by Alina Jacobs
Later that afternoon, when Wes was back in Connecticut, he received news that Harrington Thurlow had accepted the settlement from Walter and would be dropping the lawsuit against Wes.
He was also told that the adoption ceremony had been scheduled for the next morning. After the call ended, Wes tried not to be upset. He didn't want to admit that it still hurt that Hank truly didn't care about him and didn't want to bother fighting for him.
The adoption ceremony was quick. Dana met Wes and the Holbrooks at the courthouse in New Cardiff. She didn't look all that excited.
"You don't have to go through with this," Wes told her as they walked into the judge's chambers.
She shrugged. "I'm tired of the lies. Let's do this."
After Wes and his sister were officially Walter Holbrook's children, Walter asked them if they wanted to have a celebratory lunch.
"I have to work," Dana said abruptly and left.
"Maybe another time," Wes told Walter. "I have a meeting."
Rhonda, Brayden, and Robert met Wes at his townhome that afternoon. He could tell Rhonda was furious as soon as she walked into his living room.
"The Holbrooks won," she said.
"They may have won this battle," Brayden said. "But we can still win the war."
Rhonda's lip curled up as he spoke. Then, quick as a snake, she picked up a bowl on the coffee table and threw it at Brayden.
"Let's not lose our heads," Robert said. "Wes still has the ace up his sleeve."
"Breaking Liz's heart won't bring down the Holbrooks," Rhonda scoffed.
"I've been looking," Wes said. "And I've aired the dirty laundry I could find. A lot of it is already public though."
"I know," Rhonda said as she paced, her shoes almost silent on the carpet. "It doesn't help that Nancy Holbrook keeps a tight leash on their reputations. The Holbrook Foundation fundraisers, the luxurious parties—everyone in the family has been groomed to carry on the Holbrook legacy. And of course, everyone loves Grant and that stupid little corgi of his."
"There must be people in that posh town who dislike them," Robert said. "Have you heard any scuttlebutt?"
"No," Wes said.
"Those types always close ranks," Rhonda said.
"Should Wes still hurt Liz?" Brayden asked after a moment.
Rhonda smirked at him. "You just want to swoop in to pick up the pieces when he does, don't you?" She looked at Wes, her eyes sharp.
"I trust you can still break her heart," Rhonda said. "You haven't fallen for her too hard, have you?"
The thought of Brayden coming near Liz made Wes want to punch something. He struggled for a moment to control himself then said flatly, "There's not a problem."
After Rhonda and Robert left, Wes struggled with the guilt and the feeling that he was the one about to be ruined, not Liz or the Holbrooks.
One thing was for certain. Wes did not want to hurt Liz. In fact, especially after Rhonda so casually offered to throw her to Brayden, Wes realized that he couldn't hurt her, and he couldn't break her heart. He was going to have to tell Rhonda that the plan was off.
That still didn't solve the problem of the Holbrooks. They screwed over his employees, and the Holbrooks had to pay.
He took Kal out for a walk, hoping to clear his head. He realized it was a horrible idea when he saw one of his old employees walking toward him as he strolled along one of the canals. Wes steeled himself for the awkward exchange.
"Hi, Trevor," Wes said, shaking the man's hand. He took a breath then jumped into the apology. "Look I am so sorry. Your job loss was all my fault. I'm trying to make it right—"
Trevor laughed. "It's all good, man," he said.
"It is?" Wes asked, confused.
"Sure!" Trevor told him. "No hard feelings! Pretty much everyone went to Mark Holbrook's new company. A lot of us are starting late January. The Holbrooks took very good care of us. In addition to the severance pay from Walsh Systech, Holbrook gave us a pretty sweet payout. For me at least, it was enough where I wouldn't have had to work for a year if I didn't want to. I was able to stay home with my newborn while my wife could return to her job. It all worked out. I could spend time with my family over Christmas, and now I have a great job with Mark's company."
Wes felt slightly nauseous. "Everyone was offered a job?" he asked.
