Contemptous CEO

by Myers, K. L.

  Why didn’t I end up victorious?

  I knew the answer. I chose the coward’s path. I took the easy way out and ran from the problem instead of facing it head-on. I tossed away any chance of a happily ever after for me and Brooklyn.

  Did you? He’s here now.

  I wanted things to change, and I was ready to start fighting for what I wanted.

  I heard Xander tell Brookie goodnight, so I quickly scurried to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine. Just as I lifted the glass to my lips, Xander walked in.

  I lifted the bottle in the air. “Would you like a glass?”

  With a shake of his head, I moved toward the cabinet and grabbed a glass. I poured the burgundy liquid almost to the top before I spoke.

  “Can we please go to the den and talk? I know you don’t want any apologies, and I’m done offering them. But I think we need to talk about where we go from here.”

  Xander reached for his glass, took a sip, then exited the kitchen and followed me to the den. I walked to the French doors that led to the patio and stopped. I watched as the man I once claimed was my soul mate took a seat on the sofa.

  “How are we supposed to work together with all that has happened between us?”

  He took another sip of his wine and fixed his eyes on a shelf in my bookcase. There, stood four photos. Three of Xander as he posed for a picture on the balcony of our old place. He’d been wearing a pair of black jeans that hugged his thighs, a light grey button-down with the sleeves rolled midway up on his forearms. The last one was of the two of us embracing each other as he held the camera out and snapped a selfie.

  “Why are there so many pictures of me in this house?” he asked as he leaned forward and placed the wine glass on the table.

  “Because there has never been a day that you haven’t been a part of my life. Seeing your face every day, even if it is just on paper, makes me happy. I never stopped loving you, Xander.”

  He flinched at my words. A mix of anger and hurt filled his eyes.

  “A week ago, I would have said I felt the same. Now, I’m not sure what I am feeling, aside from betrayed. I see you, and I remember the beautiful girl who owned my heart, then I think about Brooklyn, and all that dissipates, and I want to lash out and hurt you. I’m trying to find a happy medium.”

  His words hurt me more than I had anticipated. I knew he was angry, but vindictive never crossed my mind. He’d never been a tit for tat type of person.

  “So, where do we go from here?”

  “Honestly, Maddie, I don’t know. I guess we start with finding your replacement.”

  Nausea filled my belly. Was he going to fire me over this? He just said the other day that he couldn’t fire the mother of his child. Did he change his mind?

  “You’re going to fire me?” My voice shook as I spoke.

  “What? No, I’m not firing you, but I can’t exactly have you working out here. Not now that I have a daughter I need to get to know. You’ll be working in New York.”

  He couldn’t be serious, could he? My life was here in California. Brookie’s friends and school were here. Uprooting her would be the worst thing possible. Plus, my job here was satisfying, and I knew everyone. Working in Manhattan would be uncomfortable.

  “What are you thinking, Maddie?”

  “I think my place is here. Everyone respects me, and they need me now that you’ve bought Scott’s company. They’ll be looking for stability. I’m assuming you're still planning on a RIF of the duplicate departments?”

  Xander stood and walked toward me. Heat radiated from his palm as he placed it on my shoulder, sending electricity down my spine.

  “Yes, we will. Together, we’ll meet with the heads of those departments on Friday. You have until then to determine who will be your liaison here in California. I’ll give you a month to make the transition to New York. Until then, I’ll send a plane for you and Brooklyn on Fridays. The two of you will spend the weekends with me.”

  “But.”

  “No buts, Maddie. You say you want forgiveness for keeping this secret. I want to be able to give it to you. I also have to do what's best for Livingston. The end goal for me was to have you in New York, eventually. Now that your little secret has come out, the timeline just moved up.”

  This demanding side of Xander was different. He’d become more self-assured with age. He’d become a younger version of his uncle, which made me wonder if that was what money and power did to a person. Had I been holding on to a memory of the person he once was? There were so many unknowns, but the one thing I was sure of, my heart still belonged to him, and my daughter deserved to have her father in her life.

