Chapter 5: Forever With The CEO: Chapter 5

On Monday afternoon, I was still on cloud nine. I couldn’t believe what effect an evening with Nick had on me. Yesterday, I’d been full of energy and took the twins to the zoo.

But right now, I was ready to call it a day. I’d been with a client after lunch, and now I was heading back to headquarters to pick up the twins from daycare.

On the way, my phone beeped with a call from the lawyer. I immediately answered.

“Allison. This is Hugo.”

“Hugo, hello! One second.” I immediately straightened in my seat, looking around for a parking spot. Driving wasn’t my favorite activity, and I couldn’t really multitask. That included talking on the phone while I was behind a wheel. I figured this conversation was going to require focus, so I pulled into the first free spot I found.

“Do you have news for me?” I asked after I’d parked. “Once again, thank you for agreeing to advise me on this.”

“Of course. I did some research on your sister’s in-laws. Your late sisters’ in-laws,” he corrected. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” A knot lodged in my throat. Damn. I wanted to be fully focused on what he said and not have my mind wandering back to how this all came about, but the sadness never left me.

“First of all, family law is complicated. You do have some things working in your favor, such as the fact that they named you guardian and you immediately took the kids to live with you. Your file tells me they didn’t even spend one night in social services care.”

“God, no. Of course not. I spent the night with them at the house when it happened. Then I brought them over to my house. I couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage for their mansion, so I rented it out.”

“Right, about that. I don’t like to draw conclusions, but it might be why Jim’s parents are suddenly interested in having the kids.”

“What do you mean?”

“Whoever has the kids also has the rights to the house.”

What? “But the house belongs to the kids.”

“Not until they turn eighteen. Until then, the guardian is the executor. Under certain circumstances, they could argue that it’s in the children’s best interest to sell the house. Again, I don’t want to assume anything. This is all circumstantial. Anyway, the motives don’t matter, only the facts. I’ve reviewed your income and your assets, and they’re quite sizable.” That sounded encouraging. “However,” he continued, and my stomach dropped, “with two kids under your care, the judge might look unfavorably at other things.”

“Such as?” I whispered.

“First, there’s your income. Depending on where the kids go to school later on, that could eat a huge chunk of your paycheck.”

“Then I’ll just fight for a better position or take on a second job.”

“Which would leave you fewer hours to spend with them.”

I sighed. “Right. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

“The problem is that you’re a single income household. If you were to lose your job, it would severely impact the children’s quality of life.”

“Hugo, I’ll be honest. I’m going to be a single income household for years. I have zero time to date. And if I did start dating now, I couldn’t drag someone I barely know into a custody fight.”

“No, of course not. This would only work in your favor if it was someone you were already in a long-term relationship with or had been seeing for a while. If you were to get married to someone you barely knew, it would count against you because it would make you seem impulsive. I was hoping you’d tell me that you have a longtime boyfriend. One who’s ready to propose.”

“What?” I blinked rapidly, as if that would make me able to hear better.

“If you were married and your partner had a decent income, it would make your case easier.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t, and I can’t just whip someone up on demand. Do you have any other advice on how I can strengthen my case?”

“You could take another angle. Demolish their case. Prove they’d be unfit to take care of the kids. But in my opinion, that’s not a good road to take. It often ends up very messy. The kids notice that, and after all, Jim’s parents are their grandparents—down the road, they’ll want to think fondly of them too. They’re small now, but these are the kinds of things that shatter families for decades.” He sighed. “I don’t have any more solutions off the top of my head for you right now. I do have to do some more due diligence. I was simply hoping you would—”

“Be ready to get engaged,” I murmured. “Got it. Thanks again. This means a lot to me. Have a great day, Hugo.”

“You too.”

After hanging up, I didn’t drive off right away. I needed to compose myself. I’d been hoping for much better news—or at least a solution besides “get married.”

I couldn’t believe that I wasn’t enough. I had a great job and a house that I’d been paying off for seven years. I could offer the twins a fantastic life, and I loved them to the moon and back. How could that not be enough?

