Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN WHO WOULDN’T BE BOUGHTDating Adrian Kane was ridiculous.
The meeting happened at a park in Providence.
No press.
No Kane security visible.
No lawyers.
Just Rebecca.
Grace.
Adrian.
And, because Adrian claimed he required “moral support,” me and Mia.
“You’re nervous,” I told him.
“I negotiate with heads of state.”
“That isn’t a denial.”
He adjusted his jacket.
“Children are unpredictable.”
“You’ve met Mia.”
“That is precisely why I’m nervous.”
Mia was busy throwing a ball for our newly adopted golden retriever, Cooper.
Yes.
Adrian had won.
Technically Mia had won.
Actually, the dog had won.
Grace arrived wearing a yellow coat.
Adrian stopped walking.
I knew why.
Caroline had worn yellow constantly in the photographs.
Grace had her eyes.
Her smile.
Even the slight tilt of her head.
Rebecca approached slowly.
“Mr. Kane.”
“Adrian, please.”
Grace looked at him.
“You’re my uncle?”
His throat moved.
“Yes.”
“My real uncle?”
“If you want me to be.”
She looked at Rebecca.
Then back at him.
“Mom said my other mommy died.”
Adrian’s eyes filled.
“She did.”
“Did you know her?”
“Yes.”
“Did you love her?”
“Very much.”
Grace studied him.
Then asked, “Do I look like her?”
Adrian smiled through tears.
“Yes.”
Grace accepted that answer.
Children sometimes handle truth more gracefully than adults.
She sat beside him on a park bench.
Adrian showed her photographs of Caroline as a child.
Mia wandered over.
“Is she my cousin?”
Everyone froze briefly.
Technically?
The family tree had become something no elementary-school assignment should ever attempt.
Adrian answered carefully.
“Yes.”
Mia beamed.
“I’ve never had a cousin.”
Grace smiled.
“I have three, but they’re fake cousins.”
“What’s a fake cousin?”
“My mom’s friends’ kids.”
“Oh.”
Five minutes later, they were running through the park.
Simple.
No scandal.
No genetics.
No guilt.
Just children.
Rebecca sat beside me.
“I was afraid of him.”
“Adrian?”
She nodded.
“Because of Richard.”
“A lot of people made that mistake.”
She watched him.
“He’s gentle with her.”
“He hides it.”
“Not very well.”
I smiled.
“No.”
Grace would remain Rebecca’s daughter legally and emotionally.
Adrian didn’t challenge that.
Instead, he petitioned privately for recognition as her biological uncle and arranged counseling, education support, and anything else Rebecca accepted.
The trust fund became reasonable after three revisions.
Daniel supervised.
The board investigation cleared Adrian of wrongdoing in Kane Medical.
He returned as chairman under strict new governance rules.
And the company survived.
Smaller.
Bruised.
But alive.
Several former executives went to prison.
Victor Hale received the harshest sentence after prosecutors proved he had ordered intimidation against witnesses and orchestrated the crash that killed Caroline.
Peter Walsh pleaded guilty.
The families harmed by Kane Medical received compensation.
Money couldn’t restore the dead.
But accountability mattered.
Then my own life created a new problem.
I became famous.
Not movie-star famous.
Scandal-adjacent famous.
“BILLIONAIRE BOSS LINKED TO EMPLOYEE THROUGH SECRET FAMILY DRAMA.”
“THE CHILD WHO EXPOSED THE KANE DYNASTY.”
And my personal favorite:
“SIX-YEAR-OLD MATCHMAKER CHANGES WALL STREET.”
Mia loved that one.
I did not.
At work, everything became awkward.
Employees watched Adrian and me whenever we entered the same room.
He overcorrected by becoming aggressively professional.
“Ms. Carter.”
“Mr. Kane.”
“Your proposal.”
“Your feedback.”
It lasted eleven days.
Then I cornered him in the elevator.
“Stop.”
He glanced at me.
“Stop what?”
“Acting like we met yesterday.”
“We work together.”
“We also survived kidnapping, corporate espionage, a family conspiracy, and your attempt to adopt a dog behind my back.”
“Technically, Cooper was a gift.”
“You attached a bow.”
“Mia appreciated presentation.”
I stared.
He sighed.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Be normal.”
“I have never been accused of being normal.”
“Try.”
The elevator stopped.
Neither of us moved.
The doors opened.
Closed.
Still nobody moved.
Then Adrian said quietly, “I’m avoiding you because I don’t know what happens if I don’t.”
My heart stumbled.
“What does that mean?”
His eyes met mine.
“You know.”
Maybe I did.
I stepped closer.
“You’re my boss.”
“I can change that.”
“That sounds threatening.”
“I mean you could report to someone else.”
“That sounded marginally better.”
He almost smiled.
I looked down.
“This is complicated.”
“Yes.”
“Mia worships you.”
“I worship Mia.”
My throat tightened.
“That is exactly the problem.”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“That is the one part that isn’t complicated.”
The elevator suddenly opened again.
Daniel stood outside.
He looked at both of us.
Then at the control panel.
“You’ve been riding between thirty-nine and forty for six minutes.”
Adrian cleared his throat.
“Technical issue.”
Daniel looked unimpressed.
“Of course.”
I escaped.
That evening, Mia was drawing at the kitchen table.
She looked up.
“Did Uncle Adrian kiss you yet?”
I nearly inhaled tea.
“What?”
“He wants to.”
“How would you know?”
“He looks at you funny.”
I stared.
“Children should not analyze adults’ romantic expressions.”
“What’s romantic?”
“Exactly.”
She returned to coloring.
Then said, “I still think he should be my daddy.”
My heart softened.
“Mia.”
“What?”
“You already have a father.”
“He left.”
The words hurt.
“He’s still your biological father.”
She shrugged.
“Daddy is somebody who comes.”
I went still.
“What do you mean?”
“When the school calls.”
She kept coloring.
“When I have bad dreams. When I need help. When Cooper ate my sock.”
“That last one was a serious emergency.”
She giggled.
Then looked at me.
“Uncle Adrian always comes.”
Six-year-old logic.
Brutal.
Perfect.
That night, after she fell asleep, there was a knock on the apartment door.
Adrian stood outside holding two coffees.
“It’s nine-thirty.”
“Yes.”
“You brought coffee.”
“You seemed tired.”
“That will make me less tired by preventing sleep.”
“I didn’t think this through.”
I smiled.
He looked nervous.
Adrian Kane.
Nervous.
That gave me courage.
I stepped aside.
“Come in.”
He did.
We sat by the window.
Talked for two hours.
Not about Kane Global.
Not about Caroline.
Not about Nathan.
We talked about stupid things.
His terrible college haircut.
My obsession with old crime novels.
The first job where I was fired because I accidentally insulted a client’s perfume.
At midnight, he stood to leave.
I walked him to the door.
He turned.
“Emily.”
“Yes?”
“If I kiss you, will you regret it?”
My heart hammered.
“Probably.”
His face fell slightly.
I smiled.
“I didn’t say don’t.”
He kissed me.
Slow.
Careful.
Nothing like the chaos surrounding us.
When we separated, a tiny voice came from the hallway.
“FINALLY.”
We turned.
Mia stood wearing unicorn pajamas.
I covered my face.
May you like
Adrian laughed.
And somewhere inside that laughter, I heard the first sound of something that might eventually become home.
