by Parker, Ali
“Nope,” he said, his engine purring to life when he pressed the button. “And I wish you had just been very thoroughly fucked.”
“Me too,” I said wistfully, then glanced over at him. “My question stands though. You want to get started, but where do we start?”
Flicking down his turn signal, he drove out of the parking lot and onto the street where we joined the light traffic. “We already have enough employees to get everything off the ground. We still have a couple of key positions to fill, but I have a few ideas for those.”
“The employees from Williams Inc.?” I asked. “Don’t they have clauses in their contracts that prevent them from working for a company in competition with your dad?”
He nodded. “Their noncompetes only stand if the company is in the same industry and in direct competition with Williams Inc.”
“We’re not going to be his competition?” It struck me then that I didn’t even know what industry he wanted to build a company in. I was going to have to dust off more than business textbooks if I was going to be any help.
Jeremiah gave his head one fast shake. “We won’t be in competition with him. I want to venture out on my own and stop relying on my family name to get me by.”
I totally understood that, supported it. “Okay, boss. Lead the way.”
Chapter 66
JEREMIAH
“Hey jackass, over here,” Bart called out when Stephanie and I arrived at Lucky’s, the local bar I always went to with my friends. Bringing a girl along was a new development for me, a big step. This was our place, a place we could be ourselves and relax.
Since Stephanie felt like a vital part of myself to me, it felt right to have her here. Bart, Shawn and even Tanner were already in our regular booth, all smiles as we wound our way through the after-work crowd.
It didn’t look like having Stephanie here bothered them either. She stayed tucked closely behind as I sidestepped a few people who were already double stepping a little and guided her to our table.
The guys all stood to shake my hand and give Stephanie quick hugs. I didn’t like seeing other men touching her, but since these guys were like my brothers I sucked it up and told myself to stand down.
“It’s so good to see you guys,” she said, sliding into the booth when Tanner stepped aside to make space for us. “And I really needed to get out. Thanks for having me.”
“Always a pleasure,” Shawn said.
I bumped my shoulder against his before he could slide into his spot opposite her. “I invited her, you can’t take credit for it.”
He laughed and shrugged. “But we were okay with her coming along to our tradition.”
“Not everything is a tradition,” I shot back, taking my seat beside Steph. She smiled and twined her fingers with mine beneath the table.
Bart looked at me, to Stephanie and back again. “Not everything is, but this is. It’s good to have you with us though, Stephanie. I thought for sure Jer would’ve fucked it up by now.”
“He tried,” she said teasingly. “I wouldn’t let him.”
“Good girl,” Tanner said, hooking his arms around the empty glasses in the center of the table and hauling them closer to him. Shawn handed him the full pitcher of beer the waitress delivered. “You’ve proven yourself worthy. You may now have one of the sacred boys’ night beers.”
Rolling my eyes at his theatrics, I laughed. Stephanie smiled and accepted the beer when he handed it to her. “Thank you, kind sir. Your generosity is appreciated.”
Tanner poured beers and passed them around while the rest of us got settled and caught up. Steph was sitting right up against my side, my arm around her shoulders. The whole week, we’d rarely been more than an arm’s length apart.
And as it turned out, we made for a kickass team that way. Only four days after my getting us fired, we had office space and the lawyers were drawing up the job descriptions and contracts I promised to those who wanted to join us.
We’d also ordered office furniture, held meetings with what felt like half of the city and were divvying up key areas of interest into different divisions.
Neil and Steph were godsends with going over all the different areas I was already involved in or wanted to get into and organizing it all under one corporate umbrella.
Nothing was off limits for us at the moment, except for oil, property development, and a handful of other areas Williams Inc. were involved with. We were looking at software development, digital marketing, and online education, among other things.
We weren’t there yet, but we’d made a lot of progress for four days in. I was amazed at how things were falling into place with us pushing and prodding in exactly the right places at exactly the right times.
Shawn grabbed my attention when he leaned across the table and said to Stephanie. “We heard there was a showdown at Williams Inc. Please tell me you have a recording of Jance’s head exploding.”
Throwing her head back, Stephanie laughed and shook her head wryly. “Sadly, I don’t have a recording of it. I heard Jeremiah handled it admirably though.”
“So you’re really doing this?” Bart asked me, peering at me over the rim of his glass. “You’re going out on your own?”
“I’m not going out on my own—I am out on my own,” I said, then glanced at Stephanie. “Well, not on my own. With her, but in the context you’re talking about I’m on my own. No Jance, no influence from him, and none of his stronghold industries.”
Tanner whistled under his breath, raising his glass to mine. “Well done, bud. I must say, I wasn’t sure you were ever going to break that cord, but I’m glad you did.”
“It was time,” I said. “I would venture so far as to say way past time, but rather late than never.”
“You’re never on time anyway,” Bart said, clinking glasses with us all. “Congratulations you two, you’re going to do great.”
“This calls for a celebration,” Shawn said, signaling to the waitress and ordering a bottle of champagne instead of another pitcher of beer as he usually would’ve.
