Dane (A Foster Family Saga #1)

by Avery Phillips

  I scoffed and reclined in my office chair, resting my elbow on the armrest with a finger to the side of my face as I watched him ramble on. He was my father, a man I respected—I had to keep reminding myself of that. I bit my tongue, growing angrier by the second.

  “I put you into a leadership position because I expected you to step into what was rightfully yours as a Foster and be a damned leader!”

  “I’ve taken this company to greater heights in less than a year,” I countered loudly.

  “And in less time than that, you’ll bring it crashing down with your reckless behavior, if I let you!”

  “If you let me? You might think I’m some charity case, your good fucking deed for the lifetime, Dad, but you and I both know I’ve worked my ass off to be here. A master’s from Harvard, top of my class, without any assistance from you. I grew up in a shitty heap and now, whether you want to admit it or not, I’m a frontrunner in this industry thanks to my drive, my effort—not your fucking handouts. This company would still be a moldy afterthought if it wasn’t for me!”

  I had never spoken to my father in that manner before, and to do so was a sure sign my temper was flaring. I sighed in frustration and pushed down my ire. “I'm sorry, Dad. That was out of line.”

  My father walked around the side of my desk and stood in front of me. He took a good, long look at me. I was little more than a stranger to him, as he was to me, but we both recognized we were cut from the same cloth. I couldn't back down because of a few rowdy shouts and a handful of insults. I was the only reason Excelsis was as successful as it had become, and he knew it.

  Cornelius chuckled dryly and turned to gaze out at the city. “When are you going to learn, Dane?” His voice was mild, held a tenor of humor. “I’d think you’d have figured it out by now, with your humble beginnings.”

  I shifted in my chair, crossing my ankle across my knee, wondering what he was getting at. Cornelius turned his hard gaze on me and said, “There are millions of hardworking Americans out there right now, grinding even harder than you with less than an nth of your success. I am where I am as a result of acting responsibly with what was given to me. You are where you are because of serendipitous luck. And guess what? Your luck is about to run out.”

  “I make my own luck, father.” I rose and stood next to him, gesturing at the bustling city beyond the glass. “You never struck me as the type to use threats to try to rattle me.” I flashed him a smile, straightened my tie. I calmly walked across my office and opened my door to see him out. Our conversation here was done.

  Cornelius didn’t budge. “That was no threat. It’s a promise. If you don’t get your fucking ass in line, I’ll boot you out of here so fast, you’ll think all of this shit was a dream. Are we clear?” He ambled toward me, stopping when we were face to face. He said, “See how lucky you think you are when you’re peddling résumés and taking entry-level positions like the rest of the schmucks out in the real world.” With that, he casually strolled out of my office. I waited for him to get out of sight before my fist went smashing through the wall behind me.

  ***

  I was nursing my swollen hand in a bowl of ice water, sitting on the couch in my living room, watching television. I had taken a rare day off, although it was Friday and one of my busiest workdays. After the unexpected visit from my father, I was in a dark mood. I didn’t want to see anybody or talk to anybody, except Gervais, who sat on a club chair next to me for moral support. He relegated himself to listening to me bitch and moan away the morning. We weren’t taking calls; I didn’t allow him to take any.

  The night before had been a long one for me, spent trying to luxuriate in the silence and solitude of my penthouse, but all I could do was lie awake wondering whether it was Tammy or Tracy who did the thing with the disappearing dildo.

  It struck me that I hadn’t slept in my own bed since moving back to New York. If it wasn’t a one-night stand in a hotel, it was Annabeth and me at her place. I hadn’t talked to Annabeth in days, despite the fact she was blowing up my phone. I knew she was in a tizzy about my adventure with Hanna, and I wasn’t in the mood to play placating boyfriend. In fact, Annabeth was becoming tiresome. She wanted more than I was willing to give.

