiled at Zach. “Of course I’ll help you. I picked her for you, after all. I knew she’d be the one to take care of you forever.”

  Regan had sent in her official letter of resignation to Benson, Benson, and Hart. She’d packed up her belongings at the house and had decided the best thing to do would be to head to New York without a word to anyone. When she was settled in with Arianna, she would call and let her family know.

  Carlos stood at her bedroom door as she zipped her suitcase. She’d hoped to be gone already, but nothing ever got past her family.

  “The office called.” His voice was placid. “They got your letter.”

  She pulled the suitcase from the bed and dropped it to the floor. “Good, then they know I’m not coming back.”

  “Oh, I think he figured that out by the way you ran.” The calm in his tone was replaced by the snippy undertone that set her blood to boiling.

  “Carlos, butt out. This has nothing to do with you.” Anger and humiliation bubbled in her stomach. “You have no idea what I’ve gone through.” She wished she hadn’t said it. He knew so many other things about pain. The pain of moving to a new place and having your parents die. Having a new family thrust upon you that wasn't your own. The pain of losing your marriage and watching the woman you loved marry your best friend. He knew pain.

  “I’m not butting out. You’re being a jerk. You should hear him out,” he argued.

  “I have nothing to say to him.”

  “Fine.” He turned from the door. “They’re expecting you to pick up your things. They said he’ll be out of the office after two.”

  “Great. I’ll go on my way out.”

  He didn’t react other than to walk away.

  Regan felt sweat drip down her back as she walked through the lobby of Benson, Benson and Hart. She hadn’t anticipated returning to the building. She’d wanted to leave it all behind her.

  There was no one at her desk, and the door to Zach's office was closed. She tried to convince herself that she was relieved he wasn’t there, but a little bit of her wanted to see him one more time.

  She noticed a box on the floor with her personal belongings in it. Quickly, she picked up the box and started out of the office.

  Mary Ellen stopped her in the doorway, a wide and welcoming smile on her lips. “Regan, it’s wonderful to see you.”

  Seeing her there put finality to her resignation; she hadn’t expected to feel let down. “Mary Ellen, you’re back?”

  “Yes, he called immediately and begged me back. The man can’t do anything on his own.” She looked her over as she held her daughter in her arms. “How are you?”

  “I’ll be fine.” Regan glanced around the office and then at the baby, wanting desperately to reach for her and touch her. “I guess I’ll go.”

  Mary Ellen handed her a piece of paper with an address and driving instructions on it. “You need to go here to get your check.”

  “Can’t they send it to me?”

  “No. You have to sign for it,” she said. “I know he added a severance package with it. He feels bad that you had to deal with Mr. Hamilton.”

  Regan nodded. She didn’t want charity, but it certainly would help her start her new life wherever she landed.

  “Thank you.” She tucked the paper into her purse.

  “Regan, take care.” Mary Ellen smiled.

  Regan wished she could smile back, but like her brother had done to her earlier, she simply turned and left the office.

  Regan began her drive out of Nashville. She followed the directions Mary Ellen gave her. She was sure she’d taken a wrong turn. The city began to disappear, and acres of land sprawled around her.

  Soon she saw the name of the road she was to turn down. It was unpaved and lined with oak trees. Regan’s jaw dropped when she came to the end of the road. In the clearing stood a house, the most beautiful house she’d ever seen. It was white with decorative shutters and a porch that wrapped around it. On the front porch sat two white rockers gently rocking in the breeze.

  She looked down at the piece of paper Mary Ellen had given her. The address matched. Surely there had been some mistake.

  She parked the car in front of the house and looked around. Flowers bloomed in pots on the stairs. A carpet lay at the door welcoming visitors. The front door was open, and she tapped on the screen door.

  There was no answer, but someone must be home.

  “Hello. Hello, is there anyone here?” She yelled into the house.

  “You can go in and look around if you’d like,” a man said behind her.

  After a moment’s panic, she recognized Zach’s voice. She turned to see him leaning against her car.

  Her breath caught in her lungs. He looked wonderful s
tanding there so casually. The sunlight shone on his sandy hair, giving him a golden aura. A smile settled on his perfect mouth. Oh, how she’d missed his mouth.

