Little Secrets--The Baby Merger

by Yvonne Lindsay

  Marilyn laughed, a brittle, bitter sound. “Well, I was good enough for you once, wasn’t I?”

  “I told you then and I’ll tell you now, it was a wretched mistake. I was a grieving man reaching out for comfort, and I never should have put you in that position.”

  Sally looked at her father in shock. He’d had an affair with Marilyn after her mother’s death? How on earth had they continued to work together for so long after that? Had Marilyn’s unrequited love been what kept her, day in and day out, at her desk in the hope that one day Orson Harrison would change his mind? Sally swallowed against the lump that had solidified in her throat.

  All her life Marilyn had been there. With no mother to turn to, Marilyn had been the one to explain about the things girls needed to know about their bodies, to talk about what was right and wrong when it came to boys, to take her shopping for her first bra. To dry her tears when her best friend from elementary school moved away or when a high school crush broke her heart.

  At every major turning point in her life, Marilyn had been the female perspective she’d needed. Now she was learning that Marilyn had loved Orson for all those years. And yet, despite all of that, despite all those years, she’d been quite happy to let Sally take blame for something she herself had done—even knowing how much that stigma would hurt Sally and Orson.

  “I can’t believe you were going to let me take the fall for this, Marilyn.”

  “Oh, please. As if it would have been an issue for you. Your father would never press charges against you. And besides, it’s not as if you need the work. You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. No, it would all have been neatly swept under the carpet and maybe, just maybe, the shock would have been enough for Orson to finally see me again. Do you know why he never took our affair any further? Because of you. Because he didn’t want you to feel he was replacing your mother. After you freaked out at the funeral, he realized how weak you were. How needy you’d become. So he put me on the back burner.”

  Orson rose to his feet. “That’s not true!”

  Marilyn also stood. “Isn’t it? It certainly felt like that to me. Do you realize what I’ve given up for you? Everything, that’s what. My youth. My hopes. My dreams for a family of my own. But you didn’t care. And when I thought you might finally be coming around, that with the right encouragement you might step away from the business and maybe actually look at retirement with me still there by your side, what do you do? You merge with him! The son of the man who almost destroyed this company just as it was getting off the ground!”

  She pointed a finger sharply in the air in Kirk’s direction. “Even after your heart attack you kept working, when a rational man would have given up. Don’t you see? I did all that for you, for us! Can’t you understand what it was like for me? How I was looking down the barrel of retirement alone? I gave my life for you, Orson. And in return you gave me nothing.”

  Kirk stepped forward. “I think you’ve said enough, Marilyn. You are hereby relieved of your duties at Harrison Tanner Tech. I’m calling security to come and hold you until the police can be called so we can press charges.”

  “No, wait,” Orson said, looking a lot older than he had only short moments ago. “This is my fault.”

  “Dad, no. It’s not,” Sally cried, pushing upright out of her chair.

  “Honey, I’m man enough to admit my mistakes. I shouldn’t have turned to Marilyn for comfort, but I made a much bigger error when I expected there not to be any repercussions. Marilyn, I’m sorry. I should have taken better care of you at the time. I should have found you employment elsewhere instead of continuing to take your loyalty to me for granted.”

  “Orson, she betrayed everyone here with her actions. She could have destroyed everything,” Kirk argued, his hands clenched futilely at his sides.

  “But we stopped her in time, didn’t we? I don’t want to press charges.” Marilyn gasped in shock, and Orson fixed his gaze on her. “Even though they are warranted. What you did threatened not only my family but the families of all the staff here. It was unforgivable.”

  “I did it for you,” Marilyn repeated brokenly.

  “No.” He shook his head sadly. “You did it for you. But I will right my wrong.” He mentioned a sum of money that made even Sally’s eyebrows rise a little. “I will offer you that severance on the condition that you leave Washington, never come back and never contact me again. The legal department will draw up a nondisclosure agreement. Upon signing, you will agree to say absolutely nothing about what transpired during any of your time working here. You will never share information about the company, me or my family ever again. Do you understand me?”

  Marilyn sank back in her chair and nodded weakly. “You’re sending me away?”

  “I’m giving you a chance to make a new life, Marilyn. The choice is yours. Take it and rebuild, or stay and face the consequences of what you’ve done.”

  Not surprisingly, Marilyn accepted his offer with the scrap of dignity she had left. As she turned to leave the room, she looked at Sally.

  “You think it’s all about work and making a name for yourself here, but it’s not. One day you’ll be just like me. Alone.”

  Sally stood to face her. “No, I won’t be like you, Marilyn, because I could never do what you’ve done to hurt the people who’ve always supported you.”

  * * *

  Kirk escorted Marilyn from the office and requested security to accompany her from the building once she’d removed her personal effects. Anger still roiled through him, unresolved. He didn’t agree with Orson’s offer, didn’t trust Marilyn as far as he could kick her, but he had to abide by the older man’s dictates.

