I don’t understand Alan Windsor. I know the persona he puts out to the rest of the world. I’ve seen glimpses of the real Alan. When he manipulated my emotions into faking a relationship with his son and when he spoke so casually about paying off the jury. Alan makes himself seem likable, but he’s not. I know the pressure he’s put on both of his children. Allison escaped, but I’ve watched time and time again as Oliver has struggled to withstand the pressure. I’ve watched him be shaped and manipulated by Alan day after day.
I won’t sit here and say that I understand how their relationship works. I don’t even understand why Oliver sticks around and puts up with more of Alan’s bullshit than anyone should.
“Well, that’s stupid,” I say, no longer able to bite my tongue.
For the most part, I’ve done my best to keep my mouth shut as I watch them interact. It’s never been any of my business, but now I’m bringing my daughter into the situation so I can’t just stand by and be complacent.
“I know,” he responds.
He doesn’t try to fight me on it like I expect him to. Oliver has always been the biggest defender of Alan. No matter what, his father is always right, his father knows best. He has blind faith in the man.
Hearing him agree with me is confirmation to me that Oliver is done, that he’s serious about choosing us over his father. The fact that he’s not trying to come up with an excuse signals to me that he’s reached his breaking point in their relationship.
“So, what are you going to do?” I ask quietly. “What’s the plan?”
He rakes a hand through his hair again, leaning back a bit further on the couch, letting the plush material engulf his frame. For a second, he looks relaxed, and I wish we could go back to before this conversation began. Before Alan put this pressure on him. I wish we could just be normal.
“I’m going to give them the wrong information. Not everything I say is going to be wrong, just the important things. That way, nobody will get hurt. But...” he trails off for a minute like he doesn’t want to tell me what the ‘but’ is. Before I push him on it though, Oliver starts speaking again. “It’s dangerous. They’ll come to my father for payment, he’ll complain that they didn’t do the job correctly and he’ll likely refuse to pay. They’ll try to pin it all on me, but I doubt father will believe them.”
“How can you be so sure that he won’t?”
“I can’t. I can’t be sure of anything, but it’s the only plan that I have. Even if my father believes me, they’ll know what I’ve done, and I won’t be safe. Not for a while, until they either get their money or get over it. Whatever comes first. That’s the part of my plan that presents a challenge,” he shifts on the couch again, this time turning so he’s facing me.
Oliver reaches out and takes my hand in his.
“Cassidy, this is the part where I need to ask more from you than I should, way more than you owe me.”
This entire conversation has left me uncomfortable. I don’t like knowing the dirty dealings of the Windsor family. I don’t like knowing how they achieve their power. Now, I’m worried. Oliver is serious and I don’t know what he wants from me. All I can do is look down at our hands and nod slowly, weakly.
“Yes?” I choke out.
He sighs, heavily.
“I need you to go home. Go back to Georgia, go be with Diana. I need you out of New York, out of sight, out of mind,” Oliver’s struggling to speak, so I can tell that this means a lot to him. “I know that’s asking a lot. I know I’m asking you to give up your job and I should never expect that from you, but I need you to be safe. I need our daughter to be safe.”
I have to take a second to completely process what he’s asking though. He wants me to go home, away from New York, away from the life I have built for myself. Otherwise, I’ll be in danger. I have to give up the job that I’ve worked my ass off for.
“Oliver...” is all I can say before he starts speaking again.
“Cassidy, I would never ask this of you if it wasn’t important. I would never demand that you give up something that means as much to you as this does,” he says. “I just need you to be safe.”
I latch on to the only thing I can at that moment, the only thing that feels like it makes sense.
“Doesn’t that mean I’ll be walking away from you, too?” I ask, my voice quiet. Oliver doesn’t respond, which gives me the answer that I need. I feel warm tears stinging at my eyes and I wish I could chalk this all up to pregnancy hormones. “But I just got you back. We’re in a good spot, we’re having a baby.”
“Cassidy,” he says, his voice breaking with emotion. He leans forward, letting go of my hands. He uses his thumbs to wipe at the tears now falling freely down my cheeks. “I know this is hard. I wouldn’t ask this of you if I didn’t have to, and you’re not going to lose me. Do you think I’m going to let you go that easily? You think I’m going to let you walk away with our daughter?”
He tries to smile for me, and I try to mimic it.
“I’m coming for you, and our little girl, as soon as it’s safe.”
Now, I feel even more panicked because another thought has entered my mind.
“What if she is born before you come back?” I ask, my tears falling quicker now, quicker than Oliver can wipe at them. I don’t want to do this without him. We’ve come so far. I want him there with me. He needs to be there with me.
He tries to smile, even more, making sure I’m looking at him.
“Cassidy, I wouldn’t miss that for the world, alright? I’m going to be there. It’ll all smooth over in a month or so and then I’ll be right there with you and our daughter,” he assures me. “You have to trust me on this one. I’m doing everything in my power to make sure I keep you and our daughter safe, alive - and with me. Okay?”
I nod slowly. I don’t have it in me to formulate words. I’m trying to figure out how this fell apart so quickly. I want to know that it’s all going to be okay. I want to know that Oliver and I are going to be fine. That this is just a small bump in our plans for our life together.
