by Ethan Egorov
I half smile. Cheating isn’t my thing, I’ve never been in that position before but even if I was, I’d rather just end it than hurt someone that way. So, I should have just been honest with Emily, too.
“Yeah, that’s true. I guess.” I slide my glass over for another drink. It will have to be my last one because I need to get myself home safely.
“Sorry man.” Spencer shrugs. I nod and have more of my drink.
I sit there for a while and exchange conversation with Jeannine and Chantal. They’re nice girls but it’s half hearted because my mind is still racing. Logan was around like I suspected, and Spencer fills in a colorful story of what happened for him. But I get most of the same advice. Emily needs her space for a while, but I still have to figure out a way to help her. It’s the least I can do for her. And that only means one thing.
“I’m here to see Mark Clemens,” I say to the receptionist. She’s a cute blonde and it only makes sense that she works for my uncle. He used to bring around all kinds of people when I was growing up. Every holiday, he had a different woman on his arm with little distinction between them.
“He’s not in right now.” She doesn’t look up from the phone her long nails are texting on. I frown and shift in my shoes. I hate wearing suits, it took two days to psyche myself up to even do this. All of which I obsessed over Emily and refrained from calling.
“Yeah, he is. Tell him it’s Christian.” I insist. She sighs and finally looks up. I groan inside but grin at her the same way I would if I was picking up a girl and it works. She bats her eyes and stands, pushing out her chest to me.
“I can take you to his office.” She walks around the desk and sways her hips. Her small frame only reminds me of Emily. The way her full hips would drive me crazy even when she wasn’t trying. In fact, she didn’t have to try anything. I just loved her for being her.
“Thanks.” I tell the girl when we get there. I swing the door open and don’t spare her a second look.
My uncle’s office is generically plain and huge, looking out over the city. I rarely ever come downtown for the sake of avoiding seeing this huge building plastered in the center of it.
“Christian, what are you doing here?” He stands and adjusts his tie hanging loosely. Mine is making my head hurt.
“What are you planning on doing with Valley Country?” I ask him outright. I cross the space to stand in front of his desk and stop. He frowns at me, and sometimes I hate the way he looks just like Dad. He’s younger than him but they always looked just alike, people thought they were twins growing up. Kind of the same way Amy and I look just alike too. Being here makes me miss him, and I rarely ever do. It was never anything that bothered me, kept me up at night. He was a barely present father and he died the same way, that was the end of it.
“What does it matter to you? You’ve asked me about that place twice now and you don’t even work here.” He walks around his desk to pour himself a drink. I stare at it like I need one too, I probably do. He offers and I shake my head no, I need a level head for this.
“It doesn’t.” I lie. “But I’m getting tired of you squandering our reputation.”
He turns and laughs. “Our?” He makes a face and sips his scotch; I can tell by the color and smell. Plus, it’s all he ever used to drink.
“Yes, this place is more mine than yours.” I say. And I actually believe it that time. This company was always supposed to be mine, not his. It’s my birth right and if all this has taught me anything it’s that I can’t run from it.
“Whatever you say, Christian.”
I hate when he says my full name, everyone else in my family went with Kit when I asked them to except him.
“Leave it alone, I’m serious. You don’t need the money that bad, this company doesn’t.” I know that for sure because I still look at the quarterly reports line by line. It would only be to stuff his pockets full, maybe do something that’s not even warranted.
“I don’t need it for the company.” He looks at me as he finishes his drink and then walks over to the desk, leaning up against it and facing me. It takes me longer than I might have wanted but then I understand what he is trying to say.
“You’d need more money than that to buy me out. Amy too.” I say. I can’t believe he would be that sleazy, but it all makes sense now. If he developed that community, he could buy me out of the company without using any of the capitol we already have, leaving him even richer than before when I get my shares. It’s crazy how your own family sometimes is worth less than blood. Even the guys at the club would never try anything like that.
“Look, don’t take it personally kid. It’s just business.”
“Spare me.” I stuff my hands in my pockets, so I don’t swing at him, and I honestly need to because he is really testing me this time around.
He sighs and shakes his head, “Look. If that place means so much to you than just sell your shares and leave the company. It’s simple. Someone can take over after me, I think I’ve knocked up at least three women by now. Wouldn’t it be nice if they got to have the nice living you grew up with?”
“No.” I spit. And at the same time the stark realization dawns on me. I wondered, for a long time, why it was so natural for me to leave a trail of women behind when my dad has always been a straight arrow. I guess I’m more like my uncle than I wanted to be. But I’m not like that anymore. Emily is all that matters to me. But she’s the one that really convinced me to go after this, even if this hadn’t happened, I’d be on my way here soon enough.
“But I could buy you out if I wanted to.” I remind him. His face falls and he starts taking this more seriously. As he should.
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“Yeah, I would. Especially if you keep pursuing that development. You’re putting people out on their ass; our business was never about that.”
“And it wasn’t reaching it’s full potential that way either.”
I groan and walk around the chair to get some distance from him. I comb my fingers through my hair in frustration.
