Contemptous CEO

by Myers, K. L.

  “Angry doesn’t begin to summarize how I feel.”

  “Okay, I get it. But if we are going to work together, we need to air this out and move on.”

  Maddie paused for a moment, but when she spoke this time, her voice had taken on a softer tone.

  “Unless, of course, you have no desire to continue working together.”

  I was quick to respond, but unlike Maddie, my voice held its original terseness.

  “I can't very well fire the mother of my child and leave her with no source of income to provide for her, now. Can I?”

  “I suppose not. But can we please talk about this?”

  Reaching over, I lifted the handset from the cradle and placed it against my ear. Hearing Maddie out didn’t mean I had to forgive her, but maybe I’d have explanations to the unanswered questions I had.

  “Go ahead. Tell me your side.”

  I sat and listened to her explain how she had only my best interest in mind. She wanted me to be able to fulfill my dreams; ones she thought I would let go if I knew I was going to be a father. I wanted to argue with her, tell her she was wrong and that it wouldn’t have changed anything. But I knew that wasn’t true. It would have changed so many things. I wouldn’t have gotten on that plane, at least not without her. And Malcolm…I’m not sure I could even begin to guess how he would have responded then, considering how he admitted in his letter to the fact that he had only thought of himself and not me.

  “Why, Maddie? Why not tell me after she was born? How long were you going to wait? Or where you ever going to tell me?”

  She sounded like she struggled to control her emotions, but I heard every crack, hiccup, and sob.

  “At first, I was going to tell you, but every time we spoke, you were so excited about each challenge you accomplished, and before I knew it, you were being promoted to Vice President, then President. In what seemed like the blink of an eye so much time has passed, I knew you’d be so furious that I hadn’t told you. So I was a coward and kept my secret.”

  I waited patiently as she blew her nose and composed herself.

  “I convinced myself that not ever telling you would be best, even though I was deceiving our daughter and letting her believe that one day, you’d come home to be with us. I’m so sorry, Xander. You deserved better than that.”

  “You’re damn right, I did. You deprived me of watching our daughter take her first steps. Cheated me out of hearing her say her first words, and worse yet, you didn’t believe in us. You took away my opportunity to do the right thing. You made that decision for both of us.”

  I’d been on an emotional rollercoaster for the last thirty minutes. Highs fueled by anger and lows fed by sadness. It was time to get off this ride and focus on work. We both had jobs to do, and I had nothing left to say.

  “I think it’s time we get back to work. Please set up the meeting I requested, and we can continue this conversation later.”

  Without waiting for Maddie to respond, I hung up.

  Chapter 27

  Xander

  Before I boarded my jet, I sent a text off to Maddie, letting her know what time I’d arrive, and that I’d be picking Brooklyn up for dinner. Conversations were still tense between us. I wasn’t ready to bury the hatchet just yet, but I also didn’t want to use it on her anymore either. I’d come to terms with everything that had happened, and nothing either of us said or did now could change the past. We needed to focus on the present and the future. Co-parenting was not going to be easy from opposite sides of the U.S.

  I knew better than to show up empty-handed to see my little girl, so I had a little surprise for her. The other night, during my nightly call with Brooklyn, she shared how much she wanted a pet. She stressed that, someday, she wanted to be part of the 3F club, like her friend, Bridgette. Curiosity had me asking what the 3 F’s were. To my surprise, it was Fins, Feathers, and Fur. As much as I wanted to show up with a puppy, I knew the better gift would need to have fins. So, here I sit with a bowl beside me on the table with a Ryukin Goldfish, whose tail was twice the size of its body.

  “You ready for take-off, Flipper?”

  I watched as its mouth opened and closed several times and murmured the words “ready” in a squeaky voice.

  “I hope you like your new home. We’ll get you out of this little bowl and into a new aquatic home when we arrive. How does that sound?”

  Again, with the squeaky voice, “sounds great.”

