by J D Worth
“We use ‘ma’am’ as a simple sign of respect in the South.”
Lilith stares at her. The hum of the central air seems to increase tenfold during the long, dreadful moment. The chill in the air drops by ten degrees with her presence. Annabelle scrunches her neck so far down that if she had a turtle shell, she’d disappear.
“That was a rhetorical question, Annabelle. Unless I ask a direct question, do not say another word. The Aster Resort reflects a Manhattan oasis in this sandy stretch in the middle of nowhere. Staff should promote the upmost level of professionalism as well. I’ll have to bring in my own people to make this happen. Please hand over the bag to Ms. Aster.”
Annabelle places a canvas bag filled with books at my feet. I dare pull out the thickest and stare wide-eyed at the study material. “You want me to take the Series 7 and 63 broker license exams now? I thought I was going to take these after I graduate from college.”
“Why do you think you spent the last three years in that banking internship? The information is fresh in your head, and you’ll have four weeks until your scheduled test dates. William wants the broker exams behind you before you head off to Harvard.”
My bottom lip descends. The book slips from my grip, falling into the bag. Lilith stole my only two weeks of freedom in a mere second. She glances past Annabelle. “Where did the other one of you go? Mary Jo. Betty Mea. Whatever, I can’t keep track of the charming double names you all seem to have here.” She points to the empty hallway. “The portly one who will lose ten pounds if she wishes to remain employed.” I dip my head down, having to watch yet another Aster employee, failing to meet her unrealistic standards.
“Ah, her name is Tallulah, and she recently had a baby—”
“Did I ask you that?” Lilith shakes her head with her eyebrows lifted high. “No. See how I am shaking my head no. Please follow along, it’s rudimentary.”
“You asked her to check on the flowers.”
“That was twenty minutes ago. A task that should’ve been completed yesterday. Where is she?”
“She sent a text. The flowers are all set. I believe she is taking her break now.”
“Oh, is she? What is more important than this?”
“She was called back early from maternity leave—”
“And?”
“Umm, she couldn’t put off pumping any longer.”
“She’s gone off to … pump?”
“Lilith,” I say, leaning forward, readying myself for her wrath. “I’m the reason Tallulah’s here.” Not a single hair moves out of place as she turns her head my way. Even though she’s ready to wage a war, she maintains a flawless outward appearance. Her lips twitch a fraction. “I let the guest coordinator know that you would need assistance today after you left your personal assistants in New York. I was trying to be helpful. In light of the small pool of employees here, we’re lucky Tallulah came to our call of assistance when she legally doesn’t have to, being on maternity leave that is. She also can’t be fired for pumping breast milk during her break.”
“Everyone out!” Lilith orders. Fredrick and Annabelle scoot toward the door while I remain seated and unshaken. Once the door closes, she strikes her rigid hand against my cheek. I lift my chin high, ignoring the stinging blow. She knows not to leave a mark. As soon as the redness fades, she’ll be gone. “What is your end game? Questioning me in front of staff, and you daring to refuse an escort. You are an Aster. You can’t date just anyone off the street.”
“I don’t need to date anyone. The Aster Empire is entering a new phase by heavily courting women investors. Those same independent and intelligent women are obtaining more degrees than men are for the first time in history. They now have a substantial say where they invest their money, whom they work for, and are setting records by starting their own successful businesses. All of these strides are shifting corporate America in the process. These women also happen to be in the height of their childbearing years. Do you wish to set a precedent for firing a nursing mother? That is counterproductive when you’re courting this very demographic.”
Her eyes cut deep while circling the spot she slapped me. She’d slap me again if it weren’t for the wedding. “You and your social justice warrior causes. I blame your mother.”
“Good, she set the bar. We both know Georgina won’t. Even though you’re using her image to promote this false ideology, those same working women still know better. They want to look up to a woman who is educated and knows the value of earning money besides marrying a trust fund. You could’ve been this role model, Lilith. You helped build Aster Holdings from the ground up. An intelligent woman like you should be in the forefront, not in the back.” Lilith winces a millimeter. Finally catching her sore spot, my head pitches back an inch.
“You only have a fraction of knowledge of how things work.”
“It’s pretty clear how things work. Your husband and your son failed to name you as part owner of the family business.” Her eyes flare. If Lilith has a heart, it’s cracking about now. “It must kill you to know one day Aster Holdings will be mine simply because I’m the next heir in line.”
“It’s about who yields the most power, and I have outshined both Warren and William.” Her voice heats up as rage bubbles under her surface. “We’ll see when it’s your turn. That is still years away, and you have yet to prove yourself.”
“I’m being proactive by looking to the future. Wall Street has historically overlooked women. The egregious pay gap between the sexes is nearing an expiration date. Only six percent of Fortune 500 CEO’s are women, and that number is on a steady climb. Lilith, you were a trailblazer, refusing to settle for secretarial work and going on to receive your MBA. Working alongside your husband, and then your son, always pulling your weight. These influxes of well-educated women are catching up with you. They’re making enormous gains in the political landscape and the business world, not settling for anything less.”
