“What family? You’re not even legally married, so we can work through our issues,” Brady argued. When Matt went to interject I raised my hand to him and spoke up.
“I’m pregnant with Matt’s baby, Brady.” I said.
The silence in the room was deafening. Kent and Lark, who were in the dark, looked at the three of us.
“What? When?” he asked befuddled.
“I was pregnant the whole time I was on the estate with you. I was pregnant when you caused the car accident the first time the attempted kidnapping occurred. Not only could I have lost my life, but worst of all, I could have lost my baby,” I stated calmly because screaming at him would never have worked.
Every man in the room gasped and grimaced with my revelation. I could feel the tension in the air thicken a thousand fold.
“You see, not only would you have charges brought against you for things done to me, but my baby is a victim too,” I stated. “If you take the deal we’re offering you, none of this comes out. If you work through your feelings for me with a therapist, there may be a chance for you to return to Pentagon. Maybe not as President at first, but at the very least, you’ll get to vote again,” I implored. He shook his head ‘no’.
“I never wanted to hurt you. A baby?” He asked.
I nodded, reaching into the pocket of my jacket. I pulled out my sonogram, which Matt hadn’t even seen. I pushed it forward for him to see. He resisted looking at it, but curiosity got the best of him. Matt looked at me. I watched as Brady reviewed the image, trying to decipher the content. I watched as his finger traced over the upper left hand corner’s information.
“It doesn’t have your name on it? It says, M. Peña,” He informed. My assumed name, the doctor’s office, the date were all printed to identify the fetus in the sonogram.
“Because of the media attention, among other reasons,” I said, looked at Matt knowingly. “I used my mother’s maiden name in order to preserve my privacy until I could resolve all of our issues.”
“I confirmed her pregnancy on the night of the gala when I took a saliva sample to the lab. Perla admitted it to me when I confronted her soon after,” Matt confirmed.
Brady glared at Matt. After a long pause, letting everything sink in, Brady spoke.
“Fine, I’ll give you up, Perla. But I’m not giving up my position.”
“You have no option,” Zipper informed. “Starting today, you’re no longer President,” he finished.
Brady smirked.
“So are you going to be President now?” Brady inquired of Zipper.
“No,” Zipper answered succinctly.
“I didn’t think so.” Brady spat.
“Lark is,” Zipper added.
Brady’s eyes widened, looking over at Lark. Brady had always taken care of Lark, and now Lark was in charge of the entire corporation. It must have been surreal for Brady to lose his position to his protégé.
“So you were in on this to steal my role.”
“Brady, we all want you to get help. It’s temporary if you comply . . .” Lark offered.
“Comply? With this stupid order of going to therapy for some bitch,”
“Whoa! Watch your mouth!” Matt jumped up.
I stood to stop him from getting physical.
“Stop! Matt,” I extended my arm, motioning for him to sit. I sat back down, as well to make myself less threatening.
“He’s being cornered by all of us. I understand how it feels to be attacked and demoted. You’re the one who set it all in motion, Brady. You caused me to feel exactly what you feel right now; losing everything you worked hard for.” I said, scowling at him. “But we’re giving you a chance to redeem yourself. I’m helping you to help yourself. Your friends are hoping you will be able to work towards coming back, to voting again, and hopefully, be friends with everyone,” I added.
“I can even do therapy with you. See how we can work through getting you to just be my friend like you were before, Shay.” I pled.
Everyone remained quiet. Brady and I stared into each other’s eyes until we both started tearing up. Brady wiped the tear streaming down his cheek.
“So you really want him?” Brady asked.
“I want to be happy. With the exception of a couple of occasions, Matt’s made me happier than I’d ever been,”
“And you’ll take care of her?” He directed at Matt.
“If she’ll have me,” Matt answered.
“What do I have to do?” Brady said, clearing his throat. His eyes glistened. The whites of his eyes reddened.
“We have a separation agreement with terms. You can have your attorneys look things over. However, there is no opportunity for negotiations,” Zipper confirmed.