The waitress told him they weren’t the kind of place which stocked the expensive stuff, which triggered a round of hollers from my friends, but Shawn smiled and assured her anything would do.
When she left, he shrugged. “It all tastes like cat piss to me anyhow.”
“Good champagne tastes like cat piss to you?” Tanner asked incredulously. “I’ve seen you guzzle the stuff by the gallon at those fancy industry parties of yours.”
“A necessary evil,” Shawn told him. “There are a lot of things I don’t like about those parties, but you’d never say it. Have to keep up appearances.”
“Speaking of which,” I interrupted their conversation. “I wanted to talk to you all.”
“You’re talking,” Tanner said, smirking when I flipped him the bird.
I leaned forward on the table, wiping away a puddle of moisture that had rolled from my glass. “I need people I can trust at the new company.”
“Like half your father’s workforce?” Bart asked, amused. He shrugged when I gave him a questioning look. I hadn’t told them that part yet. “News travels fast.”
“It wasn’t half his workforce,” I said. “It’s not even a fraction of his people.”
They were some of his best people, having been the ones who’d worked their way up to the executive floors. But I knew losing them wouldn’t hurt him. He had hundreds more just like them stashed away. On other floors, in other buildings.
There was no such thing as an irreplaceable employee at Williams Inc. Not even me.
Shawn tipped his beer in Bart’s direction. “News may travel to you fast, but it sure has a lot of little baby news stories on its way over.”
“That may or may not be true,” Bart agreed, then looked back at me. “You were saying?”
“Right,” I said. “I need people I can trust. It’s not going to be easy going and smooth sailing all the way. I could really use your help, if you’re inter
ested.”
Stephanie squeezed my hand underneath the table. She knew how conflicted I was asking them. They had their own careers, which they loved, and I didn’t want them to feel like they had to say yes to me.
She’d convinced me that none of us were the types of guys who were going to cave and agree to a career change if it wasn’t what we wanted. She was damn right about that.
Tanner, Bart, and Shawn all stared at me like I’d grown a rhino horn on my forehead. Tanner recovered first, giving me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry bro, it’s not the right time for me. I’m still well off in baseball. When the time comes for a change, I’ll let you know.”
I nodded, accepting his decision without an ounce of blame. “I didn’t think you were ready to leave your beloved little balls behind.”
Tanner laughed and made a crude gesture. “They’re still a lot bigger than yours, Williams.”
Bart rubbed his chin, staring off into the distance before turning back to me. “You’re offering us jobs?”
“I am.” As fucking weird as it felt to do it. I wanted them with me though, if I could get them.
Bart turned the idea over in his head for a few minutes, then nodded. “I might be interested. Can I think about it?”
“Of course,” I slid my eyes to Shawn. He hadn’t turned me down yet, and I knew he didn’t intend on staying in modeling for too long.
When he caught my eye, he nodded slowly. “I’ll think about it too. It’s an interesting proposition. From what you’ve told me, it’ll be a complete change for me. I could be ready for that.”
“Okay, think about it. Take all the time you need,” I said.
Stephanie pulled her phone out of her purse and tapped into her messages, her eyes excited as she lifted her head and looked around. It could mean only one thing. “Tiana’s here.”
“She’s waiting for me by the door,” she said, handing her phone to me. “I’m going to go get her. Watch my purse, will you?”
“Sure thing, angel.”
She smiled and bent over, giving me a quick kiss before running off to meet her friend. I must’ve had some kind of dopey expression on my face after the kiss because as soon as she was out of earshot, the guys all turned to me.
They fired off questions all at once until I held up my hands and shook my head. “One at a time. I can’t hear you.”
They exchanged a quick look, no need for words. Shawn glanced at the door where Stephanie was hugging Tiana and then, satisfied we were still going to be alone for a moment asked me, “What are you planning on doing about your relationship with Stephanie?”
“She’s your partner in the company, right?” Bart added.
Even Tanner chimed in. “Have you thought about the future at all?”
I shook my head like I was disappointed in them, smirking. “What do you think I’m gonna do about it? I’m going to marry that girl.”
Chapter 67
STEPHANIE
“Would you look at that?” Tiana said, casting an appreciative eye over Jeremiah and his friends. “You managed to get us seats with the hottest guys in here. And Tanner.”
I laughed. Tiana and Tanner knew each other from college. They’d been friends for a while when they took the same class. Though they hit it off, they never got together.
“I keep forgetting you know him.”
She linked her arm with mine, grinning devilishly. “I wish I could forget I know him too, but who can forget a guy who looks like that?”
“Not you?” I guessed.
Tiana tapped her nose and nodded. It was difficult to talk more until we made it back to the table. Lucky’s was reaching capacity, and there were people everywhere.
You had to duck for cover to avoid all the animated gestures being made by people talking with their hands and dodge like a pro to keep from being trampled by the busy waitresses and the thirsty patrons.
