by Mia Ford
On one hand, I understood why he was feeling the way he was, but on the other hand, I couldn’t see him just walk away from everything he had built. When his mother died, his father fell into a deep depression, and he let the company go to shit before finally offering to let Nathan run it. Nathan had walked into a sinking ship and turned it all around in record time. Nathan was so young, but his work was legendary in the business world, and we even studied it in our classes. It was really difficult to watch this man go through this. It wasn’t fair, and I couldn’t help but think that I was the cause of all of it. I never wanted to come between Nathan and his father, nor did I see any of this coming. I couldn’t let myself be the reason Nathan gave up, and I knew if I wanted this to be fixed, I would have to do it myself.
We sat on the rocks for a little while longer before I stood up and pulled on Nathan’s arm. I smiled at him and leaned in, kissing him passionately. We went back to the house and fell into each other’s arms, twisting our bodies around each other and making passionate love. Afterward, Nathan fell peacefully asleep, and I smiled at how relaxed he was as I quietly pulled on my clothes. I needed to do something about what was going on, and there was no way I could with Nathan knowing about it.
I jumped in my car and headed over to the Landers’s estate, extremely nervous to face Mr. Landers again. I entered the house and walked straight back to his office, assuming he would be where he always was. I greeted the house staff in Spanish and smiled kindly at them, thinking about my own days in their shoes. As I rounded the corner to the office, I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at Nick. He stepped sideways in front of the closed office door and crossed his arms over his chest.
“It’s my turn to be in charge,” he said sternly. “And I don’t need you messing that up for me.”
I shook my head, seeing the selfishness flowing over him. He had really been the reason for all of this. His incessant need to be important, to rule the roost, caused him to become a hateful and disgusting person. I really wasn’t shocked by this at all. I had just hoped that after all these years, Nick would have grown into a better man. I guess I was wrong.
I took a deep breath and walked forward, completely ignoring him and attempting to push past, reaching for the doorknob. Nick stepped forward, throwing his body into me and pushing me back with his arms. I stumbled backward, losing my footing and landing hard on my butt in the hallway. I was completely shocked that Nick would actually resort to violence and send me falling to the ground. As I tried to stand back up, I heard quick footsteps coming down the hall and watched as Nathan reared back and punched Nick right in the jaw. Nick fell backward into the door, grabbing his face and looking at Nathan in shock.
Before he could even move, Nathan bent down and scooped me into his arms, walking quickly back out of the house. I wrapped my arms around his neck, realizing I had just done more damage than good. I leaned my face into his neck and closed my eyes as he flew out the front door and down the steps, gingerly setting me down in the passenger seat of his car. He climbed in the driver's seat and sat there gripping the steering wheel with his now bloodied fist. His knuckles were white, and his face was stern. I feared that he was angry with me. I hadn’t meant to make a mess of things like that. All I was trying to do was appeal to Mr. Landers’s sensibility that I knew was deep down inside him. I thought if I could sit in front of him, he would remember the little girl he used to cottle. I thought he might remember his dead wife’s wishes and love for all people, but I wasn’t even given the chance. I looked back over at Nathan who had calmed quite a bit, and I wondered how he knew I was here.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, carefully putting my hand on his wrist.
“I woke up to the sound of your car and watched as you pulled away,” he said stiffly. “I knew immediately where you were going.”
“I just wanted to have the chance to speak to your father,” I said sorrowfully. “I know that man from my childhood is in there somewhere, and if Nick started all this, I knew it could be undone. He only has one voice in his ear right now, and it’s not fair. It’s not fair to me, it’s not fair to you, and it’s definitely not fair to your father who is being manipulated by your brother for Nick’s own advantage. Your brother is a terrible person for doing that to your family.”
“Look,” he said, turning to me with a kind look. “I appreciate what you are trying to do, and I understand what you are saying, but my brother is right.”
“He’s what?” I picked up my head and looked straight into Nathan’s eyes, unsure of what he was trying to say.
“It’s his turn to run the business,” he said, sighing. “My father has made his decision without discussion or reason. So if that’s his decision, he will have to live with the repercussions of watching his business be run straight into the ground. I’m tired of trying to keep the business going with so many people with ulterior motives trying to take it down at every turn. My father has made his bed, and now he will have to lie in it.”
With that, Nathan put the car in drive and pulled away from the mansion we both spent our entire lives growing up in. I watched as the beautifully kept lawns and the staff working diligently faded away in the rearview mirror. Part of me was incredibly sad to see that part of my life go, and if I was going to be with Nathan, I didn’t know how I felt about him walking away from everyone and everything he had always known. All because of me. I had always been the voice of reason, the one that kept everyone together, and now, I was the one tearing it all apart. Nick was malicious and had been out for Nathan’s spot in the company for a very long time, but if I hadn’t come into the picture, he would have never had the opportunity to snatch it right out from under Nathan. Having my family all wiped away made it hard for me to accept Nathan just walking away from his, but at the same time, I understood how hurtful all of this was for him.
