Chapter 12 - A New Title|
I blinked, my breath catching in my throat. "You're... firing me?"
Ronin let out a low, smooth laugh—a sound so rare and genuine it made my chest ache with happiness.
"Never," Ronin whispered, leaning in slightly, his gray eyes searching mine. "I'm promoting you. I want to create a new foundation—the Calder Women's Sanctuary. I want you to run it. I want you to give other women the resources, the legal protection, and the safety that you deserved."
Tears pricked my eyes. "Ronin... you would do that?"
"It's already incorporated," he revealed softly. "Fifty million dollars in starting capital. It's yours to direct."
I looked at this formidable, dangerous man—a man the entire city feared, a man who ruled an empire from the thirty-eighth floor—and saw the profound depth of his devotion.
"And what about us?" I whispered, taking a brave step closer to him.
Ronin's grip on my hand tightened, his other hand coming up to gently cup my cheek, his thumb resting over my cheekbone.
"That depends entirely on you, Laurel," Ronin murmured, his voice thick with raw honesty. "I've waited three years for you. I will wait three more if that's what you need."
I didn't make him wait three seconds.
May you like
I reached up, wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled him down into a soft, deep kiss.
Ronin let out a quiet gasp against my lips before his arms locked securely around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest, holding me as if I were the most precious, irreplaceable gift in the entire universe.
