Chapter 18 Sienna #2
“Yes, she totally will,” Liv says as she stands and rests her hands on her desk.
Their offices are side by side, with a door connecting the two. I have no idea how she gets any work done with him around. He spends his days fawning over her, while she vacillates between being charmed by him and being annoyed. She’s a saint, really, for putting up with him.
He, on the other hand, is head-over-heels in love with her. Though I’d never admit it, it’s sweet. And he does mean well.
I have to remind myself of that last part often.
“Thanks for coming early,” Liv says as she eases into her office chair.
Her professional tone has my hackles rising. “Is this a formal thing?”
“Yes,” Beckett cuts in. “But first tell me about the date last night.”
Ignoring him, I drop into the soft velvet guest chair and drag my fingers over the fabric. “This is nice.”
Liv smiles. “Thanks. I redecorated a few months ago. Thought it was time for some updates.”
“Hello?” Beckett huffs.
Sighing, I drop my head back and pin him with a look. “He didn’t show up.”
He breaks into a bewildered frown. “What do you mean he didn’t show up?”
I straighten and shrug easily. It wasn’t a big deal. Honestly, I was relieved. “He texted an apology, at least. He said he didn’t think he could go out with Beckett’s younger sister. And I quote, ‘No offense, but picturing Beckett Langfield while eating dinner would be a total turnoff.’”
My brother’s eyes narrow to slits, and his face turns red. “Jasper Quinn did what?”
Liv sucks in a harsh breath. “You did not try to set her up with Jasper Freaking Quinn.”
He stomps to the open door and bellows, “Man Bun!”
Cortney Miller, Beckett’s close friend and the GM of the baseball team, materializes out of thin air in Liv’s doorway. He’s giant, like Brooks, with long blond hair tied back in a bun.
Now that I think about it, Cortney might be the player Beckett was wooing all those years ago that led to me traveling to the Bahamas alone.
My wrist itches at that thought. Before I can give in to the sensation and rub my fingers across the butterfly that used to bring me such hope, I ball my hands into fists.
Cortney puts his hands on his hips, his brows lifted expectantly. “What?”
“Quinn is out. Demarco is in.”
Cortney lets out a heavy sigh. “You sure?”
Liv huffs a frustrated breath. “You can’t trade Jasper Quinn because he didn’t go on a date with your sister.”
My jaw drops. “What?”
“I asked him if he could be a team player,” Beckett says, ignoring me. “He’s been on thin ice, but I gave him one more chance to prove to me he could grow up. All he had to do was take Sienna out. Make her laugh. Show her a good time. I didn’t ask him to sleep with her.”
“Beckett Langfield,” Liv hisses.
My brother’s eyes go wide, and he takes a step back, like he suddenly realized just how much shit he’s gotten himself into. “Can I have a minute to talk to my sister alone?”
“Beckett,” I fume. “You can’t fire a player because he didn’t want to hang out with me.”
My brother no longer looks contrite. “I can and I will. I hate seeing you like this, and I hate knowing that I’m to blame.”
I sink into the plush velvet, wishing I could become one with the fabric. That’s what should happen to designers when we can no longer design. We should be given the decency of dying a gentle death, forever being comforted by the materials that bring us joy.
“You’re not to blame,” I say, suddenly drained of all fight.
“I’m heading back to my office,” Cortney says, pointing to the hallway. “Am I really trading Quinn?”
“Yes,” my brother hisses.
At the same time, Liv smacks the top of her desk and huffs out a no. Then she lifts her gaze and zeroes in on her husband. “You told me I was CEO of the Boston Revs. You already have a job.”
My breath catches. This is news to me. My father officially retired last year, and since then, Beckett has taken on his duties as acting CFO while also running the baseball team.
I’ve considered offering to help a time or two over the last few months to ease the amount of work on his plate, but I’ve been hesitant to get involved in Langfield Corp, knowing that I may never get back out.
I don’t know how he manages all the work while still being as active in his kids’ lives as he is. This shake-up will help there, though if Liv is the new CEO, they’ve mostly just transferred heaps of work from his plate to hers.
Even so… “Congrats on the promotion.”
She smiles. “Thank you. That’s why we asked you to come in today.”
Confusion has me tilting my head. “Hmm?”
“So yes or no?” Cortney, who’s still hovering at the door, pleads.
With a growl, Beckett tips forward in his seat, staring his wife down. “I’ll agree not to meddle in anyone’s love life for the next month if you agree to trade Quinn.”
Lips twitching, Liv eyes Cortney for a heartbeat. When she zeroes in on her husband, she matches his stance, as if she’s going in for the kill. “Make it three months, and you’ve got a deal.”
“Forty-five days.” Beckett leans back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. “It’s the best I can do.”
