Chapter 69

Aria’s POV

I walked back into the headquarters later that day, after lunch. By then, the press conference had cleared up. Liam had texted me, telling me to come straight to his office the moment I arrived.

Many of my co-workers stopped me on my way.

“Oh, Aria, we are so happy to have you back!”

“I never believed the rumors for a minute.”

“That liar should go to jail, is what I think.”

I thanked each one of them, happy for their support, as I continued on my way. When I made it to Liam’s office, he was sitting at his desk, so focused on his work that he didn’t see me standing in the doorway.

I watched him for a moment, admiring the way his nose scrunched ever so slightly as he concentrated. He ran a hand along the side of his jaw, scratching at the stubble that had grown since I’d seen him last night. He hadn’t shaved yet. Did he even go home?

After what he had done for me, I felt endeared to him in entirely new ways – at least, in ways that I hadn’t felt since before the secret of our marriage had taken its toll on me.

“Liam,” I said softly, to gently break him out of his focus without startling him.

He smiled before he even lowered the paperwork. “Aria, there you are.” Totally abandoning his desk, he stood and walked toward me. I moved into the room, and we met each other in the center.

I didn’t really know where to begin, but I knew one thing that needed to be said before anything else. Polite small talk wouldn’t cut it here. Nor would dodging the subject. Not this time.

“Thank you, Liam.”

He shrugged and laughed, making light of the situation.

“No, really,” I said, pressing. I wouldn’t let him play this one off as no-big-deal. “I have no idea how you convinced that paparazzi to come forward, but I’m so glad you did. You saved my career, and I don’t… I don’t know how to repay you.”

“I don’t want repayment, Aria,” Liam said, his voice softer than before. He hadn’t moved an inch but all of the sudden it felt like he was standing much closer than before. Maybe I was just more aware of him, and the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. “You never should have been in this situation. All I did was get your career track back on course.”

“Don’t try to devalue it, Liam. You saved the day. You can embrace it this time.” Usually Mr. Ego here loved to stand in the limelight. That he was choosing not…

If only he could have been like this all the time. This thoughtful and considerate and kind.

If he had put me first all those years ago, rather than going off with Sophia all the time…

Rather than choosing to keep me hidden in the shadows…

Things might have been different.

No. It was unfair to think of those things now. Liam was here, he was trying.

We had agreed to look forward, not back.

“At least accept my thanks,” I said.

His lip quirked upward into a devilish, boyish smile that reminded me so much of the young man he had been when I had first met him. That smirk spoke of danger and heartbreak, but also promised you’d love every minute of it.

I rocked on my feet, moving ever so slightly closer to him.

“Liam…”

Suddenly, the landline phone on Liam’s desk began to ring.

Cursing under his breath, Liam checked his watch. “The only time they ever call on time is the one time I wish they were late.”

“Who is it?” I asked.

“You’ll see.” He moved to the desk and answered the phone by placing it on speaker.

“This is Liam. Aria is also here. You are on speaker.”

“Aria, it is a pleasure to speak with you again,” said a familiar voice, the executive I had spoken to over the past two days. The one who offered me the promotion, and the one who had taken it all away by suspending me. “The whole board is here.”

“Hello, Aria,” said a woman.

“Aria,” said a few others. Their voices blurred somewhat on the phone. It was difficult to discern one from the next.

My nerves prickled, having all the bosses on the phone at the same time. I’d worry I was about to be fired for real, not just suspended, except Liam continued to smile like he knew a secret.

He wouldn’t be smiling like that if I was about to be shown the exit door.

“Aria,” said the familiar executive. “We’ve investigated this case in a hurry. As you know, the rumors were based in completely fabricated speculation. When our teams do well, of course our rivals will attempt to undermine that.”

Liam’s smile tightened somewhat.

“We thank you for your patience during this time,” the executive continued, “And we’re glad we were able to resolve this quickly, to keep your promotion timeline moving smoothly. We truly do look forward to –”

“Pardon my interruption,” I said. “I don’t mean to cut you off, sir, but there is something I want to say before anything else…”

There was some murmuring on the other end of the call, but the phone didn’t pick up any specific words.

Lowly, so the phone wouldn’t pick it up, Liam asked Aria, “What are you doing?”

I’d given this exact moment a lot of thought since my suspension began. The time off had forced me to think and rethink everything about my life and my career. About the things that were important to me.

In an instant, based on a baseless rumor, I had nearly lost my entire career. If I did, what would be left?

If Joe and I had been somewhere international when it happened, in a place where we might not even speak the language, how would I have ever defended myself? And who would have helped me when I needed it?

My career was important to me, and the promotion was a huge step forward in that.

But my career was not the only important thing in my life.

Family. Friends. Love.

And Joe. He had been so upset when I’d suggested moving. Since then, he’d been acting so strangely.

For him alone, I would have made this choice. Everything else was just added incentive.

“I’m sorry,” I tell the executives. “While I was suspended, I reevaluated some things. The work I do is exceedingly important to me. I am so grateful of the opportunities I’ve been given to pursue this career. And I hope you will continue to support my endeavors here, at this headquarters run by Liam…”

I met Liam’s eyes.

“I’ve decided to pass on this particular promotion,” I said. “The best place for me is here.”

Liam’s POV

At Aria’s words, my heart leapt straight into his throat. I forced it back down with a thick swallow.

She turned down the promotion. She and Joe were staying right here in town.

I could keep trying to win her heart.

Over the past day, I wrestled with the idea that it was my emotional and physical distance during our marriage that pushed Aria into the waiting arms of another.

That was a mistake I wasn’t going to repeat.

In fact, I already had a plan to help spend more time with her. I should have spoken to her first, but… hopefully it would be a pleasant surprise.

In a neat pile on my desk sat the closing paperwork of my brand new house.