  The minute he removed his hand from my shoulder, I immediately felt the loss.

  “Good night, Maddie. I’ll be by to pick Brooklyn up for breakfast. You’re welcome to join us, if you like. I’m certain it would make our daughter happy if you did.”

  I followed the brooding male through my home and watched as he walked down the sidewalk to his car. As he reached for the door handle, I called out to him.

  “Good night, Xander. Brooklyn usually is up by nine on the weekends. We’ll see you then.”

  He acknowledged me with a lift of his head before climbing into his car and starting the ignition. As I watched the taillights disappear down the street, I was confident my life would never be the same again.

  Chapter 30

  Xander

  Two days after leaving Maddie and Brooklyn behind, I found myself counting down the days until they arrived in New York. With spring break coming up, we agreed to forgo this weekend's trip as they’d be able to stay for a full week the next.

  Millicent's voice through the intercom startled me. “Mr. Livingston, an Elodie Atlier is here to see you. I told here you were busy, but she insisted.”

  “It’s fine. Tell Elodie I’ll be with her in a moment.”

  Things in my life were changing quickly. My once orderly and never chaotic personal life was now wreaking havoc on my business life. I’d always been able to separate the two, but now, they were intertwining on so many levels. My ex was now the president of one of my subsidiaries and would soon be the president of Livingston. My friend and wealth manager’s fiancé was my go-to source on all things Brooklyn, and I had no idea how to separate my two lives.

  I stood to get Elodie when my cell beeped with an incoming text.

  Hollis: Elodie is stopping by to see you today. Please make time for her.

  Rather than responding, I picked up the phone and called my friend.

  “You’re about five minutes too late. She’s sitting in my waiting room. Care to explain why she is here? I prefer not to be blindsided.”

  “I tried to hold her off, but she’s dying to know how your visit went with your daughter.”

  “Thanks for the heads up. I better not keep her waiting then.” I laughed aloud as did Hollis. “I’ll talk with you later, LaCroix.”

  Without waiting for a response, I hung up. Hollis hated when I did that, he had told me on numerous occasions, but I couldn’t help myself. I looked at my watch and couldn’t believe it was already one-thirty. I’d missed lunch completely today. Grabbing my cell and wallet, I exited my office.

  Bryant Park Café was right around the corner from my building, and one of my top choices for a quick lunch. The outdoor seating was perfect for today.

  “I’ve wanted to try this place but can never find the time. I’m so glad they opened early this year,” Elodie exclaimed as she sat across from me. “It's beautiful out today, isn’t it?”

  The white umbrella above sheltered us from the afternoon sun. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

  I glanced over at the table beside us. A family sat enjoying their lunch while their fluffy black and grey mutt lay on the ground beside them.

  That could be your life if you let it.

  “Hollis said I should give you some space, but I can’t help myself. I need to know how it went with Brooklyn.”
>
  It felt good to share my interactions with Brooklyn with another who was not directly involved in my life. Someone whose perspective wasn’t motivated by any specific outcome.

  “It was a good visit. She’ll be coming to visit on the weekends. With spring break coming up, we’ll be able to have some quality time together.”

  “Is she’s going to spend a whole week with you alone?” Elodie inquired.

  “She and Maddie arrive on Friday. I’m trying to rearrange my schedule as much as possible to spend time with her.”

  Elodie raised a brow and smiled. “Interesting.”

  “What’s interesting?”

  “You’re going to play house for a week. Have you given thought to how that is going to work?”

  Honestly, I hadn’t given any thought at all to it. I anticipated that Maddie would be working in the office several of those days with me and that I’d take several days off to show them around. But I hadn’t thought it all out.

  “Truthfully, I’m not sure, Elodie. I’ve not planned anything at this point. I want Maddie to get her feet wet at the office since, ultimately, her moving here is the end goal.”

