by Lauren Runow
While Missy made it seem like my presence was an inconvenience to the menu, it turns out, there’s enough food to feed an army. There’s also plenty of merlot, so I drink mine as Missy tells stories of her and Edward’s recent trip to Bali. When the steaks are served, I try not to moan. These people might be pretentious, but they know their beef, and it’s like an orgasm in my mouth.
Tanner laughs at my eye roll. Missy doesn’t notice because she’s talking about a Dior gown that was custom-made for her. She eats morsels of her steak, and I know it’s probably going to go in the trash.
They don’t ask any more questions of me or Tanner. I’m grateful but also surprised. When I see my dad, all he wants to do is talk about me. He asks a thousand questions, and that’s coupled with the fact that we talk nearly every day.
Edward doesn’t even seem interested at all in Tanner’s schooling. Makes sense why he hasn’t realized his kid practically got his diploma six months ago and is taking master’s level classes for fun.
When dessert is served, it is only served to me and no one else. I know I devoured my meal, but I’m not a total glutton. I look up, perplexed.
“Tanner, if we could have a word with you.” Edward stands, and Missy is folding her napkin.
“Here is fine,” Tanner says from his seat.
Edward looks down at him with a pointed finger coming out of the cuff of a fine Italian suit. “We have family business to discuss.”
“It’s okay, Tanner. I’ll wait here,” I say, making a show of putting a piece of crème brûlée on my spoon.
Missy stands. “See, Hedda will be fine here with the staff.”
“It’s Harper,” Tanner roars. It’s very un-Tanner-like.
“She’s lucky I’m letting her stay at my table and not sending her into the servants’ quarters while we discuss important matters!” Edward growls.
I pause mid-bite, shocked at what he said.
“Dad!” Tanner yells. “I cannot believe you just said that. Have you lost all manners?”
I stand from my seat. “It’s okay. You three stay here. I can go in the other room if it’s easier.”
“No.” Tanner rises with his hand stretched out to put us all in our places. “Harper is here with me. I have no doubt she will be a part of my life, and if I’m going to decide if I move back to San Francisco to work for Sexton Media or stay here, I want her to know every detail, so we can make that decision together.”
His father glares at me and then at Tanner. “If you decide?”
“I haven’t made up my mind.” Tanner’s admission has Missy’s brows jumping up in intrigue.
She’s looking at me differently. This time, I’m an asset instead of a hindrance. “Why don’t we all sit back down and discuss this like adults?” She’s calm. Sated.
“Fine.” Edward takes a seat, and Tanner and I follow.
Edward and Missy stare at each other for a moment, and I feel like an awkward fly on the wall.
Edward starts, “We took your advice and started the process of separating the company into two parts. Bryce has been a brick wall. He bought another paper in Seattle, which is making our buyers nervous. We have two companies that have substantial offers ready to go. One to buy the digital branch and the other to take over print. That print deal can happen as soon as six months. Digital will take a little longer.”
“What are the numbers?” Tanner asks.
“One-point-six billion.”
I’m glad I don’t have wine in my mouth because I would have spit it all over the linen tablecloth.
“Are you going to sign on the dotted line? Can we count on your support?” Edward asks his son.
“You know there’s more than signing on the dotted line,” Tanner deadpans. “You have yet to give me a good reason to sell the company Mom built.”
I glance over in Missy’s direction and notice the eye roll she displays. Her mouth looks like she’s sucking on something sour.
When she catches me looking at her, her posture changes, and she puts on a faux warm smile before pulling it back in and saying, “It’s been eight years since her death. We’ve kept her memory alive for long enough. It’s time to move on.”
“Then, move on,” Tanner says nonchalantly. “Let Austin, Bryce, and me buy you out.”
“That’s impossible. You each own seventeen percent of the company. Your assets are the one thing you’re trying to hold on to,” Edward states.
“Then, we’ll raise capital. Finance. Get a board—”
“That would take years. We’ve been working on these deals for four years,” Edward says.
“Then, let it take years. You already drain five million a year from the estate. You want my money? Have it. I’ll gladly hand over a million dollars a year just to get you to walk away.”
“That’s not enough,” Missy says, straightening her napkin while looking straight at Edward.
“You can’t live off six million dollars a year? Your lifestyle can’t handle over half a million a month?”
“I. Said. No,” Missy bites out before smiling a shit-eating grin.
Tanner sits back in his chair. “Then, what is it, Missy? What do you want?”
“I want it all. I want to sell everything piece by piece, so we can go live on the yacht and decide wherever we want to go each day,” Missy says with so much sass that I can’t believe she’s twenty-nine and not nineteen. She’s acting like a spoiled, rotten teenager, and I can’t imagine what someone of Edward’s age sees in her.
“You can do that now. I talk to Bryce and Austin. I know you guys are barely there. You can go live in Saint-Tropez or Capri,” Tanner defends.
She drops her fork hard against the plate. “How dare you say that. I’m there as much as I can be.”
“Yeah, I heard about your exposé on street racing. Bryce told me, and I read it. I think Jalynn did a good job.”
