We had investors and clients pulling out, not wanting to be associated with the likes of Pierce Johnson Capital anymore, and it was all happening as my mother lay in the hospital bed, suffering from a heart attack that almost killed her.
I had long ago forgiven my cousin for the precarious position we were in, but sometimes I still shuddered from the memory, and I knew I was still bitter about the choices I was forced to make and a potential future I had given up to make those choices.
And fate fucking laughed in my face, giving me a twist I never saw coming.
Now, while Alan still had a role in the company, it was more of a front than anything else, and it was going to take a while before he could earn my trust again and I would be willing to give him more responsibility.
Mostly, this company was headed by me since my mom had retired about two years ago, when I “officially” took my position as CEO.
A knock came at the door, and I looked up to see my best friend and former boss standing at the door.
Jace was holding two cups of coffee from the nearby shop, and he had a bright smile on his face. I couldn’t help but mirror his expression.
“Hey. What are you doing here?”
He shrugged. “Just thought I’d stop by to see how you are doing.”
“Can’t you tell? I’ve just been through war with a two-year-old and I barely won.”
He laughed, walking further into the room and setting one of the coffee cups in front of me. I looked at it, then to the coffee I had gotten from the staff lounge this morning. It was a no-brainer to ditch my coffee in favor of the one he brought in. I took a sip, letting out a small sigh from the rich flavor on my tongue.
Jace laughed. “What’s the fight about this morning?”
“Her desire not to wear a jacket outside because she wants to show off her new Despicable Me Minion shirt. I told her she could take her jacket off once she gets to daycare, but no, she didn’t want that.” I rolled my eyes at the memory.
I was nearly late coming into work this morning because of it.
Jace shook his head and let out a chuckle. I glared at him. “You fucking lucked out with Elliot, you know that? He was a dream baby.”
Jace nodded, his eyes soft, and I knew he was remembering Elliot as a two-year-old.
“Yes, but whatever good fortune I got with Elliot, it seemed fate was balancing that out with Ensley. And my little girl can definitely give Elodie a run for your money. And she’s not even two yet.”
“Lord help us when they reach their teen years,” I said in a grimace, though I was smiling a little at the image. No doubt they would keep us on our toes.
They were only a few months apart, with Ensley turning two in a couple of weeks, and went to the same daycare. I hoped they would be as close to each other as Jace and I were to each other.
Jace groaned, and I shuddered at the thought.
I’d known Jace for most of my life. Since we were five and I stole his lunch money to assert my dominance on the playground. We had been there for each other for every up-and-down life event.
I was there when he had gotten blasted drunk on his wedding night—when he had married Camila, his first wife, because she got pregnant. It was a marriage he didn’t want, and about nine months after his first son, Elijah, was born, the baby died of SIDS. It was every parent’s worst nightmare.
I had been there, trying to pick up all his broken pieces as best as I could, and not knowing how. It was the first time in our friendship that I had felt helpless and useless.
Things were better now for him.
He had Elliot, Ensley, and his wife Evelyn now, but I knew Elijah’s death still haunted him.I couldn’t imagine losing Elodie that way—I didn’t want to imagine it.
He was there for me when I went through with the surrogacy to get Elodie in order to meet the ridiculous requirement my grandfather had set out for me to take control of Pierce Johnson Corporation.
He was also there for me when I confided in him my suspicion about Elodie’s biological mother.
A fucking twist of fate.
I laughed, even if there was nothing humorous about the situation I found myself in. I was left with choices, but I didn’t know which one was the right one for me and for Elodie.
“What?” Jace asked, his brows pulling down in bemusement.