Chapter Twenty-Three
“So now this Swedish chick is threatening to sue, but the lawyer says it’s all a smoke screen because once she sees the evidence Jeremiah has, she’ll drop it.”
I’m sitting in the boardroom in the Ross Construction office, surrounded by cousins who are treating me like a rock star. Who would have guessed all it took was dating a reality TV star and getting mired in scandal to become popular in my family? Although I should note that popular doesn’t mean they like me.
“It sounds messy,”
Aunt Helen says with a disdainful sniff.
“That’s what we’re hoping.”
Reid sits beside me. “The lawyers seem to think this isn’t something we should worry about.”
It’s weeks later and Jeremiah has already made his peace with the police. He pled to a misdemeanor, paid his fine, and is doing PSAs about drinking and driving. He’s so at peace and staying at Patrick’s place in Brooklyn when he’s not traveling. Reid’s at my place. Again, when he’s not taking meetings since surprise surprise, no one is blackballing the Dorsey brothers. They’re actually hotter than ever and have several companies vying for their next show.
Which Reid claims won’t happen since he’s staying here with me. He’s only taking the meetings for Jeremiah’s sake. He plans to leave the show to him and sit here in an office and waste all of his talent.
It’s making me crazy. I can’t convince him to leave me. Or that we can manage long distance for a while.
“Margie, I don’t even know how you’re dealing with this.”
Helen pats my mother’s hand, and I can see my mom nearly preen under the attention.
“Well, I for one am shocked.”
My mom makes her presence known. Not that she needs to be here for the meeting. She doesn’t have stock in the company, but she does like to bring cookies and sit in judgment of everyone. It’s what she lives for. “I guess I suspected someone who acts as nice as Jeremiah Dorsey would be upstanding.”
She blushes slightly as she turns Reid’s way. “No offense meant, of course. And you turn out to be the loyal one. I wouldn’t have expected that. I’m honestly shocked you’re here. I would have thought you would have moved on once the job was over.”
I barely manage to not roll my eyes. I want this meeting complete so Reid and I can figure out what we want to do.
We.
The word plays in my mind.
“My brother is very loyal, but he also doesn’t care what small minds think of him,”
Reid shoots back, proving he knows how to deal with pettiness. “As to moving on, there’s no moving on from Harper. I love her and we’re going to be together, so you can have this relationship with me where you snipe and swipe and I call you on all your shit or you can start being polite. If things go the way I plan, I’m going to be in this office every day.”
“What?”
Paul sits up straight, a frown on his face. “We’re not hiring your fuck boy, Harper. We don’t even know if you’ll have a job at the end of today. The way you’ve ignored this company needs to be addressed.”
“Ignored?”
Reid sits up, his jaw squaring. “She’s been on a sabbatical and yet she’s had to be in this office or on site every single day because of your mismanagement.”
“I inherited a mess,”
Paul announces. “We’re down from last year, and I’m dealing with all the stupid changes she decided to make. So, no, I can’t promise she’ll have a job at the end of today, but I can tell you if I’m the CEO, I won’t be hiring you, Mr. Hollywood.”
I put a hand on Reid’s wrist, silently begging him not to engage with my cousin. He’s not worth it.
I’m starting to wonder why I’m here at all.
“Well, of course, she’ll have a job.”
My mother ignores Reid’s testy ultimatum about their future relationship, but then she’s good at ignoring things she doesn’t want to deal with. “You can’t fire her. She’s invaluable to the company, and she owns a good piece of stock. If you decide to go a different way, perhaps she can take over something like human resources or accounting.”
In other words more feminine departments, though I’m sure she would say girls aren’t good at math, so maybe she’ll put me in charge of janitorial. But only until I marry my somewhat surprisingly loyal boyfriend who will still probably leave me for someone prettier and more feminine than me. According to my mother that’s pretty much all women.
“Will she? Or if she survives the vote and I can’t save us, will she hand the company over to this celebrity person?”
Paul asks, looking Reid up and down. He’s sitting at the opposite end of the conference table, his sister, two cousins, two aunts, and an uncle between us. My uncle Jed is half asleep. He’s eighty-two and once was really salty since his two younger brothers formed the company and didn’t give him a job. He moaned and complained enough they let him buy in, hence the extra cousins. He doesn’t care anymore and comes around because he likes to vote.
