"I am breathing."
"You're holding your breath."
He's right. I exhale shakily.
“Fine. I’m scared out of my wits,” I admit. "What if I say the wrong thing? What if I embarrass you? What if the board takes one look at me and decides you've lost your mind?"
"Then they're idiots who don't deserve to work for my company."
“That’s a little harsh.”
"I'm serious.” He blinks, inching closer, his arms encircling me. “You're brilliant, talented, and more than capable of handling a room full of investors. You’ve already been doing it at StreamEats for weeks.”
"That's different. At work, I'm the cooking show host. Tonight, I'm—" I glance down over my dress and frame "—I'm the girlfriend. Or—wife. The liability. The evidence of your poor judgment."
"You're none of those things."
"Patricia Franklin thinks I am."
His expression tightens. "Patricia Franklin is threatened by you because you represent change. Because you don't fit her narrow definition of what a CEO's partner should look like."
"Which is?"
"Boring. Predictable. Someone who smiles and nods and doesn't challenge anything." He pulls me closer. "You're none of those things. And I love that about you."
The words make my chest ache.
"What if—" I hesitate. "What if tonight goes badly? What if the board votes against you on Monday because of me?"
"Then we'll deal with it."
"How can you be so calm about this?"
"Because I've been preparing for this vote for months. Because I know the numbers. Because I trust my leadership team." He leans down, his forehead against mine. "And because regardless of what happens Monday, I have you. And that's worth more than any board vote."
I want to believe him, want to believe that love is enough to survive corporate politics and board scrutiny and the secrets I'm still keeping.
But the doubt is there—whispering that I'm one bad conversation away from destroying everything he's built.
“You know that thing I wanted to talk to you about?” I ask quietly. “That thing I said didn’t matter anymore.”
“Yeah?”
“Well, I’m thinking that maybe it does. And that maybe I do want to talk about it. With you.”
He blinks, eyebrows knitting together. "Okay."
"But not tonight. Tonight I just—I need to get through the gala without falling apart. Can we talk after? After the board vote?"
His chiseled jaw works. “Would this conversation concern our relationship?”
"No. Yes. Kind of." I pull back slightly. "It's about things I should have told you before now. Things I've been carrying alone because I was too scared to ask for help."
"Harper—"
"I'm not in danger. Nobody's in danger. It's just—it's complicated. And I need to get through tonight before I can explain it properly."
I can see him wrestling with it. The CEO part of him that needs all the information. The boyfriend part that wants to respect my boundaries.
