Chapter Two
Justin sat behind his desk, going over the daily reports, when he heard an angry voice from the doorway.
“What the hell are you doing behind my dad’s desk?”
Damn. Justin sighed heavily. He knew that voice. He might not have heard it in ten years, but it was one he’d never forget. William Harper, his rival, nemesis, and sometimes bully. Isaac had told him that his son was in town, so he knew this day might be coming. That didn’t mean that it sucked any less.
“This is my office.” Justin looked up and glared at William. How he hated this man.
“This has always been Dad’s office. He wouldn’t just give it to you .” He sneered the last word. “So, I ask again, what the hell are you doing in here?” William’s eyes held the same distaste that Justin was feeling. Behind William, Justin saw Isaac walk by.
“Why don’t you go ask him? Two doors down.” He pointed, putting a dismissive tone in his voice. William looked him up and down in what seemed like disgust before turning and walking away. Man, he wished he could be a fly on Isaac’s wall. He could only imagine how well that conversation was going to go over.
It wasn’t like he and William had always hated one another. Hell, at one point, they had been best friends. Justin’s stepdad had worked for S they each had their own cliques. It turned out that William’s new friends apparently did care. Somehow, they managed to convince William that a star athlete did not hang out with someone like him. And when they found out that Justin’s dad worked for William’s, they persuaded him into believing that Justin was beneath him. William’s friends sometimes went out of their way to mess with Justin. They would call him names and point out all his flaws while William laughed. Justin blew it all off and never retaliated, even though he sometimes thought about it. He thought about telling Mr. Harper what was happening but decided against it. He didn’t want their jobs to be on the line because he was a crybaby. Eventually, he broke down and told Maddox but swore him to secrecy. While Maddox had promised not to tell any of the adults, he did have a talk with William. That was around the time that William informed his father that he was too good to be used as what he called slave labor , and that he wanted an office job. When Isaac gave him one, William got an even bigger head. He then considered himself Justin’s boss.
Issac and Aiden didn’t mean to make their problem worse, but they did. Isaac seemed to adore Justin and had stated many times how he wished his own son would show half the interest and capability in construction that Justin did. His dad, on the other hand, was a sports nut. He could quote sports news and stats off the top of his head. One of his favorite things to do on his break was listen to William’s tales of glory on the field. William had never met a sport that he didn’t like or wasn’t good at, and he was always all too happy to talk about it. It pissed Justin off to no end. Sometimes Justin couldn’t help but think the two men had been given the wrong son.
Then they turned eighteen, graduated from high school, and went away to college. Justin moved six hours away to get a degree in architecture, while William went away to New York to become a sports journalist. There was a time when Justin thought he’d never have to see William again. He only came home for the holidays, so all he had to do was avoid the Harper family seasonally. But sometimes life didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to. Here he was at twenty-eight, still working at S&H Contracting, and going to have to deal with William again. A knock pulled him from his thoughts.
“Hey, Justin, you got a second?” Isaac Harper stood at his door with a pissed-off-looking William behind him.
“Of course, Isaac.” Justin put down the reports he was failing to focus on and turned his attention to his guests.
“He calls you Isaac?” William asked incredulously.
“Considering we’ve been friends for a number of years now, I think it’s appropriate.” Isaac informed his son before sitting in the chair across from Justin’s desk. He motioned for William to take the other chair. William begrudgingly sat.
“I have the quarterly reports almost done. I can have them for you by the end of the day.”
“That will be fine. I don’t need them for another couple of days anyway. You are always one step ahead of the game.” Isaac smiled approvingly.
“That’s my job.” Justin didn’t duck his head at the praise the way he usually did. Instead, he looked right at Isaac, ignoring William’s presence completely.
“Speaking of jobs, did you get the email I sent?” Isaac asked him.
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t gotten to them yet this morning.”
“Well, I need a favor.”
“What kind of favor?” Justin had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“One that will make your life a little easier. William is going to be taking over most of our office tasks, and I need you to show him the ropes.”
