*Grant*It doesn’t take long at all for my father to call me back. I roll my eyes as I step outside of the room we’ve all decided will be the nursery and reluctantly press the button to connect to him. “What now?”“Where the hell is your mother?” he demands. “Don’t even try to tell me she’s not there in that ridiculously over-sized mansion of yours. I know that she is. Are you trying to turn my own wife against me?” I can almost see him snarling through the phone.“Dad, don’t be stupid,” I say. “She came because she wanted to get away from you. Whenever you get mad, you start acting like a lunatic. You need to calm down and give her the chance to do the same. You can’t blame me for Mom being mad at you for acting like a jerk.”“A jerk? I’m your father. How dare you call me that!” he shouts.I can’t help but laugh. “I believe you lost any respect I might possibly have for you when you refused to acknowledge that you were at fault for the situation with Anna. You made your decision, and
*Anna*I pick up the stick I just peed on and walk out to where my family, the doctor, and Poppy are waiting for me. My knees shake, as does my hand. Tears streak my cheeks. I can hardly believe what I’m looking at.Grant’s eyes widen as he tries to decipher my expression. “Well, baby? What’s the verdict?”I take a deep breath and turn it so that they can see it, but the writing is fairly small, and they can’t all lean over my pee stick. “It’s positive,” I say.Screams and laughter erupt all around me. Grant rushes me and wraps his arms around me. Mom hugs both of us, and Poppy does, too, as if she is part of the family–which she truly is. Dr. Maxwell’s chuckle is low and rich. “Congratulations, Ms. Savage. You must be thrilled.”“Thank you,” I say, once I can speak and everyone has let go. “But it’s Mrs. Savage-Young,” I tell him. I will be changing my name legally as soon as I get a chance. Not that I want to disrespect my mother and her last name, but the world needs to know who I
*Anna*My stomach is still churning as I make my way to the podium downstairs in the conference room of our building. It’s not from nerves, though. Even though I’ve merged my two personas into one, I still have the confidence I developed when I was just A. Savage. If I can accomplish what I have when I’m my father’s daughter, then I can do it all the time.Still, the feeling that I might vomit at any moment has me taking deep breaths. I can imagine the horror of me puking all over the reporters in the front row.There are a lot of people in front of me–lots of cameras, both video and otherwise–and when I take my spot, I have to take a moment to look over the crowd.“Good morning,” I begin, getting right into it. “Firstly, I want to thank all of you for being here. As all of you know, my father, Sam Savage, passed away about two months ago. Since that time, I’ve been running the company, Savage Enterprises, using only the name A. Savage. Several times, I’ve been asked what A. stands fo
*Grant*I don’t go to work on Monday. Instead, I accompany my wife to her building so that she can tell the world the truth about who A. Savage really is. Her mother is with us in the car as we make our way downtown bright and early. Honestly, it’s so early, it’s not even bright.Anna is squeezing my hand so tightly, I think she might cut off the circulation to my fingers. It’s okay, though. I won’t complain. If it helps her feel better about the news conference she’s about to attend, I’ll gladly sacrifice my hand.We get to the office, and the driver pulls us around to the parking garage entrance. Even with us sneaking in the back door, a ton of reporters are standing around, cameras ready to snatch as many pictures as possible. The office building’s security stands around, creating a barrier of sorts. I’ll just need to keep my head down so that the rumors don’t start flying again before they all know the truth. Anna owns only one of the tabloids, after all–not all of them.Some of t
*Anna*Back in the car, headed home, we are all silent for several minutes. I’m thinking about everything I said, everything I didn’t say, who supported me, and who did not.And what’s going to come next.I need to do a press conference–and I need to do it soon. “Well, it’s over now,” my mother says, sitting across from me. “That’s the positive.”“Yes, that is a good way to look at it,” Grant agrees. “We don’t have to dread it anymore.”“I have to tell the public.” They both know that, but we need to start planning for it. “I should do it in the morning. I’ll let the Daily Spin have a heads up that they need to start preparing a story now. I’ll ask Poppy to organize it. Grant, you’ll need to be there. I’ll announce you as the new President of Savage Enterprises.”“Who is the current president?” he asks, his brows knit with confusion.“I am both the president and the CEO,” I explain. “I’ll stay the CEO, and you’ll be the president. My desk is big enough that you can have a desk on one
*Anna*“What the hell?” Scott demands, flying up out of his chair. “This entire time, you’ve been lying to us? Fred, did you know about this?” he demands, shouting at his brother.“Not until yesterday,” Grant’s father admits. “That’s when I told her she needed to tell all of you right away so I didn’t have to keep lying to everyone, the way that Mary has been lying to us.”“You knew before yesterday?” Hattie asks her sister-in-law.Mary keeps her cool. “I’ve known since that day we went to plan Grandmother Trudy’s retirement party at Grant’s office. He told me then.”“And you didn’t tell me?” Hattie asks, as if the two of them are good friends who share all each other’s secrets.“No, didn’t, Hattie. Grant asked me to keep it a secret. Of course, I’d honor my son’s wishes rather than tell you something like that. Besides, this is Anna’s story to tell, not anyone else’s.” This is the closest to mad I’ve ever heard Mary sound.“When did you find out, Grant?” Veronica asks, a disgusted lo