The Executive's Decision ~The Sweetened Version~ (The Keller Family Series)

by Marie, Bernadette

  She wrenched her arm, unable to free herself from his cruel grasp. “Go away.”

  “Regan, what is he talking about?” Zach inched closer. He wanted to grab the man and throw him against the wall and kill him for causing her pain, but the negotiator in him cautioned him to keep her safe. He noticed John behind him, and was silently thankful for the support. “Is this the man Curtis said put you in the hospital?”

  “Zach, go in the office. Please…” She was sobbing now, and Alexander’s eyes grew angrier.

  Zach had to keep calm. Had to know what was going on so he could make the right decisions. “Sweetheart, tell me…”

  “Sweetheart?” Alexander shifted his eyes to Regan. “Stupid slut. Are you sleeping with your new boss?”

  “This has nothing to do with you.” She sobbed harder, and he yanked her closer to him. Zach moved in, but John pulled him back.

  Alexander’s jaw jutted up toward Zach. “Mr. Benson, this woman is nothing but trouble. You’d do yourself a favor by firing her right now.” Alexander’s voice didn’t sound the same, Zach realized. The man was almost inhuman with his commands.

  “I don’t understand.” Zach made himself relax, then eased from John’s restraining grip. “Regan, tell me what’s going on.”

  “Let me.” Alexander had both her arms pinned by his hands. His stare focused on her. “I’ve been under the impression for a year now that she died. Her brother looked me in the eye and told me she and our baby died.”

  “Baby, what baby?” Zach pleaded for her to talk to him. His stomach tightened, as did his throat. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew Regan was suffering.

  “Oh, God, Zach, go away.” She sucked in a breath. “Alexander, please…”

  “Stupid…!” When his hand came up to strike her, Zach moved in. He was at the man, pushing him away from the woman he loved. His fists whaled on him, bloodying his lip and bruising his face as they fell to the floor, fists swinging. Too soon, John pulled Zach from Alexander. He saw Regan run down the hallway for the stairs.

  Alexander managed to clamber to his knees while John held tight to Zach.

  Charity Hamilton stood at the door, dainty mouth open, and watched her husband struggle to stand.

  “I will press charges,” he growled.

  “And I’ll have her counter them,” Zach threatened.

  Alexander smiled as he wiped the blood from his lip. “She won’t. She’s afraid of me, and now she’ll be afraid of you.” He pulled his wife’s arm until she followed him. “I thought she was dead, Mr. Benson. Now that I know she’s not, I intend to find out where my bastard child is.” He started down the hall, and when Zach lunged toward him, John held tight to his arms. Hamilton turned back. “Oh, and Mr. Benson, I’m sure you can assume that our agreements and business arrangements are over.”

  “I wouldn’t want to do business with you,” he said as Alexander stepped into the elevator.

  John released his grip after the doors had closed.

  Zach bent over and rested his hands on his knees, his pulse pounding in his head like a jackhammer. He forced himself back upright.

  “Regan,” he shouted as he ran for the stairs with John following him.

  He charged up to their floor and pushed open the door to the suite, but she wasn’t there. Her suitcases hadn’t been touched. She’d simply fled.

  He ran back down to the lobby while John called her cell phone.

  Zach searched the lobby, but there was no sign of her. John arrived a few seconds later, reporting that she hadn’t answered her phone. Asking around finally produced someone who said she took a cab to the airport.

  Zach plowed through the lobby doors and took the next cab to the airport in hopes of finding her.

  Regan shivered in the California heat in the backseat of the cab that rushed her away from the hotel. Never had she considered that her new path would cross with Alexander’s, but now it had. For the second time, the man had ruined everything she’d ever worked for or wanted.

  She’d taken the first cab across town and then changed cabs. This one took her to John Wayne Airport; she was certain Zach would look for her at LAX.

  Two hours later, she was flying toward Alabama. She’d rent a car and drive to Nashville.

  She needed the time away. She knew Zach and John would be looking for her, but she feared now that Alexander Hamilton would be looking for her as well.

  Regan sat back in her seat. Her secrets were out. Zach would know she was unworthy of his love now. She’d borne the child of Alexander Hamilton under horrible circumstances. She’d convinced Curtis to lie to him and tell him she’d died, rather than risk another beating like the one that had almost killed her. Alexander had believed him and moved on. She’d been stupid to believe she was safe.

  She wiped madly at the streams of tears that rolled down her cheeks. In one year, she’d lost everything only to regain a bit of her dignity and pride back. How was it possible that in a moment’s time she’d lost it all again? There was no way Zach would look at her the same way now.

  She closed her eyes tight and held back her tears. She very quickly realized she’d done what Mary Ellen had warned her not to do. She couldn’t care less about her employment status at the moment, but not only had she lost Zach, she’d lost him the contract on his biggest build ever.

  As the flight landed in Alabama, Regan took a deep breath. It was time to start over. Again. Arianna would be in New York for a while. She could move up there and hide in the anonymity of Manhattan.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Z

  ach paced outside Regan’s house. She should have beaten him back to Nashville by several hours. Where could she be?

  Fear had cost him any rest on the airplane. What if Alexander Hamilton found her? John had stayed in the hotel, in their room, in case she returned there. Zach had to protect her from the madman who… he didn’t even want to think about what that man had done to her.

  It was edging toward seven, and the sky blazed orange. Finally, Carlos and his children pulled up in front of the house.

  Zach watched Carlos’s eyes scan him. She’d talked to her brother, that much he could tell. The man’s dark eyes burned with fury, and he couldn’t blame him for wanting to come at him. But he could see Carlos holding his calm.