“I thought only relatives could be on the board,”
Claire says with a pout. “If we’re bringing in anyone, then I want my boyfriend here.”
“I don’t understand why we’re hiring this man when Harper told me she couldn’t find a place for my Gavin,”
Aunt Helen says, pressing her glasses up her nose and giving me serious side eye. “I don’t think positions should be given to anyone unless the family doesn’t have someone to fill it.”
“Gavin is a twenty-two-year-old college dropout whose only professional experience is harassing customers at a Wing Stop.”
This is well-worn ground, but it looks like I’m going to cover it again. A weird sense of fate comes over me. I’m always going to be here, sitting in this chair, fighting for my place, but I’m not as anxious as I should be because he’s here beside me. He’ll stay right here and take every blow they throw at us. “I’m bringing Reid in as a designer. He’s got a degree from the Parsons Institute, and I think having him on board will bring us an entirely new class of clients. Has Gavin worked in the field for years?”
“Gavin doesn’t end up in the tabloids,”
Susan says primly. Gavin is her brother, and I’m pretty sure she’s helping pay his rent.
“Because no one cares about him.”
I’m not being mean. It’s just the truth. Gavin is a massive tool.
Susan waves me off. “It doesn’t matter. He can learn. You can teach him like you’ve taught the others. Face it, Harper. You’re doing exactly what you always say the rest of us shouldn’t do.”
“That is hypocrisy,”
Aunt Flora says, pointing my way. “You wouldn’t even let me borrow money for a new boat and yet here you are paying your little boy toy.”
Now my back’s up because while Reid is an excellent sex toy, I’m the only one who gets to talk about him that way. There’s a wonderful brain in with all that hotness. Also, I’m not sure how Flora’s husband’s second fishing boat is important to the company.
“Excuse me, I’m all man.”
Reid sits back like none of this bothers him in the least. He also looks gloriously sexy in the early morning light. “Man toy, please. The things I do to her… No boy could handle her.”
He’s ridiculous, and I’m in love with him. I’m mad, crazy, head over heels in love with him.
I hate that he’s having to see this side of my family. I hate that there is this side to my family.
I love that he’s willing to be here. Willing to take this freaking abuse with me.
Huh. It is. I know Ivy and Ani tell me all of this is abusive behavior, but I grew up in here. Sometimes it’s hard to see what’s normal and what’s toxic.
“Paul says there’s more than enough money to go around,”
Aunt Helen insists.
“There is,”
Susan agrees. “I did the books this year and it’s our best year ever. Definitely better than the last couple of years when Harper forced us to do that tax thing.”
“So no one would go to jail.”
I don’t even try hard anymore.
“We should have fought that,”
my cousin Cliff says, leaning forward. “We should have ousted her then, when she stopped caring about the family and our needs. I believe I mentioned that. No one listens to me. We could have fought that.”
Sheryl smooths back her hair and sits in her chair. “Well, isn’t this what we’re here to discuss? How Harper is running the company and whether someone else would be better at it? I know poor Paul has been working his ass off to cover for her and she barely pays him anything.”
“He’s the second highest paid person in this firm.”
It’s a halfhearted attempt, but the truth of the matter is I don’t want to be here. I want to be with Reid having breakfast and talking about how cool it’s going to be to meet the owner of Banover Place and show her and her daughters around. We think the mid-century modern home is hers. It’s mature and understated. It’s also my favorite. I went with Reid and Jeremiah when they bought the furnishings for it. Typically we would simply rent furniture and let the new owner bring their own after the filming is done. This owner was insistent that everything be ready to go. She sent a message that she wanted everything perfect for her girls.
So we tackled it like a team. Ani, Ivy, and I each picked a house and with the Dorsey brothers as advisors, we furnished these glorious dream homes. It gave me such satisfaction to step back and see these places we all worked on, these places where people will live and love and work. Where they’ll raise kids and have friends over for dinner. Where they will truly live. There is so much of the original left, but with places for the new owners to make it their own.
It gives me this sense of peace. Like I did what I was born to do.
