Page 54 of In Her Shadow

“Now, Ren, that's not kind. True but not kind.” He winks. “Come in here, there's something I want to talk to you about.”

“Fine.” I blow out a breath and follow him inside. I figure giving Eloise a little space won’t hurt. I have been a little overbearing recently.

“Make it quick,” I tell him, taking a seat and knowing that I won’t be able to give her space for long.

“I just wanted to congratulate you, you’ve done a good job of cleaning up since you’ve been home.”

“Thanks.” His gratitude comes as a surprise; it’s rare to get a compliment out of him, so I’ll take it while I can.

“I want you to rethink pulling out ofeverything. DeMarco relies on our cargo ships to bring in his supply, and it’s a big deal, Ren.”

“I told you I’ll handle DeMarco. He’s a smart guy; he’ll find another way.”

“And what about O’Driscoll? Have you cleared things up with him? All it’s gonna take is an apology. He feels disrespected.”

“He is disrespected. I’m not apologizing to that prick.” I shake my head in refusal.

“You need to stop being stubborn; you're putting everything your father worked for at risk.” He looks frustrated.

“I’m risking nothing. O’Driscoll is a phony; he hides behind his Irish accent and family reputation. He’s a nobody who was getting rich from putting other men into fights.”

“And what about The Pit, you really done with all that?” The look he gives tells me he’s unconvinced.

“Have I been there since I got home?” I put it to him. “I’m done with anything that's gonna prevent me from coming home to my family.”

“There are a lot of things you’ve not been doing since you’ve been home, it worries me,” he sighs.

“Yeah, well, save yourself the trouble and don’t. There’s no reason for us to be involved in all that shit anymore. We own huge corporations, we have a fleet of cargo ships, and three shipping yards.”

“Yes, Ren, we have all those things, but at the root of it all, you’re still your father's son. You may not realize it now because you're distracted, but you need the chaos. That girl is changing you, turning you into someone you're not.”

“That girlhas a fucking name.” I stand up and lean over the desk. “Whether you want to admit it or not, she saved me when no one else could. If it wasn’t for her, I’d still be a scared little boy hiding in his room and we’d have nothing, cause let's face it, Stefan, you’ve never been much good at getting your own hands dirty.” I leave him with that thought and head upstairs to change out of these stuffy clothes.

I’m really hoping Eloise changes her mind about working until her due date. I hate playing Mr. CEO. I’m used to the companies I own running themselves. I’m happy to pay top dollar to the people who know how to do it. Still, where she goes, I go. It’s always been that way, and it always will be.

Eloise isn’t in the bedroom when I get there, so I strip out of my shirt and slacks and throw on some sweatpants instead. Taking a t-shirt from the top drawer, I head off to find her, hoping she’ll be in a better mood when I do.

“Otto said I’d find you here.” I admire how pretty she looks when I find her doing slow, steady laps in the indoor pool, her hair is tied up high on her head and although she’s clearly still pissed at me, I know exactly how to remedy it.

“I knew he’d rat me out.” She turns her back when she gets to the side below my feet and proceeds to do another length.

“I see you’ve been reading the book I got you.” I look over to the lounger where her robe and the Guide To Pregnancy book I ordered online last week is resting on top of it. I read it cover to cover in two days, and since she got fed up with me constantly giving her facts from it, I gave it to her so she could read up on some herself. Not that she needs to, I’ve become a walking book of knowledge when it comes to this shit.

When she gets to the other end of the pool, she turns around and rests her shoulders against the sides, looking at me as if she expects me to say something.

Instead, I reach over my shoulders and pull my tee over my head, then, dragging my sweats to the floor, I kick them to the side. She braces herself when I dive into the pool, covering an impressive few meters and swimming the rest underwater so I can pop up right in front of her.

“Hey.” I smile, running my hand through my hair to slick it back before I move in to kiss her.

“Ren.” She takes a steady, calming breath. “I’m sorry for being a bitch. I know I’ve been a little teasy lately and I–”

“You're allowed to be teasy,” I interrupt her, taking her hips in my hands and looking down beneath the water, her bump sticks out even more in the pretty bikini she’s wearing.

“I think it’s a mix of pregnancy hormones and sexual frustration. It’s hard having you at work all day and not being able to…you know.” After all this time, she’s still too shy to say the words.

“Well, anytime you feel that frustration, all you gotta do is knock. My office door is always open,” I remind her, gently pulling at the ties that are keeping her bikini bottoms attached around her hips.

“I guess I’m just not used to being the centre of attention. I don’t like it,” she admits.

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