  Thus, Gervais was recruited to be a familiar face in the midst of strangeness. He was something like a real friend, barring the fact he was paid to be there for me. I was in a taciturn mood and feeling irritable. I wasn’t expecting any visitors and had no plans to receive any, so when someone buzzed, I pretended not to hear. Gervais raised a brow but didn’t get up to answer the door. The buzzing call alert would’ve continued to be ignored, if whoever wanted to come up hadn’t persisted. “Whoever it is isn’t taking ‘nobody’s home’ for an answer,” Gervais said.

  I glanced at my smart phone, seeing I had dozens of missed calls. I sighed in frustration and scrolled through them, knowing whoever was harassing me had probably called. I assumed it was Annabeth, but none of the numbers in the list were hers. Six of the unanswered were from my little sister, Selene. I hit the callback button. “Sorry I missed you,” I said when she answered.

  “Dude, where are you? I went down to your office and you weren’t there. I’m at your place, and you’re not here either.”

  “I’m here, I’m here. What the hell are you doing in the city?” I asked, scratching my stomach as I lazily padded to the call box to buzz her up. Minutes later, I was opening the door to her bright, smiling face. “Hey, Little Dove.” She pulled me into a tight hug.

  “Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen you in forever!” she gushed. She breezed into my apartment, dropping her luggage. I eyed the bags with surprise. “Look at you! You look scruffy as hell, but I like the shadow. Looks good on you.”

  “Thanks. Um, what are you…” I raised a brow, opening my hands questioningly.

  “I heard.” She had her hands on her hips and wore a sympathetic smile.

  “Jesus, I must be the hottest topic of the year,” I mumbled. “What exactly have you heard?” Selena shrugged and parked her bottom on the back of my couch. She gave a small wave to Gervais. “Oh, Gervais, this is my little sister, Selene. Selene, my executive assistant, Gervais. You can talk in front of him. He knows me at my worst.”

  “Pleasure to meet you,” Gervais said.

  Selene nodded in his direction and went on, “I heard that you’re in deep shit with Dad. Coincidentally, I’m out on summer break in time to come save your ass. I’ve got a whole weekend to help you get your life together.”

  I laughed. “I’ve got my life together, thank you. Why is everyone so bent out of shape about me hanging out with Hanna, anyway?”

  “Hello? Everyone's bent out of shape about a lot more than just you running off with some socialite. You've broken so many rules of social protocol, bro.”

  Gervais interjected, “I tried to tell him.”

  “What did happen that night, anyway?” Selene said. Gervais stared pointedly at me; I kept mum. There was nothing to tell.

  I ambled to my bowl of ice and shoved my hand back into the soothing cold. “Nothing happened,” I mumbled. Certainly nothing worth all the fuss. I groaned in discomfort as I sat back on the couch and patted the space next to me. Selene came around and plopped down. I said, “Dad wants to micromanage my life the same way he runs his business, and that’s not about to happen. Didn’t I tell you? I have a major problem being told what to do. Anyway, I’m the reason Excelsis is ahead of the pack. Before me, we were barely coasting.”

  “Well, allow me to play devil's advocate. I think he wants to guide you, not run you. Incidentally, Simon got a similar speech about tightening up and focusing on business. He's been so wrapped up in Lynn lately.”

  “Don't start,” I warned.

  “I thought you were over her.” Selene glanced around with interest then changed the subject. “Ya know, I was planning on staying at a hotel, but this place is nice.”

  “Two floors, a few thousand square feet of great taste,” Gervais
said lovingly. He had done his share of gushing over the chic decor, a real fan of the place. I remembered I had loved the penthouse when I first moved in. Now, it was like an old new toy. My interest was waning because I hadn’t played here enough. I wanted the dazzling city lights under a concealing dark sky, and I was already getting cabin fever after the night and half the day at home. On the other hand, I was hiding out from the writers and the watchers and Annabeth. Nothing was going to coax me out those doors.

  “I’ve got two guest bedrooms. Take your pick. You should see the view from the balcony. Want the grand tour?” I asked, shaking my wet hand. The fingers were stiff and ached dully. I grimaced as I dried the hand on my shirt, and Gervais manifested a clean towel to wrap around it.

