6. Sterling
CHAPTER 6
Sterling
M y hands fly over the keys on my laptop as I type out a report on my first week here in Edenton and how things have been going at the company. Despite technically banishing me and tossing me to the side, my grandfather insists on knowing every single action, whether big or small, I’m taking here in the town. The man runs a tight ship and has singlehandedly kept this family afloat for a very long time.
Deep down, there’s a part of me that feels like I’m disappointing him. That the news and the rumors are somehow my fault. I shouldn’t have to take responsibility for being born, though. Or for a secret that was kept from me all my life.
There’s a knock on the door of the office that connects to my bedroom, and I lift my head from the screen to call for whoever’s on the other side to come in. It’s Karl. He walks through my bedroom and through the open door leading into the office. He offers me a curt nod before speaking.
“Sir, Mr. Cameron has arrived.”
I nod. “Okay. I’ll be down in a couple of minutes. You can show him to the bar and I’ll join him there.”
He leaves and I take a few minutes to close my laptop and throw on a shirt before exiting my room and heading down to the first floor. I check on Sean before I do so, though. He’s fast asleep in his bed, which is good. But I know he’ll be up in a couple of hours.
My son’s not the best sleeper. It’s currently 8 p.m., but I know he’ll be up again by two. It’s a good thing I don’t sleep much either so we usually hang out in the middle of the night until he goes back to sleep again.
I honestly think he doesn’t sleep much because he misses his mom. He used to sleep a lot more when she was still around. I sigh softly as I shut his bedroom door.
Carson’s already helped himself to a drink by the time I show up. He raises his glass in greeting once he spots me at the entrance.
“Hey, man,” he greets.
I take a seat on the stool beside him. “Hey. Thanks for coming.”
“No problem. If his royal highness beckons for me to arrive at his castle, then I’ll be there.”
I roll my eyes. It’s really nice to see that Carson hasn’t changed much. He’s still the same immature dumbass he was when we were kids. But then again, I know he has changed a lot as well. Especially when I consider all he’s been able to achieve while I was gone.
“Thanks for coming over. I would have met you outside but I can’t very well leave at night because of Sean.”
“Yeah, sure. I totally get it. It’s a little surreal to see you as a dad, though. You’ve come a long way, Sterling. Remember how you said you’d never start a family of your own?”
My jaw ticks at that. “I meant it.”
Carson raises an eyebrow in question. My lips thin and I decide to pour myself a drink as well before saying anything else. I reach for a bottle of vodka, pouring it straight into a glass before taking a swig. It burns going down my throat, but after so many years of drinking, it’s more of an enjoyable burn.
“Sean is…” I blow out a breath. “The best thing that’s ever happened to me. That kid is the most important thing in my life and I would do anything to protect him. But my ex-wife and I, we didn’t exactly plan to have him. He was an accident. One I’m so grateful for now, but thinking back on it, when we first had him, I was so young. I didn’t plan to have a kid at twenty-four.”
Carson nods in understanding. “Yeah, I get that. But these things happen and for what it’s worth, I think you’re a great father.”
“Sean makes it pretty easy. He’s a great kid,” I say with pride. “But enough about that. I asked you here for a reason.”
“Always straight to the point, Harrington. Let me guess, you want to talk about my sister?” he questions. “I heard all about this fight the two of you are current in.”
“It’s not a fight,” I grit out.
Over the past couple of days, I’ve sent both my head of acquisitions and the company’s general manager to talk to Emilia Cameron, to show her the contract we’ve been preparing for business owners on the lot and see if she’s keen on selling. I thought she’d be more inclined to speak to them, since our last conversation didn’t go well. But they got the same answer from her.
A big fat no.
“Your sister’s a big pain in my ass,” I mutter.
Carson chuckles. “While I’m not interested in getting in the middle of whatever’s going on, I will say that it’s nice to see her getting under your skin like this. The great Sterling Harrington being rattled, never thought I’d see the day. Most people usually fall over their feet to do stuff for you when you ask.”
“She’s not getting under my skin,” I counter. “But she’s been a thorn in my side and I need you to talk to her. You own a financial advisory firm, surely you can advise your sister on the benefits she’ll be getting if she just backs down and sells her shop.”
“Yeah, no, I can’t. No one gets Emilia to do what she doesn’t want to do.”
I roll my eyes at that. It’s becoming clear he’s not going to help me on this.
