The wheels in Hugo’s mind began spinning on overdrive. If Junie hadn’t walked into his office that day, this would be a no brainer. It’s exactly what he would have been working toward. Nail the job at hand. Make it able to run without you. Move on the next bigger and better thing. If it weren’t for Junie this would be easy. And wasn’t that the problem? Wasn’t that exactly why he kept himself out of these situations? He knew better.
The questions swirled around him like a wave that bowled him over and sucked him out to sea. Would James even be interested in what she had to say? Would she be able to stand in this very room and do justice to her product? Did she have that ability? If she didn’t, then what exactly was he gambling on? Walking away from the job offer likely meant walking away from a future at West Oil. There were other companies, but this would get around. People would hear how fickle and foolish Hugo was to put a woman he liked above his career. If he did take the new position with West Oil, he could keep helping Junie. He could use some money of his own to invest and they could keep looking for other opportunities.
It all came down to this: Did he think Junie had what it took, or did the risk, now that it included his own future, outweigh the reward?
“I think you’re missing out on a great opportunity.” Hugo stiffened his back. “You might find out, after someone else makes the investment, you’ve let a good one get away.”
“I’m investing in you, Hugo. I’m not looking for anything else right now. So you tell me, am I making the right choice? Are you going to head up my training department, keep your personal life out of the office, and drop the rest of this?”
“I’ll need another couple weeks to get the rest of these processes tied up and onboard a couple more people to make sure it keeps working after I move on.”
“Sure.” James looked pleased that Hugo had finally made the right choice. “I’d like you to shadow the current leader of the training department. She’s going to be taking a position overseas. Try to identify where our weaknesses are and bring me a proposal of improvements. My assistant will get you set up.”
That was it. James had his focus back on his work. The moment was over. The meeting was done. But something much bigger had ended. Something inside of him crumbled. It was hard to say exactly what had broken. Maybe it was his integrity. His honor. He’d spent years trying to distance himself from his father and in a three-minute exchange he’d managed to sink as low. This was a self-serving choice that would strike a blow to someone who’d already spent most of her life being tossed around.
For a moment, as he headed out of the office, he considered changing his mind. He could tell James he was wrong and that Junie was worth the risk. But the damage had been done. Her credibility was damaged by Hugo’s hesitation. There was no point. There was no going back.
“Oh Hugo,” James called before he could round the corner out of the office. “My wife wants to have people over to our house for dinner tonight. I invited all my friends, and she reminded me that was only two people. She said I better fill some more seats or she’s going to invite people I can’t stand. You I can stand.”
“You’re inviting me for dinner?” Hugo’s ears were ringing. His mouth felt like it was full of sand. All he wanted to do was go to Junie and try to justify what he’d done.
“No.” James folded his arms across his chest. “I’m telling you to be there at six. Bring that Aden guy. He sounded like he’d be a good time.”
“Sure.” Hugo nodded and backed out of the office as quickly as he could. If it wouldn’t draw attention, he’d run down the hallway full speed. His necktie felt like a noose.
Chapter 22
Hugo paced around his office and waited. It was the middle of the afternoon. His father, as had been the case most of Hugo’s life, would be busy. But that didn’t matter. He knew the second he sent the email they’d jump into action. They wanted Hugo to play ball too much to ignore him finally reaching out to them. He could only imagine the chatter. Is he finally ready to run for office? Does he want to make up with his father and launch his political career?
When his videoconference finally rang in, he felt wholly unprepared. Most of what he’d planned to say evaporated like dew under the hot rising sun. His mind was suddenly blank.
His father sat with a large well-decorated bookshelf behind him and leaned in close to the camera. “Well, I’ll be damned. I didn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. My son calling me.”
It wasn’t as if Hugo hadn’t seen his father in the years since their last argument. He was on the news often enough. But still, looking at him he looked as though he’d aged a decade. “It’s been a while.”
“Yes it has, son. But I knew at some point you’d come calling. So what is it? What have you done?” He folded his arms and leaned back smugly.
“What do you mean?”
“I knew at some point you’d screw something up and call in your favors.” His smirk, the charming one that everyone seemed to adore, spread across his face. It made Hugo ill to see how excited his own father was to think he’d screwed up. Yet he had. He was completely right. But it wasn’t a favor he wanted. Hugo wasn’t certain what he called for. Maybe he was hoping it would be like looking in the mirror and trying to ensure the reflection didn’t match.
“That’s not why I called. I don’t need you to dig up any dirt on anyone. I don’t need you to blackmail someone into submission. Those are your games. Not mine.”
“Oh, I see. Then you’re calling to tell me you’re ready to throw your hat in the ring? There’s a city council seat opening up and you’d be a shoe-in. I own everyone in that area. It’s a small start, but if you bite off more than you can chew everyone will scream nepotism. You put a year in there and I can fast track you to a senate seat. Let me make some calls.”