  “Mary Ellen said I needed to come and get my check. I had to sign for it. I thought I was in the wrong place.” They started toward the steps at the same time.

  “She was right.” He pulled the envelope from his pocket and handed it to her, his fingers lingering on hers.

  “I’m sorry I lost you the contract.” She averted her gaze to the ground.

  “I guess it’s good that you quit before I could fire you, then.” His words made her eyes shift to his, but he was still smiling.

  “She said you had a severance package for me, but really that wasn’t necessary.”

  He shrugged. “You may change your mind when you see it.” He nodded to the paper. “You still have to sign for it.”

  “Oh, right.” She opened the envelope. It didn’t contain a check. She held up the piece of paper. “What is this?”

  “Read it.”

  “Zach…”

  “It’s not a check, but it does require a signature,” he said, climbing the next step closer to her, but she fought the urge to touch him.

  The paper shook in her fingers. It was the ultimate contract, and its sentiment squeezed at her heart until she thought it would burst. “It’s a marriage license.”

  “You’re right.” He tucked his hand in his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet ring box. The ache in her chest moved to her throat and stole her air. “I’ve been carrying this with me since L.A.

  He opened the box. An enormous solitaire ring caught the sunlight, and Regan gasped.

  “Zach, I don’t understand.” She lifted her gaze from the glimmering ring and looked into his calm green eyes that smiled lovingly back at her.

  “What’s not to understand?” He took the ring and slid it onto her finger. “Regan, will you marry me?”

  She refrained from jerking her hand back. It didn’t make sense. She was soiled. She was damaged goods. There was nothing for him to still want from her, yet he looked at her with those loving eyes. Her knees went weak. “Why would you want to marry me?”

  “Do you want a list?”

  “But I wasn’t honest with you. I’ve had a baby with another man.” Cold sweat broke on her brow, and she brushed her hand across her forehead. “I lost you the biggest contract of your career. How could you want to marry me?”

  “Because I love you, Regan. Those things are part of you.” He moved his hand to her cheek. “You gave a family a child they couldn’t have. What a wonderful gift. You gambled at love and lost. Everyone does.”

  “But Zach…”

  “If you want your daughter back, we can contact my lawyer. It’s only been a year. Isn’t there some kind of clause?” She shook her head adamantly. Oh God, what was he offering? Regan looked away from him for a moment and gave into the contemplation. Her daughter. Her little girl. She could hold her, see her, love her as she had since she’d felt her first flutter of life in her belly. Then the reality of it forced its way back into her delusion. Her baby was better off without her. Her daughter had a family, and to strip them of that relationship would be a horrible burden to live with. It would be better to live without love again than to hurt a child.

  Zach’s thumb rubbed against her cheek, and she looked back at him. He smiled down at her. “You are very special to me, and I’m not going to let you run away from me.”

  He pulled her in a quick move to the end of the step so they were eye to eye. Just as quickly he wrapped his arm around her waist and pressed their bodies together. The speed of his movement made her gasp, but then the warmth of his lips was on hers and no matter how much she wanted to be sensible and break free, she couldn’t. His lips were as intoxicating as his green eyes, his scent, his voice, and his touch. If she’d walked away, she’d regret it forever. It would kill her little by little to say goodbye to him forever.

  When Zach pulled away, she opened her eyes and watched him. His lips parted into a grin that sent a river of warmth through her. He brushed her lips with his thumb. “You’re going to marry me and live in this house I bought for you.”

  “Excuse me?” A bubble of excitement rose into her chest. She turned her attention back to the house behind her.

  “You heard me. You said you wanted Tennessee sprawling land and two rockers on the porch.”

  “Zach…” She looked around her through moist eyes. There were two rocking chairs on the porch, which wrapped around the house. The trees that lined the road rustled in the wind. It was just as she’d described to him. This was just what she’d wanted.

  “Regan, if you turn me down again, I’ll tie you to the spindle.”

  She settled her gaze over him. She did love him. Running away wasn’t going to change that.

  “So I’m fired?” She finally smiled.