“Where did she even come from, anyway?” I ask.
“Hm?” Carson says with his mouth around his glass.
“Emilia,” I clarify. “Is she really your sister?”
The question feels a little dumb. A person only has to look at them together to see that they’re siblings. She’s like the female version of Carson with curves, full lips, and legs for days.
“Yeah, she is,” Carson replies, his tone becoming serious. “She showed up on my dad’s doorstep four years ago. Man, I can’t even begin to tell you how awful it was back then. We just woke up one morning and there was this skinny twenty-one-year-old girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes that looked like they’d seen a lot of shit. She introduced herself as Emilia Sutter, then said Dad was her biological father. I had a hard time believing it, but Dad immediately knew she was telling the truth.”
“Must have been hard,” I say sympathetically.
“Yeah, it was. Emilia had been living with the woman who gave birth to me her whole life. Her name was Olivia. Olivia and my dad got divorced when I was like four years old. I don’t even remember her, but my dad’s told me stories of how awful she was. A drug addict, emotionally abusive. He said once he realized he didn’t have a future with a woman like that, he got me out and away from her as soon as he could. But he had no idea Olivia was pregnant when he left. We relocated here to Edenton and dad never looked back, never bothered to see how Olivia was doing after. If he had, he would have known she gave birth to a little girl, his daughter, and she didn’t even tell him. It kills me to think about what Emilia must have gone through living with that woman,” he says sadly.
“Why did she come looking for you after so long?” I ask.
He shrugs. “She said she just found out about us and made her way here. Emilia doesn’t really talk about her life before moving to Edenton. I think she just needed us to accept her into our lives and once we did, it’s like she’s locked up her old life and thrown away the key. We know nothing about it. Dad tried to look for Olivia but nothing’s come up. I think a part of him keeps waiting for Olivia to show up or something, but I couldn’t care less if I’m honest. That woman had better not show up again in our lives. She’s dead to me, and I hope she’s dead to Em as well.”
I don’t speak for a couple of seconds. My hand swipes across my mouth as I clear my throat.
“She’s going to be pissed if she ever finds out I told you about this. I’m serious, Sterling.”
“Yeah, I got it,” I assure him.
“Now that you know now, just go easy on her, alright? She’s been through a hard time and that café means a lot to her.”
“I feel bad for her but I’m not giving up on getting that land,” I say after a couple minutes.
Carson laughs. “Yeah, I knew you were going to say that. You and Emilia are actually quite similar. You know that, right?”
I make a face at that. “Look, I hear you. And I’ll consider a better approach to the negotiations with her. I’ll be nicer and more appealing.”
“Sounds like you’re talking about someone else.” Carson grins. “Do you even know how to be any of those things?”
“Sure I do,” I mutter.
“Good luck then,” he states, clapping my shoulder. “Just remember, I may have known you my whole life, unlike Em. But she’s my sister. If you hurt you, I’ll make you pay.”
I meet his gaze and the firmness in his voice makes it clear he’s not kidding. I didn’t think he was. Carson likes to pretend he’s an idiot, but he’s secretly one scary motherfucker. I once watched him beat up a guy for harassing Anika when she was thirteen. He’s not a person to be trifled with.
“Yeah, I got it,” I tell him.
It’s another Monday when I make my way to Emilia’s café, bright and early. I park my car in the same spot as the last time before making my way into the shop. She’s not behind the counter today. Instead, she’s seated at one of the tables, biting the corner of her bottom lip absentmindedly while she scrolls through her phone.
She doesn’t immediately look up, perhaps too distracted by whatever’s on her phone, but once she does, she freezes. And then her lips pull up in smirk. She slowly rises to her feet.
“Are you here to accept defeat?” she asks cockily.
My eyebrows rise and I give her a look that conveys that that will never happen.
The nerve of this woman, seriously. I ignore the way her hips swish as she walks over to stand in front of me. She’s wearing a white skirt paired with a frilly blouse and there’s a gold necklace hanging around her neck, the word “survive” written on the pendant. She catches me staring at it and her gaze narrows right before she tucks it into her shirt.
“What are you doing here, Sterling Harrington?”
I make a show of looking around, followed by an awkward cough. “I’m here to get coffee,” I mutter.
She quirks a brow. “Really?”
“Yes. Are you going to take my order or not?”
Her eyes slide across my face for a minute before she shrugs.
“Alright,” she finally says, walking toward the counter. “What can I get you today?”
