Page 144

Things worked out for the best, but will any of that matter if the damage is already done? Hopefully Xavier, Dominic, and Tristan can manage to salvage this, but it’s hard to know how it’s going to work out.
They leave me sitting outside the board room, and I wish I had brought something to occupy myself with so I’m not just alone with my thoughts. It would be so helpful to have something to do with my hands right now.
But I am, so I try to keep them positive, at least. The three of them have been so much better at getting along lately, and hopefully that will count for something. The company hasn’t suffered for the lie of our marriage, and it’s not like anyone really got hurt because of it. Maybe they’ll be able to convince everyone that it’s not a big deal.
I cross my fingers and chew on my lip, waiting for them to come out.
It’s hard to say how long I sit there, and I can’t hear anything through the thick wooden door that separates the hall from theboard room. So when the door clicks open and someone comes out, I jolt in surprise, jumping to my feet anxiously.
I don’t recognize the people filing out, but most of them cast curious glances at me as they go. Several of them smile at me even, and that makes me tentatively hopeful. They must know who I am, so maybe they approve?
My men are the last to come out, and I go to them, heart pounding.
“How did it go?”
Tristan smiles. “We took a page out of your book and told them the truth. All of it.”
“What?” I stare between them.
Dominic shrugs. “There was no point in hiding anything anymore. We admitted that the marriage was more about appeasing the board than anything else, but that it became so much more.”
“It helped that it did what they wanted it to do. We’re fully bonded as a pack,” Xavier points out. “And no matter whether it was meant to be fake or not, that’s because of you. Because we picked you.”
“And now you are what they wanted you to be to us. You are our Omega, our love, our everything,” Tristan says. “And the board couldn’t argue with that. The proof of it working was pretty clear for everyone to see. There haven’t been any screaming matches in public places in a long time.”
“They got what they wanted, and they couldn’t really argue. The investors didn’t care too much because it means their investments are safe. Especially since nothing about the marriage being fake is going to the press. No scandal, no problem.” Dominic grins, and it’s sharp and primal. “We won.”
I laugh, relief bubbling up out of me. “You won!” I echo, throwing my arms around him.
Xavier joins in for a group hug, and even Tristan does as well. We share kisses that are a little less than chaste for the hallway of the office, but we’re all so happy in the moment that we can’t be bothered to care that much.
“I’m so happy for you,” I tell them. “And I’m so happy this is over.” I take a deep breath and then step back. “I guess you need to get back to work now that things can go back to normal. You’ve been away from the office a lot lately.”
“Hm, not quite,” Xavier says, grinning. “There’s one thing we need to do first.”
They herd me out of the office and down to the car, and we end up at my bakery. It’s still like a knife between the ribs to see it in such a state, and with everything going on, I haven’t had a chance to start the process of cleaning up yet.
To my utter surprise, all three of them roll up their sleeves and start working on it. Xavier finds a broom and a dustpan and starts sweeping up broken glass. Tristan gets a sponge and a bucket of soapy water and scrubs at the graffiti. Dominic fetches a trash bag and starts throwing out anything old and broken. And I… I just stand there, watching them in shock.
“You don’t have to do this,” I tell them. “I know you want to help, but… you’re billionaires. You could hire people for this so you could go back to work.”
“We could,” Dominic agrees. “But we won’t. We don’t want to. We want to do this ourselves. This place deserves a personal touch.” He smiles at me, and my eyes fill with happy tears.
Not only do they help me, but they listen to me too.
I jump in to help with the work, and all the while, I can’t stop smiling.
Chapter 50
Penelope
It takes several days of work to get the bakery back to the state it was before my old pack destroyed it. We have to call in some professionals to fix the glass on the windows and to replace some of the busted appliances, but for the most part, we do all the work ourselves.
The men don’t neglect their own business, and it’s not abnormal to see one or more of them fielding a work call from the pantry while the rest of us keep working on getting things put back together.
Still, they put in a ton of work with me at the bakery, even helping me a little in the kitchen while I work to get my stock back up and make my recipes even better.
I spend more time in the kitchen as things come together, leaving the last bit of painting and putting furniture together to my men.