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“Are you sure the doctors here are competent? I’d feel better if she was being treated at SickKids in Toronto. At least her physiotherapy will take place there.”
Giorgio’s arrogance grated on Jules’s nerves. He had no idea how good the doctors here were; he just dismissed them out of hand. Then his words penetrated her brain fog. “Why would you think that? Her physiotherapy will be here, at home. It’s ridiculous to think we’d fly out to Toronto weekly for that.”
“You won’t be flying back and forth once you move to Toronto,” Giorgio said.
Nik tensed beside her, his muscles going hard and stiff where she leaned against him. What was Giorgio talking about? They weren’t moving to Toronto. She and Nik hadn’t talked about what the future held, not since the night he’d proposed. She had no intention of leaving her home, her job, her friends and family. Vancouver was her world.
“Why would you think we’re moving to Toronto?” she asked cautiously, almost afraid of the answer.
Giorgio looked surprised, glancing at Nik before responding. “Considering WYCK is consolidating all their casino holdings into one company, I assumed you’d come to work at the Ontario operations. That is where the new company will be headquartered, isn’t it?” This was directed at Nik.
Jules struggled to breathe under the pressure in her chest. What did this mean? Why hadn’t Nik told her?
“How did you find out about the consolidation?” Nik was practically growling at his father. His hands clenched into fists against his thighs, and Jules could feel him shaking. “Nothing has been announced publicly; we only received approval from the regulator yesterday. No one should know about this except the WYCK leadership team and the regulator. So how is it that you know about it before anyone else?”
Giorgio waved his hand dismissively. “I had lunch with an old friend earlier this week. He sits on the board of the regulator. He told me they were about to approve the merger, because he thought I knew about it and he wanted to deliver the good news before the official approval was issued. I didn’t bother to correct his mistake.”
Nik’s fist flexed under her hand, but Jules hardly noticed as she tried to process everything Giorgio had said. WYCK was merging Coastal with their Ontario operation? Nik had said they would share best practices and look for efficiencies, but to merge the two companies? What would it mean for them?
“What is he talking about, Nik? What’s going on?” She hated that her voice wobbled as she asked the question, but her emotions were on the surface after Ava’s accident. She hated letting Giorgio know he was upsetting her, but this was too important to wait.
Nik sighed. “I only found out yesterday that the merger was approved. There are still a lot of pieces that have to come together, but our CEO in Ontario is underperforming, and the plan was to have you take over as CEO of the new company. I didn’t want to say anything until the regulator gave us the green light. I was going to discuss it with you at work on Monday, formally offer you the job.”
Jules met Nik’s eyes and searched them for any sign he was joking. The idea of being offered the CEO position of a company more than twice the size of Coastal was exciting, exhilarating. But if it meant moving to Ontario, she wasn’t interested. He had to understand that. But there was no teasing smile, no hint that he realized he was expecting her to turn her life upside down. “Where will headquarters be?”
“That hasn’t been decided yet, but probably Toronto.”
“And if I say no? What then?” she asked softly. Would he leave her here and go back to Toronto? What about Ava? He wouldn’t abandon them, would he? She couldn’t believe that about him.
Nik gave her a surprised look. “Say no? Why would you say no? You’ve told me how much you love your job, how much you want to keep it. And you’re fantastic at it; otherwise we’d never ask you to take the helm of the new organization. Your new role would be like your current job on steroids. I thought you’d be happy.”
“Of course she’s happy,” Giorgio announced before Jules could react. “Why wouldn’t she be? I’ve already been in touch with the best private schools for Ava, and I have my real estate agent looking for bigger homes for you. After all, you can’t expect your family to live in a bachelor condo in downtown Toronto. You’ll need a nanny and a housekeeper, too, of course. I can introduce you to a good agency.”
His words flew at her like darts, each one tearing into her. She wanted to curl into a ball and hide, but she couldn’t let herself do that. She needed to be strong. She was not going to let this man think he could run over her.
Nik’s attention snapped back to his father as Giorgio spoke, and Jules saw that his cheeks had darkened and the vein in his temple was throbbing. “Dad, I—”
“I think you should leave now.” Jules spoke quietly, but her voice was unyielding. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her mother and Cassandra had returned from Ava’s room, and the last thing she wanted was a scene in the hospital waiting room. Anger coursed through her, and her anxiety was spiralling. She could feel the pressure building in her chest, and she balled and unballed her fists, using the repetitive motion to settle her nerves. Giorgio reminded her so much of Michael, and it was incredibly difficult to stand up to him, but she was done with arrogant men controlling her life.
“Nik and I have a lot to discuss, including the fact that I have no intention of moving to Toronto. But this is not the time or the place. I’m going to stay with Ava. You and Cassandra should go to your hotel. Nik, I can’t talk about this right now. I need time to think. We can talk tomorrow.”
Jules saw the flash of hurt in Nik’s eyes, but she couldn’t deal with any more drama. She needed to focus on her daughter. Without another word she hurried out of the waiting room to be with Ava.
CHAPTER33
Nik’s pain at being dismissed by Jules was dwarfed by the anger he felt towards his father. Giorgio had ruined everything, first with his spoiling Nik’s news, then with his high-handed attempt to exert control over Nik’s life, to make himself feel important. “Jules is right. I think you should go.” He moved to give his mother a hug. “I’ll call you later,” he whispered to her before he let her go.
After his parents left, he collapsed back onto the couch and glanced over at Simone, who had a sympathetic look on her face.
“Not quite the response you were hoping for, was it?” She arched an eyebrow.
Nik reined in his anger now that his father was gone, and he tried to mask his surprise. Sympathy was not what he’d expected from Simone. After all, if his father was to be believed, he planned to turn Jules’s life upside down, uproot her and Ava, and move them to Toronto. In a way it was true. He’d been so busy making the merger happen, he’d never worried about where the new company would be headquartered. He just assumed it would be Toronto. He’d assumed Jules would be excited about the new job opportunity, that Jules would want to continue their relationship, that they would be a family. But he’d never actually asked her.
Nik dropped his head back against the couch, wishing he was anywhere but here. Wishing like hell he had a stiff drink too. He needed something to anesthetize himself. How had everything he had worked for, all the plans he had made for his and Jules’s future, gone to hell so fast?
He tilted his head to meet Simone’s gaze again. “Any suggestions?” Surprisingly, Simone had turned into one of his biggest supporters. She never took his side against Jules, but she definitely made him feel welcome and like he was part of the family. He needed that support right now.
Simone grabbed a coffee from the machine in the corner before taking a seat across from him. She hadn’t answered his question yet, but then he didn’t really expect an answer. This was his problem to solve. Too bad he didn’t know how to fix it.