She sighs in defiance. “You’re not there. You don’t know what goes on.”
“You’re right; I don’t, but I talk to my brothers. I know you tried to get Austin arrested for street racing. I know you tried to blackmail Bryce. I don’t understand why you can’t just walk away.”
“Why would we walk away from hundreds of millions of dollars?” Edward asks incredulously.
“Because that’s what your sons want. When did our needs come secondary?” Tanner’s plea makes Missy guffaw.
“When were you ever the first priority?”
Edward snaps at Tanner, “You want me to walk away? The head of Sexton Media can’t walk away from his company to let his sons take over. A sale like this would make headlines. An early retirement shows weakness.”
“Is that what this is about?” Tanner pushes away form the table. “Headlines and bank accounts? What happened to family? What happened to integrity? I’ve listened to my brothers bitch about the airs you put on in public, only to be distracted in the business. You take more than you give, and your demands for what goes on in the office are absurd. I remember when you used to help Mom. I also recall the day you decided you were too glamorous for manual labor. Talk about perception. What would people think if they knew you actually had no idea what it took to run Sexton Media?” He turns to Missy at the sound of her gasp. “I hear you got honored at the museum a few weeks ago. Did you lift one finger to actually earn that, or did you just write them a check?”
“Tanner, that’s enough.” Edward pounds his fist on the table.
Tanner’s not finished though. “You aren’t fooling anyone. Mom used to get honored because she actually helped. She would go above and beyond to make things happen. Change what needed to be changed to make San Francisco better.”
“And it got her pushed off a cliff,” Missy sneers. “I’m Mrs. Sexton now, so we do things my way. She was in charge then, and now, I fill those shoes. So help me God, I will get my way. I’ve been able to accomplish this much. You and your brothers will not stop me in getting what I want. So, take your little girlfriend here, sign o
ff on your shares, and live your artist lifestyle in a shack of what you call home. Because I’ll tell you now, if you fight me on this, you will regret it.”
My eyes stay glued wide open as I look around the room, waiting to see how Edward and Tanner are going to respond. To my surprise, Edward looks unfazed, like he is used to her rants and has no control over the young woman he made his wife.
Tanner, on the other hand …
“Are you kidding me right now, Father?” The way he says father is anything but in a loving way. “Is this how this family is really run? You let her walk all over you and ruin Mom’s memory and everything she left for us?”
“She?” Missy yells. “Tanner, sometimes, I need to remind myself just how young you are and how clueless you are when it comes to the history of this company.”
Tanner takes his napkin off his lap and slams it on the table. “No, Missy, I know exactly how this company was started because, unlike you, I was actually there. You were a teenage whore who bed my brother and then my father. You had your sights on our family dollar way before my mother’s death. You might have a hold on my father, but you do not own us brothers. We will stay together because we know without a doubt that our mother, Marina Sexton, was more of a woman than you’ll ever be.”
Tanner pushes his chair away from the table, reaching for my hand, making sure I follow him, and we leave the most dysfunctional family dinner I’ve ever attended.
21
TANNER
“I’m sorry about my family.”
I know I don’t have a normal family, but it has never been clearer than after having dinner with them tonight. Going from dinner with Harper’s family to mine will give you whiplash. Mine are cutthroat. Even though her mom is sick, they all stay together, loving and supportive.
“They’re … interesting.” She hangs her coat on the rack by the door and toes off her shoes.
She didn’t say anything on the ride home. Neither of us did.
I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and down it. When I toss it in the trash, Harper is putting on her pajamas. Her brows are curved.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask her.
“Me?” She looks surprised. “Nothing. Just thinking about something Missy said. You said your brothers were intense. You didn’t say your stepmom was an ice queen.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it. When I was fifteen, I got dumped for the first time. My heart was shattered. I couldn’t eat for a month. She told me to get the fuck over it and go find another pussy to bury myself in.”
“She did not.” Harper looks horrified.
I nod. “She told me not to worry about girls because I was a Sexton, so I’d have my pick of any woman I wanted. And not to dream about settling down because they’d only want me for my money, and none of them would be worthy.”
“What an awful thing to say to a teenager. You didn’t believe her, did you?” She swallows. “Do you?”
I step up to her and open my arms. “Never.”
She falls into my chest, and I lay my chin on her head.
“I know you love me for who I am. My friends even questioned your intentions, and I told them to fuck off.”
Her head tilts up. “Ryan and Chris think I want you for your money? Before tonight, I didn’t know. I didn’t even—”
I silence her with a kiss. “I know.”
Her eyes flutter. “Yesterday, I thought I was going to have to help you pay off your college loans. I assume you don’t have any.”
“Not a one.” I laugh lightly as I step back and start to undress.
She’s biting her cheek and looking down at the floor. I know something’s bothering my girl.
“You’re doing it again.”
She looks at me like she’s been caught. “Sorry. Just a lot to take in.” Picking up a hair tie from my nightstand, she uses it to put her hair up in a ponytail. “Why did your dad give Missy half his shares?”
“It must have been a means of financial security for her. That’s the only reason we can think of.”
