Wives and Champions (22 page)

“
Is it losing
money?”

“
No. There’s a small
profit.”

“
And by small—”

“
It did two million last
year.”

“
That’s not small,
Dante.”

“
It is compared to the
profits our other companies are pulling in.”

“
But everything isn’t
always about money.”

“
It is when you’re The
Champion Corporation. I’m not talking about myself. I’m talking
about the company now, baby.”

“
But you
are
the company. You and
your brothers. GHC used to be special to you. You were passionate
about helping people cope with grief. Told me it was an avenue you
wished was available to you when you lost Anita. I know how much
something like that would’ve benefited me when I lost Melvin. Now
you’re going to take it away from the community for a few more
million dollars that you don’t need?”

She was right. He couldn’t dispute
that. The Champion Corporation was doing just fine without changing
the business model for GHC and initially, he didn’t want to change
the model. But Desmond and Kurt presented him with the numbers and
made valid points about how much GHC could earn if the business
model changed.

“
See, this is precisely why
you should’ve been home,” Dante said. “This is exactly the kind of
tongue-lashing I need sometimes to keep me focused.”

Emily smiled. Her eyes remained
closed.

“
In other news that’s
somewhat disturbing, I found out that my father wasn’t faithful to
my mother.”

Emily frowned. “How do you know
that?”

“
Because I have two
half-brothers and two half-sisters.”

“
What?” Emily asked, her
eyes opening wide in shock.

“
Eyes closed,
beautiful.”

“
But—”

“
Closed.”

She reluctantly closed her eyes while
Dante continued giving her a bath. “I got a visit from Harding
Champion. He said he was my half-brother, and he was telling the
truth. We have the same father. Dad was leading a double life and
had another family on the east coast while we were raised on the
west coast.”

“
That’s crazy.”

“
Tell me about
it.”

“
So what happens
now?”

“
Well, I’m going to reach
out to Harding to see if we can work out a time that everyone can
meet.”

“
But how do you feel about
the situation?”

“
It’s not ideal, and I was
angry about it at first, but like I told Dimitrius – we can’t
punish Harding, Mordecai, Amira and Zoya for something our father
did to them. That wouldn’t be right.”

“
No. It wouldn’t
be.”

Dante stopped talking to concentrate
on bathing her. He lifted her legs from the water, one by one to
wash them. Then he focused on her feet, giving them individual
attention. He washed her hands, gently rubbed the cloth across her
breasts, down her stomach and to the very middle of her.

She gasped.

“
Are you okay?”

“
Yes. Just a little
sensitive.”

“
Do you feel
relaxed?”

“
I do.”

“
Good. Now, you can step
out so I can towel-dry that sexy body of yours and give you a full
body massage.”

She stepped out and Dante dried her
off with a plush Egyptian cotton towel. Then he steered her towards
the bed, took her towel and instructed her to lay whichever way she
felt comfortable. She chose to lay flat on her back, so, on his
knees next to the bed, he began massaging her feet. Standing, he
used his hands to squeeze his way up her legs, massaging her
thighs. With his torso positioned on top of her legs, his lips a
kiss away from her navel, he said, “I can’t believe I have another
baby growing in here.” He lowered his mouth to leave warm kisses
all around her navel, making her body quiver.

“
Why can’t you believe it?”
she asked softly.

“
Because, not too long ago,
I was at a point in my life where I didn’t see this happening for
me…thought I’d missed my opportunity to have a family, and then I
found you.”

Emily smiled.

He kissed her there again. “I know
this pregnancy has caused you a little anxiety.”

“
It has, but not because I
don’t want the baby. At this stage in my life and career, I’m not
prepared for it.”

“
I know, baby,” Dante said,
positioning his body next to hers, pulling her close to him. “I
know you want to do it all. That’s why I love you so much, Emily.
That’s one of the reasons I pursued you so persistently. We have
like minds. Like goals. You are a business owner. I’m a business
owner.”

“
Yeah, but you make
millions. I’m just a little shop.”

“
True enough, but just like
you told me, a moment ago, that GHC wasn’t about the money for me,
I know the boutique isn’t about money for you. Am I
right?”

Emily nodded. It wasn’t about money.
How many times had Dante emphasized to her that she didn’t need
money? Didn’t need to work full-time?

“
Yes,” Emily answered.
“You’re right.”

Dante pulled a piece of cover up over
her body to keep her warm. Face to face with her, lips to lips, he
said, “Listen to me, sweetheart. I want you to have it all. I want
you to be a mother to our children. I want you to have your store,
and I want us to be happy. Now, how do we get there?”

“
We—”

“
I’ll tell you how. I’ve
given this a lot of thought because making you happy, seeing my
children thrive is my number one goal in life. Now, as it stands,
you want to work at the boutique every day and still be
mommy-Emily, right?”

She chuckled. “And
wifey-Emily.”

“
Okay. So I think the best
solution to the problem is for you to work part-time outside of the
home.”

“
But—”

“
Let me finish, darling. If
you worked part-time at the store, let’s say from eight until noon,
then came home and spent another two or three hours working on
inventory and other bookkeeping matters in your home office, you
get the best of both worlds. You get to stay on top of your work
and spend time with Ezra and soon, our new little one.”

“
That could
work.”

“
Yes, but only if you’ll be
willing to give up your full-time hours at the boutique. Will you
be willing to cut back your hours?”