  Was I really talking to a goldfish and answering myself with what I presumed my fish would say?

  I grinned for a moment before bursting out laughing.

  * * *

  I stood on the front step, fishbowl in hand, and rang the doorbell. I expected Brooklyn to answer the door, but to my surprise, it was Maddie, wearing a pair of Daisy Duke shorts and a black tank. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail on top of her head. She looked exactly like the twenty-something version of herself I had walked away from all those years ago. My dick twitched at the sight of her. I tried to form words to tell her she looked beautiful, but they wouldn’t come. Instead, I shoved the fishbowl at her and smiled.

  “For Brooklyn. She wanted a pet. I figured this was a safe bet.”

  “Brookie, your dad is here,” Maddie called out as she took the bowl from me and smiled. “I see you're already giving in to requests.”

  “What can I say? I’m making up for the lost time.”

  Brooklyn rounded the corner with a squeal when she saw the fishbowl her mom held.

  “You brought me a fish. Thanks, Dad.”

  “Fins, check. Now we’ll work on feathers and fur.”

  Without hesitation, my little girl wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me tight. It felt good that she’d openly respond as if I’d been a part of her life every day for the last eleven years.

  “Excuse me,” Maddie spoke up, “feathers, fur…what am I missing here?”

  I was about to answer her, when Brooklyn interrupted. “Oh, nothing.”

  The little con artist smiled the biggest toothy smile I’d ever seen before winking at me and rushing to her room with her fishbowl. There was an awkward silence between Maddie and me now. After a moment, she looked over her shoulder, then back at me.

  “I haven’t let on to Brookie that you and I are not on the best terms right now. She believes everything is fine. Please roll with it. I don’t want this to be another worry she’ll carry.”

  Maddie must have seen the perplexed look on my face because she quickly explained.

  “If she thinks there is something wrong between us, she’ll make it her responsibility to fix it. She just wants us to be a family. She’s been waiting for this for a long time.”

  “And whose fault is that? Maybe if I’d known sooner, we wouldn’t have to pretend.”

  “Please, Xander. I know I messed up.”

  We stood there in a visual standoff. Maddie’s eyes pleaded and were filled with remorse that almost had my heart ready to forgive her, but hearing my daughter's voice coming toward me, quickly evaporated that thought.

  “Dad, I want Mom to come with us.”

  I looked to Maddie, hoping she’d throw me a bone and help me navigate these rocky waters of denying my daughter her request.

  “I’m not dressed, baby girl. Besides, I think you and your father should do this one alone. There will be another time we can do it together.”

  “Fine. Let's go, Dad.”

  Brooklyn moved past me, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the sidewalk. I looked back over my shoulder to see Maddie standing in the door, so I mouthed the words “thank you” to her. With a nod, she closed the door behind her.

  Once inside the car, I asked the little sprite next to me what she was hungry for. It was as if I had asked her to solve Einstein's theory of relativity. It started with Mexican food but was quickly followed by all the reasons that was a bad idea. She then moved on to Italian and, once again, immediately shot that idea down for multiple reasons.

/>   “How about we take a drive downtown and find one of those awesome burger joints your mom and I used to visit. You do eat meat, right?”

  Brooklyn turned in her seat to face me, with a dumbfounded look upon her face. One I couldn’t help but smile at.

  “I’m a kid, Dad. We love burgers and fries. Probably the fries more than the burgers. But yeah, burgers are a good thing.”

  “Burgers it is, then.”

  Chapter 28

  Xander

  Two hours, a basket of fries, and a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich later, I felt like I knew just about everything there was to know about my little girl. She was a huge Jonas Brothers fan, and secretly, she wished she was Priyanka, so she could be married to Nick.

  “Mom and I used to have breakfast and dinner together every night, but now that she has this new job, she said that was probably going to change.” Brooklyn frowned and seemed to ponder something briefly. “I think she should quit her job if you ask me.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yeah, her boss is mean, if you ask me. He’s going to make her travel, so she won't always be home with me. Old Mr. Bernstein never made her travel.”