“I have a friend who made her new husband put his house in her name as a form of commitment. I mean, it’s not a billion-dollar company, but I suppose security is security.”
I raise a brow. “Would you like me to put your name on half of my shares when we get married?”
“Hell no! I’m not a money-hungry bitch. Your shares should default to your brothers, not some outsider who might screw things up.”
She seems shocked that I would even suggest it.
I can’t help but walk over to her and pull her in for another kiss. “Where’s my girl who didn’t know how to curse? I think I’m rubbing off on you.”
Her eyes flutter. “Your family brings out the worst in me.”
“I wish you were my family.”
She leans up on her toes and gives me a kiss on the nose. “We don’t get to choose our family. We only get to choose whom we love.”
As she turns to head toward the bathroom to brush her teeth, I get a pang in my chest. It’s a sweet pang.
When she’s back, Harper crawls onto her side of the bed and pulls down the sheet. She likes that side because it’s closer to the bathroom for when she has to get up early for work.
I love that she has a side. Just like she has a hook on the coat rack. I always leave it open for her because it’s on the middle rung and easier for her to reach. I keep the doughnuts she likes in the kitchen, and there’s always a bottle of pinot in the cabinet. We brought one of her favorite afghans here for her Friends marathons, and there’s a plethora of her women’s products in the bathroom.
I grab my sketchpad and pencil and sit next to her in bed. I listen to the hum of her body as she reads a book, and I draw.
My eyes grow heavy as I relax into the drawing. I leave the supplies on the nightstand and settle for sleep.
“Why do girls get fancy rings and guys don’t?”
Mom looks down at her hand that is gripping the steering wheel. “Men get rings, too, when they get married. It’s a sign of eternal love.”
I roll my eyes. “I mean, the diamond ring. Guys get gypped.”
She laughs. “They sure do. Not gonna disagree with you, buddy. I always like to think of it as the man giving this gift to a woman because her love for him is the greatest gift of all. Actually, the history behind it is, a man would give the ring to a woman as insurance. If he didn’t go through with the marriage, the woman had the ring to sell.”
“No way.”
“Yes way.” She turns the corner with a smile on her face. Her blue eyes glisten with love as she looks over at me. “What’s with all the questions? Are you looking to propose?”
I lower my head and look up at her like she’s crazy. “I’m only ten.”
“I saw you having lunch with Tammy Oliverie. I stopped by in between appointments this afternoon.”
The thought of my mom spying on me at school has me squirming in my seat. If she thinks I like Tammy, she’s ridiculous. “The girl is super weird and talks about Star Wars all day long. Not in a cool way. She thinks she’s Yoda.”
“Then, why were you having lunch alone with her?”
“The other kids were picking on her. She cried. I felt bad. No one should eat lunch alone.”
“You’re a good boy, Tanner Sexton. You’ll make a good husband someday.”
I don’t have the heart to tell my mom that I don’t know if I want to get married. She and Dad have been fighting a lot lately. She cries, too. I don’t like to see her sad.
“Why do people get married?”
“Because they’re in love and want to make a commitment to one another.”
“Is that why you and Dad got married?”
She looks at me with a smile. “Yes. Your father and I were very much in love and wanted to start a family. What’s with all the questions?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I just don’t see the point in it. I want kids because kids are hecka cool. Being marri
ed just seems so old-fashioned.”
From the curve of her brow, I can see she’s thinking of the best way to respond to my comment. “Did I ever tell you about where I grew up?”
I shake my head.
“That’s because I don’t like to talk about it, but I’ll tell you. Your grandpa was a drunk, and your grandma was a mean woman. She hit me a lot. They weren’t bad people. They just didn’t know any better because that was how they were raised. I loved them because they were mine, but I didn’t like them very much.
“When I turned eighteen, I left home without a penny to my name. I worked my way through college, and that’s where I met your father. I knew instantly that he was the man I wanted to create a family with. Now that we have you three boys, I know how blessed I am to have the family I always wanted. I got married because I wanted the family that I deserved. The one filled with love and compassion, patience and perseverance. Even the company is entwined with our legacy because, to me, that’s what I want for my family. Does that make sense?”
I nod because my mom has said this sort of thing before. Bryce, Austin, and I are the most important things to her. Everything she does is for us boys and the future she wishes for us to have. I reach over to the steering wheel and grab her right hand. My mom likes to have her hand held. She says it often. And, from the smile on her face, I know I just made her day.
I wake with a start. It’s been years since I had a dream involving my mom, but this one was so vivid. I feel euphoric, happy.
My heart is racing. That pang I felt earlier is now replaced with a thumping. I roll over and look at Harper. With my head on the pillow, I lie on my side, watching her sleep, curled up on her side, facing me. Her lips pout when she sleeps, and her long lashes flutter with her dreams.
Just one look at her, and my entire world is calm. Any stress or anxiety I feel about my day fades as soon as she’s near.
She’s more than my muse; she’s my soul mate.
I reach my hand over and lightly rub my fingers down her face. “I love you, Harper.”
Her eyes open, and her lips tug up into a sleepy smile.