Brady shook his head and said, “We’ll see.” Brady stood up and came toward me. Matt stood up and rushed to my side.
“He won’t hurt me,” I said quietly without holding him off like I did the last time.
“I’m sorry,” Brady said.
I wasn’t sure what he was sorry for: losing me; never having me at all; my wanting to be with Matt; my being pregnant; him getting caught; or feeling sorry for losing his position at Pentagon—maybe, everything. He took my hand and placed the sonogram picture within my light grip.
“Please do the right thing,” I requested.
He did respond and walked out of the room. Lark followed. Kent cleared his throat.
“I’m going out to encourage him,” Kent stated. I nodded. “Congratulations, Perla,” he extended.
This round of congratulations felt more forced than the last time I received them when Matt and I got married and informed the group of our union.
Zipper remained in the room, and we ignored him as Matt said, “Listen about the papers I filed, I felt there was no other way. You weren’t doing as I asked, and I needed my stocks back,” he started.
“Because you threatened to dismantle Pentagon, Matt, we need assurances you won’t try to pull the trigger whenever you are dissatisfied with how the rest of us manage the business,” Zipper said.
“I won’t, man. Now that we have Brady out of the business, then I’m satisfied,”
“Brady’s ouster is not permanent,” I said. “We’re giving him an opportunity to come back after he’s sought help and is working toward moving past me,” I added. Matt appeared agitated by the conditions.
“Then I’ll learn to deal with it,” Matt conceded.
“In order to ensure you deal with it appropriately, we have conditions for you to agree to before Perla can marry you and return the stocks,” Zipper announced.
“You can’t control what me and Perla do, Zip,” he answered indignantly.
“I’ve had Turner draw up an amendment to our prenuptial agreement, and . . .” I said.
“What kind of amendment?”
“If you and I decide to file the marriage license, the stocks do not automatically return to you. I will continue to retain control for the life of our marriage. The stocks revert to you if we divorce. The only other way it returns to you is if I become incapacitated, incompetent or die,” I said.
I looked deep into his eyes to see if I could read his thoughts. I kept my face impassive, hoping he would know I was serious.
“So you claim you don’t want my money, but you want to keep my stocks, which are worth upwards of seven-hundred-fifty million dollars?” He pulled away.
“Everything remains the same. I keep the shares as a shareholder and as a Board member I will vote in the best interest of Pentagon. You and I will meet as often as you’d like about the decisions I make. You will reap the financial rewards of the gains made. You will also bare the losses of the corporation. The only thing I want is to be able to ensure the preservation of this corporation. We can’t demolish Pentagon just because you want to keep me close and under your control,” I stated.
After a long pause, I continued, “I don’t want to lose my job. I want to oversee Pentagram. I told you before, my job with Pentagon
is very important to me. I can’t have you threaten to take it away from me whenever your insecurities pop up or I don’t follow your rules. This is too big and important for the six people who were just in this room.”
“If I refuse to sign your amendment, what will happen?”
“I won’t file the license.”
“Well, if you don’t file the marriage license, I will continue the legal claims I gave you already,” he threatened.
“We will countersue you for your actions against Perla, trying to remove an important Executive in direct breach of our charter and Federal laws,” Zipper retorted.
Matt narrowed his eyes and sucked his teeth, turning away from me and Zipper.
“We will then have to work together to co-parent our baby as two single individuals. I can’t lose this job. I have assurances from Pentagon that even if you win the stocks back, I will retain my job, and we will all fight you to keep Pentagon in business.” I said stony faced. I could see the mounting anger. “Zipper has papers for you to review with your new attorney. You have forty-eight hours to decide,” I informed. I took his hand, and placed the sonogram picture of our little baby within his palm.
I left the conference room, and walked toward the elevator. Matt didn’t follow me. I didn’t hear the elevator door ding or open until it was ready to close again. I waited for him to run after me and agree to my demands, but he didn’t. When I turned down the prenup and took the stocks, he chased after me. This time, he elected to let me walk away with the most important thing of all, his baby.