“You know we’re gonna have to come to an agreement one way or another. Pick your battles, Mark.” I don’t even call him Uncle Mark because he doesn’t deserve it. Not from me.
“I have, it’s you that’s indecisive.” It’s the smugness in his eyes that takes me over the edge. I wanted to do this better, without causing too much talk in the company. Change is hard, especially in family companies like this. Amy and I discussed it and she supports me, whatever I want to do. The person I really wanted to hear from wants nothing to do with me, but that won’t stop me from being a better person. A better man.
“I’m not indecisive. You want to know what I’m doing here?” I ask, like he did when I first walked in.
His smile falls and he stands up straight, facing me like a man and not as the child he used to know. And to think I looked up to him at one point. Wanted to be like him. The thought is unsettling.
“What?” He gives up. I swallow and look around the room, not feeling like I don’t belong in this building anymore. In this world my father built for me to have.
“I’m here to take my company back.”
18
Emily
I leave the last house for the day feeling exhausted. It’s been like that for the past few weeks. I would wake up tired, go to bed exhausted and then do it all over again. Slugging through each day like they didn’t matter. I guess after I ended things with Kit, they didn’t matter.
For the past month, he’s called me once a day and I can’t bring myself to answer the phone. After the first few weeks, I thought he would give up, but he hasn’t. I suspect that he will one of these days and thinking about that makes me sick. But if I can’t pick up the phone now then I shouldn’t expect him to keep waiting for me. Telling him to leave wasn’t exactly a break up. I feel like I should tell him at some point that this is really over.
It just doesn’t feel that way in my heart yet.
It took
him leaving for me to realize how much he really meant to me. I have never been in love before. But if love means feeling physically drained when someone you have spent time with leaves your life, then I guess I am deeply in it. He was honest and kind, genuine in a way that only he could pull off. And I miss that. I long for it every time I wake up without him. I start to forget what it feels like to kiss him, to be in his arms, the way he smells and even how he looks when he smiles. We took a few pictures together, but I brashly deleted them, and I wish I hadn’t. I drive by the club sometimes to feel closer to him but even that doesn’t go over well. I feel farther away from him every day and I desperately want to be back close to him, but he hurt me so much that I can’t fathom it right now.
He had a few opportunities to be honest with me and he didn’t take them. He knew about this longer than I did, and he never said anything. The fact that he kept the truth from me makes me feel sick inside, and that I trusted him. It doesn’t make me love him any less, but I wish it did because without trust, nothing would ever work.
As soon as I found out what that company was trying to do, I researched how to get out of it, but they all involved selling the house to avoid a ton of legal fees. My neighbors got the same letter and I know of two that already sold. I can’t bring myself to put the house on the market, though. I grew up here, this is where everything important happened to me. I want it to be here for Dad to come home to. I hope every day for there to be another way out of this, but it all amounts to me going there in person and sorting this out. If I could maybe get them to leave this whole thing alone, then everyone else wouldn’t have to lose their houses too. It’s nerve wracking, going into something that I don’t understand. But I think of it being the same way I teach the kids, embarking on something they don’t understand.
Loving Kit was the same thing. I didn’t understand it. But I did it anyway.
“He can come home?”
“Yes, he can.”
I stare at my dad’s nurse with wide eyes. My entire body goes cold and hot at the same time as my heart races. I’ve dreamed of this moment for almost two years now. Wishing that all this wouldn’t be for nothing. That I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to my father so soon.
“I… I don’t know what to say.” I smile, holding back tears. But I’m sure she has seen all kinds of tearful moments in here and so let them fall. I wipe them away, but they just keep coming. I’m so elated that I could scream. After everything that has happened, this is the first good moment I’ve had in two months now.
“Well, you don’t have to say anything.” She smiles with me.
“Thank you,” I figure that should be standard. They all did a really good job of taking care of my dad, of caring for him when I couldn’t. This is the only positive thing that’s happened to me and I’m milking every minute of it. But this is good for Dad too, this will make him so happy. I know he didn’t like needing help, not being able to take care of himself. No one does, really.
“You’re welcome. I just have a few things to go over.” She starts explaining everything to me in more detail and I listen carefully, even though my head is spinning.
This day has done a complete one-eighty. Waking up with that same dreaded feeling and then trudging through work. I was looking forward to visiting Dad, but I didn’t think it would be this good of news. He still has to come for a visit twice a month and if anything comes up, I should take him to the doctor. I know he will be honest in telling me how he feels every day because he has to be. But this makes me so happy I could scream.
All until I realize I have to make sure he still has a home to come back to.
“Hi, I need to see Mark Clemens, please.” I say nicely to the receptionist, who hasn’t looked up from her phone since I walked up to her desk in the center of this overly modern building.
