Page 129 of Executive Decision

“And you doubted me.”

She shrugged. “It’s my job to hand-wring, Cal. But I also know you well enough to know when I can trust you. I did. Once you got your shit together, you were fabulous.”

“It’s only up from here, right?”

She smiled. “Yeah. That and with the legal woessort offigured out, I think there is a way forward. I won’t say it will be easy.”

“It won’t,” I said. “But you’d be bored if it was.”

She pretended to wipe her brow. “Sometimes I’d take easy, Cal.”

My eyes settled on Daphne, who arrived with her mother. Our gaze locked and I couldn’t help but melt. She looked beautiful in a bright blue dress, her hair curled and falling onto her shoulders. I wanted to wrap her in a big kiss and spin her around triumphantly.

“Oh, there she is,” Jo said. “Go on. Get the girl.”

“I don’t mind if I do.”

I crossed the room with determination until standing before Daphne.

She searched my face. “What? Now you’re out of words?”

I kissed her, unable to restrain myself.

She pulled back, confused. “Cal, we shouldn’t?—”

“I have plenty of time to apologize for loving you tomorrow, Daphne,” I said. “But tonight, I want to celebrate everything.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing me. “Well, after that speech to the nation, I couldn’t love you more. You know you’re really good at this, right?”

I smiled, brushing her chin with my thumb. “With you by my side, Daphne, I’m even better.”

EPILOGUE

Daphne

“Delphine’s isa huge part of my history. I’ll never get over the joy of starting here as a lowly intern and feeling like I was part of something big,” Cal said. “That, of course, was a million years ago.”

The crowd chuckled.

“Now, it’s a different world. The next generation of the family took up the challenge of modernizing the store and bringing it into the e-commerce and experiential marketing age—or so my sister’s numerous discussions with the media would reflect.”

Call searched the crowd for Chloe, standing to my right. She raised her glass, proudly nodding. Chloe earned it. The buzz with appointing her ruffled feathers—driving some old-timers out and giving a fresh face to the company. We were fucking shit up.

“But with those changes, some things remain—or even improve. That is why today, I am so glad to attend the tree-lighting event with you all. This tradition was a must-do every year for all the staff and volunteers that run the toy drive. And I am glad to see it is even bigger and brighter this year. The city is grateful for the continued efforts of the Delphine Family Foundation. And this year, we are even more grateful that the Dolphin Room’s new Executive Chef, Dahlia Delphine, has agreed to donate her family’s time and effort to feed more than 1000 holiday meals to needy families in the city. As a token of my own gratitude, I’ve also agreed to pitch in.”

Dahlia moved back to reinvigorate our flagship restaurant. With her help, we managed to book our holiday reservations from November through January in a matter of two days. Dora’s idea to donate two days of meal prep—Christmas and Christmas Eve—for needy family pickup meals hadn’t fallen on deaf ears. Everyone pitched in, knowing Dad would have been full steam ahead. Cal rallied troops and connected us to community organizations in need.

“The toy drive they’ve hosted for the Chicago Firefighters Foundation has collected more than it has in years. To all of you, I say, thank you for your generosity. So many children and families will have a brighter Christmas this year. Having known David Delphine for so many years, I must say that this has been the sweetest way everyone could have honored his memory. His loss will be felt deeply this holiday season, but we’ll keep his history of charity and giving alive.”

I fought tears. The toy drive was a half-century tradition that Davey and I felt passionate about continuing so long as we could. Dad would be so proud of Dora’s benevolence and Dahlia’s idea to set aside two potentially profitable days to give back. Davey supported whatever the rest of us wanted. I was on the fence about spending Christmas doinganything. Grief sidelined me at Thanksgiving, but Mum felt that doing something impactful would make the day pass easier. So, I put aside my fears and agreed to help. And like with all things, if I did it, Cal was on board.

“So, with that said, I’d ask David Delphine, Jr., the CEO of Delphine Holdings, to step forward so we can light this tree.”

Davey stepped forward. With the help of a lucky kid who’d won a contest to light the tree, the two helped set the tree lights aglow. The impressive real fir came to life in all its twinkling glory. I squeezed Mum’s hand, looking over to see her tears. She rarely cried—not even when Dad died—so it hit me how big this was.

I wrapped my arm around her. “I know it’s hard.”

“Your father would be so proud of you kids. I just wish he was here to see it,” Mum said. “This next chapter is all we wanted for you—and more. It’s beautiful.”

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