“Emilia—”
“I’m hard-pressed to understand your need to jeopardize your career because you don’t want to hurt my feelings.”
I blinked, now completely confused. “Shouldn’t I be worried about your feelings?”
Half of her mouth quirked up in an ironic smile. “Yes, of course, but this is business. I understand that. I’m a big girl.”
I gave my head a weak shake. “I know you are.”
“And do you know that you have a ferocious instinct to overprotect?” She raised her eyebrows, as if daring me to disagree. Which, in truth, I couldn’t. “And while it can be endearing—and so much of what I love about you—sometimes it goes too far. You go too far.”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the desk, and opened my mouth to protest.
She stopped me with a curt chopping motion. “The BOD wants to protect the company in case something happens. You should be happy about that. They see the prenup as a way to protect your assets, and it’s true that you would profit from it.”
“I don’t want to benefit from something if it comes at your expense.”
The corner of her mouth twitched, as if she wanted to smile, but couldn’t. Then she nodded slowly. “I could profit from it as well, don’t you see?”
I licked my bottom lip, considering, waiting for her to continue before I’d concede or reject her point.
“A prenup can protect me, too. In lots of ways.” She began counting on her fingers. “First, it eliminates any doubts you might have about my intentions.”
“I have none.”
She shrugged. “But if you—or anyone else—did, they’d be eliminated. Second, suppose there were ever a problem with us…like my Botox backfiring and you wanting trade me in for wife 2.0 or something.” I rolled my eyes, and she laughed. “But seriously, when a marriage breaks up, it’s usually very ugly. There are hurt feelings, threats, and broken promises. And there can be a lot of hate. A prenup saves us making any spur-of-the-moment decisions motivated by anger or revenge or whatever. It’s a contract that a bride and groom hammered out when they were calm, rational, excited about the future and in love.”
I frowned. “In a perfect world, it works like that, but ours isn’t a perfect world.”
“We can be fair to ourselves now. Talk it through and make the agreements we both can live with. It will likely never need to be applied. But…it’s kind of like insurance.”
Jordan’s argument, brought up to me again. By the person I loved most in the world. I blinked.
“You’re holding three fingers up in front of you—was there a third point?”
She smiled. “Yup. A prenup would remind both of us why we are really together.”
I mirrored her smile. “Oh? And why is that?”
“Love, baby.”
I swallowed, suddenly aching to pull her into my arms.
“You okay?”
I nodded, still staring. “I’m a bit in awe.”
“Of what?”
“Of you. You are…” I couldn’t even get it out. The word sank in my throat as I choked up. My throat clogged with sudden emotion.
She seemed to pick up on it immediately, getting up from her chair and moving to sit on the desk, facing me. She leaned forward so that her long hair brushed against my chest. “I am…what?”
I reached out, pulling her against me, into my lap. “You’re amazing, incredible…” My voice died out, and I fought to suck in more air. “You literally take my breath away.”
Her mouth curved into a grin, and she bumped my shoulder with hers. “All those compliments without sex? Wow, I really must be all that.”
I nibbled at her collarbone. She sighed, the warm air splaying across my cheeks. “You are all that. I shouldn’t have coddled you. Stupid me, for forgetting how strong you are and not trusting you more.”
She chuckled. “You’ll learn, young padawan. I have faith in you.” She slipped her head onto my shoulder. “So are we going to do this, then? This prenup?”
I hesitated, feeling that wall inside me come up again. The resistance came so naturally, without conscious thought. That same resentment burned. “I have a big problem with the board of directors telling me what I can do with my life—and forcing me to sign a paper that has nothing to do with them.”
She reached up and traced my earlobe with her finger. In spite of my preoccupation, the touch sizzled down every nerve ending in my body, right down to my gut, where that fire for her always smoldered.
“With regards to your share in the company, it does have to do with them. They want to protect the company. And they are watching out for everyone who relies on you. All your employees, the stock holders. If anyone ever sabotaged the company, it would be all of their livelihoods, too. A lot of people depend on that genius brain of yours to keep them employed.”
I clenched my jaw. “I’d never suspect you of wanting to sabotage the company whether or not you signed a paper. Or no matter how awful a situation we ended up in.”
She kissed my cheek. “But that’s because you know me and you love me. The board doesn’t. It’s business. Marriage is for love. It’s for building families. Divorce is business. Since we are never going to get a divorce, this is all for show.”
I said nothing as she combed her fingers through the scruff on my jaw.
“So this was your big issue with Jordan? Because he sided with the Board?”
I nodded.
“He was doing his job, Adam. He was being a damn good CFO.”
I blew out a breath I didn’t even know I’d been holding. “He didn’t stand by me.”
“But can’t you see what a shitty situation this must have been for him? Put in the middle between you and the board. And if I know him, he was trying to find out any angle he could to prevent you having to go through this. Am I right?”
I thought about it. He’d been doing the research—as he’d told me—asking his people to determine the case I might have for fighting the board. He’d been the lone guy out in the middle of two war fronts, waving a white flag and hoping nobody lobbed a grenade in his face.
“He’s your friend—the friend who covered for you when you went on leave from your job when we first got together. Jordan held down the fort when I was sick and you weren’t working, so you could take care of me. And now, doing the same thing while you get better. Asking me regularly about your health, worried as hell. He does have your back.”