“I mean if we can all take sabbaticals to follow our foolish dreams, then I would like to be paid to try my hand at being a chef,”
another cousin volunteers. “Maybe the company can pay for culinary school.”
“I don’t understand why she needed the sabbatical at all,”
someone else says. “It’s not like what she does is difficult.”
I stare at Reid while everyone around me complains. I can see he’s getting pissed, but he promised he wouldn’t say anything. No matter how bad it got.
He’s out of place here.
I think I might be out of place here. Lately, I’ve been wondering who gets to tell me what my place is.
“Now Harper does some nice things for the family,”
my mother is saying. “But I agree she can do more. I’ll talk with her. I’m sure I can get Gavin a job.”
She’s wrong. “I’m not hiring Gavin. He’s a little shit who’ll bring a harassment suit down on our heads within his first three months of employment.”
Flora gasps. “How could you say that about your own blood?”
“Because it’s true. But I’m sure if you vote for Paul, he’ll probably hire him today.”
That feels good to say.
“Now, wait a minute,”
Paul says, and for the first time he looks slightly confused. “I think we should talk about this. Harper, you do know this company well, but I think we should have some new rules in place. I think we should elevate my position to be the same as yours. A restructuring might help us function better.”
Reid huffs. “That’s your game, isn’t it? You want to get everyone mad at Harper so you can move your position up, get all the benefits, but she’s still here to run the company. Because you know damn well that you can’t do the job. You know if you’re left in charge and she’s not around to fix things for you, you’ll run this company into the ground.”
Paul’s eyes narrow. “I’m trying to be nice. I’m trying to forgive and forget.”
But they never do either in this family.
What do I owe them? My whole life? My soul? Am I obligated to take their abuse for the simple fact that we share blood?
What do I owe the man I love? The friends who are more of a family to me than anyone in this room but Reid?
What do I owe myself?
All those questions roll through my head.
What would happen if I just…didn’t?
Reid turns to my cousin Sheryl, the one with the exact right amount of stock I need to stay in my position. “Sheryl, Harper would like to offer to buy your stock.”
Sheryl’s eyes go wide. “What? I’m sure she would. What’s she offering? Like a couple grand?”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,”
Paul replies. “Also, I don’t know if it’s legal given the company bylaws. Harper doesn’t have money, and no one can sell their shares outside the family.”
“Babe,” I begin.
But he’s pushing on with this plan he has to save me, to give me the thing I told him I need. “The shares will be in Harper’s name. I’m giving her the money, but I won’t have anything to do with the shares. When we marry eventually, we’ll have a prenup stating clearly I don’t get any stock in case we split.”
“We’re not splitting.”
Of all the things he’s said, that’s what I can’t stop myself from responding to. “We don’t need a prenup.”
I say that because I know he won’t protect any of his assets. He’s selling his penthouse and plans on using the proceeds to buy us a new place and save this job I don’t even know why I’m doing anymore.
No one wants me here. Not really. Or if they do, they only want me if they can control and use me.
Reid gives me a smile. “We’ll do what it takes to satisfy your family.”
“Now see, that sounds like a sensible plan.”
My mother nods Reid’s way. “I always knew Harper would come around in the end and see sense. She needed to find the right man since she won’t listen to her mother.”
“I still don’t like this stock plan.”
Paul stares at me. “I think you’re trying to buy out family members so you can consolidate power.”
“Or I could not,” I say.
“I’d like to hear this offer.”
There’s pure challenge in Sheryl’s voice. “So I can laugh at you and refuse you because this is nothing but a silly way to try to keep your job.”
“I agree.”
It hits me that I’m here when I could be anywhere else. Anywhere. I think Lydia’s making pasta this afternoon, and Ivy and Heath are testing out the AI at her place. We could be there.
“One point five million,”
Reid says, his tone serious and unwavering.
Shock goes through the room.
“Million?”
Sheryl lights up. “You’re serious?”
“Now, Sheryl, we should talk about this,”
Paul begins.
“He’s not serious.”
I know he is, but I can’t go through with it. I turn to him and reach for his hands. “Babe, has Jeremiah hired a contractor for his new show yet?”
He’s still for a moment. “You don’t have to work with me. I’ll come here.”
