18. Elliott
EIGHTEEN
Elliott
I left the office an hour earlier—I’ve been thinking of what Jillian said since our impromptu lunch two days ago. I didn’t want anyone to catch on that I’m having lunch with my cousins. I want to get back at my father, yes. But it’s more than petty rebellion. I’ve been blind to how misogynistic he is. I’ve always known he’s an asshole but never quite grasped how deep his lack of kindness and fairness goes. And that’s on me. I’ve spent years either trying to gain his approval or staying out of his way. But my eyes are finally open now. I’ve removed the blinders once and for all. I could walk away and not be financially hurt. He’d never forgive me, though. I can live with that, but it would force Mom to take sides, and I can’t do that to her. I know she’d choose me, like she chose my sisters when they went their own way. My father bitched about it but eventually let go because he never saw them as his legacy like he sees me. A poor extension of himself. Lacking in all the things he sees as qualities to succeed. I’ll never be a shark like him and I’m good with that. Better than good. I don’t want to be anything like him. I don’t know why I tried so hard to get his approval for so many years. Has to be some kind of childhood fixation. But I’m so done. Things will change. Starting with my cousins. Time to level the playing field.
I asked the girls to meet me here, thirty minutes away from the office and at a hole-in-the-wall Greek joint that no one in my office would be caught dead in. The food is made by a pair of grandmas and is as authentic as it can be. It’s on par with five-star restaurants I’ve been to. I’m sipping on water when they come in. Their gazes dart every which way. Nikki sees me first and beelines to my table with Mandy close behind her.
They sit down and before I have a chance to say anything, Mandy speaks up.
“What the hell is going on?”
Nikki, always the calmer of the two, reaches out and pats Mandy’s hand. “Give him a chance to speak. I’m sure Elliott has a reason for all the secrecy.”
“I do. And before I say anything, I need you two to promise that whatever we talk about here today, stays here.”
Mandy leans into the table. “I’ll promise no such thing. If you killed someone, I won’t be an accomplice.”
I laugh. If anything, she’ll be the one doing the killing and I’ll be the accomplice.
Nikki hushes her. “Mandy, lower your voice.”
A server stops by and fills their glasses with water. I can almost see smoke coming out of Mandy’s ears. As soon as the server steps away, I scoot closer to the table, and they do the same.
“No crime has been committed, but once I tell you two what I found out, you’ll be very angry. And I know you’ll want to rush back to the office and raise hell. But that won’t solve anything. And I don’t want fingers pointing back at me. So I’ll ask again. Can you two promise to leave me out of it? Can I trust your word, or do I need to get an NDA?”
“We promise,” Nikki assures me.
I pointedly look at Mandy.
She sighs. “Okay. I promise whatever is it you tell us, we’ll never give up that you’re the informant.”
The server comes back with steaming hot pita bread and hummus. As many times as I rehearsed the words in my head, there’s no way to say it nicely. I rip into a pita and dip it into the hummus. “I was talking to Dad a few days ago. You know how they get about who’s making partner first.”
Nikki follows my lead and dunks a chunk of pita into the hummus. “Yes, I think they have a running bet on it.”
“I think they do, too, but I can’t say for sure. Anyway, I brought up that it’s more than me and Josh in the run for it. That the two of you are also part of the firm.”
Mandy snorts at my use of the nickname. She also likes to use Josh instead of Joshua to annoy him. “Yeah, and?”
I took a sip of water. “When I told my father that you two could make partner before one of us, he told me that it would never happen.”
Nikki shrugs. “He’s probably right. One of you two will make partner before us. I didn’t really expect to be first.”
“No, that’s not what he meant. He said that neither of you would ever make partner because, and I quote, ‘the girls will never be made partners, they’ll get married, retire, and have babies.’”
“What the fuck?” Mandy’s grip on her glass is so intense I fear it might shatter.
Nikki takes the glass from her and moves it to the side. “Are you sure that’s what he said?”
“Yes. And I even prodded him for more information. I asked, what if you didn’t get married or had babies or even if you did and still wanted to work.”
Mandy leans in closer still. “And what did he say?”
“He laughed and said that either way, no woman has ever been made a partner in his firm and as long as he was in charge, no woman would.”
“But that’s not true. Grandma was a partner with Grandpa,” Nikki adds.
I put my hand up. “I know. That’s something my father conveniently forgets. He likes to think of her as Grandpa’s secretary, but we all know who ran the show in the firm.”
“The fucking cocksucker,” Mandy hisses.
The server chose that exact time to bring our food. He hesitates for a second and I push glasses and plates around to make room for the platter I’d already ordered for us to share.
“Do you understand now why this can’t come back to me?”
Nikki nods. “He’ll castrate you if he finds out you told us.”
I wince. My father is not a forgiving man. “I had to tell you. And you two can figure out what to do with that information.”
“I want to burn the place down.” Mandy digs into the food, taking an angry bite.
“I completely understand that. But you two are smarter than anyone else in the firm, and as they say, revenge is best served cold.”
Nikki tilts her head. “Why are you telling us this?”
“Because I don’t agree with what he said. And because I’d pay to see you two take my father down.”
Nikki raises an eyebrow. “You would?”
“He’s my father, and I love him. But he’s also the biggest prick I’ve ever met. And I’d love to see him beaten at his own game. That’s why I wanted to meet far away from the office. I don’t want to take a chance of anyone seeing us and also the ride back will give you a chance to cool off.”
“I’m not sure if three trips around the planet would be enough to cool me off,” Mandy says.
“But you must. You can’t go back with guns loaded and ready to fire. You need to be cool about this. Gather proof. Talk to previous female employees. Make a case, and then when there’s no way to deny it, knock him on his ass.”
Nikki nods again. “He has a point.”
I tap on the table. “He underestimates you. You know he does. All of them do. My father, uncles, and Josh. Use that to your advantage.”
Mandy smiles. “They’ll never see it coming.”
And had I been on the wrong side of that smile, I’d probably wet my pants.