MATT
“I need for you to hear me out as your friend . . . your brother . . . confidant . . . and one-time attorney,” Zipper started, stopping me from chasing after her. “It’s not just Perla you would lose if you continue with these threats,” he claimed.
“We’ve grown up, Zipper. We can’t all stay together forever. You’re my guy, but Brady is done with me. And Kent and Lark straddle the line between us and him, and I just feel like it’s over.” I said.
“They didn’t straddle the line when your wife came to us and asked us to vote to remove Brady for the sake of you two and Pentagon. They made a difficult, but clear, choice for you.” He said.
My eyes widened with surprise she led the charge with making all these demands. I knew she was savvy, but I was naïve as to her abilities.
“This was all Perla. She gave us all the information we needed; from Brady’s resort ownership to getting details about his obsession with her. She researched the bylaws to find the rules to make all of this happen. She requested we keep it all under wraps, going so far as communicating through phone calls and texts on burner phones,” he chuckled.
“She was like a stealthy, corporate ninja,” he said, making me laugh. “Your wife did this for the best interest of your company; our company—for all of us!” Zipper said in earnest.
It was a bold move to accost Brady with all of the information, demanding his removal from a company he in part created.
“I don’t like her telling me what to do with my stocks. I won’t be bound by some agreement.”
“Yet, you did the same thing to her,” he countered.
Zipper handed me the papers and I read the entire copy as he remained in the room, watching me and awaiting my response. I looked at our baby’s image, which I held in my hands. I reviewed a few words on the new agreement, gritted my teeth, and stormed off.
PERLA
I left the building behind me with Josh following me at a distance because I needed to be alone. I cried the entire way home. Giant globules of tears dropped down to my chest, like a warm summer rain during a dark, stormy day. All of the memories and emotions from the instant I saw Matt in his medical office to the moment I walked out of the conference room replayed in my mind. Josh ran ahead to grab the door for me. I dismissed him after he ensured I was safe in my apartment.
The sobs ebbed as I removed my clothing for a cleansing shower. I’d hoped to cry some more, but I was drained. I dressed comfortably to lounge on the couch, and attempted to read a book from my tablet. After some time reading, but feeling sleepy, I heard the locks turn. I stood up and saw Matt enter with a large sack of takeout. The name of our favorite Chinese restaurant emblazoned in red on the white plastic bag. My heart burst with delight. I wanted him more than the food, but in the moment, he was meeting both our needs—me and baby’s. I couldn’t contain my wide grin.
“Hi,” I greeted, watching him in his suit. He slipped off his shoes, pushing them to the wall.
“I brought us some food, so we can talk,” he sounded so serious, and I feared we wouldn’t be reconciling.
“Why don’t you change into something comfortable and I’ll lay these out on the table,” I offered. He placed the bag on the table and I went about setting up for dinner.
I remembered I had silver candleholders and candlesticks, which Magnus acquired for me. Setting the mood would hopefully get us to start communicating. After setting the table and dimming the lights, I wanted to turn on music from my tablet, but didn’t want to go over the top. I felt nervous waiting for him. When he entered the room, he had changed into his lounging clothes. His hair was damp, having showered. My heart beat wildly as I waited for him to sit down.
As usual, he waited for me to sit, helping me onto the chair. I felt giddy and scared. I had set the table for us to sit across from each other. Matt moved the place setting to sit right next to me. In his hand he had an envelope, I wasn’t mentally prepared to discuss anything other than eat dinner and talk. He handed me the envelope, and I opened it. The blue paper was the first thing I saw, knowing they were legal papers. I read through the first few sentences, confirming it was a copy of my addendum. I turned to the last page, and found his signature with the date, agreeing to my request. There were two other signatures and dates of witnesses who confirmed Matt had signed with sound mind and body; it was official. I knew it was a huge sacrifice, but necessary for all involved in Pentagon’s growth.