It sits right in the middle of downtown, Clemens Construction LLC. It’s kind of ridiculous, honestly, the way everything is silver or gray and it looks the future a bit. Plus, it is cold as hell and I feel underdressed, even though I found my best pair of flats and a blue dress I wore to my last job interview. I even did my hair, ironing it flat. I have been planning this for so long, it feels surreal. I couldn’t even make an appointment online, like this guy doesn’t exist or doesn’t want people finding him. I wouldn’t either, if I was leaving people homeless. I just bit the bullet and decided to show up. I probably could have asked Kit, but I didn’t want to use that as an excuse to talk to him. I’m not ready yet anyway. I would just become a puddle to his antics. After I brought Dad home, I told him everything. He is doing much better and was worried about me doing this, but I don’t want him to lose the house he worked so hard to get for us. I couldn’t leave out the boyfriend part of it, but all he said was that I should trust my gut. It’s all I have now anyway.
“He’s not in.” She mutters in an annoyingly chipper voice.
“Are you sure? Can you check? It’s really important.” I ask her. Even though I haven’t worked out exactly what to say. I have a good feeling appealing to his business mindset will help me. A public lawsuit against him wouldn’t do much good for his company. I don’t know how much that would cost but I kept every option open. It might have been easier to talk to Kit about this, but he also could have helped me sooner and he didn’t.
“I’m positive. He hasn’t worked here in weeks.” She answers, finally looking up. She gives me a funny look and I ignore it. Her face is blatantly pretty, and I definitely don’t look that way, but this isn’t high school.
“Seriously?” I gape. Maybe he already fled the city with his money. I really hate that guy and I don’t even know him.
“Yep.” She pops her lip, half smiling at me. “Was it important?” She raises her brow. God she probably thinks I’m sleeping with him or some shit.
“Yes, he is trying to buy me out of my house.” I explain, though I don’t think she would even know the importance of that statement.
“Oh, yeah. That does seem important. You can talk to the new CEO if you want.”
“The new CEO?” I repeat back. God, I must sound so stupid. But this is all coming as a surprise. I had this huge plan of what I would do and now it is all crumbling. Does a new CEO mean I keep my house? I have no idea. I wasn’t ready to tee off with a stranger.
“Yeah, Christian. His nephew runs the company now.”
My heart stalls in my chest and my jaw visibly drops. I look at her with this eerie realization that I might shit my pants right here. I swallow hard, my mouth going dry at the memory. The way Kit talked about this place… I was almost sure he wouldn’t run the company. I didn’t think he would turn into the corporate type but the possibility…I blink the thought away and remind myself that’s not why I’m here. But can I still even face him now?”
“Oh. Kit is really the new CEO?” I double check, sounding stupid again. She giggles and nods.
“You know him or something?” She looks over me like the possibility is wild.
“Yeah, he’s my ex.” I say just to piss her off. It reminds me of that woman in the bathroom trying to throw me off. I’ve learned better now. And to think that all happened the night before I ended things, too.
“Oh. He broke up with you, huh?” She assumes with a sneering smile. I have so much pent up anger I could go cat crazy on her, but I don’t. And as I start to answer her, she perks up, her eyes widening. I stare in confusion before I’m interrupted.
“No, she broke up with me.”
The voice cuts through me like a knife. The deep, crisp of Kit’s voice falling over me like I have not heard it in ages. I suppose I haven’t. His voicemails aren’t the same. This is the real thing. I turn and see him standing behind me in a blue suit that off sets his eyes, hugs his entire frame. I don’t know if I like this better or the jeans and leather jacket more. His hair is slicked back and jawline harder because he is clean shaven. His eyes blaze at me, wide as he looks at me in shock. I am sure I am looking at him the same way and try not
to hang my mouth open at him the whole time. It’s just… it has been so long since I have seen him that it is hard to believe this is real.
But here he is, right in the center of this building. His company. I think that to myself and find it hard to believe, too. He always wanted to do this; I could see it in his eyes whenever he talked about it. And I’m glad that he did.
I’m speechless, standing here staring at him. That receptionist is still there, and I feel her burning a whole in the back of my head. I wonder if they slept together and wish that I hadn’t. I could say that I don’t think he would do that to me but I also broke up with him. He can do whatever he wants.
But whatever he wants is also calling me every day, leaving a message, and a text saying how sorry he is.
That has to count for something.
“You have an appointment coming in soon, Christian.” His receptionist says his name like she owns him. I watch his face fall and am glad because that means he at least doesn’t have a thing for her.
He doesn’t belong to me anymore, though; it would be unfair of me to think that way.
But here I am, thinking of him as mine. My heart thinks that he is, the rest of me is having trouble catching up.
“Cancel it.” He snaps. His lips form a hard line as he stares at me. He must be wondering what I am doing here. Why I didn’t return his calls. I didn’t know he worked here now otherwise I might not have shown up. The thought is unsettling to say the least.
I try and find the right words but saying I’m sorry isn’t fair because I haven’t done anything wrong. Not really, at least.
Being away from him, letting him go. That felt wrong.
“You want to come in my office?” He asks, his hands are in his pockets with his legs outstretched a bit. The power stance is hot as hell. I forgot how damned good looking he is. It weakens my knees and my resolves. I can think of nothing better than sitting down and talking to him, but part of me is still afraid.