“Running an empire isn’t as easy as you think. A few tweaks of gender norms won’t change a damn thing on Wall Street. Your internship should’ve squashed those ideals. How many of your fellow twenty-five interns of the brightest business grads were women?”
The vice grip in my chest squeezes again as if Lilith is strangling me this time. “You know I was the only woman in my group. Changes are happening as we speak while members of the old boys’ club are choking on their outdated ideals. These ideals that Wall Street also holds so dear, do not match the massive shift of demands for equality in our country. Wall Street does not like anything that rattles their base and blows away preconceived notions in the younger generations that women are the inferior sex. Being at the top of Aster Holdings, you can make massive changes happen for women now, yet you’re not even cracking the glass ceiling.” I know she won’t, but I will.
Lilith refuses to respond to me. She knows she made a critical error by placing Georgina as the face of modern women the Aster Empire wishes to attract. She couldn’t risk an educated businesswoman knocking her from her throne just yet. I’ll have no qualms when I do. Her time at the top is ticking away, and I’m carrying a damn sledgehammer.
She pushes off on her heels, leaving sharp impressions in the lush carpet. She holds the door open, directing Fredrick back to work. He takes a detour to the bathroom. Lilith taps Annabelle’s clipboard, but the young woman’s eyes remain on me, on my reddening cheekbone. I reach up and touch the raw reminder of her wrath. “Make sure Mr. Everett has a matching groomsmen boutonnière.” Annabelle adds the latest demand to the long list, trailing behind Lilith, who is rushing off to spring a surprise attack on her next victim. Fredrick emerges, double-fisting two bottles of champagne.
“I’m going for functional drunk.” Fredrick doubles his efforts with me, reiterating, “She’ll have my head.”
“Looks as if she’ll have mine too before the night is over.”
3
Fredrick pops open the bottles of champagne a
nd hands me one. “You need this more than I do. Tonight I hop on a plane and head for New York, but you’re stuck here with your family.”
“I was on the verge of an unprecedented two-week break from them, but Lilith and Georgina are intent to interfere.”
“You’re an adult, but Lilith seems especially strict with you. How did you manage your freedom before she yanked it away?”
“Georgina is having our Fifth Avenue apartment remodeled, so I took the amazing opportunity to stay behind in Haven.”
“William wants you to trade on the floor like after you pass those tests?”
“Sooner than later. He’ll hand over a small portfolio for me to manage. All so I can jump into the family business. He expects me to run Aster Holdings one day. Now I’ll be studying for tests instead of enjoying down time. I’m staying at my mother’s cottage down the beach from this resort.”
“I didn’t know the Aster Resort had luxury cottage suites.”
“They don’t. Jonathan Wakefield built three cottages for his family.”
“Wait, the Asters let this Jonathan Wakefield build cottages so close to their resort? I thought this place was ultra-exclusive?”
“Jonathan Wakefield was my other grandfather. He co-founded Aster Wakefield Trust with Warren Aster long before the monstrosity of Aster Holdings and Trust took over. Sadly, the Asters are intent on erasing his legacy, making it seem as though they accomplished everything on their own.”
Fredrick perks up. “Oh, this is juicy news to me. Très juicy.”
“Oui. Très juteuse. Lilith hates the South. She’ll never admit this beachfront property was the humble beginning of our legacy.”
“And she speaks flawless French. I’m officially swooning.” He places bobby pins around my hair and tops the twist off with the diamond hairpins. He circles around my front, comparing the hairstyle to a photo on his phone. “Do I get to hear your personal ‘once upon a time’ while I do your face, or are you going to leave me hanging?”
“You’ve already seen my trashed suite courtesy of my future stepmother, my aggressive grandmother who disrespects my own wishes, and sense the enormous pressure from my father to pass broker licensing exams. That pretty much sums up my life. I don’t mean to pry, but you’re not like the other stylists we’ve had. What is the draw to the Aster family if I may ask?”
“It’s the other way around. I have a line of hair products coming out, and I’m opening a swanky new spa near Park Avenue. Georgina heard of my plans and wanted a foot in the door as my premier client in New York. She actually demanded that I be her stylist for the wedding. I hung up on her.”
“That’s hilarious! Nobody says no to her.”
“I’ve worked too hard, climbing my way up for fifteen years not to be treated like shit. My clients in Hollywood are classy, not trashy. Lilith rang me after, and I explained the situation. She asked how much, so I threw out a crazy number, hoping she’d go away. She agreed. After I picked my ass off the floor, I coordinated with my bank. This dream expansion is happening much sooner than expected. What about you? I’ve met all the Asters, and you don’t fit the same mold.”
