Page 61 of Billionaire Boss's One Night Stand

“You can say that after failing to show up for an important meeting with the Gammon Industries crew?” She arched one gray brow.

I nodded. “I can.”

“Explain.” She folded her hands on her lap and stared at me expectantly.

“First of all, I knew I had a good team to handle it. Loren, Brad, Rupert, and Eli all came to show up and present their work. I will always have faith in my team, Grandmother.”

“But you didn’t see the need to be there yourself? I’ve trained you not to be only a leader but a hard worker on the front lines.”

“You have,” I agreed.

“Then it cannot be any surprise that I’m curious why you weren’t present yourself. If you can’t show up to important meetings like the one with Gammon, then perhaps you don’t want them as a client.”

Oh, that’s bullshit.

“And if you don’t want them as a client, then perhaps the deal I made with you is nothing more than a joke.”

I huffed. “What, if I acquire Gammon as a client, I’ll be CEO?”

She nodded. “That’s the agreement that I recall.”

I rubbed my lower lip. “Yeah. That’s how I remember it too.” Then I shrugged. “If that’s how it has to go, then maybe I shouldn’t be CEO.”

“Come again?”

I grinned, seeing—for the first time in my life—what it looked like when someone shocked this woman.

I shrugged. “I’ve got a cushy job here.” Neither I, nor Loren or our child, would ever have to want for anything. The money from my deceased parents amounted to more than I could ever spend in a lifetime. “I’m already pretty high in the company. I suppose I could make do and stay right where I am.” I tapped a finger to my desk for unnecessary emphasis.

“Are you serious?” She narrowed her eyes, suggesting that she was getting suspicious.

“Yeah.”

“May I ask why?” She cleared her throat. “This is unexpected news.”

“Kind of like the unexpected news that had me missing the meeting yesterday,” I quipped.

“Matthew.” Her brow furrowed. “What is going on?”

I sat up, smiling. It seemed I couldn’t wipe that expression off my face. “It won’t break my heart if I’m not CEO, Grandmother. After all, I’ll be busy with a baby on the way.” I snapped my fingers, knowing where to go after I talked with her. “A wife, too.”

“A baby? And a wife?” She blinked, stunned.

“Yes. I met our newest associate, Loren, before she began working for us,” I said, stating it clearly and factually. “We’ve fallen in love.”

Technically, it was lust at first sight. Then our connection only grew stronger as we got to know each other over the course of her employment. Now, without a doubt, we were in love.

“And as soon as I’m through talking with you here, I’m taking a few hours off to find a ring for her.” I cocked my head to the side. “Does that offer still stand? For you to stay as CEO while I carve out time for my family?”

She didn’t reply at first. Seeming to measure her reaction, she sighed and looked at me for a long moment. Perhaps she didn’t believe me. Maybe she—like Loren had last night—assumed I was drunk or high or otherwise under the influence of something to be acting so out of character.

Iwasout of character. Because I was in love. I was loved, too, in a way I never had been before. This was my first time experiencing the brightness of love, and I couldn’t get enough of it. It was changing me, and I finally realized that this was what it would take to snap me out of the rut I’d been feeling stuck in. My life needed to be shaken up. The change I needed wasn’t to bepromoted to CEO, but to become a man who’d found the other half of his heart and soul.

“I hope you are not being too rash, Matthew,” she said as she stood.

“Iambeing rash. But I am also being true to what I want and need in my life.” If Loren and I were to take our time and spend months or years getting to know each other better, nothing would be different. I knew, from the bottom of my heart, that she was the one.

As soon as my grandmother left my office, I headed out to the nearest jeweler’s to get Loren a ring.Perhaps a diamond with emeralds?Finding something to match her eyes would be fitting.

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