Chapter 3
Chapter three
Tristan
Fucking Rafe.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I pinched the bridge of my nose and cursed my friend for his shit timing.
“Ah, Kate, please tell me I’m not too late to take you out to lunch.”
Her soft laugh filled the room.
I glanced at her schooled features and sweet smile aimed at my friend.
My hands curled into fists.
I didn’t even know why. Rafe was like this with her—with everyone, really—and she had never not been friendly and professional.
Their interactions hadn’t bugged me before.
But today was different. Today, I wanted to shove Rafe out the door and beg Kate to tell me where the sadness in her eyes came from.
Maybe skipping food at lunch hadn’t been such a great idea.
That had to be the reason for the weirdness happening inside my brain. I forced my attention to my fingers flying over the last few buttons of my shirt. Not that it did anything to drown out Rafe and Kate happily chatting away.
Every cell in my body burned with a fierce need to watch them. To see if her smile was genuine. This was so new and so fucking unwelcome, I had no other choice than to sink into my chair and go over the documents she’d left on my desk.
I was five pages in—I didn’t know what was on the other four—when she finally left, and Rafe took the seat in front of me.
I glanced up.
Fingers laced, elbows resting on the armrest, he balanced an ankle on his knee. His eyes twinkled with amusement.
“What?” I snapped, mirroring his position.
His lip twitched, and I knew the bastard was about three seconds away from laughing like an idiot.
Rafe, Liam—the last member of our fucked-up trio—and I had been friends for most of our adult lives.
We’d met while studying. After two decades of looking at both their faces nearly every day, I knew their tells.
Three… Two…
Rafe’s shoulders shook, and his hearty laugh filled the room.
Unimpressed, I pinned him with a hard stare. “You wanna tell me what’s so damn funny?”
It took far longer than I would have liked for him to get himself under control. Somewhat under control. When his gaze met mine, he still sputtered out a sound.
“So, is this the first time the fairer sex tried to drown you in wine?” His lips did that twitchy thing again.
Irritation had me grinding my teeth.
It happened an hour ago, how the hell does he…? Ah, yes.
“Enzo called?”
More lip twitching. “Well, yes. But even if he hadn’t, I would’ve known anyway.”
He pulled out his phone, and after poking the screen a few times, he slid it in front of me.
Unfolding my arms, I scanned the article. Three quarters of the page was filled with a photo of me. My face scrunched up, waiting for the ruby red liquid to hit my skin.
Was it skill or luck that the photographer managed to snap the picture as the wine gracefully arched through the air?
Not even bothering with what the headline said, I tossed the device back to Rafe. “She was upset because I didn’t want to go steady.”
My friend shook his head. “This is not good, Tristan. You’re about to make partner. Everything you do represents the firm.”
He wasn’t wrong. But the partnership was as good as mine. Mr. Livingston had hinted at it enough times. I simply had to get better at telling the women I spent my nights with that they weren’t going to get anything other than that.
“What do you want me to say, Rafe? I can’t control how people react to the things I say.”
He ran his hands down his thighs, picking at imaginary lint. “No, but you can control how you say it.”
I made a noise. Again, he wasn’t wrong, but I wouldn’t give the shithead the satisfaction of admitting it. “You just come here to lecture me or…”
“Came to check if you wanted to celebrate after the announcement.” His lips twitched for the third fucking time. “And to see if you were still covered in wine.”
“Bastard.”
“Don’t let my father hear you; you’ll confirm his beliefs I couldn’t possibly be his son.”
He’d said it in a light tone, but I knew better. Behind his overly friendly smile and nonstop jokes, the guy had serious issues. We all did. Although Liam seemed to be working through his since he’d married Everlee.
“Gotta go. I have a meeting across town.” Rafe got to his feet and held out his hand. “Congrats, man. I know what this partnership means.”
I took his hand. “Thanks.”
It should’ve been easy to throw myself into work once he left, but I couldn’t focus. My thoughts ran rampant. The partnership. How my father would react when he found out the news. Kate and those damn sad eyes.
“Fuck.”
Leaning back in my chair, I scraped a hand over my face. I was certain I’d seen her sad over the years. I must have. She’d worked for me for almost five years. None of those times bugged me.
So, what the heck was different now?
Since staring into the damn void wouldn’t give me any answers, I straightened and picked up the phone. It only rang once before she answered.
“What do you need?”
Was it my imagination, or did her voice have a slight wobble to it. Or maybe my brain was connecting dots that weren’t there.
“Tristan?”
Right. “My office, please.”
Mere seconds after the line went dead, my door creaked open and Kate strolled inside. Even from where I sat, I didn’t miss her eyes were even redder than earlier.
“What happened?”