“You really think I want to go into politics? You are delusional.” Hugo shook his head and considered slapping his laptop shut.
“I refuse to believe you’re calling to say hello.” He leaned in again and scrutinized Hugo closely. “Come on, the private sector isn’t everything you thought it would be. Are you out of money? Did you screw up so bad they bounced you back to entry level or something?”
“I’ve just been offered a position that would blow your income out of the water if not for all the special interest bribes you take.”
“When you catch up to me on those we can talk. Otherwise I’m not impressed. How many times did I tell you that you never get anywhere playing by the rules? Not unless you make them or break them. Otherwise you’re a sucker and fool who ends up being taken advantage of.”
“That’s right. What did you always tell me? If you didn’t have enough people to step on, you’d never get high enough.”
“And your mother always filled your head with how being compassionate was the real virtue. Let’s take stock. How did all that end for her?”
There it was. That was why he had called. The unfinished business. He wanted answers. He wanted answers to the questions that lingered in the corners of his mind like grenades, their pins pulled half out.
“But how did it end for her, Dad? The flu?”
“Your mother was a troubled woman.” His father drew in a deep breath and painted on a fake mask of sadness. He could turn his emotions on and off like a light switch. If politics wasn’t his career, surely acting would have been. “You know how she was toward the end; she wasn’t taking care of herself.”
“She couldn’t sleep.” Hugo’s mind flashed with images of his mother. Dark circles ringed her eyes. Her always primped hair was becoming matted and unruly. All her breezy effortless beauty had ben zapped away. She was rail-thin and her cheeks were drawn down. “You knew she wasn’t eating. You drove her crazy. She didn’t start that way. It’s what you did to her. And then what? Did you get her all those pills too?”
“If you’re going to accuse me of something, at least have your facts straight.”
“The facts are what you and whoever
you bribe come up with. There is no real truth when you are around. You broke her. You destroyed her. It wasn’t the flu. Her death is on your hands.” Hugo’s voice was sharp and accusing.
“You called for this? God you are more like her than I ever imagined. Are you sitting around sulking, wondering why she decided to leave you? Why was she able to fill her hand with all those pills and not give a damn about what happened to you? This is sad. Get your shit together and move on. I have.”
“You didn’t have to move on, you were already gone. You never loved her. You used her.”
For once in all the years Hugo could remember his father’s face flashed with pain. Genuine shock and pain. “Don’t tell me how I felt about your mother. You don’t know a damn thing.”
Hugo held his breath as his father gathered himself and returned to his normal stoic unaffected posture. “You did love her? Then why the hell did you treat her like garbage? Why did you cheat and lie and ignore everything she needed? If you give me nothing else for the rest of my life can you please just answer that question honestly?”
“Oh,” his father shook his head as though he’d just figured out a complicated math equation, “it’s a woman. That’s what has you twisted up like this. Fine, I’ll answer your question. Why would I hurt your mother when I loved her so much? It’s not as hard to understand as you might think. Love is hard. Messy. Undefined. You can’t tell if you’re winning or losing. You don’t know if it’s going to last or not. It’s fickle. It’s ugly. But power is control. Power is finite. You have it or you don’t. You get it or you lose it. You are in control. Loving your mother was not nearly as compelling as power. Is that where you’re at? Is that finally how you and I are alike?”
“No,” Hugo scoffed, but his face gave him away.
“So you have it all worked out then? You chose the woman over the power? Good for you. Gold star. Now when that ends and you look back and realize what you gave up, call me. That’s when you’ll be ready to try things my way.”
Hugo couldn’t muster a response. He had no moral high ground to stand on. He wasn’t as despicable as his father on a daily basis, but when it counted, he’d sunk just as low.
Chapter 23
“Maribel, tell Aden to leave himself open for dinner tonight. I’ll get him the details later.” He nearly had his office door closed before it struck him. “You know what, you’re coming too and let Junie know. We’re all going to James’s house for dinner.”
“What?” Maribel burst through his half-closed door and eyed him wearily. “It went that well that he invited us over for dinner?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then we’re crashing a party?” Maribel nibbled her lip as though the thought of this was exciting.
“He invited me to dinner, and I’m inviting you three.”
“What have you done?” Again, Maribel looked far more impressed than worried. “Is this when Junie is going to make her presentation?”
“I think so.” Hugo paced around his office. “I couldn’t get her a meeting.”
“She’ll understand.” Maribel closed the door and lowered her voice. “Don’t do something crazy like ambush the guy at his own house. Junie will know you tried your best.”
“I didn’t.”
“You didn’t what?”
Hugo stopped abruptly and dropped his head shamefully. “I didn’t try my best to get Junie what I promised. Instead I took a better position at the company and backed off when James warned me to. I gave him my word that I wouldn’t have Junie around the office. He thought it was juvenile and foolish to try to pitch something just because I liked a woman.”