  “Gimme the walkthrough. Sell it to me,” chirped Selene. Gervais was happy to tag along as I showed her around.

  The living room was minimalist, furnished sparely with a boxy leather sofa and metallic end tables. There was a grey shag rug beneath two black club chairs. The television was mounted above a granite fireplace. Black-and-white photographs of New York were on the white walls. The open floor plan flowed from living room to kitchen, where chrome appliances and dark wood cabinetry dominated. The range was in the center isle, and the refrigerator was hidden behind what appeared to be more cabinet doors.

  There was another hidden door that led to a cozy little pantry. The floor was white tiles. In one corner of downstairs was a half-bath done in marble-black and pearl-white checkerboard, with a black commode and a deep-basined sink with an elegant faucet. There were plush red bath rugs and scarlet bathroom accessories.

  I took them across the hardwood floor of the living room, to a round staircase that led upstairs, where I showed her the two guestrooms, and she chose the one with the balcony. There was a king-sized platform bed in mahogany with white covers. The room had an oriental feel, thanks to one of my exes, who happened to be an interior decorator.

  It was complete with bamboo in tall glass vases and a bonsai on display, and there was also a shallow wading pool with water lilies in the middle of the room. Selene fell in love with it as soon as she saw it. She had an adjoining bathroom. My room was up the hall.

  It occurred to me again that I rarely saw my place. I was so often at work or tangled up with love interests. I felt detached from the beautifully decorated rooms. It didn’t feel like home.

  “Have you eaten? Gervais and I haven’t,” I said to Selene. It was around midday. I planned on ordering delivery, probably sushi.

  “I could eat,” said Selene. She wanted to go out, but I convinced her we could have a fine dining experience right here in the comfort of my penthouse. I wasn’t up to sitting out in public, wondering who in the crowd had a camera and an agenda, planning to make the innocent lunch date with my sister into something more sordid. Gervais slipped away to the living room to pull up a menu on his notebook. Selene and I settled at the kitchen bar.

  “You have no idea what it’s like to be me,” I said, thinking how I would have to operate from here on out, with Dad on my back about my behavior.

  “I can imagine.”

  “You go to school. It doesn’t matter if you’re the daughter of a rich old guy. You’re just Selene. Not only am I Dane Foster, son of Cornelius Foster of Foster Venture Capital, I’m the fucking CEO of Excelsis. These media people want to know how I wipe my ass after I take a shit. They’re all over me, magnifying the worst dirt they can find. I can’t stand feeling like my life is under a microscope.”

  “You could step down.” Selene gave me a half-smile and a casual shrug. She knew there was no way I was going to leave all this behind. I was whining, I realized, sounding like I was suffering from affluenza, the hard times of being rich and famous. I burst out laughing when I thought about it.

  “I sound a bit ridiculous, I guess,” I said.

  “You do. How much of the shit you suffer is your fault, exactly?”

  I had to smile. “Okay, I take ownership. I like my nights wild and my women wilder. Who could fault me for that? I work every hour of the day. When I clock out, I’m off Cornelius’ time. I’m on my time. What I do away from work shouldn’t concern him. I mean, I get the whole thing about tarnishing the company name, but the way I see it, we’re making money. He should be proud of me.”

  “Sometimes I think you’re willfully blind, bro,” Selene said, then shrugged again. She glanced away from me.

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “It means you’ve gotta know nobody wants to do business with someone who lacks self-control! You see it as you having a little well-deserved fun. In reality, you’re the proverbial bull in a china shop. Running the streets, drinking too much—are drugs involved? No, don’t answer that. Dane, I know you had it hard coming up, and I know Lynn did a number on you, but that’s no excuse to live now like you’re still eighteen. You’re an adult. You’ve gotta act more responsibly. When you make the headlines, FCV makes the headlines. Of course Dad is right to come down and call you to task about it. It’s his company.”

  “Wow,” I said with a disgruntled shake of my head. “I did not see that coming.”

