I exhaled slowly.
“I had already been thinking about selling the company. I had been fighting with Isabella about it for months. And in that moment, I just knew I couldn’t keep going the way I was going. So, I went to the press conference and talked about how I was stepping down instead of whatever I was supposed to be talking about. I don’t think I ever would have killed myself. I just… I needed that moment of clarity to push myself into finally making a decision for myself for once in my life.”
“And you decided to be a professor instead?”
He ran his fingers through my hair. “Yeah.”
“Had you always wanted to teach?”
“I had been thinking about it for awhile. It felt so much more meaningful than what I was doing.”
“And you loved it?”
“Yes. More so here than in New York, though. Moving to Newark really was my fresh start. Teaching in New York still felt stifling. Maybe because I was still living with Isabella. But yes, I loved teaching. It really felt like I was making a difference.”
I smiled. “Do you ever miss it?”
“My first priority is always you.”
I knew that he meant what he said. But there was also another truth in it. He missed teaching. Why had he never told me he missed being a professor? I let go of his hand and shifted so that I was straddling him. “Okay, here’s the deal, Professor Hunter.”
He smiled at me calling him that.
“I will marry you tomorrow under one condition. You have to start teaching again.”
He put his hands behind his head and smiled up at me. “That’s quite the ultimatum, Miss Taylor.”
I shook my head. “Not really, because I’m pretty sure you want both those things.”
“I don’t really want to sell Hunter Tech. I think we’re doing a lot of good. We’re so close on a breakthrough for a new energy source.”
“Mhm. Yet you had tons of money invested in oil stocks?”
“It’s good to diversify. Wait, did you sell my oil stocks?”
“Maybe a few.”
He laughed.
“You’re so environmentally conscious. I think I did you a favor.”
“I guess I owe you a thank you.” His hand moved to my waist.
I laughed. “What about my ultimatum? Don’t you want to teach again? You don’t even have to sell your company. You just need to find someone else to run it. Maybe unload some of the stress?”
He smiled up at me. “You think I’m stressed out too? Rob was just telling me that the other day. Maybe I should just retire and we can move to the country.”
“Maybe.” Despite what he thought, I didn’t save him. Becoming a professor did. And as his soon-to-be wife, I’d do anything I could to ensure that he was happy. “You can retire if you want, but I want you to consider teaching again. Besides, you’d be bored out of your mind if you didn’t do anything at all.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t be doing anything.” His hand slid up my thigh.
“James!” I laughed. “I just want you to think about it.”
“Okay. I’ll consider teaching again. Will you accept those conditions?”
“Conditions accepted.” I stuck out my hand for him.
“Oh, I have a better way to acknowledge our deal.” He pulled me against him as he rolled over, pressing my back against the mattress.
This is so much better.
Friday
James drove straight instead of turning right toward our apartment. The whole drive back to New York had been fun and relaxing. We had so desperately needed some alone time. And now I felt closer to him than ever. He had finally opened up to me about his worries and fears. I was so in love with him. Maybe he didn’t want this car ride to end either. He made another turn, in the opposite direction of our apartment.
“Where are we going?”
“The police station.”
“Why?”
He glanced at me for a second and then back at the road. “Blackmail is a felony, Penny. I’m not letting this go.”
“You’re going to report it to the police?”
“Of course I am. I’m sick of dealing with her shit. I told her to leave us alone. I gave her fair warning.”
“James, I don’t even know if there is any evidence of her blackmailing us. The money was sent to Tyler, not her. I feel like she was careful about covering her tracks.”
“So they’ll call Tyler about it.”
“No, I mean, there’s no evidence that she was even the one that sent it there. Yes, I was getting text messages from her, but it was from a restricted number. They might not be able to trace it.”
“Her handwriting was on the pictures and notes she sent you too.”
“Maybe. Or maybe someone was helping her.”
“Well, that’s what the police are supposed to find out. She should go to prison for this. It’s not like 20 million dollars is a petty crime. I don’t care about the money, but I’m not just letting this go. And we can at least file a restraining order while we’re there. I’m not going to risk her showing up to our wedding. Not after all this.”
“You think she’d try to stop it?”
“I think that’s all she’s been trying to do. She can’t accept that I’m happy with someone that’s not her.” James pulled to a stop outside of the precinct. “I think maybe you were right when you called her a psychopath.”
I laughed, but stopped when he didn’t even so much as smile. “I don’t think she’d ever try to hurt us or anything though. Right?”
“Well, I never would have thought she’d blackmail me either.”
“James, technically you blackmailed her in order to get her to sign the divorce papers. Maybe she was just returning the favor. What if she gets arrested and brings that up?”