Chapter 142: I Have Some News

The next week was a blur. I wasn’t allowed to leave the hospital for a week, so Justin escorted Emily to school along with my parents. We would all visit as soon as we got things settled. Amelia had been unusually quiet over the next couple of days, only talking when I directly asked her questions. I could tell the guilt from the accident was eating at her, and she’d decided not to talk about it. I let her stew for a few days; the pain medication didn’t give me a clear head all the time, and I wanted to have this conversation at home when we were both off pain relief.

It was finally time to go home after being in a cramped hospital room for twelve days. Her hack had healed enough that she didn’t need to be re-bandaged every five hours. Now, once a day. The next two weeks, Basin and I had to play catch-up with work. Griffin had talked to us about needing all hands on deck before we left for Australia, especially since he was planning a surprise wedding for his partner.

Innes and I worked closely together, and we became very close. She was an amazing woman and smarter than anyone I’d met at her age. I also recently found out she has a photographic memory, like Emily, and when I confronted her about it, she just said she was good at remembering things, but it was definitely more than that. Amelia was coming to the office today for lunch with Justin and me. We were still keeping our relationship a secret, for the most part—we decided to until Griffin’s wedding. Only the personal security at our homes, Matt and Boerlyn, knew about it, and of course, my family. I headed to Justin’s office, knocking before entering. His head was down as he concentrated, his face pinched up, over some papers.

“Hey, baby,” I said softly. His head shot up, and he looked at me. A smile smoothed out his face as he stood and walked over. Our lips met instantly as he wrapped his arms around me. I was completely horny, but something had been keeping us from having sex. We'd been getting up and going to bed at separate times. It was like we were all different now. He pulled back and smiled; I saw the heat in his eyes, but he turned back to his desk before I could read more into it.

“I have some news,” he said. I nodded, going to sit in front of him. He shuffled some papers around. “You know the fifth floor that had mostly been used for random storage?” he asked. I nodded again. It was strange to me that I’d accidentally gone there one day.

“I was talking to Griffin, and we came up with an idea. We currently have seventeen employees at this location with children under school age. We have ten employees expecting, and I know Deborah and Taylor are in the process of trying to adopt. If we total up all the children, including those of after-school age, we will have up to one hundred plus, from newborn to fifteen years old,” he said. I furrowed my brows, unsure where he was going with this, but I let him continue.

“Griffin expressed his desire to have the fifth floor turned into something useful. A few employees he’s talked to have expressed concern about finding suitable childcare, especially for days when they work late. And now I think we have a solution,” he continued. A knock at the door made him pause. He stood and walked me to the door. Amelia was on the other side, a small smile on her face.

“Hey, baby girl,” he said, pulling her into his arms. It was hard to hold her because her back was still sore as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. I stood and watched them. She wasn’t as cold to Justin as she was to me. I know the fact that I was stabbed and had a daughter really bothered her. She had mentioned in the past that her parents died when she was little and she only had a great-aunt. I think the incident triggered some hidden trauma. Justin led her over to me, and I leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips, reaching up and pulling her towards me by putting a hand on the back of her neck. She moaned softly as I deepened the kiss, and pleasure rolled through me at the sound. I broke the kiss and smiled down at her; the tight-lipped smile she returned broke my heart.

“I’m glad you came a little early, Amelia. I was just filling Donald in about this new endeavor the company is about to take on,” he said, returning to his seat. We both sat and faced him. I reached for her hand because I needed to touch her. She let me hold her hand, and I was relieved. Justin recapped what he’d told me.

“Amelia, because we already have you connected to our company, we wanted you to be the first to have the opportunity to take on the role as director of this project. The pay would be a lot more than before; you will get all the benefits of a full-time employee of the company, and you will have access to the funds set aside to get it up and running. Once it’s up and running, we would like you to sign on as a permanent employee of the company. You would only answer to Griffin and myself, but you would have full control over the program,” he finished and sat back, waiting for her response.

I looked over at her; this was exciting, and I knew she would want to find a job even though we’d told her we would provide for her. I could tell she wasn’t sure about just being a housewife.

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. I would love that,” she said, sounding shocked.

“Great. We will have a contract sent to your email by the end of the day. Rodrigo and Logan are available to go over it with you anytime this week as lawyers, and you are free to retain a lawyer outside the company that understands this as well. This is your career, and we take it very seriously,” he added, and she nodded.

“I’m okay with Rodrigo and Logan; I know they are among the best lawyers in the county,” she said with a nod. He gave a satisfied nod and shifted out of CEO mode.

“Great, I made a reservation for a restaurant in thirty minutes. I didn’t want to eat in the office today,” he said, coming around his desk. His phone rang and he looked at it and cursed.

“Damn, I have to take this. Donald, can you show her the fifth floor, and I will meet you down there as soon as I am done with this call?” he asked. I nodded and stood up. She followed suit and followed me out of the office. She was wearing a beautiful green twill set with a corset top and matching high-waisted pants and coat that fell just to her shins. She carried a large black bag and had matching stiletto boot heels.

“You look amazing, by the way,” I said to her, closing the door behind me, and she smiled softly.

“Thank you. I felt like I needed new clothes; all mine were nanny clothes, and everyone around here dresses so nicely,” she said softly, and I smiled.

“I bought most of my suits before I moved here. I’ve always been extremely casual aside from a chef’s coat,” I told her, and she giggled.

“Chef’s clothes are sexy,” she said, side-eyeing me.

“Umm, I will remember that the next time I cook at home,” I said, walking a little closer to her.

As we passed Joanna’s door on the way to the elevator, it swung open, and she rushed out, arms full of paper, almost plowing right into Amelia. She paused and looked between us before a beautiful, bright smile lit up her face.

“Oh my goodness, you must be Amelia!” Joanna exclaimed, sticking out her hand. Amelia shook it. “I have heard so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said and turned to me.

“Donald, could you be a dear and let me use your printer? Mine’s jammed, and I don’t have time to wait for support,” I nodded.

“Oh, thank you so much, you’re the best. I will have to catch up with you guys later; I am so behind on these menus for a presentation I am doing in an hour,” She skirted off towards my office.

“Umm, was that Joanna?” Amelia asked, and I looked at her.

“Yes, she usually isn’t that frazzled,” I said, chuckling and watching her eyes follow Joanna, soaking up her appearance.

“I didn’t know. I didn’t expect her to be so… exotic,” she said almost in a whisper.