  “Does Maddie know your end goal?”

  “Yes, and she’s not happy about it, but I’m not interested in being a part-time dad. And having Brooklyn fly across the U.S. long term isn’t the best for either of us, even if it’s my private jet doing the flying.”

  Elodie rested her elbows on the table while tapping her fingers together. She seemed to be contemplating something. Her eyes lit up, and a smile crossed her face when I was sure she’d formulated a solution to my dilemma.

  “Brooklyn can spend the days you're at the office with Hailey and me. It's perfect; she’ll get to make a friend. Problem solved for you. Plus, if your plans come to fruition—”

  I started to speak up, but Elodie held her hand up to stop me.

  “Not saying they won’t, but you are asking a lot of a woman you have a very troublesome relationship with at the moment.”

  I had to admit, Elodie's idea made sense and relieved me of one of my burdens. But she was right. My relationship with Maddie was messy currently. With Brooklyn occupied during the day, Maddie and I would have one less worry to concern ourselves with. Maybe it would allow both of us to work through some of our issues.

  “I like that idea, Elodie. Should you check with Hollis and Hailey first?”

  “Nope. Hollis is fine with anything that makes me happy, and Hailey will love being a tour guide. That is, if you don’t mind us taking her to some local spots with us.”

  Right then, I heard a muffled voice call out—mom, mom, mommy, mommy, momma, momma, ma, ma. Elodie reached across to the chair beside her and fumbled through her purse. The voice became louder and louder as she extracted her phone, but the sound ended before she could take the call.

  “Sorry, that’s Hailey’s attempt at making light of my engagement to Hollis. She decided she needed a specific ringtone on my phone, and Stewie was the best option.”

  Elodie looked at her phone. “Good Lord. It's three o’clock already. Wow, how time flies.” Just then, her phone rang again. “Hi, Hailey. I’m on my way. Sorry I’m late.”

  Elodie ended her call and tossed her phone back into her purse. Pushing away from the table, she excused herself.

  “How about dinner tomorrow night? We can shore up some plans then.”

  “That sounds fine. Thank you, Elodie.”

  I watched as Hollis’s pint-size powerhouse walked down the street. I had a feeling that chaos was going to become my new norm.

  Chapter 31

  Xander

  Austin and I waited on the tarmac as I watched my jet taxi toward us. My palms began to sweat in anticipation of Brooklyn and Maddie's arrival.

  Fuck, my hands never sweat.

  Yet this is the third time I've wiped them against my jeans to dry them.

  I’d given a lot of thought to what I wanted after having dinner with Hollis and Elodie last week. It was simple—I wanted my girls with me. Yes, my girls, both of them were mine. It didn’t evade me that my emotions for one of them were somewhat strenuous at times, but that didn’t change the fact that Maddie still held a part of my heart. The door to the plane opened, and my little one was the first to exit. She ran as fast as she could toward me.

  “Dad, that was so awesome. Is that plane really yours? And I get to fly on it anytime I want?”

  I wrapped my arm around my child's shoulder and pulled her tight against me.

  “Sure is, Bookworm, and whenever you want, I’ll send it for you.”

  “Hey, you called me Bookworm, is that my nickname?”

  I nodded. “It seemed fitting after our conversation last week about stocking a section of my library with books for you. Plus, your mom said you spend a lot of time reading.”

  “I like it. But you know what I like better?”

  “No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

  “If I get to use that plane whenever I want. It’s kinda like mine, right?”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “I guess you could say that.” I reached down and ruffled her hair.

  “Yay, I’m calling Bridge tonight and telling her I got my own plane. She’s going to be so jealous.”

  Just then, Maddie walked up, a frown on her face told me she was displeased over something. She looked at her daughter and then me.

  “What's this about you having your own plane? Xander, are you making promises you shouldn’t be making?”

  “I most certainly have not made any promises that aren’t true.” I winked at my little girl, and she smiled back at me.