Trevor nodded enthusiastically. "All the people who wanted a job and who weren't, you know, complete slackers went to Mark's new company. Even Mrs. Crawford, the former HR director is working there. Isn't that something?"
"Yeah it's something," Wes said. His head felt like it was filled with water.
"Hey, look," Trevor said. "It sounds like the Holbrooks are having a rough time in the media, but I support you guys. I fight the good fight on the internet in between late-night feedings. Speaking of which, I have to get back home. It was great to see you." He shook Wes's hand and jogged off.
Wes knew he should wait until the next morning when he was scheduled to be back in Manhattan, but he had to confront Liz.
He loaded Kal in the car and drove as fast as he dared back to New York City. He was driving against traffic, so he arrived before Liz left the office.
Wes jogged through the lobby and slid into the elevator, then he and Kal ran down the hallway to her office.
"Wes," Liz said, clearly startled when he threw her office door open.
"All my employees have jobs?" he blurted out. "And a generous payout? Was that you?"
"Oh," Liz said with a self-conscious laugh. "Not all of them. A few people are undecided—they didn't want to go work for Mark's startup, so I've been trying to find them jobs at places where a few of my friends work."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Wes demanded.
"I didn't want to tell you until I could say that I one-hundred-percent fixed everything. I know how upset you were about the layoffs," she said. She stood up and slowly walked over to him. "Also I didn't want to seem like I did it just to make you like me," she continued, crossing her arms over her chest. "Your former employees do need jobs, and Mark's company is growing surprisingly fast, and he needed experienced, seasoned workers. Holbrook Enterprises absorbed a good portion of your salesforce, and the ones we didn't went to Mark."
Wes sat down on the edge of her desk.
"What?" Liz asked. "I told you we would take care of them." She patted him on the arm. "Let's have dinner tonight," she told him. "Just give me half an hour to finish this presentation for tomorrow."
"I can't do dinner tonight," Wes mumbled. "I have something I need to take care of."
She looked concerned.
"It's nothing. I just—can you keep Kal? I'll come back later and pick him up," Wes said. "I'll have something special planned for you later. I promise."
On the way back down to the parking deck, he sent a message to Robert that he needed to speak with him.
Robert's reply came as Wes opened his car door.
I'm in Manhattan. Can we call?
Wes replied,
So am I
Meet at my apartment
Wes realized that he didn't want to ruin Liz or the Holbrooks. They had stolen his company, yes, but they had been very generous to Wes's employees, which was all he really wanted. He needed to call off the revenge plan. He knew Robert and Rhonda would be furious, but Wes hoped that by telling Robert, his COO could break the news to Rhonda.
Unfortunately, when Wes arrived at his apartment, Rhonda and Brayden were there along with Robert.
"I invited the whole gang if that's okay," Robert said as Wes unlocked the door. "Brayden has some good news he wanted to share."
Brayden seemed jumpy. His eyes blinked rapidly.
"Are you on something?" Wes asked.
"Just high on life, man," Brayden said.
"Let's hear this grand plan," Rhonda said.
"You ready for this? I have the perfect plan to steal Walsh Systech back from the Holbrooks. Svensson Investment can secretively put up the money to force Holbrook to sell t
he majority of their portion of Walsh Systech, then Svennson Investment would be the majority shareholder."
"How would that work?" Robert asked.
"Svensson would force a sale of extraneous assets and have one of the Svensson brother's' companies, Platinum Provisions, buy them. Within that asset package, we could hide the high-quality intellectual assets."
"They would never go for that," Wes said. "The Holbrooks aren't stupid."
"Yes," Rhonda said, "but you and your team could make enough updates to the software and robotics that the products would be functionally different from an intellectual-property standpoint. We could fold enough of those evolved products into an asset sale that they probably wouldn't notice."
Brayden jumped up and down. "The cool part is that once you're under Platinum Provisions, you could start a new company. It would be owned by Platinum Provisions, but at least Holbrook wouldn't be in control."
