Contemptous CEO

by Myers, K. L.

  “You guess? Let’s say you had a child. Wouldn’t you want to know how their day went every day?”

  “Honestly, Maddie, I’ve not given it much thought. Having a child in my life hasn’t been at the forefront of my career path over the years. I’ve just pretty much decided it’s not in the cards for me. I’m married to the company. I wouldn’t have time for a child anyway.”

  Austin stood by patiently, the passenger side back door open, as he waited for our arrival. However, Maddie brushed past him and dashed into a cab recently vacated by a group of inebriated women.

  “Maddison,” I called out as I raced to catch her. Just as I reached the cab, she turned so she didn’t have to look at me. My knuckles knocked against the glass just as the cabbie pulled away.

  “Mr. Livingston, do you want to follow her?”

  Sidestepping Austin, I climbed into the car and closed my door. I waited for him to settle in before I responded. “Take me home. I think its best we leave Miss Hightower alone.”

  Pulling my phone from my pocket, I shot off a quick text.

  Xander: Did I say something wrong?

  My place was only five minutes from the restaurant, and I still hadn’t received a response from Maddie by the time I arrived. My frustration with her not having the decency to explain herself put me in a sour mood.

  “Don’t bother,” I snapped at Austin as he reached for his door handle “I can see myself out, and don’t be late tomorrow. I’ll expect you at six a.m.” He didn’t deserve my bitterness. I wasn’t angry with him. I was hurt, and my way of dealing with hurt was to get angry.

  I had just poured myself a brandy when I heard my phone vibrate on the table. I knew it was my ebony-haired minx without having to look. I felt it deep inside.

  Maddie: No, you didn’t say anything wrong. Your answer was what I needed to hear. This job thing isn't going to work. I need to think this through a bit more. You’ll have my decision by Monday.

  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to work together. What the Fuck?

  Chapter 16

  Xander

  I tried to be patient and give Maddie the space to think through her issues. I replayed the evening over and over in my head last night. What could I have possibly done that made her so mad? One minute, we were saying goodbye, and the next, she was jumping into a cab and telling me she didn’t want to be part of Livingston.

  She asked me a hypothetical question, and I answered it. I’ve been so focused on making Uncle Malcolm proud, I lived and breathed Livingston Technologies twenty-four/seven. I barely had time to date, let alone contemplate what life would be like with a family. Besides, I didn’t want one. My only visions of a future with a wife and child ended when I left Maddie behind twelve years ago. She owned my heart. People say young love comes and goes, but that wasn’t true for me. I fell in love with her the first time I laid eyes on her. It was a cliché—love at first sight—but I knew I was going to make her mine, and I did.

  She doesn’t want to work for you because you don’t want a family.

  Could that be the reason? She bolted right after she asked me the question. Was she worried I’d expect her to dedicate her life to the job like I have mine? Shit, maybe she had a family. Perhaps that was the issue. I assumed it was a boyfriend she had to check her schedule with, but conceivably, it could have been a husband. Maybe they have a child. Damn, I hadn’t considered that. In all our conversations over the years, we’d talked about my life and what was going on during that moment. Now that I think back, she’s never really shared much of her personal life other than work or what she was doing when I called her. We never talked about boyfriends or girlfriends. Subconsciously, I didn’t want to know about any other man in her life because she’s always been mine.

  I pulled out my cell phone and sent her a text.

  Xander: Can we talk about what happened the other night?

  Uncle Mal made it possible to have Maddie back in my life once again. I couldn’t let a simple misunderstanding keep her from accepting the job. It’s like life had come full circle for us. I always planned to have her by my side as I conquered my career. Yes, maybe it was in a different capacity. I envisioned her as my wife, by my side, but this was better. We’d be collaborators, and together we would take Livingston to the next level.

  Maddie: Please let me be. I told you I’d have an answer for you Monday.

