Page 178 of Love Unspoken

I took a deep breath, letting the tension drain from my shoulders. It was done. Hugh was out, and the company was safe—for now.

"Thank you all for your support," I addressed the board. "Let's continue with the next agenda point. Kath? Can you walk us through the financials?"

Kath looked at me then, her eyes wide, fear riding in them. "Ah…I…I'm afraid I'm not prepared."

I nodded. "Diedra, can you set up a shorter board meeting for December so we can review the year's finances and the budget for next year? Would that be okay for you, Kath?"

She continued to sit like a statue. I didn't blame her. She knew that by siding with her father on this, she'd sealed her fate in the company.

"Kath?" Diedra prompted.

Kath looked at my EA and nodded, her eyes immediately falling to her hands that lay limply on her lap.

I then turned to the others, and we discussed how we would kick off the coming year.

The board was professional, and we continued our meeting as if the unpleasantness with Hugh had been forgotten. I knew it wasn't, but the show, as they said, had to go on.

When we were done with all our discussion, I concluded the meeting.

The board members nodded, rising from their seats and gathering their things as they left the room. Grandma put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed, which was the most emotional thing she'd done during the entire meeting.

Gene Lombardi, had been quiet, as he had told me he would be unless Hugh went down a legally untenable path. He gave me a brief nod of approval before he followed the others out, leaving only Kath and me in the room.

She looked up at me and licked her lips, uncomfortable as fuck.

"Kath, let's meet in my office in thirty minutes."

"Lucas—," she began, but I shook my head.

"I'll talk to you in a half hour."

When I walked into my office, my heart felt heavy, and I wished Amara were here with me. Just as that thought crossed my mind, her familiar scent drifted through the air. I was convinced my mind was playing tricks on me when…

"Hey."

Amara stood by the tall windows, facing the door.

"You're here," I said dazed. Thank God she was. If I'd started smelling her when she wasn't even around, that was a sure sign I was losing my mind—and I'd need a therapist to deal with that.

We both walked quickly toward each other and met in the middle of the room. I held her close. "What are you doing here, Tesoro?"

"I wanted to be here."

I dropped my head to rest my face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent. The comfort, the affection, the love—it was everything that kept me stable and had been since I met Amara. I had lost sight of that, but I would never make that mistake again.

"You still employed?" she teased, stroking my back.

I chuckled and raised my head. I kissed her then, my lips against hers, feeling like my heart would leap out of my chest.

"Yeah, Tesoro, I am."

She kept holding me, and it was the best thing in the world.

"Don't ever leave me," I whispered, looking into her eyes, desperate to make her understand how much she meant to me.

"Hey," she breathed.

I rested my forehead against hers, and I couldn't stop the tears from falling. I almost lost her; let her go, this love of my life. I knew now what I didn't know then that without Amara, I'd never be happy again.