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The sun was a shocking glare when they got to the parking lot, and she stopped walking, unable to go any farther. Her sisters wrapped their arms around her and held her close, and she cried in a way she hadn’t since her parents had died.
She felt as if all of the hopes and dreams she’d had for the future were gone and she wondered how she was going to pick up the pieces of this break and move on. She wanted more for DJ than the life she now knew he was going to have. But she knew there was no way that a man like Dec could be the father she wanted for her son when he couldn’t be the man she needed him to be as her partner and lover.
* * *
Dec stood shell-shocked by Cari’s words. He shouldn’t be shocked, he told himself. He knew she loved him. She would never have let him back into her bed if she didn’t love him. That much had been obvious to him from the beginning.
But hearing her say that she thought he was heartless and that he was still stuck in the past hurt him deeply. He’d done his best to walk the fine line between what he owed his family and what he wanted for himself.
“You have a son?” Allan asked, walking over to Dec.
“Yes. I didn’t know about DJ until I got back here and saw Cari again,” Dec said.
“You should have said something to us,” Kell said.
“Why?” Dec asked. “It wouldn’t have changed anything.”
“You’re right. We couldn’t change the path we were on, but I would never have asked you to manage the takeover,” Kell said.
Dec looked at his cousin for a minute before he shook his head. “I don’t agree with everything that Cari said, but she does have a point that we can’t move forward when we are still consumed with the past. This was never about Granddad for me. You know he and I weren’t that close,” he said.
“Then what was it about?” Kell asked.
“I liked the challenge, and you two are family. We’re all each other has left—or had left until I found out about my son.”
“Do you feel like that as well, Allan?” Kell asked.
“I’m not in this for revenge,” Allan replied. “I mean, sure, Granddad got a raw shake—”
Kell interrupted his response. “Maybe you both don’t remember that Gregory Chandler deliberately cut Thomas out of the business for his own personal gain. That’s not a ‘raw shake.’”
Obviously, Kell wasn’t going to be reasonable about this, Dec thought. And the argument was heating up to be the same one he’d heard before. Countless times. Dec realized he didn’t want to rehash any of this with Kell. He stepped toward the conference room door. “My mother never really wanted to be a part of this and I understand why now. I don’t know what’s going to happen with me and Cari, but I do know I’m going to go after her. She’s the first person in my life that I truly love.” He stopped and banged his fist against the door frame. “Dammit, I told you before I’ve had a chance to tell her.”
“Go after her,” Allan said, gesturing to the door. Allan had a sort of envious look on his face. “Kell and I will figure out a way to make this more of an acquisition and less of a demolition of Infinity Games.”
“Speak for yourself, Allan,” Kell said, his anger palpable in the room. Kell was never going to want to make peace with the Chandlers.
As far as Dec was concerned, he had lost two things today—his son and Cari—because he no longer wanted to be a Montrose and live under the mantle of hate that they’d all been raised under. He understood his mother so much better right now than he ever had before this moment.
As he stood in the doorway, he saw Allan get to his feet and stride around the table toward Kell.
“We’re not kids anymore, Kell,” Allan said in a soft but commanding voice. “You’re the CEO because we voted you into that position. But remember who owns the majority of shares.” He leaned down to his cousin. “You either back down on this and let us find something that will make the future better for all of us or you might find yourself defending your job at the next meeting.”
Kell cursed savagely under his breath, balled his hands into fists and pounded the conference room table. “I can’t do this right now.” Then he stalked out of the conference room.
Dec just looked at Allan. “Why are you backing me? We’re not blood.”
Allan came over and squeezed his shoulder. “We are blood. And we always have been. Once Kell calms down, he’ll realize that your son is the future of both of our game companies. That it’s more than making sure that Thomas gets one up on Gregory. After all, his grandson is a Montrose.”