I still hadn’t driven off when my phone screen lit up with a message from Nick a few minutes later.

Nick: Hugo told me he spoke to you but didn’t give me details. Do you have time to talk? I’d love to know what’s going on.

I smiled despite the fact that my heart was still heavy. How did Nick have the power to make my day better simply by checking on me?

***

Nick

It was five o’clock and rush hour at the gym, which was one of the reasons why I liked to be around. Obviously, since I owned multiple venues, I couldn’t be everywhere at once. But this was our flagship location, so I spent most of my time here. Gabe and Maddox were here, too, by the weights station. I wanted to shoot the shit with them but waited for Allison’s reply first. Instead of messaging me back, she called.

“Hi,” I answered.

“Hey.”

“So, how did it go? He wouldn’t give me any details because he went into a meeting.”

“Not good. He basically told me I should get married,” Allison said.

“What the fuck?” I snapped.

“Yeah. Said it would be best if I had a long-term boyfriend who was ready to propose.”

“That was his legal advice?” I was going to have a word with Hugo. I kept my voice down and moved into a corner so I didn’t attract any attention to myself.

“Yes. Has to be someone I’ve known for a while, too, or it would look too suspicious. He said the other option would be to tear down Nora’s in-laws, show they’re unfit and all that.”

“Fuck yes.” Yeah, so much for keeping my cool. I looked around, but no one glanced my way.

Allison laughed. “I can’t do that, Nick. They’re the twins’ grandparents, and even Hugo said he wouldn’t recommend it because it makes family life much harder.”

“Did he offer anything useful?”

“He said he wanted to check with me first to see if marriage was even a possibility. I guess now he’ll think about other options, knowing that it’s not.”

“Good. Because if he doesn’t come up with something useful, I’ll have to look for someone else, friend or not.”

“Let’s just see what he comes up with,” Allison said quietly, then sighed. “I need to go pick up the twins. Thanks for contacting him. He really has been helpful.”

“Anytime. Is there anything else I can do? My offer to distract you isn’t only for Saturday evenings.” Even though I was still pissed at Hugo, I kept my voice light because she seemed to need it.

“I promised the twins that we’ll have a bubble bath tonight, but thanks for the offer.”

“I can do late-night phone calls, too, if needed. Just putting it out there. Any time.” I accentuated that last part. I really wanted her to count on me whenever she needed a friend.

“Nick…”

“I’m at your beck and call, Allison.”

She laughed again, but it was still restrained.

Damn it. Hugo’s news was clearly weighing on her, and why wouldn’t it? It was a serious matter.

After hanging up, I went straight to my brothers. Gabe had just finished on the treadmill. Maddox was still working on the weights, but he paused when he saw me.

“So, you stopped for him, but not for me?” Gabe teased.

Maddox quirked a brow. “Nick looks like he’s about to blow for some reason.”

I jerked my head back. “Is it that obvious?”

“To me,” he said. “What’s up?”

“I just talked to Allison. Hugo didn’t have any useful advice. The only bright idea he had was for her to get married.”

“Is that feasible?” Maddox asked. “Is she in a relationship?”

“No.”

Gabe gave me a shit-eating grin. “You could take one for the team.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Marry her.”

Maddox burst out laughing. So did I.

“Yeah, right,” I replied.

Once he’d composed himself, Maddox said, “I mean, it would only be half crazy. Imagine Gran’s face if you told her you’re getting married out of the blue.”

I shook my head. “This isn’t helping.”

“But think about it,” Gabe went on. “You’re making bank. The kids actually know and like you. I bet that would help the whole custody thing.”

“Gabe,” I groaned. “Let’s stick to real solutions.”

He shrugged. “I don’t have any. How was your outing with her on Saturday, by the way? You didn’t say a word.”

“We had a lot of fun.”

Gabe grinned. “Fun enough to propose?”

Oh Jesus. He wouldn’t give this a rest.

But strangely enough, I could see the merit in it.