  Marilyn looked broken as she moved about the outer office, packing her personal mementos. All the fight and fire gone, every one of her years etched deeply into the lines on her face.

  So much damage, so much risk—and all for unrequited love? It wasn’t as if she’d even done it out of spite or greed. She’d done it to try to force the man she loved to notice her—to stop being the work-driven tycoon he’d always been.

  And wasn’t he just like that, too? Hadn’t he modeled himself on Orson Harrison his whole adult life? Didn’t he aspire to enjoy the same success Orson had? But at what cost? After Marilyn had been escorted away, Kirk sighed heavily and returned to Orson’s office, his thoughts still whirling. He’d asked Sally to marry him, more than once, without stopping to consider what he was offering her. Oh, sure, he said he wanted to be a hands-on parent—there for his child every step of the way. But had he even once stopped to consider Sally’s feelings?

  What about her needs, her dreams for the future? Had he ever asked her about what she wanted? No, it had all been about him. Him and his desire to be everything his father wasn’t. The realization was an unpleasant one.

  He’d never considered himself a selfish man—he’d always bestowed that honor on his father, who always put his needs and addictions first. But looking at himself right now, Kirk found his actions wanting. He needed to change. He needed to be a man worthy of a woman like Sally Harrison if he was ever going to win her.

  Kirk closed Orson’s office door behind him and sat heavily in the chair Marilyn had vacated.

  “She’s gone?” Orson asked.

  He still looked drawn, but beneath his pallor Kirk detected the steely determination that had made Orson the successful man he was. On the other side of the desk, Sally looked shaken, as well, but he saw the same strength in her. He wondered if either father or daughter realized how alike they truly were.

  “Yes,” Kirk answered. “The legal department is standing by for your instructions.”

  “Good, good. I’ll get to that next. Have you two got a few minutes? We need to talk.”

  “I’m okay for a while,” Sally said. “But if you’d rather, Dad, we can do this later. I know
you’re upset. I’m pretty stunned myself. I trusted her all my life.”

  “And I trusted her with mine. It’s taught me a painful but valuable lesson. My own lapse in judgment in having that brief affair with Marilyn led her to nurse false hopes that there could one day be more between us. For myself, all I ever felt after that encounter was guilt and disappointment in myself. I guess that’s one of the reasons I kept her on here. I felt I needed to make it up to her that I couldn’t offer her more.” He sighed and shifted a set of papers on the desk in front of him.

  “Looking back won’t change anything, but we can look forward, and my heart attack was a long overdue wake-up call. I’ve been reevaluating things, and I believe I am ready to step back and relinquish many of my responsibilities here. I want to be able to enjoy the rest of my life, enjoy my grandchild when he or she comes along. I want to take time to focus on what really matters before it’s all taken from me.”

  “Dad, are you sure? Medically there’s no reason—”

  “No, medically there is no reason for me not to stay in this saddle for a good many more years yet. The thing is, I don’t want to anymore. And I’m starting to think I don’t need to. The company will be in fine hands even if I step back, and you... I suppose part of the reason I stayed was because I felt the need to look out for you. I turned to Marilyn for advice about you once your mother passed away, especially when it became apparent that you were struggling with your phobia. When Marilyn told me not to push you, I didn’t. In fact, I didn’t ever encourage you to reach your full potential, did I? I could have done a better job in teaching you to reach past your fears, but I deferred to what I believed was her better judgment instead of listening to my own heart as your father. And despite all that, you strove for excellence anyway. Look at you now—head of your own department here and motivating the entire firm to embrace sustainability. You’ve achieved that by your own hard work, not from any handout from me.

  “I know it hasn’t been easy for you here. I’ve heard the rumors that you only got your position because you’re my daughter. Despite—or maybe because of—my doing my best to protect you, there are others who’ve made things difficult for you. And still, you’ve never quit, never given up.”

  “I get that from you, Dad. When it comes to tenacity, you’re king, right?” Sally smiled, and Kirk felt his gut twist at the bittersweet expression on her face.

  Sally’s father’s words echoed in his head. He’d been just the same, just as determined to try to shelter and protect Sally—to make her decisions for her rather than trust her to make her own. To be her own person.

  “I’m very proud of you, Sally, I want you to know that. I’m not just proud of you, the woman, I’m incredibly proud of what you have achieved here. If you were anyone else, I would have been fast-tracking you on a development program—pushing you up through the ranks to senior management. But I obviously had my own prejudices when it came to my daughter in the workplace. So, I want to ask you a question. Do you want to take on the additional training and responsibilities that come with escalating your seniority in the company?”

  “It’s what I’ve always wanted,” Sally said in a strong voice.

  Her blue eyes glowed with excitement, and Kirk began to see the woman she truly was. Not just the beautiful blonde who’d turned his head in a bar one night. Not just the lover who’d tipped his world upside down. And not the woman who now carried his child. Instead he saw who she should have been all along. A strong, intelligent individual who deserved to shine.

  “But what about my phobia?” she asked. “Won’t that be a problem?”

