By His Vow: Chapter 69

Kingston: I’m going to be very late. Don’t worry about cooking me dinner.

Istare at the message I sent Tatum hours ago. She’s read it, but she hasn’t responded.

Concern twists up my insides. She always replies.

It’s almost midnight and Miles and I are giving up for the night.

Today was always going to be stressful, but I didn’t anticipate just how hard it was going to be to begin letting people go. People who have worked hard for Warner Group for years. But it wasn’t just the letting people go that dragged us down today, it was a couple of incredibly important people who came to us to tell us that they would voluntarily leave in the hope of saving others.

Sure, both of them are approaching retirement, but their roles here are vital for the future development of the company.

There is going to be a huge hole without them, but also, saving their generous salaries will greatly help us right now.

Talk about a rock and a hard place.

There are people who can fill the positions. That is not in question. We just don’t have the time right now. We need to hit the ground running with this new direction for the company, not hang around while we wait for newly-promoted colleagues to catch up.

“What’s wrong?” Miles asks, his voice rough with exhaustion as he catches me staring at my cell for the hundredth time tonight.

“Tatum hasn’t replied,” I mutter, trying to cover my true level of concern. It’s the last thing he needs right now.

“She’s probably sleeping like other normal people.”

“Yeah,” I muse. I’d agree if I’d have messaged her in the past couple of hours. But she saw this message and she didn’t reply.

I don’t want to be one of those men who jump to conclusions over every little thing, but I can’t stop myself right now.

I want to say it’s the lack of sleep, but it feels like more than that.

“Start all over again first thing tomorrow morning then?” he asks with a wince.

“Can’t wait,” I mutter, already regretting our agreed start time tomorrow. Finally, I turn my computer off and pack up my shit.

Miles pushes to his feet and walks toward the door to the office that has been allocated as mine.

We started in his first thing this morning but needed a change of scenery as the day rolled on.

“Don’t wake my sister when you get home. Be nice to her,” he warns before slipping out of the office.

The thought of waking her and ending the day properly is appealing, but so is just slipping into bed behind her and falling asleep with her body pinned against mine. There’s something I never thought I’d be happy with. Cuddling.

Oh, how things change…

I make my way down to the underground parking lot and locate my car that Lewis had delivered for me earlier when I knew I was going to be working into the middle of the night, before heading home to my wife.

For the first time in what feels like forever, a genuine smile plays on my lips.

I never thought I’d be happy focusing all my effort on one woman, but Tatum makes it so easy.

Everything about her—even fighting with her—is effortless.

Just being around her makes me feel like I’m a better version of myself. It’s weird. But I like it.

No. I more than like it.

I love it.

Scrubbing my hand down my face, I shake my head, laughing at myself and the U-turn my life has taken.

I wouldn’t change it, though. Not for anything.

I thought I was happy before, that I was content with life, with work, with women. If anyone had asked, I’d have confidently said that anyone in a serious relationship was the one missing out. But now, I’m not sure that’s the truth.

I don’t miss my old life. But if what I’ve got now was suddenly ripped away from me, then it would hurt. Badly.

I may have agreed to the marriage, but that was only because of what was on offer business-wise. I’m pretty sure I’d have agreed to a marriage with anyone if it meant we got our hands on Warner Group. Tatum was just a bonus.

But now I can’t help thinking that Warner Group was the bonus, because Tatum was the main prize in all of this.

Even when she’s being crazy and I can’t for the life of me figure out where her head is at, she’s quite possibly the best thing that’s ever happened to me. That realization surprises me just as much as it terrifies me.

The journey home and then the ride in the elevator to the top floor of the building seems to take longer than it ever has before.

Nothing but silence and darkness greet me when I step into the apartment. It’s a throwback to before she moved in, and I don’t like it. No. I hate it.

Unease trickles through me that she’s not here.

But unwilling to put the lights on and wake her, I silently move through the apartment and climb the stairs in search of her.

The second I step into the dark bedroom, I breathe a sigh of relief, because she’s curled up in bed with Griz beside her.

I strip and shower in record time before crawling into bed with her.

She doesn’t move or say a word, but she doesn’t have to. She’s here. That’s all I need.

I swear, no sooner have I relaxed, do I pass out. I never used to fall asleep this fast, especially after a long, stressful day, but it seems that Tatum might be the antidote I need.

Despite getting a few solid hours of sleep, I feel like a zombie when I walk back into my office the next morning.

Tatum was still sleeping when my alarm went off, and I ensured I was quiet enough to keep it that way as I snuck out of the house.

I left a note, but I hate myself for it. I don’t want to be the husband who leaves the house before sunrise and returns long after it’s set again.

I’ve literally lived through the reality of that kind of relationship, and it’s not something I ever want to go through again.

I laugh at my thoughts as I drop into the chair behind my desk. Our marriage isn’t even real. It’s based on lies and forgery. We didn’t commit ourselves to each other because of our undying love. We did it because of business.

It shouldn’t matter about being a good husband. That isn’t what we signed up for. We agreed to put on a good show in public while putting up with each other in private.

Things right now feel very different from how I saw this playing out at the beginning.