Emily looked at him with an
inquisitive gaze. She loved this new plan of action.

“
Emily?”

“
I heard you. I was just
wondering why you changed your mind. Before when I told you about
my dilemma, you were so adamant about hiring folks.”

“
I was, then I realized
that’s not what you wanted.”

“
Well, I like it the idea,
and I’ll be willing to do that for our family.”

“
I’m glad to hear you say
that. Now, I’m going to throw in an incentive.”

Emily perked up. “Which
is?”

“
I’m giving up Mondays at
work to be home with Ezra.”

Her eyes widened. “You
are?”

“
Yes. My work is important
to me, but not more important than my family. When Ezra grows up, I
want him to remember me as being a part of his life when he was
younger, not always being at work.”

“
Well, in that case, I’ll
give up Mondays, too.”

“
Really?”

“
Yes. Really. You want to
shake on it?” Emily asked.

“
No. I’d rather seal it
with a kiss,” Dante said, leaning forward to capture her lips. His
heart nearly jumped out of his chest with the connection and that
was just a kiss. He kissed her thoroughly. Every corner of her
mouth received attention and then he stopped, connected his vision
with hers and smiled.

“
What?” she
asked.

“
Nothing.”

“
Why’d you
stop?”

“
Wasn’t sure how far you
wanted to take this, and I don’t want to come on to you if you’re
not feeling it.”

Emily maneuvered her body and climbed
her mountain of a husband until she straddled him. Looking down at
him, she said, “I’m definitely feeling it.”

She lowered her body on top his and
met his slightly opened mouth with her lips, feeling his lips catch
her bottom lip while his hands settled on her back, crawling
upwards to the back of her head. But something restricted their
connection. He still had on clothes. She wanted to feel him,
skin-to-skin. She wanted to breathe in his scent, run her fingers
across his chest. The T-shirt he had on had to go.

Tugging at it, she said in a desperate
plea, “Take this off.”

She sat up to give him clearance to
pull the shirt up over his head and after he did so, he eased out
of his boxers. Leaning back down on top of him, she whispered, “So
much better.”

Then she kissed him again, locked
their mouths together in a way that she’d never done before,
moaning and taking his lips.

“
Mmm, Emily, sweetheart.
Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“
I’m more than
okay.”

“
I mean, with the baby in
the mix.”

She giggled. “Yes. It’s okay for the
umpteenth time. Did you forget how active we were when I was
pregnant with Ezra?”

Dante chuckled. “I remember. So,
that’s what I have to look forward to?”

“
Yes. Especially with my
hormones going nuts. Plus, you’re so freakin’ hot, precisely the
reason I’m pregnant now. Can’t resist you.”

“
Can’t resist you either,
sweetheart.”

She shifted her body and maneuvered
over him, taking it upon herself to connect their bodies, slowly
easing down on top of him, slamming her eyes closed in sheer
pleasure while a groan left his mouth. “You don’t mind if wifey is
in control tonight, do you?”

“
Don’t mind at
all.”

“
Good.” She took more
kisses from his lips – small, sensuous ones that she trailed to his
ears and neck.

With his strong arms, he locked them
around her, kept their bond tight as she rocked slowly. Knowing her
body, reading every little signal, he felt her clench him, squeeze
him then come apart on top of him. He groaned, her name leaving his
lips when he let go – sensations tearing through him the same way
they tore through her.

Through the heavy breathing, through
the panting, he moved his body underneath her. It was cute for her
to think she was in control, but the truth of the matter was, he
was the one controlling matters.

Faint moans escaped her lips, became
louder with each pull of her own body against his.

“
Dante!” she cried, unable
to withhold the scream building from the deep cave of her throat.
She opened her mouth, released it and he took it, sealing her mouth
with his the same way he sealed her below.

And it happened for him again as his
body crumbled beneath her. Head spinning. He stared up at her when
he was able to open his eyes again.

“
Oh, Dante,” she said after
resting her head against his chest, still straddled atop him, their
bodies still intimately connected. “Thank you.”

He grinned. “For what?”

“
For everything,” she said,
panting. “For coming here to Jacksonville to be with me…to resolve
our issues. I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy
schedule to be here.”

“
Sweetheart, there’s no
place else I’d rather be.”

Chapter
Twenty-Five

~A Week Later~

Dante leaned back in his chair on a
crisp, Tuesday morning, yawning. They’d made it back to Asheville
Sunday night, and as he and Emily had discussed, they stayed home
yesterday to spend time with Ezra. And it worked out well. They
took him to the park, then they ate lunch while Ezra slept in his
stroller. After Ezra was down for the night, they curled up on the
sofa and watched a movie, then stayed up late making love into the
early morning.

Now, back at work, Dante called a
meeting with his brothers. While he waited for them to come to his
office, he sent Tennyson an important email:

From: Dante Champion

To: Tennyson Tillman

Cc: Dimitrius Champion; Desmond Champion

Subject: Re: GHC Name Change

Tennyson,

Hold off on any further work regarding our
discussion, a week ago, about a possible GHC name change. We’re not
going to pursue this any further.

Thanks,

Dante Champion | Chief Executive Officer

The Champion Corporation

_________

“
Welcome back,” Dimitrius
said, stepping into Dante’s office.

“
Same to you. You look like
yourself again,” Dante teased.