  “It’s for your own good. I told you, I’m here to help you pull your life together,” she replied. She put a hand on mine and I winced. “What happened to you?”

  “Punched a wall,” I said in embarrassment.

  “Felt better?” I grunted in response. She said, “I think you need to get out of the city.”

  “What? No, I work here. I live here. What are you talking about? Where would I go?”

  “Get a house,” suggested Gervais, who materialized next to me.

  Selene latched on to the idea. “Get a house outside of the metropolitan area. As long as you’re here, you’ll be tempted to live the lifestyle that’s sinking you.”

  Gervais said helpfully, “I can pull up some properties.”

  “Gervais, don’t listen to her! Selene, listen to yourself. What you’re saying means I’d have to commute, fight traffic every day. I have to be in the office by seven in the morning six days a week. Gervais, you know that. We don’t leave until at least seven in the evening—”

  Gervais casually pointed out, “I make the commute—”

  “That’s another thing,” Selene interjected. “You need a more reasonable work schedule. Burnout is real, guys! I’m a college student. Trust me, I know. I have no clue how you do it, Dane, up all night, up all day.”

  “That’s how I keep this company going, Selene,” I said.

  “It’s how you’ll end up having a breakdown. You can’t keep going at the pace you’re going. As far as commuting, welcome to the future. You can work from home and still do exactly what you do at the office. Right, Gervais?”

  Gervais beamed and pointed to his notebook. I rolled my eyes. “Whose side are you on?” I asked.

  “You know I’m right,” said Selene. “You’re working yourself into the grave. Look at those creases in your forehead. Your eyes look exhausted. You’ve aged a year in the few months since I saw you last.” I touched my face in alarm. She couldn’t be serious. “Is that a grey hair?” she teased. I touched my dark, wavy hair. “I’m joking, Dane. Calm down. My point is it’ll do you some good to get away from all this. Keep the penthouse apartment, but get a house in the country and stay out of sight for a while.”

  I considered what she was suggesting. It wasn’t the worst idea.

  “Excelsis is running smoothly under the new business model. You can scale back some,” said Gervais.

  I could communicate via videoconference and telephone. I’d have Gervais at my side for assistance. I could travel into the city when needed. The only thing I would be giving up was easy access to nightclubs and my favorite one-nighter hotels. Considering the trouble my lifestyle was getting me into of late, it wasn’t a mighty loss. “You’ve been planning awhile, haven’t you?” I asked Selene, chuckling. I was right. I could see it on her face.

  “Let’s just say
I’m here for a few days, so we can take a look around.”

  Our meal arrived and we sat down to eat. Gervais made a few calls to check on business, getting word all was well at the office. After Selene was settled, I decided to take her shopping, tabloid writers be damned. Any reporter worth their salt could research and find out she was my sister, and if they didn’t, it would make them look all the worse. I let Gervais leave early for the day.

  While Selene and I caught up on old times and shared an evening seeing the city, I couldn’t help sinking back into moodiness. We got back to my apartment by dusk. Selene enjoyed the hot tub while I sat out on the deck, wishing I could see the stars. I thought about things Selene had said about what was happening in my life.

  If I had a do-over button, maybe I would do things differently. Namely, I would've made the decision for Lynn as soon as I realized she felt like she had to choose between me and Simon. If there was a choice, then being with me wasn't an option.

  There was no such thing as a reset for life, however. I didn’t believe I had gotten much wrong in the first place, but apparently my indiscretions since moving to New York could cost me the company.

  It was hard for me to consider changing how I did things simply because someone else forced my hand. Deep down, I knew Selene was right and Cornelius was serious about removing me from the family business if I didn’t live up to his expectations. The possibility of struggling to find my way hovered over me like a bird of prey, and I could see the shadow of the life I had run from inching closer and closer. I didn’t have a choice. Being more discreet wasn’t even on the table. A full-fledged rebranding was in order for my public image, as I had done for Excelsis. With that in mind, I contacted Gervais to tell him of my plans. “Hire the best PR people you can find.”