“Okay,” I say quietly.
I realize that I don’t have much of a choice. As soon as the options were presented to me, I knew what I had to do.
As much as I want to stand here and be strong, as much as I want to stay in New York and with Oliver, my daughter is more important. I have to keep her safe and sound, no matter what that means.
He leans forward and kisses my forehead.
“Give me time to let the danger pass, let it all die down, then I’ll fly you back, get you your job back, and we will have our own place. We’ll live happily ever after - this is just something we have to overcome,” Oliver speaks so passionately that I can’t help but believe him.
I believe that this man would never do anything to hurt me, or lose me, again.
I nod slowly. I don’t think I’ve fully processed all of this yet. I don’t think I fully understand what I’m agreeing to. Oliver takes me in his arms and pulls me to him. I fall into his chest with ease, breathing in his scent, taking in his warmth.
I want to savor all of this before it’s over. I want to remember what this feels like.
He kisses the top of my head again.
“I love you,” he says softly.
“I love you, too.”
We sit in silence for a while, his arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly to his chest. I think that Oliver’s doing the same thing, savoring the moment between us before we lose it all.
After the silence passes, he says, “We’re going to have a meeting with father tomorrow.”
I swallow hard.
“And say what?”
“We’re going to tell him that the pregnancy is getting too much for you to handle alone, that you’re stepping down from your role immediately, and going back home to be with family. We’ll come up with something to tell the press.”
“Will he buy it?” I ask, playing with his fingers.
“He doesn’t have a choice.
He’s going to have to accept that you’re acting in the best interest of our child and yourself,” he says. “That’s why I’ll be there with you. I won’t allow him to question you on it. Promise.”
I don’t feel like myself as we walk into Alan’s office the next morning, our fingers intertwined. I thought I’d be nervous. Instead, I’m calm. I feel like we will get through this together. I trust that Oliver is going to make sure this runs as smoothly as possible.
Alan looks up as we step into the office, Oliver closes the door behind us.
“Good morning,” he greets us. “I didn’t think we had a meeting scheduled for this morning.”
“We didn’t,” Oliver says, walking me over to one of the chairs in front of the desk. I sit down. “But something came up last night.”
Whatever Alan was paying attention to before we stepped into the room is long forgotten. His gaze is on Oliver and me as we sit in front of him, still holding hands. It’s providing me with comfort as we try to pull this off.
Alan’s brows are wrinkled in the center, looking like Oliver’s do when he’s worried about something or deep in thought.
“What’s going on? Is everything alright?”
Oliver looks over at me and I swallow hard. Now I’m nervous. I wasn’t expecting to be put on the spot here.
“Oliver and I spent a long time talking last night and we decided that it would be for the best if I take a step back from working at Windsor throughout the rest of my pregnancy,” I say, starting off with the easy part.
He looks between us before nodding slowly.
“Alright, that’s doable.”
“That’s not all,” Oliver speaks up. He looks over at me, his face soft. It’s a quiet sign telling me that it’s okay, that it’s time to move on with the conversation. It builds my confidence; eliminates the worry I feel, at least for now.
“I think I should return home to Georgia and be with my mother right now. I need the extra support. This pregnancy is proving a lot more complicated than I thought it would be for me,” I explain.
Alan’s brows are still wrinkled in the center as he looks between us. He focuses more on Oliver than me and I wonder if he’s trying to tell whether his son believes what I’m saying or not.
He responds softly after a moment.
“Everything is alright with the pregnancy, correct? The child is okay?”
“Yes,” Oliver answers for me. “I realize that we’ve been so busy that I forgot to tell you, we found out it’s a girl.”
Alan’s face is unreadable, also reminding me of how Oliver’s face looks sometimes. Soon, it breaks into a smile.
“Well, congratulations. Here we were thinking it was going to be a boy,” he says. But as quickly as it appeared, the smile now disappears from Alan’s face. “Cassidy, do you really think it’s for the best that you leave? We’ve worked so hard to get where we are now. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are today.”
I swallow. I hadn’t thought of an extended response to Alan’s questions. I knew the basics of what I was supposed to say, Oliver was going to fill in the gaps for me.
“I know I have,” I finally say. “It wasn’t an easy choice to make and it’s not one that I make lightly, Alan, trust me. But I feel like I have to do what’s best for my health and more importantly, my daughter’s health.”
“We’ve spoken about it,” Oliver finally chimes in. “I support Cassidy in doing whatever she feels most comfortable with. We’ve decided that I’ll fly out there to be with her when the due date arrives, and then we’ll decide where to go from there.”
“And what about the press? We’ve built this story up for so long and the two of you are just going to let it be for nothing?”
“It wasn’t for nothing. It helped break the news of Cassidy’s pregnancy to the press, and that’s not going away,” Oliver says. “All in all, we believe this is for the best. We can always win the press over again after our daughter is born. Right now, I support Cassidy in doing what she believes is best for the two of them.”
