“Well, if it makes you happy, I am angry,” I inform her. “Just not at you. Sorry, but your dad is complete asshole. He should feel lucky that he and I aren’t the ones dealing with this collaboration; I would have kicked him to the kerb.”
I hear a snort from Amanda. It isn’t quite a laugh, but it’s progress, at least.
“I can’t even imagine my father being fired,” Amanda says. “He’s always the one that does the firing.”
“Not with me,” I huff, encouraged by her lighter tone. “I’d fire him so quickly he wouldn’t even know what happened.”
That was definitely a giggle. I grin, pleased.
“Well, anyway, just hold off on breaking up with me again, please?” I say. “It was hard enough last time.”
“Why?” Amanda asks slowly.
“Because my heart can’t take it,” I sigh dramatically.
Got a laugh on that one!
“Lyle,” she says in between chuckles. “Come on, what are you planning now?”
“Nothing…yet,” I say. “It’s just a small idea. Let me work on it and get back to you, alright? Trust me?”
There’s a pause. And then…
“I trust you,” she says quietly.
“Then don’t go breaking up with me just yet,” I say, grinning. “If all goes well, we won’t have to break up again unless we want to.”
Though, I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that. Now that I have her in my life again, I’m going to be a lot more careful about letting her go. Amanda is carrying my baby, and she’s quickly become a very integral part of what I want out of life. I can’t imagine her not being in it anymore.
It’s a little scary how quickly she has become so important to me. Sometimes, when I stop and think about it, I don’t understand how it’s only been a few weeks since we met. But we were two damaged, overworked souls striving to please our families and the world around us. It shouldn’t be so surprising that we clicked together so well. And now, with the potential arrival of a baby, we’ve been pushed together even tighter than ever.
“Okay,” Amanda says. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but let me know if you need my help.”
“I will,” I assure her.
We hang up and I take in a deep, steadying breath. There’s a lot to organize, now, in very little time. While I kind of understand Alan Simmons’ antagonism, it’s gone way too far. His daughter is an adult who can make her own choices. He doesn’t get the right to try and force her to do things she doesn’t want to do.
If Amanda honestly wanted to break up with me, then that would be a completely different matter. But she doesn’t. And I’m going to fight for her.
I won’t let anything stand in the way of us being together, now. Not even Alan Simmons.
Alicia looks up with a smile as I enter the office. But it fades into a more serious expression when she sees the stern look on my face.
“Is everything alright?” she asks.
“No,” I say bluntly. “Please call Brandon up to my office, along with the staff that he currently has working on the alliance with Tech Square Inc.”
Alicia looks at me, startled. But I’m through my office door before she can reply. I don’t have time, now, to banter or answer questions. I need my instructions followed to the letter if I’m going to get this organized before the end of the day.
Barely a minute later, my intercom crackles.
“They’re on their way,” Alicia says. “What’s happening, Lyle? Is there a problem with the alliance?”
“Not yet,” I say grimly. After all, who knows what is going to happen after this? The alliance might even be in danger right now if Alan is that angry about his daughter and I getting together. “Please don’t ask anything more, Alicia. I promise I’ll talk to you about it later.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Alicia says. “I’ll send them in when they arrive.”
“Thank you.”