And there it was, the reason for Justin’s dread, the one thing he really didn’t want to do. He had to spend time with William.
“What?” William spat out. “He’s going to be the one training me?”
“But, sir,” Justin said at the same time. “Wouldn’t Janie be more suited for teaching him what goes on in the office?”
“Janie’s a great secretary, but as our third-in-command around here, you would be able to get more in depth with him. I sent you an email detailing everything. I sent it to Maddox as well.”
“Wait a minute.” William seemed confused. “What do you mean third-in-command ?”
“Maddox and I couldn’t run this place without Justin.” Isaac shrugged.
“Why him?” William all but whined. “Why can’t you just show me?”
“Because your parents are going to Vermont this afternoon for their anniversary,” Justin answered, sighing heavily. “And they won’t be back until Sunday evening.”
“I told you that,” Isaac addressed his son.
“I thought that was next week.” William sounded like a sullen child. “When I came home, you said you had a trip in two weeks.”
“You do realize that you’ve spent almost that long in your room?” Isaac countered, piquing Justin’s interest. He wondered why the incredibly social William had been hiding from the world.
“Can’t I start next week when you’re here?” William asked.
“Next week we’re booked with appointments, none of us will have time.” Isaac shook his head. “Better you start today, that way you’ll have it down by the time I get back.”
“But, Dad—”
“Besides,” Isaac cut him off. “You need to get back to the land of the living. No more moping around.”
Moping and hiding. Very intriguing. He couldn’t wait to find out what had gone down and made a mental note to investigate it.
“So how about it, Justin?” Isaac broke into his thoughts. “Do you have time for some training?”
“Of course.” Justin forced a smile.
“That’s my boy.” Isaac’s grin was more genuine as he reached across the desk and patted Justin’s arm. “It will be just like when you were kids.”
Man, I hope not. Isaac couldn’t pay him enough to go through that again. Maybe William had grown up a little and wouldn’t be the same entitled asshole he was back then but, based on the way he was acting, Justin highly doubted it.
“Knock, knock,” Abigail Harper said from the doorway. “May I come in?” Isaac motioned her inside. “Are you about ready, darling?”
“Just got everything settled here.” Isaac stood, so Justin did as well. William remained in his seat, sulking.
Abigail made her way over to Justin. “Justin, the flowers were a lovely surprise this morning.” She hugged him. “You are always such a sweet boy.”
“I’m glad you liked them, Abby,” Justin said and saw William’s eyes narrow. Good, I hope the fact that I’m on a first-name basis with your parents pisses you off.
“Well, we’re off.” Isaac took his wife’s hand.
“Have a great time,” Justin told them.
“Oh, we will.” Abigail then leaned down to hug her son. “See you in a few days, my dear.” Then they were gone, and Justin was left alone with a man he loathed, who just so happened to have the same opinion on him.
“Well, I guess we should get started.” Justin kept his tone calm and steady, using the voice he talked to difficult customers in. “There’s a lot to go over.”
William was silent for a long while, just staring at him. Justin stared back, not flinching at the hate in the other man’s eyes. He was the one in charge here, and he would not be intimidated.
“Fine,” William finally huffed out. “What’s first?”
“First, you lose the attitude.” Justin made it a command. “You being pissy isn’t going to get either one of us anywhere.”
“Whatever.” William shook his head. “Just show me what I need to do.” His tone was a little less hostile.
Justin sat back down at his desk and opened the email Isaac sent last night with the subject line William . Damn, why hadn’t he opened his emails this morning? At least he would have been a little better prepared for this situation.
Hello, gentlemen. I’m sorry to spring this on you at the last minute, but my son will be joining us starting tomorrow. He did a great job in the office when he worked here in high school. I’m sure, with a little training, he will soon become an asset and a big help to us all. I’m hoping to have him take over labor distribution, work assignments, invoices, billing, and such. Basically, all the tasks that the two of you hate.
