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Emily
Somehow Miguel has become harder to read or understand in the past two weeks. He’s always been hard to get close too and even harder to understand, but he’s become so closed off in certain areas since I overheard him on the phone. On one hand, we are closer than I have ever been to another soul, but he’s shielding me from something. My gut instinct tells me I should be running to defend him not the other way around, but I have no clue what the threat is or who it is.
Sitting back into the soft leather of the SUV waiting for him to get in I try to prepare myself for whatever is making him jet back to the states in such a haste. Watching him settle into the driver seat and adjust his sunglasses I wonder what he saw in me all those years ago that made him never move on. That’s a conversation to have at a later date or maybe never, sometimes unanswered questions are an award in itself. I’m startled from my daydream when he reaches across the console and takes my hand interlocking our fingers.
“Emily, I don’t feel real comfortable telling you about all the issues at home, but I promised to never lie to you. When we left Davenport a few weeks ago it wasn’t a big deal that you went away for a while, but once the Shaw family found out we were together they hired a private investigator to get proof of us together. They are going to use those pictures to fight you for the control you now hold in the family business.” I take a deep calming breath before I continue.
“From what I’ve gathered so far they are literally going to destroy you publicly and privately. Emily, when you return home your job is going to be gone and that’s just not right. You gave up your life to marry Blake and he left you his portion of everything the way he should have and honestly, you have earned every damn bit of it. So, if I sign a few contracts to Jake Shaw and he leaves you alone then good. I never liked doing business with him in the first place so no big deal.”
That was not what I was expecting to hear.
“Miguel, I’m truly touched that your willing to defend my honor, but it seems like I should be returning home along with you. I know that you know the Shaw family and everything, but they are my family, so I should be the one dealing with them, not you. If they truly want me to leave the family business, I’ll gladly turn my notice in, but they will not take what is rightfully mine. No one will ever convince me I didn’t earn what I got in Blake’s will. So, you need to turn this vehicle around or I can just fly back without my stuff there’s nothing at the house that I’ll need in the next few days.”
“Darlin’ you really just need to stay here and let me deal with the beginning of the fallout. It’s not that I don’t think you can handle it, but Jake Shaw can be a real S.O.B. when he thinks someone is going to tarnish the family name. At this moment in time, he sees you as the threat to his kingdom and he’ll not rest till he destroys you in every way possible.”
Releasing Miguel’s hand, I turn to look out the window at the landscape quickly passing by us as a silent tear runs down my cheek. Knowing no matter what I do from this moment on my name is going to be trashed in the worst possible way, for the simple fact I’m trying to move on. Swiping the tear angrily from my cheek I can handle this hell, I’ve dealt with far worse than Jack Shaw in my lifetime. With a mental plan in place, I take a deep breath and turn back to Miguel and gently stroke his hand and intertwine our fingers again. “Thank you, Miguel...”