  Clearly, Maddie hadn’t told our daughter I was her new boss. “

  “I guess you don’t like your mom traveling?”

  Another French fry found its way to the ketchup, then to Brooklyn’s mouth. She bit half of it off, then dipped the remaining part back in the red condiment.

  “Oops, sorry. I double-dipped.” She smiled sheepishly.

  “It's okay. So, about your mom traveling?”

  “Oh, yeah. Well, I told Mom I didn’t care cause I didn’t want her to worry about me, but truthfully, I love sleepovers with my bestie but Mrs. Harper’s cooking is just awful. I’d rather not have to stay with the Harpers when Mom’s out of town. But don’t tell her that, please.”

  It became apparent that both my girls were good at keeping secrets from each other. Neither wanted the other to worry about them.

  “Maybe your mom should work for me. What do you think about that?”

  Brooklyn’s eyes widened as a smile crossed her face. “That would be so awesome.”

  As fast as her smile came, it fell from her face. “Wait. You live far away, too, so that means Mom would still travel, and I’d be home with the Harpers.”

  “How about if we limited the amount of times she had to travel to see me? When she does, you can come with her and stay at my place?”

  “Yes. Yes. Yes, that would be so fun. I want Mom to work for you!”

  “Let’s see if I can convince your mom.” Now I was the one keeping secrets.

  The last fry made its way from the plate to Brooklyn’s mouth. When she finished chewing, she took the napkin from the table and wiped her mouth.

  “I’m done. Can we go home now? I want to tell mom she should work for you.”

  The ride back to Maddie’s was anything but relaxing. The radio played as Brooklyn sang at the top of her lungs, off-key. I made a mental note to myself to keep all future car rides to a short distance. There was no way my nerves would be able to withstand an extended period of this.

  As I pulled up to the curve and put the car in park, I hadn’t expected to go inside. I had anticipated my daughter would be tired of her old man by now, and she’d have the car door open and running for the house before I put the shifter in park. But the opposite happened. She sat quietly in her seat as she chewed on a fingernail.

  “Everything okay, Brooklyn?”

  “Dad, do you think you could come in? I know I’m not a baby or anything, but I’d kinda like to know what it feels like to have my dad tuck me in for the night. I get it if you don’t want to, though.”

  How could I deny a request like that? The fact that she asked…well, it was an honor that she accepted me so readily. Truth be told, I wanted to know what if felt like to tuck my daughter in for bed.

  “Sure, I’d love to.”

  I heard the click of her seatbelt. Seconds later, Brooklyn was throwing her arms around my neck and placing a kiss on my cheek.

  “Thanks so much, Dad.”

  The front door opened just as we approached. Maddie stood slightly behind the door, making room for our daughter to pass. Brooklyn skipped past her mom, but not before sharing her advice on her mom's employment situation.

  “Hey, Mom. Dad said, if you quit your job, you can work for him.”

  Maddie looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

  “She said she didn’t like that your boss was going to make you travel and that she wished you wouldn’t have to leave. I merely suggested that you should work for me. This way, if you had to travel, she could come with you and stay at my house.” I told her in a low voice.

  I brushed past the woman who was once going to be Mrs. Alexander Livingston and wondered what that life would have looked like if different choices had been made. As I made my way toward the living room, I noticed a wall covered in photos that stopped me in my tracks.

  There were pictures of Brooklyn growing up and Maddie on graduation day with her parents and some of our friends. I was surprised to see photos of the two of us that we’d taken over the years together. But one photo stole my breath. It was a framed copy of Fortune Magazine in which I was on the cover. The caption read “Future Heir Rises Through the Ranks.” I’d made the cover when I turned twenty-five, and Uncle Malcolm promoted me to President of Livingston Technologies just four years after I’d come aboard.