  Bringing my full attention to Maddie, I asked how her flight was. Before she had a chance to answer, Brooklyn quickly took command of the conversation and answered for her mother. She hadn't stopped talking once during the car ride back to the city. I found myself several times rubbing the back of my neck to ease some of the tension. For years Uncle Malcolm had groomed me to be short and straight to the point. Small talk and constant chatter would be something I was going to quickly have to adapt to.

  Did kids honestly talk non-stop? I hadn’t noticed it when I was in California, but now it was a continuous line of questions. I had no time to answer before she tossed another my way.

  “Can we see that bull? The one from the Hitch movie? Oh, oh, and I want to go to The Statue of Liberty. And the library and see the fireplace room, the one where they filmed that movie Day After Tomorrow? Then can we go to the top of the Empire State Building like in Sleepless in Seattle.”

  It became apparent that everything my little girl wanted to do had to do with what she’d seen in movies. There was so much more to the City than just the bits and pieces she spoke about. I wanted her to love the city for what it is, my home, not as others had depicted it.

  “Maybe I need to change your nickname from Bookworm to Movie Buff.”

  “Come on, Dad.” She held up her hand, extending her finger. “Pinky promise me.”

  “Pinky promise you what?”

  “That you’ll take me to see all those things.”

  I wrapped my pinky around hers and promised.

  * * *

  Austin eased the sleek black car to the curb in front of my building. Brooklyn’s eyes grew wide as she looked up to the sky.

  “Geeze, that’s a tall building. You live here?”

  Maddie leaned forward, pushing a loose wisp of hair behind her daughter's ear, before placing her face next to her little girl’s. They both stared up into the cloudless heavens above before Maddie pointed to multiple floors above.

  “Yep, that’s your dad's home. Way up there.”

  “Wow, that is so cool.”

  Austin opened the passenger side door to allow the girls to exit. I rounded the back of the car to join them on the sidewalk, a dark grey limo eased past and settled at the curb in front of us. The driver moved to the back and extended his hand to assist its riders out.

  T
hrough the corner of my eye, I caught Brooklyn nudging her mother and quietly inquiring who those people were.

  “Are they famous, Mom? Like movie stars?”

  Just then, Elodie and Hailey climbed out and made their way toward us.

  “Hello Xander, this must be Brooklyn and Maddison.”

  Hailey immediately moved to stand next to Brooklyn and held out her hand. “Hi. My name’s Hailey.”

  My bookworm extended her hand, “I’m Brooklyn. You live here, too?”

  “Sure do, a couple floors above Mr. Livingston.” Hollis’s niece pointed toward me. “Elodie told me you and your mom were coming to visit. I’m going up to visit my friend Kelsi. She’s the only other kid in our building. Want to come?”

  Brooklyn turned to face her mother with pleading eyes.

  “Can I go, Mom?”

  Maddie looked to me for guidance. I nodded in approval.

  “Go ahead, Brookie.”

  Hailey smiled at Maddison. “Thank you, Miss Hightower. I’ll bring her home in a little bit.”

  I handed Brooklyn the key for the door to my apartment and whispered the elevator passcode for my floor in her ear. Once I was confident she’d be able to get in on her own, I made Hailey promise she’d escort her new friend back to my place. As I watched the two girls enter the building, Hollis exited the vehicle that had just taken up the space created by the departure of mine. A gleam in Elodie’s eyes told me she was delighted to see her soon to be husband.

  “Excuse me.” She held her hand out to Maddie. “Nice to meet you, Maddison. Hate to rush off, but I’ve got to grab my free minutes with Hollis when I can.”

  Elodie began walking toward her fiancé but stopped in her tracks and turned to address Maddie once more.

  “I’m thrilled that you’re here, Maddison. Oh, and Xander, I’ll be talking to you real soon.”

  Her taunting look and sheepish smile told me the Spanish inquisition was soon coming.