I looked over at Nathan as we drove along, and I could see how calm he looked on the outside. He had come to my rescue yet again, and I couldn’t stop for two seconds to see that even with the best intentions, I managed to push the situation into a worse place. At that moment, I just wanted to take it all back. I wanted to take back ever going out with Nick to that dinner, I wanted to take back ever falling in love with Nathan, no matter how much it hurt. If I could reverse time and remove myself from the equation, none of this would be happening.
Nick would still be gallivanting all over California, sleeping with random women, and trying to make bad business decisions that Nathan would quickly block. Sure Mr. Landers would still be miserable and alone, but he would at least not have to deal with his sons battling over the company. I didn’t know what happened to Mr. Landers after his wife died, but he went to a dark place, and Nick was there to make sure he stayed there. Mr. Landers was not only capable of trashing my name around town, but he was able to watch his son, who had done so much for him and his family, walk out of the door without another word. I loved Nathan so much, but I knew it wasn’t enough to take the sting of betrayal from his own family out of his heart. All I could do was sit and wait for him to make up his mind.
Chapter Seventeen
Nathan
I loved this girl sitting next to me in the car so much, and I was extremely touched by her desire to fix this for me. I knew how it felt to love someone and sit there watching their lives turn upside down, and not be able to fix it. It was a helpless feeling, but in this situation, there was nothing that she could do. Sadly, her presence at that house was not only dangerous now that my brother had turned to violence, but it was just going to continue to make things worse.
I wanted so badly to make her feel better, to let her understand that I was going to make the best choice I could, and that everything that I did in my life now, I considered her as part of it. I had fallen deeply in love with Ronni, and there was nothing I could do to change that, nor did I want to change that. She was the most amazing thing to ever happen to me, and she opened my eyes to life. Before her, I was stuck in the daily
grind of the real estate empire, constantly trying to make my father proud of the accomplishments I had made. In the end, though, I realized that my father didn’t care what I did with the company as long as his paychecks kept coming in, and he could keep going to the golf course with his buddies. He really had no idea how idiotic Nick was and how he was going to take all of his and my hard work and flush it straight down the toilet.
We pulled up to the house, and I walked Ronni to the door, grabbing her arm and pulling her into me before we could walk inside. I hugged her tightly, trying to show her just how much I cared, and how appreciative I was to have someone that was willing to put it all on the line and stand up to a man like my father. She truly cared about me more than I ever realized, and I couldn’t even think about spending one more day, in the business or not, without her right there by my side. I looked down at her and pressed my lips against hers, softly at first, but then hard and passionate. She ran her fingers through my hair, leaning into my kiss and pulling back to look deep into my eyes.
“I’ll be back soon,” I said, comforting any fear she might have.
“Where are you going?” She looked concerned, and that was the exact reason I needed to go finish this here and now. I couldn’t keep putting her and me through this never-ending stress.
“Don’t worry,” I said, leaning down and kissing her forehead. “I promise it will all be okay.”
With that, I turned and walked back to my car, jumping in and speeding off. As the warm California winds blew through my hair, I thought about the last decade that I had spent carving and molding the company into what it had become. Last year, we were listed as one of the most powerful real estate conglomerates in the world, and I knew it wasn’t because of stupid little investments like nightclubs and abandoned buildings. It was because I had put blood, sweat, and tears into every single merger, every single acquisition, and every single major sale that floated out of that office. I had developed an understanding of the industry that only someone that spent years in the company would fully appreciate. Nick had none of this. He had a college degree he didn’t earn, a bank account he didn’t earn, and a tired-ass attitude about himself that would surely be one of the things that brought him down later in life.
This was a time that I needed to fully put my, and Ronni’s, needs before anything else. I needed to finally start making decisions that were based on my own well-being. Every decision I had made to that point was for our family and the betterment of my father’s golden parachute, never taking the time to realize what my dreams and aspirations were. But earlier, sitting on the beach, breathing the salty air, I let all of that go. What Ronni didn’t realize was that I had already made my decision, even before I knew it myself. I had finally made a choice that I wanted to make, and the only thing left to do now was to explain that to my father and let the chips fall where they may.
I pulled up in front of the house and jogged inside, hoping not to have to face Nick again. Luckily, he wasn’t there anymore so I walked straight into my father’s office and stood in front of his desk. He looked up at me with no expression and waited for me to speak.
“I don’t care whether you like Ronni or not,” I said. “It’s not your right to make that decision. I love her with all of my heart, the way you loved our mother, and I won’t let you or some sniveling brat like Nick who wants to lie to you about her, change that. In the end, Nick doesn’t even compare to me in the business arena. He will get eaten alive, and these business ventures he drops on my desk weekly that are nothing more than broken down shops and old houses, are going to be what takes the company down. I have busted my ass day in and day out since Mother died to run a company you let fall to the wayside in your grief. I brought you back from the recession, I increased profits three-fold, and I turned our old company into one of innovation and future. If you think that idiot has any chance of continuing that legacy, then you are more senile than I thought.”