"Sounds complicated," Wes said.
"I can do it!" Brayden said. Wes could practically see his pulse jumping in his neck. He must have taken half a bottle of Adderall.
"Thank you for the suggestion," Wes said carefully, "but—"
"It's not free," Brayden interrupted.
"Then what do you want?" Rhonda asked.
"Liz," Brayden replied.
"No," Wes growled.
"Just push her my way after you're done with her!" Brayden whined.
"That's not the plan anymore," Wes said. "And I don't want you anywhere near Liz."
"I just want a chance with her! I'm not going to kidnap her or anything," Brayden pleaded. "Just set me up for success."
"Shut up, Brayden," Rhonda snapped, looking at Wes. "What did you mean that wasn't the plan anymore?"
"I'm not going to ruin Liz or the Holbrooks," Wes said. "I made a mistake. They didn't do anything wrong." He turned to Robert. "They gave the employees very generous settlements, and they found them new jobs."
Robert looked furious. "That doesn't matter!" he roared. "It was the principle of it all! They stole our company." He shook his head. "You're just like them. You were never on our side. You want to be a Holbrook? Fine," Robert said. "You can burn like one."
57
Liz
The next evening, Wes told her to meet him in front of the Holbrook Enterprises tower for a special date. Liz wondered if this was it. Was he going to propose? She felt slightly jittery as she stood outside the building.
"Are you ready?" Wes asked when the car drove up.
Liz kissed him and settled in the back seat, leaning against him.
"I missed you," he said.
"Apparently, if you had to drive back from Connecticut just to see me," she told him.
The car pulled up in front of a fancy boutique hotel. The staff all greeted them, and the manager escorted them to the room.
"Wow!" Liz breathed when she walked inside the expansive hotel suite. The table was set for two. There were candles and large bouquets of roses all around the sitting room and a fire in the fireplace. She followed a trail of roses into the bedroom and saw a bucket of champagne and more rose petals on the bed. The bathroom had floating candles in the half-filled tub.
"This is so romantic," she said to Wes when she walked back into the bedroom. He was standing in the doorway, looking softly at her.
"I wanted to do this at the resort," he said, "but then, well."
Was this it? Liz wondered. Was he about to propose?
"Yeah, it was tense," she said. "I don't know what is with Kate and Grant. They had a perfect wedding and a perfect life. Now they're at each other's throats."
"It's probably the stress, the drinking, the PTSD," Wes said. "We have to promise ourselves that we won't be like that."
There was going to be an us! Liz thought happily.
Wes stepped closer to her.
"Liz," he said, "you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You make me so happy."
He pulled her up against him and slid his hands under her suit skirt, pulling at her panties.
Wait, she thought, where is the ring? When would Wes do the whole get down on one knee part?
Wes must have realized something was wrong because he drew back. "You seem disappointed," he said.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just—" Liz didn't know how to broach the topic without sounding spoiled.
"You can tell me anything," Wes said.
"It's just," Liz started. "Rhonda said—"
"Rhonda?" Wes barked. He sounded angry, and he grabbed her by the shoulders. "What did she say to you?"
Liz was stunned by the outburst, so she blurted, "Rhonda said you were asking her about engagement rings. That's why you two were spending so much time together, and I thought… I just, well… in hindsight, it was stupid because you wouldn't have had time to decide on a ring, find it, and buy it." Liz knew she was rambling, but she couldn't stop. "That would be dumb, because you can't just go buy one off the shelf. I mean, I know one can, but you wouldn't, not for me."
"You thought I was going to propose to you?" Wes asked. He looked slightly confused, which was understandable, considering the word vomit Liz had just sprayed him with.
"Yes," Liz said.
"And Rhonda said I was asking her for ring ideas?" Wes asked.
"I'm sorry. I guess I ruined whatever surprise you had planned," Liz said, looking down at the plush carpet. She felt stupid. Wes looked annoyed and closed off. "I'll be right back," she mumbled and fled to the bathroom.