I know that this is a terrible time, with Maddox and I both being out, but I felt I had no choice. William is going through a rough time in his life. While I’m understanding and sympathetic, he needs to get back to the land of the living, despite what happened in New York. Honestly, I was a little nervous to leave him completely alone for four days.
I realize that you are very busy, Justin, but I would appreciate it if you would let William shadow you for the rest of the week. See you both on Monday. Isaac.
The email made Justin wonder even more why William had come home. What had he gotten into? “We’ll go over data entry and answering emails as soon as I set you up in our system.”
“That’s it?” William made a face. “And why couldn’t I learn that from the secretary?”
“Janie’s great, but she basically just answers the phone,” Justin informed him. “Your father wants you to shadow me. But I warn you, I’m a very busy man and work long hours. You’re going to need to keep up.”
“There has never been a time in our lives that you’ve been better at anything than me,” William scoffed.
“We’ll see.” Justin smirked. “We’re in the office today. I have to finish the quarterly reports, type up all the estimates from yesterday, print out the invoices for all the finished jobs, and set up the schedule for incoming jobs.” Justin hit the intercom. “Janie, can you bring in a new laptop?”
“No problem, Mr. Ashton,” she replied. Janie entered a few moments later with the computer and sat it on his desk. “I also brought your messages. Is there anything else, sir?” William scoffed at the way she addressed him. Justin ignored it.
“I’d like to introduce you to our new hire. This is William Harper.”
“Janie Banks.” She held out her hand to him. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” William said in a much friendlier tone than he was using with Justin.
“If you need anything else, I’ll be at my desk,” she said.
Justin nodded, turning his attention to the computer, and she left. After another few minutes of clicking around, he had everything set up. “I want you to try logging in,” he finally said. “William dot Harper at S&Hcontracting dot com. The password is Harper02.”
“Now what?” William said after he’d done so, and he was in the system.
Justin knew that he was going to have a long day before he even got to work. His last job had run long, and he had a ton of paperwork to catch up on. It was made even longer by having to endure William’s presence and his constant questions. It seemed like the man didn’t listen when he explained things the first time, and he would ask the same questions two or three times before finally grasping the concept. With any other new hire, Justin probably wouldn’t have minded. He was a big advocate of checking one’s work. Better to be safe than sorry. But this was I’m better than you William Harper, and he definitely minded.
By midday, Justin had never been more grateful for lunchtime. He was about to strangle the other man. He wanted to explode on him, but he just wasn’t that kind of person. “How about you go take an hour lunch break?” he told William. He needed a few minutes by himself to put the tight rein back on his composure.
“Yeah, lunch sounds good.” William nodded, leaving the office as quickly as possible.
Not two minutes after William left, Justin’s phone rang. Maddox. What the hell could he want?
“Hey, Justin,” Maddox said when he picked up. “I just got Isaac’s email and—”
“Why are you checking emails?” Justin cut him off. “Aren’t you supposed to be in bed with Emmanuel declaring your undying love for each other?”
“We were, but I took out my phone to make dinner reservations for tonight, and I saw the subject line,” Maddox told him. “Em and I are packing up right now.”
“Don’t you dare, Madd.” There was no way Justin was letting that happen. Maddox and Emmanuel deserved this time together. “You still have two days left.”
“It’s okay,” Maddox tried to assure him. “Em understands.”
“Please tell me that you didn’t tell Emmanuel about what happened when we were younger.” Justin groaned. He knew Maddox and Emmanuel kept no secrets from one another.
“I told him that there was an emergency at the office, and I needed to get back.”
“This is not an emergency, and I don’t need you to cut your vacation short,” Justin said firmly. “I can handle this.”
“You sure, man?” Maddox sounded concerned, and a little skeptical.
“I’m a grown man now, Madd. It’s not like when we were kids.”
“Remember that you’re the one in charge. Don’t let him get to you, but don’t take his shit.”
“I got this.” Justin made himself sound more confident than he was feeling. “So, when are you planning on us moving Emmanuel’s stuff?” He changed the subject.