  “We will find a way to work around it. You’re getting better—I’m told your sustainability presentation was going very well until you fainted.” Orson’s tone was teasing and indulgent. “Right, that’s decided then. Kirk, she’s going to need support from you in this. Can I rely on you to be there for her?”

  “If it’s what Sally wants, then I will be there for her every way she needs me,” Kirk said in a steady voice.

  “Good,” Orson replied. “Now, if you’d give Sally and me a moment or two alone? Then perhaps you and I can meet over lunch to iron out a few changes.”

  “Sure.” Kirk got up to leave and paused at Sally’s side. He resisted the urge to lay a hand on her shoulder. It wasn’t what he’d do with any other colleague, and his desire to touch her would have to be firmly kept in rein from now on. “I’ll call you this afternoon to schedule some time to discuss your plan going forward, okay?”

  “Thank you,” she said with an inclination of her head. “I’ll look forward to it.”

  And yet, as Kirk left the office, he had the distinct impression she looked forward to anything but.

  He’d created that resistance between them with his behavior from the very first moment he’d met her. He had a lot of work to do if he hoped to build their relationship to any kind of level where she would let him back in again.

  Fifteen

  Sally watched her father reorder the papers on his desk again. Clearly, he was uncomfortable with what he was about to say to her. Never hugely demonstrative, to hear him offer the words of pride he’d given her today had been a golden moment for her. For the first time since that awful moment at her mother’s funeral when she’d frozen in front of all the mourners, she felt as though she had his attention for all the right reasons.

  Orson cleared his throat. “Sally, are you sure you want to follow this leadership track?”

  “As I said, Dad, it’s what I’ve always wanted. I just never thought you believed in me enough to suggest it, to be honest.”

  Sally cringed inwardly at her words. She’d never had this kind of discussion with her father before, but obviously the time for openness between them was long overdue. They’d each always done what was expected of them, without a thought for what either of them really wanted. Orson was right—it was time for change.

  “Hmm.” Her father nodded, then looked up and pinned her with a look. “What are you going to do about your feelings for Kirk?”

  “My what?”

  “Don’t play coy with me, my girl. It’s no use denying it. I might not have been the best father in the world, but I know my daughter. You love him, don’t you?”

  Sally sat frozen in her chair. She’d pigeonholed her feelings for Kirk as inconvenient at best, especially when it was clear he didn’t love her. But had her developing love for Kirk been so painfully obvious? Her father continued.

  “I guess what I really want to know is, are you going to act on those feelings, or are you going to let the opportunity for a long and happy married life slide by you because you’re too afraid to speak up for what you really want?”

  “I’m not afraid. I know what I want, and it begins and ends with this company,” she said bravely.

  “Are you sure about that? Your mother and I didn’t have long enough together. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of her and miss her with an ache that never fades. Work gives me something to do—but it’s no substitute for her. Don’t be like me, honey. Please. You and my grandbaby deserve more than that.”

  Sally looked at her father in surprise. Were those tears shimmering in his eyes? Surely not. But then, he’d changed since his heart attack. He’d obviously spent time reevaluating his life and found it wanting. He was right, though. She had to give her own and the baby’s future careful thought. Obviously she wouldn’t block Kirk’s access to his child, but marriage? She still wanted to hold out for what she believed marriage to be—a deep commitment to blend the lives of two people who would love each other until their dying breath, and beyond.

  She chose her words very carefully. “I have given it a lot of thought
, and I reached my decision. I would ask that you respect my choice. I want more than just a marriage and security. Between the trust fund Mom left me and my salary, I’m in the fortunate enough position that I certainly don’t need a partner for financial security—even with the baby. But if I’m to consider marrying anyone, I need to be certain that they can provide what I need on an emotional level, and right now I don’t think he can.”

  Orson slumped in his chair, disappointment and acceptance chasing across his features.

  “Thank you for being honest with me about how you feel, Dad,” Sally continued. “It means more to me than you probably realize to know you care. And I’m sorry it isn’t what you wanted to hear, but this is my life and I have to take care of me, too, not just the baby.”

  She rose and went around to him and wrapped her arms about his shoulders. “I love you, Dad.”

  “I love you, too, honey.”

  Sally went back downstairs to her department and shut herself in her office, but she couldn’t concentrate on the work in front of her. Her mind was whirling with everything that had happened today. So much to take in. But if her father and Marilyn’s example had taught her anything, it was that she shouldn’t settle for a relationship that was anything less than what she truly wanted.

  She wanted more than just to settle for the sensible option. More for her baby, more for herself. And one day maybe she could have that. Working her way up the ladder, taking more responsibility here at work was all she’d ever wanted careerwise, and now, finally, she was on track to attain that. If she found a truly fulfilling love, then she’d embrace it. If not, she’d be fine without it. She didn’t doubt for a minute that she’d be able to balance motherhood and work. Of course it wouldn’t be easy, but women around the world combined successful, high-octane careers with parenting. She would make adjustments and she’d cope.