"I'm in love with you, Emma." The words tumbled out, raw and unguarded.
"I'm completely, terrifyingly in love with you. And I've been an idiot working too much, taking you for granted, prioritizing all the wrong things. But I'm done with that. I'm done choosing the company over us."
"Adrian"
"No, let me finish." He took my hands, and I let him. "Victoria was wrong. You're not an acquisition. You're the woman who makes me laugh at my desk. The person I want to tell about my day. The future I want to build. And if the board has a problem with that, if the company can't handle it, then they can find a new CEO."
I stared at him, hardly daring to breathe. "You don't mean that."
"I absolutely mean it. I'll resign if I have to. We'll start over somewhere else, both of us. I don't care." His thumbs traced circles on my hands. "But I am not losing you because I was too stupid to show you that you matter more than anything else."
Tears spilled over. "You love me?"
"So much it terrifies me." His smile was shaky. "And you fell for me, apparently. Which is the only good decision either of us has made in this entire mess."
I laughed despite everything. "We're idiots."
"Complete idiots." He pulled me close, and I let myself sink into his arms. "But we're idiots together. If you'll still have me."
"The scandal isn't going away. People will still talk."
"Let them. I'll release a statement tomorrow saying we're in a relationship, that you earned your position through merit, and that anyone who has a problem with it can take it up with me personally." His arms tightened around me. "And then I'm taking you on a very public date. No more hiding. No more secrets."
"Adrian, that's"
"Necessary. I'm done protecting the company's reputation at the expense of yours. You deserve to be celebrated, not hidden."
I pulled back to look at him. "What about the board?"
"Patricia actually called while I was driving here. Turns out they're more progressive than I thought. The official position is that workplace relationships are allowed if disclosed and managed appropriately.
We'll file paperwork, establish boundaries, make it official." He cupped my face. "You'll report to Patricia instead of me for performance reviews. No more concerns about favoritism."
"You worked all that out in two hours?"
"I'm very motivated when the woman I love is walking out of my life." His forehead touched mine. "I'm sorry, Emma. For making you feel like a problem instead of a priority. For not fighting for us sooner. For being the bad boss you accused me of being."
"You are a bad boss," I said softly. "Falling in love with your employee. Very unprofessional."
"The worst." His smile was genuine now. "But in my defense, you're incredibly easy to fall in love with."
"That's a terrible defense."
"I'm a CEO, not a lawyer." He kissed me gently. "Forgive me?"
I thought about Victoria's warning. About the risks. About everything we'd face.
Then I thought about Adrian standing in a hallway, refusing to leave. About him offering to resign. About him saying I mattered more than the company he'd built his entire life around.
"On one condition," I said.
"Anything."
"No more choosing work over us. We're partners. Equal. That means making time for each other even when it's hard."
"Done. I'll block off every evening from seven to nine. Just us. No phones, no emails, no work." His eyes were serious. "I mean it, Emma. I'm choosing us from now on."
"Okay." I kissed him, soft and sweet. "Then yes. I forgive you."
"Thank God." He pulled me close again, and I felt the tension drain from his body. "I love you. I'm going to keep saying it until you say it back."
"Pushy."
"You love that about me."
I did. God help me, I really did.
"I love you too," I whispered against his chest. "Even though you're terrible at work-life balance and you make decisions without consulting me and you're way too controlling sometimes."
His laugh rumbled through me. "I'll work on all of that."
"You'd better."
Riley cleared her throat from the kitchen. "This is very sweet, but I'm going to need you two to take this reunion somewhere else. Some of us have work in the morning."
Adrian grinned. "Come home with me?"
"Home?"
"My place. Our place, if you want it to be.
" He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Move in with me, Emma. Let's stop pretending we want to spend nights apart."
"That's… fast."
"We're past fast. We're at warp speed and I don't care." His eyes held mine. "But if you need time, I'll wait. I'm not going anywhere."
I thought about Riley's couch, about my nonexistent apartment, about waking up without Adrian for the past two weeks.
"Okay."
His eyes widened. "Okay?"
"I'll move in. But I'm bringing all my stuff. And I get half the closet space. And we're adopting a cat."
"A cat?"
"Non-negotiable."
He laughed, actually laughed, pure joy lighting his face. "Deal. Anything you want."
"Careful. I might hold you to that."
"Please do." He kissed me again, deeper this time. "Now can we please go home? I haven't slept well in two weeks and I desperately need you in my bed."
"So romantic."
"I'll work on my romantic declarations later. Right now I just need you."
Riley threw a pillow at us. "Go! Be disgustingly happy somewhere else!"
We went, laughing like teenagers, hands clasped tight.
The scandal would still be there tomorrow. The press would still talk. The doubters would still doubt.
But we'd face it together.
And somehow, that made everything okay.