“I haven’t asked him yet.” Maddox sighed.
“And why the hell not?” Justin wanted to know.
“Because I’m scared.” Maddox blew out a harsh breath. “What if he thinks it’s too soon? What if he says no? What if my asking him to move in with me triggers bad memories of what happened with Whitlock? What if—”
“Madd,” Justin cut him off. “You’ve got to pull it together, man,” he said gently. “Emmanuel loves you, and he knows how much you love him. And I’m sure by now, he knows you’re nothing like his ex.” Justin paused. “Anyway, you do realize that you live together like four or five days a week, right?”
“Yeah, but what if—”
“You do still want this, right?” Justin interrupted again. “Are you afraid he’s going to say no, or that he’s going to say yes?”
“A little of both,” Maddox admitted. “I’m terrified that he’s going to say no, and it will probably break my heart. But I’m so worried that I’m going to fuck everything up if he says yes.”
“I really don’t see how you could.” Justin shook his head. “You’ve always been yourself around him, and he fell in love with you because of that. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, and you’ll be fine.”
“You think?” Maddox asked, sounding slightly anxious.
“I know,” Justin assured him. “Now, the real question is, do you want Emmanuel to live with you?”
“Of course I do. I miss him like crazy when he goes back to Gabe’s.”
“Okay, then, here’s what you need to do,” Justin said seriously. “Man up and ask him. I’ve never known you to be a coward, Madd, and now is not the time to pick up bad habits.”
“You’re right.” Maddox blew out a breath. “You’re right,” he said, sounding more confident. “I can do this. Em’s the most important person in my life and I want him with me all the time.”
“Then ask him.”
“Tonight.” Maddox’s voice was steady and unwavering. “I’ll ask him tonight. Thanks, man.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” Justin smirked. “Now, unpack your shit and go back to bed,” he ordered.
“And you’re sure you’re okay?”
“Positive,” Justin assured.
“Call me if anything you can’t handle happens,” Maddox made him promise.
“You got it,” Justin said, even though he wouldn’t. “Enjoy the rest of your vacay. Later.” Justin hung up before Maddox could say more then immediately dialed another number.
“Hey, Justin. What’s up?” Henry answered on the third ring.
“Are you busy?”
“Paperwork,” Henry told him. “You sound stressed. What happened?”
“William. Harper,” was all Justin said.
“Okay.” Henry chuckled. “You’re going to have to give me a little more to go on than that. Who is William Harper?”
“Isaac’s jerk of a son.” Justin let out a heavy sigh.
“The one who was so awful to you when you were kids?” Henry asked.
“The one and only,” Justin confirmed.
“Did you run into him or something?”
“Or something.” Justin knew he sounded as upset as he felt. All the emotion he’d been trying to hide from Maddox came out in his voice. “He’s back. And not like visiting, like his dad gave him a job back.” He sighed.
“Wait. Isn’t he some hotshot reporter?” Henry’s tone was sarcastic. “What’s he doing here?”
“Right this second, he’s getting lunch after spending half the day making me want to quit my job and move far, far away,” Justin said through clenched teeth then shook his head. “Something had to have happened though. Isaac said he was hiding from the world and being mopey.”
“What did Maddox say?” Henry asked.
“He’s at that cabin with Emmanuel this week, remember?” Justin let out a heavy breath.
“You should call him.”
“He already called to tell me that they were heading home early. I managed to convince him to stay, and that I was fine.”
“But you’re not, are you?” Henry questioned.
“I should be. It’s been ten years, you think I’d be over it by now. But one look at him and I’m seventeen, getting bullied by the rich kids.” Justin shook his head.
“I could come over,” Henry offered. “We could have a long meeting and completely avoid him.”
“I have to train the prick. With Maddox and Isaac both gone, it became my responsibility. What the hell am I going to do?”
“Wow,” Henry exclaimed. “This couldn’t get more perfect.”
“What are you talking about?” Nothing about this situation was perfect.
“I googled William Harper, which you should do right this second.”