  * * *

  Sweat dripped from my forehead as I dropped the ball in the service zone and whacked it hard against the front wall. We were three games into our racquetball cutthroat match as we started the fourth. Hollis, Lucas, and I had each won a game, and now the winner of this round claimed bragging rights as King of the Court. Today was just what I needed to take my mind off Maddie; only, it wasn’t happening.

  “You should just call her,” Lucas bellowed as he returned the serve.

  The ball bounced against the sidewall and raced toward me. I slammed it back toward the front wall, barely missing the back of Hollis’s head.

  “Hey, watch what you’re doing! Elodie would prefer I survive this venture and not come home with a welt on my face.”

  “Whatever.” I was surprised I had even won a single game with my head being anywhere but here.

  “Seriously,” Lucas said with a grunt, “you need to call her and hash it out. Either that, or stop whining about it.”

  Hollis pushed me to the side, ensuring the ball stayed in play. “Look, fly out there and talk with her face to face. Trust me. I learned the hard way with Elodie to confront the problem head-on.”

  I stepped left and stopped — face to face. I was about to reply when the ball smashed against my lower back, dropping me to my knees. “Fuck!”

  “Oops, sorry.”

  Lucas wasn’t sorry. I knew he did it on purpose. He and Hollis had been tossing advice my way all morning long, and I didn't want anything to do with it.

  “You okay?” Hollis held out his hand to help me right myself.

  I reached my arm around to rub the sting away from where the ball had slammed into me. “I’ll be fine.”

  Lucas stood in the serve zone and bounced the ball once, then caught it in midair. “You know, Hollis is probably right. You should do this face to face.”

  Knocking the ball around was supposed to help me not think for a while, but instead, it’s done anything but help me forget. “Can we please talk about something else for a while.”

  Lucas served, and Hollis rallied. “Hey, get a load of this.” Grunt. “I saw a license plate this week that said VGN4LIF.”

  The ball flew past me. “Virgin for life?”

  Hollis returned the ball. “Or Vegan for life.”

  Lucas lobbed it against the right wall before it ricocheted off the front wall. “Either way, there’s no meat.”

  His response had me laughing so hard, I swung and missed the ball completely. The three of us stood in the center of the court, chuckling uncontrollably.

  “Seriously,” Hollis spoke, “I think you need to confront Maddison in person. She’s got a good head on her shoulders, and she’s going to be an asset to Livingston. I was impressed by her the other night.”

  Lucas was bent over with his hands on his knees. “Yeah, talk it out with her, or call one of your bimbos and fuck her out of your system. Now, serve.”

  I glanced at Hollis. Holding my hand out as our eyes met, and I mouthed the word ball. He tossed the ball into my hand, and I bounced it once, then smacked it hard. Not hard enough to injure Lucas, but hard enough to drop him to the floor.

  “Payback’s a bitch, motherfucker.”

  Chapter17

  Maddison

  I had the whole flight back to California to think about my future with Livingston. Sandwiched between two huge men, the guy on my left spent most of the flight staring at my tits when he thought I wouldn’t see him. I’m sure it didn’t help that I was so squished between him and the older man on my right, my arms were pushing the girls tightly together. Once
both of them fell asleep and were more relaxed, I was able to have a little more breathing room. I pondered what it would look like working for Xander, someone who had no understanding of what a work/family life balance would be.

  I was no closer to a decision on Saturday when I received a text from him wanting to talk about what happened. I wasn’t sure how to explain it, but hearing that kids weren’t in the cards for him and that he was married to his company, threw me for a loop, and honestly, it broke my heart a little. I had to think of someone other than me, and a decision that would affect Brookie couldn’t be made without talking to her about it as well.

  I was always upfront about everything with Brooke. She was my confidant, and, sadly, my best friend, but I was still the authoritative figure, and she respected that. What I said was the final word, but that didn’t mean I didn’t allow her to voice her opinion. Now was one of those times when we needed to talk. We had just finished eating Sunday breakfast, and now was as good a time as ever to address the subject.