“But if I want to? What if I want to do something for me? Not just us, though falling in love with you is why I’m here. What if I want to try something that fills my soul?”
“Uhm, I’d like to talk about the one point five million,”
Sheryl says. “I say yes. I will sell to you.”
“Are you sure?”
He ignores my cousin, and his hands squeeze mine. “Oh, baby, be sure because there is nothing in this world I would love more than a Dorsey Family show. We can fight and argue and collaborate and make my brother crazy and do so much good for people who need us. And when we make enough, I promise, I’m going to find another Banover Place and I’ll let you do whatever you want with it. You can restore it to its Gilded Age glory, and I’ll happily live there with you.”
That sounds like paradise but with one compromise. I think that’s what I learned about love. Or maybe compromise is the wrong word. When you love the person you’re in a relationship with, you want to make them happy because they make you happy. And everyone wins. “How about we have some glorious details and places we can show off, and the rest of our house is infinitely warm and comfortable and beautiful. But, babe, I’m going to need a place for the sippy cups.”
He stands, and the smile on his face is like sunshine. “I’ll design the most functional pantry in the history of time. Shall we?”
I stand with him. Like I always will.
“What is happening?”
Paul asks, his face a florid red.
“Yes, Harper. What are you doing?”
My mother is a nice shade of pink, too. “Sheryl said yes. Now you’ll have what you need to keep your position. I’m sure we can find something for Reid to do.”
This actually feels good. Like I’m taking off a way too heavy for me coat and moving freely for the first time in my life. “No, Mom. I’m not letting Reid spend money on this company when we have our own to build. Paul, it’s all yours. Good luck. Mom, I’ll have Lawyer draw up the transfer of my stock to you. It’s where Dad should have left it.”
“No. That’s not what he wanted at all,”
my mother sputters.
“You can’t leave.”
Paul is on his feet and looks like he realizes he entered the find-out stage of his life. “You’re the CEO.”
“Not anymore,”
I reply. “I quit, and I divest myself of all stock in the company. My mother informed me that my father never wanted me to be the CEO. He intended to train my husband to one day take over.”
I tilt my head to look Reid in his gorgeous eyes. “You want to take over, babe?”
“Absolutely not. You chose poorly, but I’m holding you to it,”
Reid replies with a grin.
I turn back to the family I probably will be going low contact with. “See, I chose poorly. Like my mom always says I do. She can have the stock and Paul can have the joy of heading the company, so please direct all of your complaints and requests to him. Also, I’ll be taking some of our employees with me. The people who worked on Banover Place will be getting offers.”
“We’re going to need a crew,”
Reid agrees. “And I think we already have a head of production, even if he is on the grumpy side. What’s up with that?”
Patrick is way less grumpy these days. Jeremiah has the man actually smiling from time to time.
“Harper, this is unacceptable.”
My mother stands, her whole face rigid with outrage.
I take a long breath because this speech I’m about to give is a long time coming. I never thought I would give it in public but here we are. “Mom, I love you. In many ways you were a good mom, but you don’t like me very much and I’m unwilling to sacrifice my whole life so you approve of me. I am going to marry Reid and we’re going to start a new career, one I’m so excited about. If we choose to, and I think we will, we’ll have a couple of kids and we’ll likely raise them here in the city. I’d like for you to be in their lives if you can be good to them.”
“And their mother,”
Reid adds. “If you’re not good and kind to their mother, their father will have something to say about it.”
“If you choose not to, know that they’ll have wonderful, weird and wild women to take your place. They’ll have my sisters, and they’ll have Lydia and Diane and CeCe to spoil and love them. So even if you can’t ever forgive me for not being what you thought I should be, know my kids will be loved. I will be loved.”
Tears pulse behind my eyes. She’s been terrible but she’s still my mom. She still held me as a baby and rocked me and went with me to buy my graduation dress and showed up at all my recitals.
“You cannot walk out that door, Harper,”
my mother insists.
“She won’t have to.”
Reid leans over and scoops me up and starts for the door as everyone is freaking out behind us.
“What are we going to do?”
someone asks. Probably one of the aunts.
I don’t answer because it’s not my problem anymore.
I choose me. I choose us.
I let Reid walk me out of that building and into our future.