I tap my fingers against the smooth surface that separates us before replying.“Coffee, black.”
She makes a small snorting sound. It’s kind of cute.
“Why am I not surprised? Black like your soul?”
“Very funny.” I smirk. “You talk to all your customers like that?”
She offers me a smile sharp enough to cut. “Only the special ones.”
“Then I’m flattered.”
“And by special I meant rude dickheads who think they own everywhere their feet touch,” she retorts, handing me my coffee.
“Cute,” I murmur, collecting the cup.
“That’ll be ten dollars.”
My eyes widen. “For a simple black coffee?”
“Yes. And for subjecting me to the sight of your face this early on a Monday morning,” she adds.
My lips twitch. But I hand her my card for payment all the same.
“I’m being really patient here, Ms. Cameron. How about we cut back on the sass?”
“No,” she replies without hesitation. “Now that you have your coffee, how about you tell me why you’re really here? More threats?”
“I didn’t threaten you,” I state.
“No, you just sent Lisa and that uptight manager guy to tell me that ‘you’d be pursuing legal solutions if I continue to be obstinate.’ Really rude, by the way. Lisa and I are friends; you didn’t have to send her to do your dirty work.”
Interesting that she doesn’t seem to know that her “friend” was the one who suggested this lot for the development.
“It wasn’t dirty work,” I grit out, feeling a headache start to creep up in my skull. “Listen, can we just sit down and talk for a couple of minutes?”
She crosses her arms over her chest, her expression not budging.
My jaw tightens. “Please?”
“Fine,” she says on a sigh. “Five minutes, Sterling Harrington.”
She steps out from behind the counter and I let her lead me to the table she was sitting at. She retakes her seat and I sit down opposite her.
“So…” she prompts. “What else have you got to threaten me with on this fine day?”
“Actually, I’m here to apologize,” I say a tad bit forceful on that last word. “Looking back, I realize I didn’t handle our past interactions in the right manner. And I’m sorry about that. You’re a Cameron—your brother and I are close friends, and our families are close as well. The two of us being on bad terms isn’t ideal.”
“Interesting. I see you’re going for emotional blackmail next,” she states, sounding unimpressed. “It’s not going to work, Harrington.”
I take a sip of coffee to hide my lip turning up. “Okay, so what is going to work?” I ask, leaning back in my chair. “I’m willing to do anything in my power to ensure this development works out. And for that I need you to cooperate, Ms. Cameron.”
She doesn’t say anything for several seconds, her studious gaze never leaving my face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask self-consciously.
She blinks once before her lips tilt up in a smirk.
“I’m just wondering if it’s killing you to be so civil to me. You’re like a shapeshifter. I’m having a hard time thinking of you as the same dickhead I met last week.”
I inwardly sigh, asking for strength from some higher power. “I’m trying my best here, Ms. Cameron.”
“Save it. Why are you being so nice, anyway?”
“Because I’m a good person?” I suggest.
She does that cute snorting thing again. “Yeah, right.”
I watch as she thinks something over, her expression distant before her eyes widen.
“Please tell me someone didn’t put you up to this. Carson?”
Seeing as I refuse to lie, I simply stay quiet. Her eyes narrow and I watch as her fists clench.
“I can’t believe he talked to you, and what? Asked you to go easy on me? Be nicer?”
“Your brother’s not the reason I’m acting like this,” I state. “I’m doing this because I handled the matter in poor taste at the beginning. I’m usually better at keeping my cool, but for some reason you can be pretty aggravating.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, are you going to leave or do I need to ask you to?”
A muscle twitches in my forehead and my eyes narrow. Our gazes connect and hold for I don’t even know how long. Then we hear the doorbell chime and Emilia looks up at the person who enters. I don’t turn around, my eyes still fixed on the infuriating woman across from me.
“Hey, Emilia,” a feminine voice says.
I hear footsteps walking toward us, which is when I finally look up. It’s a young woman with brown hair and a smile on her face.
“Paige, you’re here early. How was your night?” Emilia asks, her tone friendly and warm.
“It was okay. Is something wrong?”
“Nothing,” Emilia replies. “Mr. Harrington was just leaving,”
My jaw clenches but, having no other choice, I rise to my feet, gripping the coffee cup in my hand.
“This isn’t over, Ms. Cameron.”
“Don’t let the door hit your face on the way out, Sterling Harrington,” she says sharply.