  I looked across the table at my little girl as she typed away on her phone. How had she grown up so quickly? “Brookie, we need to talk about my job.”

  Her thumbs kept moving at rapid speed, but when she completed her task, she placed the phone on the table beside her.

  “What gives? Oh, and before you start, that was Bridge, and her mom is dropping her by in just a few so we can hang for the day. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Sure.” I nervously bit on the corner of my lip. Now that I had her full attention, I was unsure of how to start the conversation about work.

  “Mom, is something wrong? Did your boss not like you?” Her eyes rolled, and she took in a deep breath. “Please don’t say you got canned.”

  Her sense of humor was what I needed in that moment, and it caused me to laugh. “No, nothing like that. You know I’ve always tried to be home for you by five at night and attend all your afterschool functions, but…” I took in a deep breath then let it out “…with this new job, if I agree to stay on, it would require more of my time.”

  Brooke starred at me, titled her head slightly, and scrunched her nose. “Does this mean I’m going to be one of those kids who only see their parents on the weekend? Like, you won't be home when I go to bed, and you’ll be gone by the time I get up in the morning?”

  My eyes widened. “Oh, God, no. I’ll be here every morning when you get up for school, and I’ll be here every night to tuck you into bed. It’s just that I may have to make more business trips to New York, and we’ll have to figure out what that looks like.” Brooke visibly relaxed as soon as she heard me say she wouldn’t become a latchkey kid.

  “Oh, well, that’s kinda okay, I guess.”

  I saw the moment she concocted her next idea. A smile grew across her face, and her eyes grew.

  “Hey, I could come with you to New York. Wouldn’t that be cool? Hanging out in a hotel, and eating room service? I could be like Eloise at the Plaza.”

  “Yeah, Brookie. That will never happen, so get that idea out of your head.”

  I wanted to laugh when I saw her pouting, and she gave me the sad puppy dog eyes. Usually, that had me rethinking my decisions, but not on this one. No way was she coming to New York with me.

  “So, you’re all right with me staying on with this company, then? You don’t mind late dinners and a few business trips?”

  “Mom, I’m the kid here. You need to do what’s right for you. But thanks for asking my opinion.”

  My heart melted. “I’d never make a life-altering decision without asking you first.” I reached across the table to give her hand a little squeeze. “Thank you for being the best little girl ever.”

  “Stop calling me a little girl. I’m going to be a teen really soon.” She pushed away from the table. “I’m going to go get dressed so I’m ready when Bridge gets here.”

  I was in the middle of washing dishes, wearing sweats, and my hair was pulled up in a messy bun when the doorbell rang. Reaching for the dishtowel, I wiped my hands as I made my way to the front door. When I pulled it open, my eyes immediately grew larger. There, before me, stood a much younger version of my sexy-as-hell neighbor and a petite woman with auburn hair and green eyes, which I assumed was his mother. But it was the shaggy, long-haired goat wearing a Khaki blanket draped over its back with patches and a yellow neckerchief around its neck that surprised me. It took everything in me not to disrespect them and laugh uncontrollably in their faces.

  “Hi, I’m Aubrey. This is my son CJ, and this handsome little one is Pixy.” She gestured to the goat. “Pixy, here, is the mascot for Troop 232. We’re selling popcorn for our troop.”

  The young boy stepped in front of his mother. “I’m selling popcorn for my troop. Would you like to buy some?”

  How could I refuse to buy popcorn? “What flavors do you have?”

  Aubrey handed her son a flashcard. “Uhm, we have popping corn, and that’s ten dollars. My favorite is the chocolatey caramel crunch, and that’s twenty-five dollars, but if you’re a cheese lover, there’s the cheese lovers’ collection for thirty dollars, or you can get the chocolate lovers collections for sixty dollars, but that has pretzels in it.”

  “Which do you recommend, young man?”

  The handsome boy looked up at his mom, and she gave him a nod. “Well, my favorite is the chocolate lover's collections, but mom says I shouldn’t just tell people that, cause they’ll think I just want them to buy the expensive stuff.”

