Page 66 of Stuffed

Home isn't just a place. It's a feeling. It's a choice. It's waking up to blond hair on your pillow and cat fur on your suits. It's matching coffee mugs and mismatched souls finding their perfect fit. It's everything I never knew I needed until she crashed through my walls and made space for herself in my life.

"I love you," I tell her later, watching her fall asleep in our bed.

"Love you too," she murmurs. "Always have, always will."

And that's the thing about love—sometimes it takes years to admit, but once you do, it changes everything.

I adjust my tie,a gesture more habit than necessity, as I survey the Mercer Industries boardroom. Twenty pairs of eyes watch me expectantly—board members who've watched Asher and me build this company from the ground up, who've supported our vision even when it seemed impossible.

"The Q4 projections," I begin, but my mind drifts to Tessa—to how she'd straightened my tie this morning, her fingers lingering longer than necessary. I clear my throat. "Show significant growth in our traditional sectors."

Harold Matthews, one of our first investors and now a trusted advisor, peers at me over wire-rimmed glasses. "And the Baker acquisition?"

Images flash through my mind—not of profit margins and market shares, but of Tessa's vision for our shelter project. Of possibility beyond pure profit.

"Actually," I hear myself say, "I've been reconsidering our approach."

The room stills. Even the traffic noise forty stories below seems to pause.

"The numbers support acquisition," Patricia Chen, our CFO, points out. "It's a clean deal."

"Clean doesn't always mean right." I pull up a different presentation—one I'd prepared at three a.m., inspired byTessa's passion for community impact. "What if we considered partnership instead? Support their existing infrastructure, invest in their workforce?"

"That's not our usual approach." Matthews frowns.

"Maybe it's time to evolve." I stand, feeling more certain with each word. "When Asher and I started this company, we wanted to do things differently. Create something meaningful. What if this is our chance to redefine corporate success?"

I show them projected impact statistics—job creation, community development, long-term sustainability. As I speak, I feel something shifting in my chest. The weight of traditional expectations lifting, replaced by something lighter. Something that feels like possibility.

Looking at these faces who've believed in us from the start, I realize something. I'm not just changing our approach to business.

I'm changing who I am. And maybe, that's exactly what Mercer Industries needs.

"Times change," I tell the board. "Either we change with them, lead the way in responsible business practices, or we get left behind."

One by one, I watch the expressions around the table shift from skepticism to consideration. Even Matthews looks thoughtful.

"Asher's on board with this new direction?" he asks.

"It was partly his idea," I admit, thinking of my brother's enthusiasm for Tessa and Ivy's bakery project. "He sees the same potential I do."

Because sometimes the best way to build a legacy isn't to follow the old rules.

It's to write new ones.

And for the first time in my career, I'm truly ready to transform everything we've built into something even better.

Chapter 19

Tessa

"That's the last box," Zane announces, setting it down in his—our—living room. Moving day came faster than expected and it took a few more days than anticipated to actually get everything over to the penthouse between the bakery and life.

"Our employee discount at the bakery really paid off." I laugh, gesturing to the mountain of baked goods I brought over. Sugar & Spice has been open for two weeks now, and the success has exceeded all our expectations.

"Speaking of the bakery…" Zane pulls me into his arms. "How does it feel to be Chicago's newest dessert sensation?"

"Surreal." I lean into him. "Like everything lately. Sometimes I still can't believe this is real."

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