by Mia Ford
I rolled onto my back, realized that I was actually all alone, and closed my eyes.
* * *
I woke up to the sound of incessant buzzing from downstairs. With a groan, I pushed myself up to a sitting position and tried to clear my head. I had a massive headache that made me wish I could just shoot myself, and my vision was blurry enough that, for a few seconds, I thought I was still in my motel room in Ludwig.
The buzzing continued, and it was only when I began to register that I was back in Austin, in my bedroom, with a debilitating hangover, that I realized the buzzing was the sound of my doorbell. I ran a hand through my hair, cursed the asshole who had decided to pay me a visit and was only adding to my discomfort, and forced myself to my feet. It took me the better of ten minutes just to get downstairs.
When I opened the door, Alice took a step back, her eyes wide and her mouth open. She was taking me in, and I could see from the look on her face that shocked would be the understatement of the year.
“Why didn’t you just use your fucking key?” I snapped.
“Jesus, you look like shit,” Alice said. “And I forgot my key.”
I nodded, turned away and trudged back into the penthouse. I heard her follow me and close the door.
“What the hell happened to you?” she asked, rushing past me and dropping her purse on the kitchen counter. She quickly set up the coffee machine, switched it on, then turned her attention back to me. “If you were hoping to dismiss any rumors about a drug addiction, you definitely can’t do it like that.”
“I just need a few minutes to get my head straight,” I said. “Coffee and Tylenol, and I’ll be fine. An hour max.” My words slurred, and I heard my voice as if it were coming from far away.
“The board meeting is in an hour,” Alice said, “and you have to be ready for that. Here, take these.”
I took the pills from her and downed them without thinking twice, washing them down with large gulps of water that ran down my chin and drenched my shirt. When I looked up at Alice again, she was regarding me with a look of complete distaste and hint of pity.
“Stop looking at me like that,” I said.
“You’re in a mess,” Alice countered. “It’s a good thing I decided to pass by before you showed up at the office. If you had come in looking like that, they would have asked security to escort you out.”
“Security won’t escort me anywhere,” I said. “It’s my fucking company.”
“It’s Chance Ridder’s company, for now,” Alice replied. “I don’t know who the hell you are.”
I shot her an annoyed glare, then looked away when I couldn’t hold it for too long. I felt heavy, as if the ground were pulling me towards it, promising peace and rest if I just laid down and never got back up. It was a tempting notion. One that I knew, though, that Alice would not allow.
“Get cleaned up, we need to get moving,” Alice said.
“In a minute.”
“Chance, seriously, this isn’t a joking matter.”
“In a minute!”
My outburst took her by surprise. She was used to the composed version of me, the one that didn’t care if the sky fell all around him because he knew that he was too special to be touched. I always gave her the appearance of a man who had his shit together, and the fact that she was the same was why we worked well together. Sudden bursts of fury were unlike me, and it shocked me as much as it did her.
“Sorry,” I said, scratching the back of my head and sighing. “I’ll get dressed.”
She didn’t reply as I got off the stool and made my way back upstairs.
* * *
We rode to the office in silence, and I could feel the tension in the air like a black shroud of distaste and dissent. Every now and then, I’d catch Miles looking at me in the rearview mirror, and although my impulse was to yell at him to keep his eyes on the road, I fought it back. I needed to keep my cool if I wanted to have any positive effect in today’s meeting.
I had the element of surprise on my side, which was a good thing. Alice had tried to keep my ‘return from the dark side’ as much of a secret as possible. It was a smart move, something that would give me the edge when I walked in on the board members while they decided the fate of my company without me. If Dennis had even caught wind of the fact that I was coming back, he’d be prepared. The son of a bitch was always fucking prepared.
Alice briefly told me about the paperwork I would need to fill once the meeting was over, and she already had a memo regarding Dennis’s dismissal ready to send out once I took the company reins once again. She had called a meeting with the company lawyers, had not told them what it was about, just so we can legally kick Dennis’s ass and make sure he stayed down. He had shares in the company, something none of us could really do anything about, but when this was all over, he’d be getting his information on Ridder Technology just like every other shareholder did; through email.
We drove into the garage, the tinted windows hiding me from the security guards as they waved us through. Miles chose to park in a spot other than my regular one, a little closer to the door. I brushed my fingers through my hair, straightened my tie and looked at Alice.
“How do I look?”
Alice only glanced at me before she stepped out. “Like a million dollars. Which is sad considering you’re worth a million times more.”
She said with such disgust, it made me cringe. I brushed it off quickly, making a mental note to talk to her after this was over and clear the air. She had been by my side for years, and I wasn’t willing to lose her now.