Justin turned to his computer and typed William’s name into the search bar. Article after article popped up. “‘Noted sports journalist William Harper fired from the Herald after a drunken interview leads to unwanted advances,’” he read then clicked another story. “‘William Harper, formerly of the Herald , makes a fool of himself by coming on to baseball’s rising star, Sebastian Evans.’”
“No wonder he’s in hiding.” Henry laughed. “It looks like every paper in New York picked up on it. There have to be like fifteen different articles here.”
Justin clicked on another headline. “‘The picture that ended William Harper,’” he read. It was a grainy photo of William with his arms around a man he assumed was Sebastian. “He never could keep it in his pants. Serves him right.”
Justin’s thoughts drifted back to high school, and Ethan Montgomery. He’d had the biggest crush on Ethan for years and had finally gotten the courage to ask him out senior year. But after three amazing months, Ethan dumped him. Why? Because superstar William Harper had seduced him at a party, and Ethan decided that he’d prefer William and the status that dating him would bring. Justin had been crushed. Even more so when he found out that William didn’t even want Ethan, that he’d just been using the man to hurt him.
“How can we use this knowledge to our benefit?” Henry’s voice pulled him back to the present. “What can we do to make his life a living hell until he goes back to where he belongs?”
“I’m not sure that’s going to happen,” Justin said, skimming another article. It looked like William had really gotten into some hot water. “Besides, he’s Isaac’s son, it’s not like I can be horrible to him without him whining to his dad.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Henry sighed. “It’s not like you’re that kind of person anyway.”
“I save the devious stuff for you.” Justin laughed.
“Mr. Andrews?” Justin heard a voice call.
“Gotta go, Justin,” Henry told him. “We’ll talk later.” Then the other man was gone and a knock on his door drew his attention. He looked up to see William. Quickly he closed the article he’d been browsing.
“I didn’t expect you back so soon,” he said.
“I decided to just pick something up. I was actually hoping that you’d still be here,” William told him.
“Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?”
William nodded. “I’m not in the best place right now, but that’s no reason to be a jerk to you. I need to learn this, and I wasn’t really paying attention. I was acting like a child and I’m not proud of it. This is my dad’s company and I need to remember and respect that.”
“Okay,” Justin said after a minute. “Let me get my lunch and we’ll go over anything you’re having trouble with.”
“I brought you a peace offering.” William held up a white to-go bag from his favorite Mexican restaurant, Mama Rosie’s. “I grabbed you a couple of tacos. You still like beef fajita with the onion and bell peppers, right?” Justin nodded. William returned to his chair, took the food out of the bag, and passed Justin his.
Justin walked through the door of his family home just after seven. He was immediately assaulted by a screaming match. Mom and Evie are at it again.
“I told you—”
“What is going on in here?” Justin interrupted his mom.
“Oh, Justin, thank goodness you’re home.” Nora Sawyer sighed with what sounded like relief. “Please tell your sister that she cannot get barely passing grades and go out on a school night.”
“Do you want me to study or not,” Evie sneered. “Because that’s where I was going.”
“Dressed like that?” Nora raised an eyebrow.
“You wouldn’t know fashion if it bit you in the butt,” Evie told her.
“That’s it, you’re grounded for a month,” Nora returned.
“You can’t do that!” Evie shouted. “I have Stephanie’s birthday this weekend.”
“Too bad.” Nora shrugged.
“Justin, do something,” Evie begged. “She’s being completely unreasonable.” She pointed at their mother.
“You both are,” Justin informed them. “Now, we’re all going to calm down and you’re going to tell me what’s going on. Mom, you start.”
“Evelyn got her report card today.” His mother sounded angry as she passed the sheet of paper to him.
“A, B, C, D, A, B, A,” he read, then turned to his sister. “Your grades aren’t supposed to sound like the alphabet song, Eves. What happened?”
“I tried my best.” Evie sounded exasperated, like this was a sentence she’d repeated multiple times. “Some of my classes are just too damn hard.”
“Now she’s cursing.” Nora threw her hands up.