The floating candles taunted her. She blew them out and turned on the tub faucet to scalding hot. Unbuttoning her suit, she waited for the tub to fill up the rest of the way and silently berated herself. She had acted like a greedy little child, like all she wanted from Wes was the proposal and a big ring. She was worse than Brandy.
What if he wasn't thinking about proposing to her soon? Maybe he was thinking about proposing to her a year from now. She didn't know. She had probably made him feel uncomfortable. They hadn't known each other all that long after all.
When the tub was sufficiently full, she stepped in, hissing at the heat. She dunked her head under the water. When she surfaced, she heard knocking on the door.
"Sorry," Wes said, opening the door and padding over to her, his feet bare. "I didn't hear you answering. I thought maybe you slipped and fell or something. Or choked on a rose petal."
She smiled in spite of herself.
"I've been picking them up off the floor," he said, showing her the handfuls of rose petals. "They're going to be crushed into the carpet. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to clean crushed rose petals out of the carpet?"
"No," Liz said.
"I used to help my mother with her cleaning company," he told her, tossing the petals in the trash can. "After Valentine's Day was the worst. Half-rotten rose petals everywhere, candle wax all glued to the tabletops."
"I guess that could kill the romantic in anyone," Liz said.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know Rhonda had talked to you."
"It's okay," she said. "It's my fault. You know how I can be. You've seen my scrapbooks."
Wes smiled, his lower lip caught in his teeth. She leaned up and kissed him. One hand slipped down her wet skin to grab a breast, and his fingers teased her nipples.
"I'd go lower," he murmured, "but my shirt will be soaked."
"I guess I'll just have to finish my bath alone," she purred. Wes stood up, pulling her out of the tub.
"They brought up snacks and wine," he growled, "but there's something I want first."
Wes carried Liz to the bedroom, depositing her on the bed. He hadn't swept up the rose petals from the bed, and they clung to her wet skin. She lay sprawled on the bed and watched as Wes undressed in front of her.
He took off his expensive watch, setting it and his cufflinks down on the nightstand. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off then slipped his undershirt over his head. The motion slightly tousled his hair. He looked rakish and a little d
angerous as he undid his belt and threw it to the floor. He unzipped his pants, and Liz could see his erection through the fabric of his silky boxer briefs. His pants hit the floor.
"I want to see the rest of you," she told him, jerking her chin up slightly in the direction of his crotch. He winked at her and slowly pulled his underwear down.
Liz swallowed hard at the sight of his cock fully erect. She beckoned him closer and slid across the bed. She let her hands run down the ridges of his abs, tracing the V that led to his cock. She heard his sharp intake of breath as she tugged at his shaft.
Then she ran her tongue along the length. Wes's hand grasped the back of her head, holding her still.
"I had something else in mind." His voice sounded slightly strained, and Liz felt pleased with herself. She wanted to see him come completely undone.
He picked her up, and she squealed as he set her back down, facing away from him. Liz was on her hands and knees, and she felt Wes grip her backside.
"Much better," he said, then she felt his tongue and mouth between her legs, seeking her pleasure.
Liz moaned, her hands gripping the sheets as he worked her into a frenzy. Right when she thought she was about to come, he stopped.
"Keep going," she gasped. She looked over her shoulder and watched him stand up. Then he pulled her back, sliding her onto his cock. She groaned as he fucked her. It was hard and fast, just what she wanted. She needed the release. Two of his fingers made fast little circles on her clit, and she came a few moments later. She felt him still moving in her, and she let out little panting noises as his cock ignited aftershocks of her orgasm. When his movements because erratic and more forceful she knew he was close.
After Wes came, he half collapsed on her, wrapping his limbs around her.
She lay happy and content in his arms. He left after a moment and returned with the tray of wine and snacks the hotel staff had brought them.
"Gimme," Liz said as he poured her a glass of white wine. The ice it was resting in had melted, but the liquid was still cool down her throat.
"You know," he told her, as she sipped the wine, "my short-term lease is up on the apartment."