She stopped in the middle of the room. With a slight tilt of her head, she gave me a weary glance. “What do you mean what happened?”
Clearly my communication skills weren’t as brilliant as I thought. I waved my hand in her direction. “You seem...sad, and I’d like to know why.”
“You...” That’s all she managed before she slammed her mouth shut. Her brows pulled together as her lips parted then pressed together again. “What?” she finally blurted.
I got up and rounded the desk with the intention of going to her. But with the way her eyes widened and the small step she took backward, I chose to lean against the desk instead.
“Your eyes... They look…” A sigh blew over my lips. Why was this so damn hard? It was just a simple question, and yet my brain couldn’t put the words in the right order. “You’ve been crying. Sounds like it too.”
Her frown deepened. She didn’t even have to say it for me to know she was wondering if I’d lost my damn mind. I was wondering the same thing.
“Well—”
Her office phone chose that moment to ring. She seemed all too happy for the intrusion. Not even sparing a glance at me, she hurried to answer it.
Her impeccable work ethic should’ve pleased me. Impressed me even. Yet that wasn’t the emotion I felt.
“The partnership meeting has moved up.” She didn’t come in, standing in the doorway instead.
“When?”
“Ten minutes.”
Great. Or maybe not so great if the churning in my gut was anything to go by. What the hell was wrong with me? This was what I’d worked toward since I started at Livingston and Thornburg nearly ten years ago.
Disappointment was the last thing that should’ve been burning through my veins.
“Thank you, Kate.”
She turned to leave.
I called out to stop her. I only spoke when her gaze was trained on me again. “I’d like to continue this discussion when I return.”
“Don’t forget to ask about Mr. Livingston’s grandson. His daughter gave birth a few days ago, and I’m sure the interest will go a long way.”
If she thought I’d let it go by changing the subject like that, she had another thing coming. One way or another, I was going to get to the bottom of her damn sadness.
Right after I thanked Mr. Livingston for making me a partner.
That was why I didn’t stop her when she left again. I pulled my jacket over my shoulders and made my way to the conference room. Most of the board members were there along with the senior partners.
That jitteriness I should have been feeling all day made itself known at last. It grew into a big ball of excitement I could hardly contain. My leg jumped, and my heart beat too fast. For the first time in my life, even my palms were sweaty.
All the damn nerves slowed time too because it felt like hours had passed before Mr. Livingston addressed the room.
“I don’t want to stand here and drag this out by making a long speech that will probably bore you all to death—” A few chuckles rang through the room. “The talent and dedication we have at this firm truly is second to none. So incredible that the board had a hard time choosing our next partner.”
Soft murmurs erupted around the table while my blood thrummed loudly in my ears.
“We’ve narrowed it down to two candidates. Two men who have given their all for this firm. Two men who’ll have to fight it out a little longer. Lewis, Tristan, I look forward to getting to know you both better over the coming weeks.”
What.
The.
Fuck?
My ears rang and I was fairly certain the world around me spun.
A slow sinking feeling started in the pit of my stomach, steadily crawling its way through my body. I’d wanted this for so long and was so damn confident I’d get it, I never prepared myself for a different outcome.
In a matter of seconds, I went through every conversation we’d had, and not once had he hinted at the fact I wasn’t in. I didn’t get it. And my damn ego wouldn’t let me ask either.
In need of fresh air, I slipped out of the conference room. I didn’t get very far when Mr. Livingston called me. Every part of me wanted to keep going. To get as far away from there as possible.
Instead, I met him where he stood.
“I’m sorry, Tristan,” he said. “I fought as hard as I could but…” He shook his head in that same disappointed way Rafe had earlier.
“Every employee represents the firm, but the partners have a spotlight on them at all times. And unfortunately, the majority of the board feels your actions aren’t those of a wholesome family man. ”
Surely I hadn’t heard right. They were seriously not making me partner because...what? I didn’t have a wife and two-point-five kids? Or maybe my fucking father got to them.
“So I didn’t make partner because—”
“Your romantic endeavors are...questionable.”
“Right.” I gritted my teeth. “Because I don’t have my significant other on display like Lewis, I lost out on something I worked so hard to earn?”
A flash of embarrassment washed over Mr. Livingston’s face.
“My vote was for you. But…” He closed the distance between us and lowered his voice.
“If you’re saying you’ve been in a committed relationship all along, I’d urge you to consider making this news public.
” His gaze met mine. “Especially in the coming weeks when the board gets to know you and Lewis on a more personal level.”
My jaw hit the floor. Was he saying what I thought he was?
“Mr. Livingston—”
“Have a good day, Tristan.” He took one step before looking at me over his shoulder. “And please send my regards to your significant other.”
With that bomb, he slipped into the conference room, leaving me to wonder what the fuck just happened.