For a split second, Ashlyn’s face flashed before my eyes, and I realized I had not checked my phone since last night. There were no messages from her, no missed calls. Nothing.
Keep your head in the game. One shit storm at a time, buddy.
I stepped out of the car and followed Alice into the building.
The security guard by the elevators froze when he saw us, his eyes wide for a few seconds before he smiled at me. “Welcome back, Mr. Ridder.”
“Good to be back…” I squinted at the name plate on his chest. “Roger.”
I gave him my best smile and stepped into the elevator.
* * *
We rode most of the way up in silence, and just before reaching the top floor, Alice turned to face me. The scowl on her face had not changed, and it made her look much older than she really was.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you,” she said, “but this has to be handled with some sort of finesse. Whatever’s got you on edge, forget about it until after the meeting. You need to win everybody back to your side. Just explain your medical condition and refute the drug charges.”
“That should be easy when they realize Dennis has been lying to them,” I said.
“Not really,” Alice replied. “Some of those suits have been waiting for a chance like this forever, but have been too scared to try and do something.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, come on, Chance,” Alice said in exasperation. “Who wouldn’t want to sit on your throne?”
“This board has been loyal to me from the get-go,” I shot back. “I handpicked every member.”
“Like Dennis?”
I didn’t answer.
“Just try and charm them back to your side of the battlefield,” Alice continued. “Dennis is a bit of a hero right now, and even if you have the power to fire him, you still need the board to nullify his contract. Don’t push them to a point where they still vote you out despite the lies.”
“Fine,” I said. “I can’t believe I’m actually trying to save my position in my own fucking company.”
“The bigger the rise, the harder they fall,” Alice mumbled.
“What?”
“We’re here,” she said, ignoring me as the elevator doors opened.
I got pretty much the same reaction from all the employees as I did with the security guard downstairs. Apparently, everyone had believed the lies Dennis had fed
them, and with the media riding the wave of deceit right along with him, it was like everyone was looking at a dead man come back from the grave. It made my blood boil.
Two days. Two fucking days, and this shit happens!
A few of the employees came up to me to welcome me back, and before I could thank them, Alice was brushing them aside and leading me towards the conference room. It felt odd being back here, as if I had been gone for weeks and not just a few days. Not much had changed, but I was looking at it all in a completely different light. There was so much I hadn’t noticed before and was only taking note of right now.
I’m going to need to make a few changes.
After the mess was cleaned up. All that other stuff could wait.
As we neared the conference room, I could see that the board was already inside, with Dennis at the front of the table where I usually stood, talking to them excitedly, his arms moving about as he spoke. He caught sight of me, did a double take, and froze in the middle of whatever it was he was saying. His reaction made everyone in the room turn in my direction.
I hardly registered the look on their faces. I was focused on Dennis, and only him. My fists balled up, and a sudden rage burned inside me. There he was, my best friend, trying to throw me out of my own company and acting like he had already taken my seat at the head of the table.
During the drive back from Ludwig, I tried to conceive how in the world he had thought he might get away with this. I wasn’t outside the country; I was in the same fucking state. What part of that asshole’s twisted mind actually thought that I would not accidentally turn on the news, or that Alice wouldn’t call me and give me a heads-up?
But I knew Dennis. He had probably been planning for something like this forever, concocting the perfect plan, just waiting for a chance to dig my grave and push me into it. He had moved as soon as I had disappeared, and he was working fast. If the meeting had gone as planned yesterday, I would have probably been fighting this battle from a completely different stand point. The mere thought of him sitting on this backstabbing scheme, waiting patiently, pretending to be my friend, angered me even more. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, and I had fallen for it.
At that moment, I hated myself more than I hated him. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to fucking kill him if his lies cost me my company.
“Remember, finesse,” Alice whispered as she opened the conference room door and let me in. “And remember your heart.”
One or two board members stood up to greet me when I entered, all fake smiles and plastic cheer, as if they were ready to welcome me back. Most of the others were looking at me with their mouths hanging open, like they were in complete shock.
The look on Denis’s face was priceless.
“Chance,” he greeted, trying to compose himself. “What are you doing back?”
I smiled, chose not to answer, and walked up to him. Without breaking my stride, I drew back my fist and slammed it into his face.
Finesse that, motherfucker.
Chapter 15: Chance
Alice was wailing at me. “I asked you to do one thing! One!”
Mostly everyone at the office had clocked out for the night. The few people that remained were packing their things and getting ready to head out. Every now and then, when they thought I wasn’t looking, they would sneak a peek at me and Alice as we argued inside my office.
Have to replace the damn glass walls.
We had just come out of a meeting with the lawyers after hours of assessing just how bad my punching Dennis would be. Alice was right, I hadn’t handled it with fucking finesse. But one look at that smug bastard’s face, and all I could think about was hammering at him until he really did have use for his dental insurance.
