Page 93 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 2
"It is, ma'am."
And just like that, he was back to being formal. "It's not. And please call me Penny."
He nodded. "All right, Penny. I just needed you to know that I was sorry. I thought...well, I didn't think. That was the problem. We had the perimeter checks and guest list..."
"You couldn't have known."
"It's my job to know."
I didn't know what to say to that. We all felt guilty about what had happened. It helped me to know that I wasn't the only one.
"He'll want me to hand in my letter of resignation once he gets out of this. And he will get out of this. But I'm not leaving until then. I won't let anyone into this room that doesn't have permission. I won't let anything happen to you. That was always Mr. Hunter's first priority. You should know that."
I did know that. But hearing it made my chest hurt. Because it felt like he was lying in that bed because of me. "You don't have to resign. I want you to stay."
He looked at me curiously for a second. Maybe he didn't believe I had the authority to make that decision. I probably didn't.
He nodded. "Thank you, Penny. But we'll see what he has to say when he wakes up." His optimism sounded forced.
I couldn't be the only one that believed he'd wake up. I needed someone that believed in him as much as I did. "Can you find Rob and tell him I need to see him?"
Porter nodded and stood up. "Of course. I'll go get him for you." He gave me one last smile and left me alone with James. Maybe it was just me, but his hand felt a little cooler. The beeping of his heart rate monitor sounded just a little slower.
"James, you need to be strong. Please wake up." I kissed the back of his hand. "Please, James. I need you to be strong for us." I ran my palm against my stomach. I was about to be strong. I was going to tell Rob about the baby. Maybe if I was strong enough to do that, James would be strong enough to wake up.
"Hey," Rob said as he came into the room. He looked exhausted. "Penny, I have some bad news."
Nothing could possibly be worse than what had already happened. "What is it?"
Rob pulled up a chair beside mine. "You got a call from James' lawyer this morning."
I had given Rob my phone. I couldn't handle the endless ringing. And I couldn't bear to talk to anyone. "What did he say?"
"Apparently James has a DNR."
"What's that?"
"Do not resuscitate. If his heart stops, he doesn't want them to restart it."
"No, he wouldn't have that. Maybe before he met me, but not now."
"I'm sorry, but he does have one. It was written before he met you, but he didn't change it. And he has updated his will since he's been with you."
I shook my head. "He was depressed. He had to have been depressed when he agreed to that. He wouldn't do that now. He must have just forgotten when he updated his will. Besides, they already restarted his heart when he got here. They already broke the DNR."
"They didn't know. It's not in his medical record. But the lawyer is forwarding them a copy of his DNR now."
I shook my head. "Rob, you can't let them send that to the hospital. If something happens, they'll just let him die. You have to do something."
"There isn't anything I can do. It's what James wanted."
"No. He wouldn't want that. He wouldn't leave me without fighting. He promised he wouldn't leave me."
"Penny," Rob said and put his hand on my knee.
I immediately stood up. "Don't I have some say in this? I'm his wife."
"I'm sorry."