“We’ve established I’m not like Georgina, and I don’t plan to be another Lilith. When she had my father, she wasn’t willing to give up any power in the workplace. She passed him off to a nanny and kept pace with Warren. They may have shared the boardroom, but they slept in different bedrooms. I would never trade a marriage for business.”
“Romance isn’t big on your list?”
“Wall Street is one of the last great cement walls that women need to conquer. Families are a given for men. Women, on the other hand, have to sacrifice everything to be there. If you want to discuss anything in the business world with Lilith, you need an MBA, and you had better know all the correct answers. I’ve seen Lilith stop in the middle of meetings to put top executives, managers, and analysts in their places. She knows what she’s talking about, and she’s always right. The public chastising is another way of reaffirming her place of power. She takes respect by force and maintains her power through fear and intimidation. That’s not me. I’ll earn every bit of respect myself.”
“You’re making her sound like a mob boss.”
“You made her sound like one too.”
He chuckles before sipping straight from the bottle. “I guess you got me there. She read me the Riot Act about your family first thing this morning.”
“Sorry, she is like a mob boss when it comes to our ‘family’ business. The real shocker comes when Lilith learns I never intend to marry. Marriages in our circles are for alliances or money. My parents had to get married if you know what I mean. Any love they had dissipated after my arrival when real life set in. They spent the majority of their marriage apart and used the power of happiness for public displays and photo ops. When the show was over, they never touched. I believe the same was true for Lilith after she married Warren and had the required Aster son. The Asters have produced a long line of successful sons, which makes me the odd ball.”
“My mother and grandmother are hairdressers who are overjoyed I’m taking our legacy to the next level.”
“That’s lovely.” I smile at him as my mother’s beautiful face flashes before my eyes. “My mother earned a degree and launched her own successful Haven Interiors design firm when I started school. William never once touted her success. Instead, he used her as a showpiece as if she was just a beautiful vase he collected.”
“Your mother was a true class act who raised you without any sense of entitlement. Work what your momma gave you.” Winking, he slaps his ass.
“Growing up, I heard how much my mother’s parents loved one another from their time as high school sweethearts to their deaths. A rare feat in the modern world. Wanting their relationship to be successful, they worked at their marriage. That is real love and a life lesson. Things don’t fall in your lap, you’re not entitled to anything, or anyone loving you back. My mother told me to seek an authentic love that would burn me to my soul. However, she failed in her own journey. She had a soft heart and caved to my father when she married him. I believe she regretted that decision the rest of her life.”
“Heavy stuff to deal with before your father ties the knot again.”
I force out a weighted breath while he dabs on foundation. Finally sharing a small piece of my world makes the anxiety driven panic attack loosen across my chest. “I’m trying. It’s all rushing back today.”
“This helps.” He chuckles, lifting his bottle of champagne to his lips. “I seemed to stumble into your Aster world completely unprepared, so I had to arm myself. I’m only this buzzed because of your relatives.”
“Obviously, Lush Diva.” I give him a side-eye, and he winks back at me. “No worries, I won’t take after Lilith. My path to the top will be paved with respect and hard work, just like my grandfather Jonathan Wakefield did.”
“Yes, finally back to the elusive Jonathan Wakefield. Do I get to hear about the people who are responsible for the remarkable woman in front of me?”
“Fredrick, I’m sorry to disappoint, but there is nothing remarkable about me. I can’t even choose my own dates unless they’re behind my grandmother’s back.” I close my eyes as Fredrick readies the mascara for application. “Now, Jonathan was a remarkable man who had an amazing knack for numbers. His coworker Warren, at the same big broker house, had a knack for schmoozing clients. He also had the infamous ‘golden touch’ you’ve heard about. To truly build a powerful and mighty empire on Wall Street you need to be able to do the complex math, and you need to see the markets with absolute clarity. Many people can do the math. Only a handful have the golden touch. Warren made everything golden for the Asters.”
“Oh, Warren and Jonathan were the dynamic duo.”
“Exactly. Their firm passed on an oceanfront ‘marshland’ investment deal. Warren sprinkled his magical touch and wooed Jonathan in. Combining their money and talents, the
y purchased the dirt-cheap land and used the real estate as collateral to start Aster Wakefield Trust. Jonathan was a family man. Warren—married to his money. The two men shared the same drive for success, but their personal motivations led to their separate destinies.” I pause, thinking how much I’m like my Grandfather Jonathan.
Fredrick thumps me on the arm. “We were just getting to the meaty part. Then what happened?”
“They flew down here and decided to split the property for tax reasons. Jonathan took the left side of the property, which has a private cove and a tree-lined landscape. Warren scooped up the open span of beach ready for a future resort, or at that time, a large sprawling estate. The hedge paid off. Within a year, coastal real estate skyrocketed, and they had their collateral. They built a massive firm with their risky endeavor. Jonathan fell in love with the area. The calm was a great retreat for his family away from the bustling city. He built a cottage and named the area Haven Cove after this little town of Haven. Warren built tennis courts and a golf course, smoozing clients.”