“First of all . . .” Maribel had to put a hand to her head to try to keep up with the information. “You took a different job?”
“A much better one.”
“You sold Junie out for the chance at a better job for yourself?”
“Yes.” Shame filled him like a clogged gutter. “I’m scum.”
“And now you’re going to take her to dinner at his house and let her loose on him? This is your last ditch effort? I’m pretty sure the only outcome here is you lose the new job, tarnish your reputation, and embarrass the hell out of Junie. She’ll never go for this.”
“She’s not going to know what’s on the line.” He banged his fist into his palm. “Just make sure she’s ready for dinner tonight. Tell her she can’t bring all her props and presentation stuff but make sure she has all the data and trial results in her bag. I’m going to be tied up the rest of the day. I’ll meet you all there tonight.”
“I can’t tell if this is painfully romantic or absolutely idiotic and career ending.” Maribel bit at the back of her pen as she contemplated it.
“Junie deserves a better man than the one who just left James’s office. If this thing blows up on me tonight, then so be it. I just want her to have her chance.”
“And what if she wants you more than she wants anything this company could give her? Don’t you think you should give her the opportunity to decide that for herself?”
“I think one of the paths leads to a life she deserves and the other leads to a man who doesn’t deserve her. There is no choice to make.”
Maribel left his office with a huffy breath and grumbled about how stupid men were. She was right. He’d known that most of his life, but he’d also been foolish enough to believe somehow that didn’t apply to him. When push came to shove he’d be a better man than his father. His DNA might be laced with selfish dreadful tendencies but he could will himself to rise above it. After all, half of him was still made up of his mother’s traits. But maybe the more years that passed without her guidance the further he fell from grace.
There was still time to make this right. Or at least try. Didn’t the hope for redemption lie in the effort? No. Fixing what you break doesn’t make you a hero.
Chapter 24
“I don’t understand.” Junie held up another blouse and shook her head. The cut of the shirt wouldn’t flatter her. “Why are we going to talk to him about it at his house? That seems weird. I mean, it could be a good sign. Maybe he takes really promising meetings at home.”
“Maybe.” Maribel’s slumped shoulders and far-off stare weren’t lending much confidence. “You should wear the red top with the black pantsuit. That’ll look best.”
“Oh, you’re right.” Junie snapped up the clothes from Maribel’s closet and held them up. “Thank you again for your help. I never thought I’d come down to Texas and have so many people rally to my side. If it hadn’t been for you and Hugo, I’m not sure what I would have done. Now look at what we’re doing. Dinner with the CEO of a huge company at his house. It’s amazing. And you and Aden are coming too. It’s great.”
“Do you love him?” Maribel blurted out the question as though she was a volcano erupting. “Hugo is helping you out, but do you love him?”
“Do I what?” Junie felt a pang of something she couldn’t put her finger on shoot through her stomach. “It hasn’t been all that long. I don’t just go falling in love with people.”
“So you don’t?”
“Why? This is weird, Maribel. What does it matter if I love him?” Junie wrinkled up her face and tried to make sense of this weird line of questions. “Oh shit. Do you love him? Is that what this is about?”
“No.” Her answer and the expression on her face made Junie sure she was telling the truth. “I have no feelings for Hugo at all. He’s a good leader I guess, but at the end of the day they are all just looking out for themselves. I wanted to make sure you weren’t in love with him.”
“You think it would be bad if I was in love with him?” Junie posed the question mostly to try to chip away at her own answer. She had too much pride to admit that she’d already fallen head over heels for him. How could a girl like her admit that to a man who swooped in to her rescue again and again? That was for weak women. Women who couldn’t take care of themselves.
“I just wanted to know.”
“Well, I’m not. I care about him. I want to keep spending time with him. He’s a good man, and I’m finally catching some breaks. That’s thanks to him.”
“Don’t give him that much credit. This was your idea and your hard work. He flashed a little cash around and called in favors, but that doesn’t take away from what you’ve done. And dammit, I can tell by that look on your face you do love him.”
“I care about him,” Junie corrected. “Things are going well, Maribel. Trust me, I’m the queen of expecting things to fail. I aim high but expect to hit rock bottom. I never get my hopes up. But all this feels different. I’m going to let it feel different.”
Maribel bit at the side of her cheek and nodded her head. “James might not go for it. He has a reputation for being a hard ass.”
“I’m going to charm him. Hugo will be there to reinforce all the data. I am actually starting to think dinner at the West house will be the perfect setting. It’s all going to work out. I’m sure Hugo was in there today laying all the ground work.”
“Promise me something.” Maribel handed over a pair of black high heels. “No matter what happens, you won’t give up. There are other paths. There are other men. I’m rooting for you, but I want you to promise me if it all goes sideways, it won’t break you.”
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