  I stifled a laugh. “Well, if that’s your favorite, then I’m going to trust your connoisseurship and go with the chocolate lovers.”

  Once again, he directed his attention to his mother. “Mom, what’s consueshit?”

  “Connoisseurship,” she corrected her son. “That’s where she’s trusting that you know what you’re talking about and is accepting your recommendation.”

  Little CJ’s smile grew bigger. “Oh, it is my favorite. Mom said I had to stop eating all the profits. Whatever that is. But I could eat it all day and night.”

  Just then, Brooke came up behind me to see who was at the door and saw the goat dressed as a cub scout. She immediately started screaming cheerfully, and I watched in horror as the goat went stiff and tipped over onto the ground.

  My hand raised to my mouth. “Oh, my God.”

  Aubrey chuckled. “It’s okay, Pixy faints when he’s startled. He’ll be fine in a moment.”

  Sure enough, by the time we completed our transaction, Pixy was back to normal. Though, I wondered how safe it was for that goat to faint at every door. Brooke had gotten enough goat kisses to last her a lifetime and ran to the bathroom to wash her face when I closed the door.

  I’d made it as far as the living room when the doorbell rang once more. I assumed it was the goat family again, and I wondered if they had forgotten something. I smiled brightly as I pulled the door open, but it wasn’t them. My heart stopped, and my smile faded when I found Xander on the other side.

  “Mom, is that Bridge?” Brookie called from the hallway, and I knew I was going to have a heart attack. That blood-pumping organ in my chest was beating uncontrollably, and I couldn’t catch my breath, no matter how hard I tried. I swallowed hard and was about to speak, when Brooke came around the corner.

  “Mom who is it?”

  That’s when my worlds were about to collide.

  Chapter 18

  Xander

  I should have called first.

  The dreaded thought that she wouldn’t be home played over and over in my head. I wanted the element of surprise on my side. If I had called, she’d have just told me to stay away. No, I needed to have this conversation with my stubborn girl face to face. We needed to hash out her concerns because, frankly, now that I’ve seen her, I don’t ever want to go back to just phone calls. I needed her in my life.

  The home wasn’t what I expected for the president of a company. It was quaint — pale yellow with tan trim and a pale blue door with the same color shutters. T
he front yard was well maintained, with planter boxes that lined the front of the home, filled with a variety of colorful wildflowers.

  I pulled my rental to the curb, opened the door, and stepped out. Immediately, my senses were inundated with the smells of California. The air was crisp, not stagnant the way things were back home. I hadn't realized there was such a difference because I’d become used to the city life. Here, there weren’t buildings to trap in the fumes from the taxis or to block out the sunlight. Trees and flowers grew everywhere, another thing I’d taken for granted over the years. I’d been so focused on work and the company; I didn’t have time to stop and remember what it had been like here. New York had become the norm to me, and my daily routine allotted me little time to reminisce throughout the years.

  I stood there for a few minutes, taking in several deep breaths. Looking up at the blue sky, I let the sun warm my face before heading up the walkway. I’d never been this nervous before. Hell, I closed million-dollar deals daily, and my palms never sweat, and my heart never races as if I’ve just run a mile. Yet, coming face to face with the love of my life has me nervous as hell.

  My hand shook as I pushed the button on the doorbell. I stood patiently.

  Calm the fuck down.

  I’d said the words over and over in my head. When the door opened, the first thing that I saw was the beautiful smile on Maddie's face. But the minute our eyes met, her smile disappeared, and a look of horror replaced it. We stood silent, staring at each other. I was about to speak when I heard a young voice from somewhere in the house call out, asking her mom if someone was at the door.

  Her mom. Her fucking mom. Maddie had a daughter!

  My being there was a mistake. She had a family. I wasn’t prepared to find out she had a husband and children. Anger clawed at my insides. Jealousy consumed me. What was I going to do now?