Nothing about our marriage or our relationship seems fake. Everything I feel for Tatum is very, very real. Too real.

“You look way too happy considering how little sleep we’ve had,” Miles says, inviting himself into my office.

We might both be wearing different suits from the day before, but everything else feels the same.

If it weren’t for the sweet scent of my wife that lingers in my nose, I’d believe we never actually left as he takes a seat and we continue from where we left off.

The sun rises over the city, but we’re too lost in our plans and forecasting to pay any attention. There’s movement outside of the door as the rest of the office comes to life. Judith pokes her head in to see if we want anything before disappearing again with Miles’s coffee order.

We don’t have meetings scheduled until eleven, and we make the most of every second.

Unfortunately, having to tell people that their positions in the company no longer exist doesn’t get any easier, and by the time we take a break sometime after lunch, I’m at my limit.

My need to go home and lock the world out for a few hours is at a level I’m not sure it’s ever been before.

It’s because you have Tatum, a little voice pipes up. You never needed it before because this was all you had.

“You want some lunch? Or maybe a drink?” I ask, pushing from my seat and walking over to the window to stretch my legs.

“Yeah. Give me a few and we’ll go,” Miles agrees brokenly before slipping from my office and leaving me alone.

Pulling my cell from my pocket, I open up my message thread with Tatum, hating that she still hasn’t replied to my message from last night.

Kingston: Missed waking up with you this morning. I hope your day is going better than mine.

“Okay, ready,” Miles says from the door, forcing me to lock my cell before the message has even shown as delivered.

Judith smiles at us as we pass her desk. She might not be involved with the decision-making and hard conversations, but she looks about as stressed as I feel. She’s as much a part of the Warner family as Miles and Tatum. She’d been by Jonathan’s side almost the whole time he’d been CEO. This place runs through her blood; the people who work on the floors below mean something to her. It’s good to see the dedication and the love she has for everyone here. It just goes to prove that we’re doing the right thing.

Miles doesn’t say anything when I press the button for the thirteenth floor instead of the ground, but the smirk he gives me says everything.

“You’ve fallen for her, haven’t you?” he asks after a few more seconds.

“What?” I ask, feigning innocence. “Of course not.”

“Don’t lie to me,” he warns. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“Miles,” I sigh, combing my fingers through my hair and dragging it back.

“Just don’t hurt her. Please. Don’t fucking hurt her.”

I stare at him, trying to let him see how serious I am with my next statement. “I’m really going to do my best not to.”

“Good. Have you told her?”

“Told her what?”

“Fucking hell. For an intelligent man you’re a fucking dumbass, KC,” he mocks.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were suddenly the oracle of relationships.”

“Clearly, I’m not. But I know you two, and I know what I see when you’re together. Tell her how you feel, man.”

“I can’t believe you’re encouraging this,” I mutter.

“It’s a bit late to do anything else. You’re fucking married and sharing a bed every night.” I can’t help it, a wicked smirk curls at my lips. “Fuck off,” Miles snaps as the doors open and we spill out onto the marketing floor.

There are plenty of people, most of whom look up the second we enter, their eyes going wide with fear like we’ve come down to lay them off on the spot. But the section where Tatum’s team works is suspiciously empty.

“Maybe they’ve all gone out for lunch,” Miles muses. “They submitted their final campaign ideas to Eric this morning. Probably celebrating.”

“Maybe,” I mumble, my eyes scanning the empty desks.

Moving closer to Tatum’s office, I rap my knuckles on the door three times before pushing it open. But my wife isn’t inside. In fact, it doesn’t look like she’s been here at all. Everything is tidy.

“Come on, I’m starving. You can make all the moon eyes you want at her later.”

“I do not make moon eyes,” I scoff, following him back to the elevator.

“Sure you don’t.”

With our meetings done for the day, we spend a little longer at lunch than we probably should, along with having one or two more drinks than are appropriate for a Tuesday afternoon.

By the time we walk back into the Warner Group offices, we’ve both got a bit of a buzz going on. It should certainly help make the afternoon a little easier to take.

“Good afternoon, Judith,” Miles sings happily, making her eyes light up with amusement. “We brought you a gift.” He places the cupcake we picked up for her on her desk, and her smile grows.

“Ah, you shouldn’t have.”

“Just a small treat to let you know we care,” Miles explains before we take off again. “I need to grab a few things,” he says, ducking into his office, leaving me to make my way down to my new one alone.

I step inside and take a deep breath as I walk toward the windows and stare out over Chicago.

I pull my cell from my pocket, but there is still nothing from Tatum.

My concern continues to grow. Miles is still trying to convince me that she’s with her team, enjoying herself. But I don’t believe it.

Something is wrong.

A couple of minutes pass before the door swings open behind me, crashing back against the wall.

I spin around, and the look on Miles’s face sends dread shooting through my veins.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” I ask in a rush.

He holds a piece of paper between us with a trembling hand, his face white and his eyes wide.

“She’s gone.”

“W-what?” I ask, not comprehending the words.

But then my eyes drop to the letter.

Only, it’s not just a letter.

It’s a resignation.

Tatum’s resignation.

Effective immediately.