Page 127 of The Exception

“I thought that’s what you liked about London,” I teased.

“I used to love it. And I still love this city. But when I moved here, I needed to get away. I needed space. And now…”

“And now?” I prompted.

“Now I hate the idea of being so far away from everyone. Jackson’s mom offered to come stay for an extended time after the baby’s born, but what about Greer and her kids. She’s my best friend. Jackson’s sister. Our kids will be cousins. And what about Brooklyn and…” She started crying again, covering her face with her hands. “I’m sorry.”

“Do you want to move back to LA?” I asked, both surprised and not.

“It’s not that I want to live in LA. I just don’t want to be so far away from everyone.”

“I could swap with you,” I said. My brain hadn’t even caught up with my mouth, but I knew this could be a good thing.

“What?” Jasper coughed.

“Actually, that would be perfect. You could be closer to everyone here. And it would make it easier for Lily and me to travel back and forth to the château without completely upending our schedules.”

Jasper and Sloan shared another look.

“What?” I asked.

“You’ve never wanted to leave LA before,” Sloan said. “You’ve always believed it was the hub of our operations and that you had to be there.”

I lifted a shoulder. “And now I know that’s not true. Even if it were, you and Jasper can more than handle the company.”

Jasper reached out and placed a hand to my forehead. “Are you feeling okay?”

I batted away his hand. “I’ve never felt better.”

And the more I considered this idea, the more excited I was. About leaving LA and all the board’s bullshit behind. About a shorter commute between my office and the château. About less travel for Prince Albert and Queen V, who had been struggling with the long flights. But most of all, what it would mean to Lily.

“You’re sure you want to proceed with this?” Sloan asked.

“I need to run it by Lily, but I don’t see why she wouldn’t be on board.”

“And I’ll have to talk to Jackson and Halle about it,” Sloan said.

“Halle? What does Halle have to do with it?” Jasper asked.

Sloan frowned. “She’s my assistant. I’d need to figure out if she’d want to come with me, which would be ideal. Or maybe we could arrange a swap,” she said to me. “If Carson wants to stay in LA and Halle doesn’t want to leave London.”

“Can she leave London? What about her son?” Jasper asked.

Why was Jasper so concerned about Sloan’s assistant and her ability to relocate? I knew they’d worked together when he’d gone to London to stand in for Sloan during her sailing trip. He cared about our employees; we all did. But he seemed more invested than usual.

“It’s something I’ll have to find out,” Sloan said.

“Do you have any problems with this plan?” I asked Jasper.

“No. None,” he said. “Though it would be weird to be here without you.”

“True, but it could also be a good thing.” I stood and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve thrived in my absence. And I love seeing you take the lead on new projects.” I gave his shoulder a squeeze before releasing him.

“You’re very complimentary today,” Sloan said.

“Because he got laid,” Jasper said.

I gave him a playful shove. “And here I was going to say that my praise was long overdue. I don’t tell you two enough how much I appreciate and love you. I can’t imagine running this company with anyone else.”

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