“Oliver,” Alan’s voice is deeper than it usually is. It comes out sounding like a warning, as though Oliver’s crossing a line that he’s not supposed to cross. “Are you sure this is for the best?”
It is phrased as a question, but I’m not sure it is.
I’ve watched Alan’s manipulation before, but I don’t think he’s ever been so obvious about it. I see the way his grey eyes, filling with anger and disappointment, bore a hole into Oliver. It gives me a glimpse of what Oliver’s life must be like, Alan constantly pushing him to do what he wants him to do. It gives me a better understanding of why Oliver is the way that he is. I thought I understood a while ago, but now I really get it.
“Yes,” Oliver answers him without much hesitation. He speaks clearly, making direct eye contact with his father. I have a feeling this is one of the first times that Oliver has ever challenged him back. “As I said, I support what Cassidy believes is the best for her and our child. I believe that whatever issues occur because of this will be something we can solve easily in the future.”
Alan’s clearly not used to this response from his son. I see a flicker of anger on his face, but it fades before it can make a permanent home on his features. He turns back to face me, his features softening again.
“Is there no way I can convince you to stay?” he asks me. “I can’t promise that your job will still be available when you’re ready to return.”
I see what he’s doing. He’s trying a different manipulation tactic, except this time it’s on me instead of Oliver. I shake my head.
“I understand the opportunity I’m stepping away from. I appreciate everything that Windsor has given me, but I have to do what’s best for my future family.”
Oliver squeezes my hand, telling me that I said exactly what I needed to say. It gives me that extra confidence boost.
Alan looks between us one last time before looking defeated. Just like that momentary flash of anger earlier, the look of defeat is only there for a moment. He slowly nods his head, standing from his desk.
“Understood. You have to do what’s best for you and my future grandchild, who I look forward to meeting in just a few months,” he smiles and I struggle to tell whether it’s genuine or not.
“Thank you, Alan,” I say with a small smile of my own. I stand slowly, Oliver standing with me. “As I said, I definitely appreciate every opportunity you’ve granted me. I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”
“I’m sure you will. Goodbye for now, Cassidy,” he says, nodding in my direction.
Oliver and I leave the office. As soon as the door closes behind us, my heart is pounding in my chest. Now the anxiety is kicking in. What have I just done? I quit the job opportunity of a lifetime. This is crazy. This is absolutely crazy. I think Oliver senses my panic because we walk just a few feet down the hallway before he stops us.
He cups my cheeks in his hands, lifting my head so I’m looking straight at him.
“Hey,” he says, his voice soft. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay. Whatever you’re worried about, we’re going to make it better. We’re going to make it work.”
“I quit my job,” I say quietly like that’s the one thing I’m holding onto.
I’ve never thought of myself as a workaholic, but this job was my saving grace. When I was going through the motions after my breakup with Oliver, the job was what kept me going. It was the one thing I never doubted. It was the one thing I knew I could do.
“I know. And it’s okay. You’re great at what you do, Cassidy. Anyone would be honored to hire you. I’ll make sure you walk away from here with a good review from Windsor if we can’t hire you back. But trust me, we’ll hire you back.”
“Okay,” I say softly. I don’t have much else to say and Oliver knows that. Instead of pushing me to talk more, he just wraps his arms around me and pulls me into an embrace. I close my eyes and rest my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
There is no option for it not to be.
Chapter Sixteen
I’m in the process of cleaning out my office, something that stabs at my heart more than I thought it would. This job has become a part of me over the months I’ve been here. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put into words how important this opportunity was for me. I got to work my dream job for these few months, and I’ll forever be thankful.
Oliver was called into a meeting with Alan, one he thought would consist of Alan yelling at him for letting me leave. It left me alone in this office, the one he had surprised me with. As I’m putting my things into a box, I hear a soft knock on the door. Looking up, I see Noelle.
Seeing Noelle up here is such a weird sight. She usually stays behind the desk in the lobby, never venturing up to this floor. She’s not smiling from ear to ear like she usually is. Instead, she looks sad. She takes one look at me and then focuses her gaze on the boxes.
“So, it’s true, huh?” she asks softly, leaning on the doorframe.
“Word travels fast around here, doesn’t it?” I say, attempting to lighten the moment.
“Always has,” she says taking a deep breath and stepping into the room. “I didn’t think you’d be leaving me this quickly. I thought we really hit a stride with our friendship lately.”
She walks over, taking a seat on the small couch in the corner of the room.
“I didn’t think I would be leaving either,” I admit. “Things just became complicated, I guess.”
I wish I could tell her the whole story. Noelle knows more than anyone else does about what’s going on, but she doesn’t know the whole story, and she never will. I hate hiding things from her, but I know that I have to.
“Everything’s okay, right?” she asks, running her hands over her thighs. “With you, the baby, and...Oliver?”
I nod quickly.
“Everything is fine. I swear. Oliver and I are great, but I think that I need to take this time away for myself and for my daughter.”
Her hazel eyes light up then and I realize that in the hustle and bustle of everything, I never told her the gender of the child. Oliver and I had been so caught up in everything else that was going on, that we never shared the gender with those around us.
Fake Love Rich Boss Series Page 29