“One problem at a time.” Justin patted his mother’s shoulder before turning back to his baby sister. “Do we need to get you a tutor?”
“I just need more time to study.” Evie shook her head.
“Maybe we need to cut down on some of the extracurriculars.” Nora raised an eyebrow.
“No!” Evie shouted forcefully. “Justin, tell her she can’t do that.”
“Everyone, chill.” Justin raised his hands. “Mom, why don’t you get a glass of wine and relax while I handle this thing with Evie?” He kept his voice soothing yet commanding. Nora nodded, walking toward the kitchen while muttering about how her girls would be the death of her. Justin took Evie’s hand and led her to the couch. “Now talk. Why are you falling behind?”
“I don’t know,” Evie said sullenly.
“ Do you have too much going on?” he questioned. “Because your grades are going to get you benched, even if Mom doesn’t take you out.”
Evie put her head in her hands and sighed heavily. “My English teacher hates me. That’s why I’m failing.”
“Why do you think she hates you?” Justin wondered.
“Because I bust my ass to turn in quality work and she still only gives me C’s or D’s. Our quizzes are mostly creative thinking questions, but she still marks half my test with not the answer I was looking for . I ace all the multiple-choice exams. I tried talking to her about it, but all she ever tells me is that I need to try harder. I tried to tell Mom, but she doesn’t believe me.” Evie sounded close to tears.
“Okay, I’m sure we can fix this,” Justin said with more confidence than he was feeling as he put his arm around her shoulders. “I’ll set up a conference with her.” He knew her teacher, and when he’d seen her on open house night, he thought about requesting a class change for Evie. He had gone to school with Faith Armstead, turned Thornton. It seemed that she married her high school boyfriend after all. She’d been one of William’s group of friends, and a vicious gossip queen. He couldn’t count the number of rumors she’d started about him. Was it possible that she was taking her hate for him out on his sister? And if she was, how the hell was he supposed to prove a teacher of discrimination? “Did you keep your graded papers?”
“Mrs. Thornton keeps all our assignments in a binder behind her desk.” A tear ran down Evie’s cheek.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart.” Justin gave her a tight squeeze. “We’ll figure this out.”
“Okay.” Evie sniffed and wiped her eyes.
“Now, what about the C in math?”
“Calculus is hard, Justin.” She shrugged. “Half the class failed. You should be happy with a C.”
“Valid.” He nodded. “I mean, you are passing after all. And now that that’s settled, where were you really going?”
“To the library,” Evie insisted.
“That outfit screams party,” he told her, pointing to the spaghetti-strap tank top and black miniskirt. “So I ask again, where were you going?”
“Ruby Rodriguez’s parents are out of town, and she doesn’t want to be alone, so she invited a few people over.”
“Obviously you can’t go,” Justin said firmly.
“Why not?” She pouted.
“No parents.” He shrugged.
“I’m almost eighteen, Justin. I go to college in the fall. You’re not going to be able to protect me from everything forever.”
“I guess I’m just not ready for you to be a grown-up yet.” Justin sighed. “I’ll try to lighten up a little, okay?”
Evie nodded. “What about Ruby?”
“Invite her to spend the night here, and whoever else you were going to study with can come over for a few hours. I’ll take Mom to the movies.”
“And the grounding?” Evie wondered.
“I’ll talk to her, but you’ve got to give her a break, Eves. She only wants what’s best for you.”
“I know.” Evie blew out a breath.
“Mom,” Justin called.
Nora entered the living room carrying half a glass of wine. “Everything worked out?” she asked.
“Yes,” Justin said as Evie nodded. “Evie is going to stay home and study with some friends while you and I go to the movies.”
“But—”
“No buts, Mom. Go get ready,” Justin said with authority. His phone chimed while his mother was getting her purse. It was a text message from the group chat he was in with Maddox and Henry.
He said yes! Maddox had sent.
At least something is going right today, Justin thought as he typed out a quick reply offering his heartfelt congratulations.