I stood up abruptly, not giving him a chance to stand with me, and I sprinted to my office. When I found the envelope, I returned to the table and handed it to him. Matt looked puzzled and opened up the envelope. He read through the document. “Are you sure?” Matt asked.
“I am,” I consented with a smile, looking right in his eyes without cutting our connection. Matt leaned in and kissed me. I couldn’t help but hold his face, feeling the bristles of his beard. Our breath became jagged as neither of us dared pull away to catch a deeper breath. I pulled back to take a good look at him. My eyes went from the top of his head to the tip of his chin. It appeared as if his salt and peppery hair became grayer with all of the harrowing experiences we had since we first met.
“Are you really hungry?” I asked.
He nodded, “For you.”
I stood up and he followed. He pulled down my yoga pants, and asked, “Commando?” I nodded. He pulled down his lounging pants, “Me too.”
“That’s why you’re perfect for me, Doctor Dashing,” I said. I took his hand and pulled him to our bedroom where we reconciled all night long.
EPILOGUE
“I can’t do this anymore, babe. I’m done.”
“What do you mean you’re done? I’m not done. Bring your mouth back here.”
“I’m tired. We’ve been at this for almost twenty four hours”
“You’re exaggerating. One more time, please.” I begged.
He sighed audibly.
“I can’t. I’m sore everywhere. I have no more fluids left. I’m hungry. I’m tired. My fingers are cramping. I can’t feel my mouth. I need a break.” He said, groaning beside me.
“I was almost there. I know if I get there, it’ll do the trick.” I tried to persuade.
“I’m not a machine, Perla.”
“Maybe, I should’ve bought one.” I responded.
He sucked his teeth.
“It’s obvious this baby isn’t coming on your timeline.” He retorted.
&nbs
p; “And whose fault is that? You made a lazy baby who is far too comfortable in here.” I pointed at my expanded belly. I pulled Matt to me. “Fine. We’ll try again later.” I said, giving him a kiss on the forehead.
“No. No, later. I’m done. ‘She’s’ just going to come out when she’s ready.”
“What if ‘he’ doesn’t come out anytime soon? I’m as big as a house. I can barely move.”
“You’re even more beautiful than the day I met you.” He said.
I scowled when he stood up off the bed. Instantly, I missed the warmth of his body. The baby must of missed him too because I felt a kick on the top of my belly.
“Do you need something from the kitchen? I need food and drink.”
“No. I might as well nap. I won’t get any rest when he comes.”
“There is still time to get a baby nurse. Stella has a few we can interview.” He said while retrieving his clothing from the floor.
“I told you, our baby, our job.” I watched him pull on his sweats over his beautiful body. It wasn’t fair that he remained lean and muscular while I grew large and heavy.
“What’s going to happen when I have to travel?” He asked.
“We have friends and family who have offered to help.” I said.
He rolled his eyes, and said, “Alright, babe. I’ll be back.”
As soon as he walked out the door, I felt a tightening of my womb and furious movement. It took my breath away, and I rose up to sitting in order to get a fuller intake of air. I rubbed my belly to calm the movements. We decided not to find out the sex of the baby. Surprises were a common occurrence in our lives, and waiting until our baby was born to find out the sex was the best surprise since our union.
Matt and I had been through a rollercoaster in our short time together. However, the last several months of our lives were calmer and more loving. Our relationship grew with my expanding belly grew. We were finally on common ground and were a family.
*****
After the new Board took over control of the corporation from Brady and Matt, the business continued to thrive. All of our projects moved on time and neared the projected completion dates. Pentagon made moves to take on more opportunities to purchase properties and expand the lifestyle and recreation businesses in Miami and Las Vegas with hopes of infiltrating Los Angeles. Kent moved full time to Miami to maintain full time management of those projects, but spent a lot of time in Vegas with the new acquisitions. We hired more executives to support all sectors of the corporation. I hired two executives to directly support me with Capitol projects. My maternity leave and plans to return half time after the baby necessitated more assistants.
Bound: The Pentagon Group, Book 3 Page 34