Not the Boss's Baby

He couldn’t take control of his life—get the company he wanted, live the way he wanted—until Beaumont Brewery and AllBev reached a legally binding agreement. And what’s more, none of this was going to happen overnight or even that week. Even if things moved quickly, negotiations would take months.

Plus, he hadn’t told Serena about the plan to sell Beaumont but keep Percheron. God, he’d wanted to keep this all quiet until he had everything set—no more ugly surprises like this one.

“There’s a difference between ‘refused’ and ‘been unable’ to make.”

“Is there? Are you trying to get rid of me, Chadwick?” She managed to say it with a pout, as if he were trying to hurt her feelings.

“I’ve been trying to end our relationship since the month after you filed for divorce. Remember? You refused to go to marriage counseling with me. You made your position clear. You didn’t want me anymore. But here we are, closing in on fourteen months later, and you insist on dragging out the proceedings.”

She tilted her head to the side as she fluttered her eyelashes. “I’m not dragging anything out. I’m just...trying to get you to notice me.”

“What? If you want to be noticed, suing a man is a piss-poor way of going about it.”

Something about her face changed. For a moment he almost saw the woman who’d stood beside him in a church, making vows about love and honor.

“You never noticed me. Our honeymoon was only six days long because you had to get back early for a meeting. I always woke up alone because you left for the office by six every morning and then you wouldn’t come back until ten or eleven at night. I guess I could have lived with that if I’d gotten to see you on the weekends, but you worked every Saturday and always had calls and interviews on Sunday. It was like...it was like being married to a ghost.”

For the first time in years, Chadwick felt sympathy for Helen. She was right—he’d left her all alone in that big house with nothing to do but spend money. “But you knew this was my job when you married me.”

“I—” Her voice cracked.

Was she on the verge of crying? She’d cried some, back when they would actually fight about...well, about how much he worked and how much money she spent. But it’d always been a play on his sympathies then. Was this a real emotion—or an old-fashioned attempt at manipulation?

“I thought I might be able to make you love me more than you loved this company. But I was wrong. You had no intention of ever loving me. And now I can never have those years back. I lost them to this damn brewery.” She brightened, anything honest about her suddenly gone. He was looking at the woman who glared at him from across the lawyers’ conference room table. “Here we are. I’m just getting what I deserve.”

“We were married for less than ten years, Helen. What is it you think you deserve?”

She gave him a simpering smile and he knew the answer. Everything. She was going to take the one thing that had always mattered to him—the company—and she wouldn’t stop until it was gone.

Until he had nothing left.

The phone rang on Serena’s desk, causing him to jump. She answered it in something that sounded like her normal voice. “I’m sorry, but Mr. Beaumont is in a...meeting. Yes, I can access that information. One moment, please.”

“My office,” he said under his breath. “Now. We don’t need to continue this conversation in front of Ms. Chase.”

Helen’s eyes narrowed until she looked like a viper mid-strike. “Oh? Or is it that you don’t want to have Ms. Chase in front of me?”

Oh, no. He’d finally done something he wanted—taken Serena out, spent a night in her arms—and he was going to pay for it. Damn it all, why hadn’t he kept his hands off her?

Because he wanted Serena. Because she wanted him.

It’d all seemed so simple two days before. But now?

“I beg your pardon,” Serena said in an offended tone as she hung up the phone.

Helen’s mouth twisted into a smirk. “You should. Sleeping with other people’s husbands is never a good career move for a secretary.”

“You can’t talk to me like that,” Serena said, sounding more shocked than angry.

Helen continued to stare at her, fully aware she held the upper hand in this situation. “How could you, Chadwick? Dressing up this dumpy secretary and parading her about as if she was worth something? I heard it was a pitiable sight.”

Damn it all. He’d forgotten about Therese Hunt, Helen’s best friend. Serena’s face went a blotchy shade of purplish red, and she actually seemed to sway in her seat, like she might faint.

If Helen wanted his attention, she had it now. He was possessed with a crazy urge to throw himself between Serena and Helen—to protect Serena from Helen’s wrath. He didn’t do that, but he did take a step toward Helen, trying to draw her attention back to him.

“You will watch your mouth or I will have security escort you out of this building and, if you ever set foot on brewery property again, I’ll file a restraining order so fast your head will spin. And if you think I’m not making a big enough offer now, just wait until the cops get involved. You will get nothing.”

“After what you put me through, you owe me,” she screeched.

Keeping his cool was turning out to be a lot of work. “I already offered you terms that are in line with what I owe you. You’re the one who won’t let this end. I’d like to move on with my life, Helen. Usually, when someone files for divorce, they’re indicating that they, too, would like to move on with their lives—separately.”

“You’ve been sleeping with her, haven’t you?” Her voice was too shrill to be shouting, but loud enough to carry down the halls. Office doors opened and heads cautiously peeked out. “For how long?”

This whole situation was spiraling out of control. “Helen—”

“How long? It’s been years, right? Were you banging her before we got married? Were you?”

Once, Helen had seemed sweet and lovely. But it had all been so long ago. The vengeful harpy before him was not the woman he had married.

It took everything he had to keep his voice calm. “I was faithful to you, Helen. Even after you moved out of our bedroom. But you’re not my wife anymore. I don’t owe you an explanation for what I do or who I love.”

“The hell I’m not your wife—I haven’t signed off!”

Anger roared through his body. “You are not my wife. You can’t cling to the refuge of that technicality anymore, Helen. I’ve moved on with my life. For the love of God, move on with yours. My lawyers will be in contact with yours.”

“You lying bastard! You stand here and take it like a man!”

“I’m not doing this, Helen. Ms. Chase, if you could join me in my office.”

Serena gathered her tablet and all but sprinted through his open office door.

“You can’t ignore me. I’ll take everything. Everything!”

He positioned himself between her and the doorway to his office. “Helen, I apologize that I wasn’t the man you needed me to be. I’m sorry you weren’t the woman I thought you were. We both made mistakes. But move on. Take my next offer. Start dating. Find the man who will notice you. Because it’s not me. Goodbye, Helen.”