  “As my assistant.” His hand was in her hair, and she moved in even closer to him, wanting to feel him near. “But I need a partner, in life and in business.”

  “And you want me to be that partner?” She rested her forehead against his.

  “If you’ll accept the position.” He slid his other hand to her waist, and her body relaxed against his as she gave into her need for him.

  “I guess we’ll have to go inside for negotiations. I’ll have some executive decisions to make.” She ran her hands up his chest. “So I can walk, or you can carry me inside.”

  He laughed and hoisted her to his waist. She wrapped her legs around him and circled her arms around his neck.

  “You’ll be signing that contract,” he urged as he carried her past the rockers and through the front door of the house built on sprawling Tennessee land. His arms held her tightly and his hands caressed her back.

  She kissed him, and warmth filled every part of her. “We simply can’t do business without the contract. Partner.”

  Enjoy an excerpt from the next book

  in the

  Keller Family series.

  Chapter one

  At the end of the long, tree-lined drive stood the house, welcoming her just as the owner would. It wasn’t the first time Madeline Carson had made the trip out to Regan and Zach Benson’s house, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it would be the last.

  She batted back the tears that stung her eyes. No, she wasn’t going to cry for herself. She was there to celebrate the birth of Regan’s baby boy. Tyler Alan Benson. A child welcomed into the world by two people who were so very much in love.

  Oh, she was adult enough to admit she was jealous. Who wouldn’t be? Zach doted on his wife of three years. A baby would only enhance the perfect relationship that her ex-sister-in-law had with her husband.

  There had been a time when she’d felt that optimism about a man, love, and her family.

  The first tear fell.

  It had been five years since she and Carlos Keller, Regan’s brother, had divorced. Five years, and she still mourned it every day.

  After her marriage to Carlos ended, there was his best friend, Matt. He’d been there to console her in her time of need. That need had led to a relationship, and they’d married only six months after her divorce had been finalized. The marriage had ended the twenty-year friendship between Matt and Carlos, but who could blame them? Neither Carlos nor Madeline could really pinpoint what went wrong to end their marriage. It simply had fallen apart. There were money issues, of course. Then the kids came along, and the money was even tighter as Carlos finished graduate school and she worked two jobs.

  The very things that were to have made their family stronger had actually pulled it apart.

  Matt hadn’t meant any harm when he had come to console her. He was playing the part of a friend to each of them. Things simply had changed between them, and they’d fallen in love. Or so she’d thought at the time.

  Madeline pulled to the side of the driveway and wiped at her eyes.

  No, it hadn’t been love. It had been comfort.
Matt needed to take care of someone, and she was willing to let him take care of her. He’d let her stay home and raise her children. She couldn’t have asked for more.

  Now even that had fallen apart.

  Madeline glanced at the messenger bag on the passenger seat. Inside it were the divorce papers that Matt had served her with three days ago.

  So far, she hadn’t had the courage to sign them. She hadn’t even had the courage to discuss it with her children. They would get to that. As soon as Carlos brought them back to her after his week with them, they’d realize Matt had moved out. She’d like to think they’d be a little upset that he was gone, but she knew they wouldn’t.

  Oh, it would hurt for the moment. It would hurt more because they’d know it hurt her, but they were too in love with their father to want another man in their life or hers.

  Sure, Matt had been a good role model and a loving man to them all. He simply wasn’t their father. For the first time in days, she smiled through her tears. Her children loved their father and he loved them.

  She took a few cleansing breaths. Matt’s leaving couldn’t have come at a worse time. Having your husband walk out on you never happened at a convenient time, but she had a bigger battle to face now.

  Madeline put her hand to her chest and looked down at the swells of her breasts against her shirt. She had cancer and she hadn’t told a soul. Sadness filled her body with a heavy fullness, and anger riddled her mind. Madeline had never imagined this would happen to her.

  “Well, now isn’t the time to sob over your sad life,” she said to herself as she pulled down the visor and looked in the mirror. She wiped off the smudged mascara and fixed her hair. “This is Regan’s moment. It’s time to celebrate life.”

  Once she successfully pulled herself together, she started toward the house.