Page 101 of Insufferable Boss

"Are you going to accept?" I asked, noticing Kane deep in thought.

"Will she even agree to relinquish control?" I asked, and he fell silent, lost in thought.

"She might have been the one to even request it," he said, and our eyes met.

"Matthias said Dylan told him the deal wasn't ratified yet, but what if it was? It's a much better excuse to go with that Dylan pulled back, rather than admit that she ran into roadblocks she couldn't solve on her own."

I didn't know what to think about all of this. I felt relieved, but at the same time, I couldn't help but be disappointed because I had truly hoped that we would have more time to spend together here.

"What do you think?" he asked, and I met his gaze.

"I don't know," I told him. "Do you still want to stay here for a few more days?"

He laughed as he looked outside the windows.

"We haven’t gotten to the beach yet or ridden in the hot air balloon. There's no rush, is there? We can take a day or two to specify the terms of agreeing to this and see if he will respond."

Kane nodded in agreement.

"And," I added, "in order for us to check if Kate is truly the one behind this, how about we ask her to relinquish a percentage of her equity? Perhaps 5 to 10 percent. This way, you hold the majority vote, and something as ridiculous as this doesn't have to happen ever again."

He considered my suggestion, nodded in agreement, and then made the call.

48

Kane

I had never been so conflicted. On one hand, I was eager to head back home after the terms of the deal had been changed, and on the other hand, I was tempted to let them stew for just a bit more as they wondered if I was going to accept the deal or not. Kate had reluctantly given up eight percent of her stake as stipulated in my terms, and although I could have easily pushed for ten, I decided to let her keep her dignity with it.

Now that I was returning, I couldn't wait to begin putting things back in order once again. The lawsuit had come in, but it was nothing I hadn't handled before. So, although I was dreading the stress it would bring, I was more grateful than ever that we had taken the much-needed rest.

Due to Lena's absence from the company at the same exact time as mine, there was no suspicion by anyone that we were together, and I truly didn't mind. As we headed back on the plane, I considered asking her, but I held off on it until we arrived back at her apartment. It was a Saturday, so the next day there was no work to prepare for, and the moment we arrived at her apartment, she invited me up.

"Want to stay the night?" she asked. "I think I've gotten quite used to you over the past week, so it will suck to sleep alone."

I loved hearing this, and she didn't need to ask twice, so my luggage was brought up as well.

"You can take it to my bedroom," she said. "I'll order some Chinese food for us."

I did exactly this and walked in to meet the clean, spacious room.

I was exhausted since I had slept very little the previous night, but I wanted to spend the evening with her, so I turned to head back out to the living room. Just before I turned off the lights, however, I noticed a box on her vanity and was about to pass by when I couldn't help but stop.

The instant I read the words; a heavy chill ran through me. I picked it up, and my eyebrows instantly shot up. I lifted my gaze and truly didn't know what to think.

She hadn't brought this up at all, so of course, things wouldn't go smoothly if I were to. But most importantly, her exhaustion and recent illness during the trip, despite how hard she tried to fight it, all suddenly made sense to me. I was beyond astonished, and not until I took the test stick with me to her in the kitchen did I truly even know how and what to feel.

49

Lena

Diana had so thoughtfully and to my surprise left us groceries before she left, so there was no need to order in. It would have been faster, but since we had all the needed ingredients for pasta, I decided to whip something up for both of us. This night felt special in many ways, almost like a new start, and I didn't quite know how to process it. But with him being here, us sharing a meal that I made, it felt personal and comfortable.

I kept looking towards the door, hoping he would come out and help. When he eventually did, I couldn't help but smile. However, when I saw the expression on his face, I was taken aback. I was rinsing a few vegetables in the sink when he emerged, so I had to put them down and face him in his solemn mood.

"Are you alright?" I asked, meeting his gaze. Then, I noticed that he was holding the pregnancy test box in his hand, and I almost gasped out loud. Thankfully, I was able to catch myself in time, or maybe it was the shock that kept me silent. All I could do was stare at him.

"Lena?" he called, seeking my attention.

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