  I turned to look at Maddie, who was now standing beside me.

  “What?” She shrugged. “I was proud of you, and it meant the world to me to know that you chased your dreams, and they had all come true.”

  “Not all of them, Maddie. You were supposed to be by my side. That was my dream.”

  “I’m sorry, Xander. I did what I felt I needed to so that you could live the life you had always wanted.”

  “That wasn’t your choice to make on your own,” I growled.

  “Yet, I made it, and look where you are today.”

  I felt anger begin to rise once more. It took everything in me not to yell at her.

  “Alone and just now finding out I have a daughter.”

  Just then, Brooklyn came around the corner and reached for my hand.

  “I’m ready, Dad.”

  I followed my little girl down the hallway to the back of the house. She stopped at her room and allowed me to enter first. It was everything I would have anticipated a little girl's room to be. Lavender painted walls made the room feel calm. A full-size bed with a pink tuft headboard and footboard rested against one wall covered in stuffed animals. Twinkle lights glistened along the ceiling as if she was under the stars. By the window sat a small oak desk. Next to the closet was a vanity that matched the dresser and the nightstand by her bed. Several flower pictures accented the walls, along with photos of unicorns.

  Brooklyn jumped into bed, reaching for the pink teddy bear beside her, and snuggled under the covers. She patted the bed beside her, indicating where she wanted me to sit. As I took my place, I saw the fishbowl on the nightstand, and directly behind it was a framed picture of Maddie and me, arm and arm, standing on the beach with the ocean waves behind us.

  “Tell me a bedtime story, Dad. Please”

  I stared at the picture as I conjured up a story in my mind.

  “Once upon a time, there was a prince and a princess, who lived by the sea. They had plans to one day buy a big castle in a big city and raise a family. Only, one day, the prince’s family called and told him he had to come home because his uncle, the king, was ill.”

  I focused on the photo a bit longer as I concocted the rest of the story in my mind. I couldn’t say the princess was a liar and a thief; one who stole way the prince’s happiness because this was supposed to be a happy story.

  “When the prince told the princess he had to leave, it broke her heart that she couldn’t come with him. She wanted to, but she couldn’t, so she promised to follow
later.”

  Brooklyn lay facing me. She was wide awake and listening to my story, anxiously waiting for the happy ending.

  “A long time passed, and the prince thought the princess had forgotten her promise to him. He was about to give up, but the next day the princess showed up at his castle with a gift. A gift the prince was so happy to receive, he asked the princess to marry him, and she agreed. So, they lived happily ever after.”

  When I tore my eyes away from the picture, I found my little girl smiling up at me.

  “That story was about you and Mom, wasn’t it? I mean, at least part of it was, right?”

  I leaned over and tapped my finger to the glass.

  “Hey, Mr. Fish. What do you think? Is that the story of my life?”

  “His name is Gill, Dad. Not Mr. Fish.”

  With a shake of my head, I acknowledged my little princess.

  “Part of the story was about your mom and me. But not all stories have happy endings. Your mom and I didn’t.”

  Brooklyn pulled her teddy bear tighter to her chest and motioned for me to come closer. When I leaned in, she wrapped her free arm around my neck and spoke softly.

  “It’s not too late for your happy ending, Dad. Mom loves you more than anything. We can still be a family.”

  Then, she placed a tender kiss on my cheek, and I felt my heart skip a beat. I reciprocated with a kiss to her forehead, then stood. I reached the door and flicked off the light switch.

  “Good night, Brooklyn. I had an amazing evening with you. See you tomorrow.”

  Chapter 29

  Maddison

  I stood outside my daughter’s room and eavesdropped on her conversation with Xander. I hated that he told her that not every story has a happy ending. I didn’t believe that, and I didn’t want her to accept it either. I’d told her repeatedly that life is what you make it. If you stay the course and do what’s right, you end up victorious.