Alice paced back and forth in front of my desk, and all I could do was lay back on the couch and try not get her any angrier than she already was. At this moment, she made me feel like this was her company, not mine. It was interesting what crap like this made you realize about the people around you. It really put things in perspective.
“He’s going to sue, you know,” Alice said. “And he has enough witnesses to make it seem like you ran him through a meat grinder.”
“It won’t be that bad,” I sighed.
“Oh really?” Alice asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Sure, yeah, Dennis will probably forget about all this. Maybe he’ll come over and apologize for trying to screw you. You know what? Maybe you guys can go out and get a couple of beers, talk about old times, and wonder where the fuck things went wrong!”
“Alice!”
She stopped her pacing, took a deep breath and raised her hand to stop me from saying anything else. “I know, I’m sorry,” she said. She looked around the office and shook her head. “I guess it’s just…Chance, I really care about this place. I gave you some of the best years of my life, turned down good offers when they came, had your back through a lot. This isn’t just some job for me, you know?”
“I know. You’re preaching to the choir, Alice.”
She sat down on a chair next to me and folded her hands together. “I’d love to actually hear from the choir, if you don’t mind.”
I looked at her, scoffed and rubbed my eyes.
“What?” she asked.
“Do you want to go all the way back to my childhood, doctor?”
“This isn’t funny, Chance.”
“Seems fucking hilarious from where I sit.”
She opened her mouth to say something, closed it and then leaned closer. “Talk to me.”
I looked at her again, and this time she wasn’t Alice, my loyal secretary and perpetual sidekick. The way she looked at me, it felt like her eyes were boring right into my soul, reading me without me having to say anything. It was a side of her I hardly saw, and it felt good to see it now. Like I actually had a friend, and not just someone who cared about where their next paycheck was coming from.
I sighed, sat up and licked my lips. “I could use a drink.”
“Not the wisest of choices, Chance,” Alice replied.
“A cigarette?”
“I threw them all out.”
“You what?” When she gave me a look that told me it would be better not to argue, I closed my eyes and laid my head back, and tried to gather my thoughts. “This fucking sucks.”
She didn’t reply at first, waiting for me to go on, and when it was clear I was just going to wallow in self-pity, she asked, “What happened in Ludwig?”
I winced at the mention of the town, but for the life of me couldn’t think of what to say.
“Chance?”
“I met someone,” I said quietly.
Alice eyed me for a minute before saying, “So? You meet people everywhere.”
I shook my head. “Not people, Alice. I mean, yeah, sure, I met people, but there was this one woman.” I hesitated. “Ashlyn Carter.”
Alice raised her eyebrows. “In two days? You picked someone up in two days? In a town the size of a football field?”
I chuckled at the look on her face. “Actually, she kind of picked me up,” I said. “She delivers flowers to the motel I was staying at. Beautiful as hell, funny, smart, ambitious.”
“Oh my God,” Alice smiled.
“What?”
“You fell for her.”
“I don’t fall for anyone,” I sighed.
“You son of a bitch, you do have feelings,” Alice chuckled, sitting back in her chair.
“Stop that,” I warned, pointing a finger at her.
She raised her hands in mock surrender. “Whatever you say, Casanova,” she smiled. “Did you sleep with her?”
“Alice!”
“Well, did you?”
I looked at her for a beat before nodding. She clapped her hands together and laughed. “You don’t waste time, do you?”
“It’s not like that,” I said, getting up and stretching, acting like I was looking out my office window, when I just didn’t want her to read into any expressions she
might see on my face.
“Then please explain it to me,” Alice said. “Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like some small-town girl was able to catch and tame the wild Chance Ridder.”
“You’re over-exaggerating it,” I said.
“Would that be so bad?”
I turned to her, frowning. “What do you mean?”
Alice got up and crossed the room, leaning against the window and folding her arms across her chest. “Why are you fighting it?”
“I’m not fighting anything,” I said.
“Sure you are,” she argued. “There’s no way Chance Ridder would actually fall in love. No, Chance Ridder’s too good for love. Chance Ridder doesn’t need love in his life. He has everything else anyway.”
“Okay, I get your point.”
“Do you? Because I have a feeling you’re playing this down as much as possible, as if it didn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I confirmed. “Not anymore.”
“Not anymore?”
I sighed, hesitated, then finally said, “I asked her to come to Austin.”
“You did what?” Alice almost screamed, her smile reaching from one ear to the other, her eyes wide. “No way. So, I was right! You did fall for a girl!”
“Like I said, it doesn’t matter,” I pushed back. “She said no. She doesn’t want to leave Ludwig.”