  “You three go in the house. I’ll be up in a little bit,” he ordered his children as he walked toward Zach. They each said hello. Zach knew from the kids’ laughter as they jostled each other on their way into the house that Carlos had kept Regan’s troubles from them.

  “Please tell me you’ve talked to her,” Zach pleaded, grabbing Carlos’s shoulder as soon as the children walked through the door.

  Zach dropped his hand, sensing Carlos’s tension. Then the stare that followed, not quite trusting him, as Regan’s brother tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I’ve talked to her.”

  “Is she all right?” His voice wasn’t steady. He saw no point in trying to keep calm.

  “That depends on your thought of all right,” Carlos said evenly and then let out a breath. “I’m going inside to get us a couple of beers. I don’t want my kids to hear us. Have a seat on the step.” Carlos walked into the house, and Zach climbed the steps heavily and took a seat.

  Carlos returned with two beers. He handed one to Zach and sat next to him with the other. They sat in silence for a moment, sipping the beers and waiting for the other to talk.

  “She’s scared,” Carlos finally said, looking out over the street where children played. “He tried to kill her. He tried to kill them both to wash his hands of them.” He dangled the beer bottle by its neck. “Worst part is, he loved her and she loved him.” Carlos shook his head. “He was too caught up in the money and social aspects of his life. He honestly did love her, but in the end I truly think he lost his mind.”

  Zach was sure of that. He’d seen the man’s eyes. He’d heard his voice. No well-mannered man treated his wife th
e way that Alexander Hamilton had treated his.

  “What did he do?” he asked, though he wasn’t sure he could handle hearing the specifics of Hamilton’s attack on Regan. But he needed to know. He loved her.

  Carlos turned his head and gave Zach a long, thoughtful look. “He beat her almost to death.”

  Nausea clenched his stomach as awful images played out in his mind. He made himself listen to the rest of what Carlos was saying.

  “He’d married that other woman, and quite frankly he had to dispose of Regan and the baby or he’d lose the wealth and privilege he’d just married into.” His jaw tightened and his voice carried the disgust he obviously felt over the situation.

  “She came back home then? Back to Nashville?”

  “The moment she found out he’d married that other woman. She was hurt and angry, but she figured she still had her baby and she could go on, just the two of them.”

  Zach took a deep breath and thought of the scar on her stomach. A lump formed in his throat. He’d never even considered that it was a cesarean scar. “Tell me about the baby.”

  Carlos shook his head and sipped his beer. “She was Regan’s life. It gave her pride and purpose that she’d be someone’s mother.” He smiled. “I never saw her. None of us did except Curtis. He was the only one with Regan when she gave birth.”

  Zach swallowed the lump lodged in his throat. “The baby died?”

  Carlos shook his head and he latched his look onto Zach’s. “No. Because of Regan’s injuries, the baby was born six weeks early. She spent weeks in intensive care. Regan fought for her life, and the baby fought for hers. She signed papers for adoption. She gave her to a family who could love her and raise her the way Regan couldn’t. It was the best choice she could make for both of them.”

  “But she wanted the baby.” And she had a family who would support her through anything—emotionally, financially, whatever she needed. He’d seen the way they came together for him and his mother after his dad died. “Why didn’t she keep her?”

  “She was afraid he’d find them. Take her daughter away from her, or finish what he started. She did what was best for the baby.” Carlos shook his head again. “She ordered her to be taken out of the room. Curtis said she screamed at them to take her. She closed her eyes so she’d never see her.”

  Zach scrubbed his hands over his face. It was no wonder she’d shied away from him when he confessed his love and spoke of marriage and babies. There was such pain there. And the nightmare she’d had, she was yelling for someone to take her away. It all made sense now.

  Carlos set his beer down on the step and turned to fully face Zach. “When Hamilton came looking for her, Curtis told Hamilton that they had both died. Regan didn’t have any other choice. If she pressed charges, it would just keep him in their lives. If he thought she was dead, he’d leave her alone. They never would run in the same circles. He dashed off to Italy for a few months to avoid any heat, and he never showed up at her door again. As far as we were concerned, he was gone.” He picked back up his beer and drank down the last bit in the bottle. “The baby turned a year old last Tuesday.”

  “That’s why she called in sick to work? I was worried about her. She wasn’t any kind of sick I’d ever seen.”

  “Her heart was broken.” He began to pull the label from the bottle.

  “I love her.” Zach caught Carlos’s stare. “I want her for my wife. I want a life with her. None of this matters. Not one bit.”

  “If I didn’t think you were sincere, I’d kill you.” Carlos smiled.

  “I know.” Zach stood and Carlos followed. “Where is she?”

  Carlos shook his head. “I can’t tell you. Give her some time.”

  He’d felt as though he’d been socked in the stomach, but he couldn’t blame them for protecting her. “Please put in a good word for me. All of this is the past. It doesn’t change how I feel for her.”

  “You’ll tell her soon enough.” Carlos offered his hand, and Zach shook it before walking away.

  When Regan pulled up in front of her parents’ house, it was midnight. Her eyes stung from the hours she’d shed tears. She’d stopped multiple times along the drive, trying to decide what to do. Go home or go straight to Arianna’s in New York? She’d chosen her mother’s arms and her comfort for the night. Zach would surely look for her here, but her family would keep him at bay. And if Alexander came looking for her—they’d take care of him in any way necessary.

  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 low-life creep. 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 ajerk. 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.