Chapter 5
My first day as CEO was terrifying.
I walked into the glass tower my dad had built, my heels clicking on the marble floor, and every eye in the lobby turned to me.
I was seven and a half months pregnant. My feet were swollen. I still had nightmares about Eleanor’s voice.
But I held my head high.
The board was waiting for me in the conference room.
All men my dad’s age. All people who’d watched me grow up.
“Clara,” the chairman said, standing up. “We are so glad you’re here. We’ve been waiting a long time for a Hale to run this company again.”
I sat at the head of the table.
The same chair my dad used to sit in.
“Thank you,” I said. “I won’t let you down. My dad built this company on trust. On doing the right thing. For the last three years, someone betrayed that trust. We’re going to fix it. We’re going to make Hale Tech better than it’s ever been. And we’re going to do it together.”
They applauded.
By lunch, I’d approved three new projects. Fired the two executives who’d helped Eleanor cover her tracks. Promoted three women who’d been overlooked for years.
By the time I left, I was exhausted. But I was smiling.
I was good at this.
Better than I’d ever thought I’d be.
Three weeks later, I woke up at two a.m.
A sharp pain ripped through my lower back.
I sat up, gasping.
Another pain. Closer. Stronger.
I’d read all the books. I knew what this was.
But it was three weeks too early.
“Lila!” I yelled.
Lila was in my room in ten seconds flat.
She saw my face. She grabbed the hospital bag we’d packed. She helped me into the car.
“Breathe,” she said, driving fast through the dark streets. “Just breathe. You’ve got this.”
The hospital was a blur.
Nurses. Monitors. Needles.
The doctor checked me.
“Six centimeters,” she said. “You’re in active labor. Baby is coming fast.”
I grabbed Lila’s hand so hard I thought I’d break her fingers.
“I can’t do this alone,” I sobbed.
“You’re not alone,” Lila said. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
The next four hours were the hardest of my life.
I pushed. I screamed. I cried. I thought I’d never be able to do it.
Then, at six fourteen a.m., I heard it.
The loudest, strongest cry I’d ever heard.
The doctor laid a warm, squirming little body on my chest.
“It’s a boy,” she said. “Perfectly healthy. A little early, but strong as an ox.”
I held him.
He was tiny. His skin was pink. His fingers wrapped around mine like he’d known me his whole life.
“Liam,” I whispered. “Liam James Hale.”
After my dad.
Lila cried. She took a hundred photos. She called Arthur. She called the board.
An hour later, there was a soft knock on the door.
A nurse poked her head in.
“Mrs. Hale?” she said. “There’s a man here. James Voss? He says he’s the father. He has a restraining order against his mother, but not against him. Do you want me to send him away?”
I looked at Liam.
He was asleep in my arms, his little mouth open.
I thought of James’s face when he felt Liam kick.
I thought of him testifying against his own mom.
I thought of him standing in that empty living room, broken, asking how to fix it.
“Let him in,” I said.
James walked in five minutes later.
He was holding a giant teddy bear and a bouquet of yellow daisies. His hair was a mess. He looked like he’d run all the way to the hospital.
He stopped when he saw us.
His hand flew to his mouth.
“Oh my god,” he whispered.
He walked slowly to the bed.
He looked at Liam like he was seeing a miracle.
“Can I—” he started.
“Come here,” I said.
I shifted Liam in my arms. I held him out a little.
James sat on the edge of the bed.
He took Liam so gently, like he was made of glass.
He held him against his chest.
He cried.
Quiet, shoulder-shaking sobs.
“Hi, buddy,” he whispered into Liam’s soft hair. “I’m your dad. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for the start. But I’m here now. I’m never going to leave you again. I promise.”
Liam stirred.
He opened one tiny eye.
He looked up at James.
Then he grabbed James’s finger and held on tight.
I watched them.
My two boys.
For a long time, no one said anything.
Then James looked at me.
“Thank you,” he said. “For letting me see him. For giving him my name. I don’t deserve it. But I’ll spend every day proving I do.”
He handed Liam back to me.
“I’ll go now,” he said. “Let you rest. I’ll come back tomorrow. If that’s okay.”
“James,” I said.
He stopped at the door.
“You can stay,” I said. “If you want. There’s a couch. Lila’s going home to sleep. I could use the company.”
His face lit up.
It was the first real smile I’d seen from him in months.
“Really?” he said.
“Really,” I said.
He sat down on the couch.
He never took his eyes off us.
That night, I woke up every hour to feed Liam.
Every time, James was there.
He changed diapers. He burped him. He walked him around the room when he fussed.
He didn’t have to be told. He just did it.
As the sun came up, I watched him hold Liam in the golden morning light.
May you like
Maybe, I thought.
Maybe there was a way back.