The flat-screens on the walls were tuned to sports, but the volume was muted. The jukebox was on, playing hits all the way from the eighties to brand new ones. It was an indication of how diverse the crowd who frequented Lucky’s was.
When we made it to the table, it looked like the guys were in a serious conversation. Jeremiah’s lips were pulled up into a cocky, charming smirk of his I’d come to love while the other three were looking at him with varying degrees of shock, pride, and disbelief.
Tiana lifted her brow at me in question, but I shrugged. I had no idea what they were talking about. “It’s probably work stuff. Bart and Shawn might be interested in joining the company.”
Her eyes widened. “You’d be working with three of those beautiful creatures every day? Please hire me.”
I laughed, then pulled Tiana the last few feet to the table. Bart spotted us first and slid his eyes pointedly in our direction. The others stopped talking immediately. Weird.
Deciding I would find out from Jeremiah what they were talking about later, I pointed at Bart first. “Tiana, this is Bart. Bart, my friend Tiana. I hope you don’t mind that I invited her along with us tonight too, I know I’m already crashing boys’ night.”
Shawn rose and held out his hand, standing crookedly from not being able to straighten up completely for being too tall for the booth. “You’re welcome to bring your friend along anytime. I’m Shawn.”
I realized I hadn’t warned Tiana that one of Jeremiah’s besties was a model I knew she would recognize. He was the face of her favorite brand of jeans. She shook his hand, looking vaguely starstruck. “Tiana. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“If I scoot up, you could sit next to me,” Shawn offered, then noticed Bart’s frown and Tanner’s shit-eating grin. He ground his teeth before smiling at her. “That way you’ll be across from Steph, you guys could talk.”
“Sure,” she said. “Thanks.”
Tiana was hardly in her seat when I realized I wasn’t part of the equation for the offer Shawn made or for her acceptance of it. The two of them instantly started talking, striking up an animated conversation.
I only caught snippets of it, but they were totally wrapped up in their conversation and were laughing and talking like they were the only ones in the room.
We finished the bottle of champagne Shawn ordered in record time. Jeremiah ordered another one, refilling everyone’s glasses when it arrived. Bart ignored Shawn and Tiana on his one side, leaning in to speak to us instead. He grinned at me, letting me know trouble was on the way.
“So, you sure you really want to open a company with this one?” He jerked his head to Jeremiah. “He’s a tyrant to work with, I’ve heard.”
“You’re thinking of the wrong Williams.” I laughed as I hooked my arm around Jeremiah’s shoulders. “This one’s not a tyrant, but he can be pretty demanding.”
“I won’t be making those kinds of demands on Bart,” Jeremiah quipped.
Bart and Tanner cringed boyishly and voted that Jeremiah had to do a shot for giving them a mental picture of him they didn’t want.
Being a good sport, he dutifully ordered a shot for himself and one for each of them. Then chugged his tequila and handed out a “fine” to both of his friends for transgressions they’d apparently committed in the week.
Tanner slammed his shot and tapped it on the table, turning his attention to me. “Since you’re part of our merry band of misfits now, has anyone explained how the fines work to you yet?”
“No.” I eyed the three empty shot glasses apprehensively. My tolerance for the stuff had reduced drastically since I started taking college seriously. “Is there a limit for how many fines a person can be given in one night?”
If this was some kind of drinking game, I needed to know that first. Without a limit and with how often I tended to put my foot in my mouth, I was going to have to opt out of their game.
Shawn’s eyes ventured away from Tiana for a minute and seeing what we were doing when the waitress arrived with another round of shots Jeremiah ordered, he brightened and told her to listen to the explana
tion too.
“There’s no limit on how many drinks each person can be fined with per night,” Tanner started explaining. “However, if you get fined, you have the option to keep the ball rolling by fining someone else in turn. In that way, it’s never a good idea to nominate one person for too many. You never know when it’s going to come back to you. You only know that it will.”
“What do you get fined for?” Tiana asked, voicing my next question.
Tanner grinned at her. “I’m glad you asked. Say you meet someone in English freshman year of college and—”
She reached over and slapped her hand over his mouth. “No. We’re not going there again. Never. Bart, will you please answer the question.”
“Sure, I’ve heard that story,” Bart said, eyes glimmering with humor. When he caught Tiana’s glare, he changed tack. “But I won’t be using your freshman woes as an example tonight. Basically, you can get fined for anything idiotic, embarrassing, ill-advised, or stupid you did in front of or told to any of us about each week.”
I felt myself pale. “But I work with Jeremiah, and I’m dating him. That means he’s going to see most of everything I do or say every week.”
“And we’ll probably be joining you at work soon,” Shawn said, motioning to Bart and back to himself.
“Don’t remind me.” I groaned. “I don’t think you need to include me in this game of yours. I’ll just sit on the sidelines and watch.”
“Sorry angel, that’s against the rules,” Jeremiah said, lacing his fingers through mine and resting them on his knee. “Plus, you’ll be around these two knuckleheads at work all day. Trust me when I tell you for every fine they might be able to give you, you’ll be able to hand out at least two. Each.”