Liv shakes her head. “You really want to trade Quinn?”
“Yes. From here on out, I only want team players.”
The negotiation goes on for another minute or two, each volley sending me looking from my brother to Liv and back again, like I’m watching a tennis match.
Eventually, Liv holds her hand out over her desk, and my brother shakes it. “You’ve got a deal.” With a glance at Cortney, she adds, “Make the trade.”
Just like that, the Revs are down a player.
It’s wild the way they argued like that and how quickly and decisively they made the deal. It almost…god, my body buzzes with an unexpected exhilaration as I replay it in my mind.
“Now,” Liv says, lacing her fingers in front of her and focusing in on me. “Onto the favor we need to ask of you.”
“As I was saying before, I’ll never forgive myself for what you’ve gone through,” Beckett adds.
“Beckett—” I shake my head, willing the tears pricking at my eyes to abate. If I relive it all again, if he apologizes again, there’s no way I won’t break down.
“It’s my fault that you hired Warren Financial to handle your investments. If I hadn’t referred you to Xander Warren, you wouldn’t have been caught up in his Ponzi scheme, and your company—your life’s work—wouldn’t be caught in this whole mess.”
I clench my jaw, fighting back emotion. It’s true.
When my company went public, I was in need of a new financial adviser, and since Beckett funded my company after I’d asked my parents and they’d turned me down, I called him.
His heart was in the right place. He thought he was helping me as well as a new family friend.
But that friend turned out to be a thief.
It could have happened to anyone. Unfortunately it happened to a Langfield, and when a name like ours is involved, there’s always extra scrutiny.
The people who had gone in on the company with me lost everything.
Yet because my personal funds remained untouched—because they remained invested elsewhere—there was speculation that I colluded with the thief.
That’s when I made the deal to cover what they lost myself. If only that had been enough for them.
That last part is my secret. I won’t share that information with Beckett.
I won’t make him feel worse than he already does.
My brothers and my parents think my money is tied up while the investigation is still active and that I’m hiding from the fallout.
They have no idea that the fallout includes the decimation of my entire life.
That there are no assets left to recoup anymore.
I’m lost, like a stray piece of yarn fluttering in the wind. A loose thread I can’t even stitch back up because I’ve been forced to sign away my right to design ever again.
Fuck, my head hurts, and it’s got nothing on my heart.
“I really don’t want to do this again,” I tell them. “I don’t blame you. I just want to move on.”
“That’s why we asked you to come in.” Liv’s voice is gentler now, her smile warm. “We need help.”
A knock at the door interrupts us, and Gavin appears. “My turn yet?”
I frown. “Huh?”
“We’d like you to come work for Langfield Corp.” Beckett thumbs over his shoulder at Gavin and smirks. “You’d be his boss.”
Gavin grins. “Promise you’ll be nicer than my other boss?”
“I’m the best boss,” Beckett grumbles.
Liv, eyes dancing, snorts.
“I’m confused.” I frown at one brother, then the other, before turning to Liv. “What is it you want me to do?”
“We want you to be me,” Liv says, “for the hockey division.”
“You?” I question.
“Yes,” Gavin says. “We need you to head up the Bolts. You’d step into my old position.
I’ve been juggling the tasks of both CEO and coach since we fired Seb.
We hired a GM when I took over coaching, and it’s helped cut down on my workload, but it’s time I pass over the reins.
The hockey division of Langfield Corp needs a dedicated CEO again. ”
“But I know nothing about hockey.” This seems like an important detail. Sure I’ve been to many hockey games in my life, but I’ve always spent those hours sketching designs. I’d yell when the crowd around me yelled, but otherwise I paid little attention to the game.
“But you know business. You’ve run one for the last six years. An extremely successful business, at that. And one you built from the ground up. You’re the only one of us to accomplish that feat,” Beckett points out.
Sure, I built a business. A business that’s now bankrupt.
I cross my arms, my fingers instinctively tracing the butterfly on my wrist.
“I can help you with the hockey knowledge,” Gavin explains.
“But what we really need is someone with a mind for business. Who can look at numbers, advertising budgets, and the big-picture stuff. All the stuff you’ve been doing for half a decade.
You’re qualified, Sienna. We wouldn’t ask you to do this if you weren’t. ”
“And I’m a Langfield,” I point out.
Beckett shrugs. “For better or worse, yeah, you’re a Langfield. Gav and I are here because of our name too. But that name means I trust you more than anyone in this world, and I’ll do anything to help you succeed.”
I swallow down the emotions clawing up my throat.
Those words are almost identical to the ones he spoke the day he agreed to fund my business.
My brothers have always believed in me. Maybe I failed once, but for the first time in a long time, I feel a flutter of excitement in my belly.
Maybe it’s time to attempt to fly again.