I stepped forward and shook my head. Sadness overcame me, looking at this man I no longer recognized. I didn’t see care or desire in his face. I saw deep and hollow grief, a never-ending sadness that just sucked the life out of him. He pitted my brother and me against each other all the time, but I wasn’t seeing that here. I was seeing a complete lack of caring.
“Look,” I said, lowering my voice. “I know it must be hard living every day without the woman that you love, the woman you shared your life with, but being angry at the world, bitter even, and taking it out on the people that are closest to you would not be the way that Mom would have wanted you to keep living life. She had a zest for life like no other, and she didn’t take that when she left. You let it slip away. I can’t help you get that back. I have done everything I could for this family. I have gone out of my way to make this family my own, sacrificing my life for your company. And how do you repay me? By listening to the lies and bullshit from your other son, who you know is incompetent and selfish. It’s really sad how all of this has come to head.”
“Give it a rest,” Nick said, strolling into the room. “You act all high and mighty, like you are so damn important. You are a control freak, and you got lucky with the business. You had all of it fall into your lap. It’s laughable that you think so highly of yourself or even feel you are able to point fingers. Now you’ve come to grovel for your position, knowing full well you don’t deserve it.”
“Relax, shit stain,” I said, wanting to punch my brother again. “I don’t want the job. You are more than welcome to have it.”
“Welcome,” he scoffed. “I earned it.”
“Yes, you earned it with your bad investments, drinking, and disrespect for women like throwing Ronni on the floor,” I responded, watching my father’s eyebrows raise, but then seeing the care slip back away as soon as it came.
“Well, if you would keep your women in line,” he said.
“Nick,” my father said impatiently. “Get out of my office.”
“Yes, Father,” he said, looking like a scolded puppy scurrying out of the room.
“As for you,” I said, not giving my father one moment to talk. “Go ahead and take me out of the will. Your money is of no interest to me. What I want is a family, love, and most importantly, Ronni. I don’t need people in my life who don’t appreciate me, even if it is the remnants of a dysfunctional family.”
I stood there for a moment, tired of talking and ready to get away from the whole situation. I opened the office door and pushed Nick out of the way, knocking him into the picture on the wall. I walked straight out of the house, not wanting my mother’s memory to draw me back in. I didn’t need a house or a family to remember the kind of woman she was. That was already inside of me. And in fact, I had chosen a woman that exemplified the qualities my mother looked for in a person. The qualities she tried so hard to instill in me and my brother. It seemed only one of her children actually took that to heart, and it wasn’t any of the ones related to her by blood or marriage. I nodded at the servants as I jogged down the steps and jumped into my car, pulling quickly down the drive and out onto the streets. As I watched the gates slowly close behind me, I couldn’t help but accept the feeling of closure, knowing I probably wouldn’t ever drive back through them again.
As I drove through the city, my thoughts rested on Ronni and how worried she probably was, waiting for me in her little beach house on the edge of the city. She was more than supportive. She wanted what was best for me, no matter what cost it had on her. She would have broken our relationship up if she thought that it would be a better choice for me, but I wasn’t going to let that happen. Like it or not, I was madly in love with the woman, and I couldn’t go another day trying to deny it. I had now centered my entire world around her, and the feeling outweighed any sadness I felt for leaving my family behind.
I wanted people in my life that loved me, supported me, and understood the sacrifices that I went through to make their lives better. My family never did that, but Ronni did. She was even thankful when I would
make her breakfast, or take her somewhere nice. She was thankful when I held her hand or kissed her face. It was her turn in life to follow her dreams, and she deserved to do it without care or worry of the outside world. I was a man of means, but what I never realized was all those sacrifices, investments, and lonely nights were not there to make my family richer or bring fame to myself and our name. It was all leading up to a life with Ronni.
As I turned onto Ronni’s street, I smiled, feeling more comfortable here than I ever had anywhere else in my life, including my childhood home. I had found exactly where I needed to be, and I was not going to do anything to put that in jeopardy. If it meant I went out with Ronni and formed a new life, then so be it. And in all reality, that seemed like a more perfect plan than any other I had ever come up with.
Chapter Eighteen
Ronni
I was more than nervous, standing in the house pacing the floor, knowing exactly where Nathan had gone. I didn’t know what decision he was going to make, but I had to trust that he would make the right one, no matter what the outcome was. Our relationship had flown in out of nowhere and taken me completely by surprise, which started as a really good thing, but had spiraled out of control for a while. In the end, I couldn’t imagine my life without Nathan in it, and sitting here, not knowing what was going on was driving me absolutely insane. I continued pacing, going over every possible scenario in my head and driving myself crazy as usual. When I saw his car driving toward the house, I didn’t wait. I threw open the door and ran down the walk, greeting him at the sidewalk.
From his expression, I could tell whatever conversation he just had, it was a hard one. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, doing the only thing I knew to do, comfort him. Though I could tell he had just been through something extremely stressful, he didn’t seem to be all that upset. What did that mean? Had he gotten his job back? Had he made up with his family, and if so, where does that leave us? I had so many questions, but I didn’t want to overload him as soon as he got back.