Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
SIMON
I felt my heart beating out of my chest, but I was trying to appear cool, calm, and collected. As always.
Since I’d been old enough to start forming permanent memories, my dad had drilled it into us that it was never okay to let anyone see you sweat. Over the years, I’d always done my best to follow that advice, but I’d slipped up. A lot.
This was not, however, an occasion on which I could afford to lose sight of that lesson. If Fit Gal found out that I’d stolen Abigail’s pitch, Astor and Co would be out and not even Ashley would be able to save me.
While I hadn’t known that it’d been Abi’s pitch until it’d been too late, what my dad had done was tantamount to corporate espionage and there was no way any client in their right mind would associate themselves with a firm who was guilty of something like that. Hell, I didn’t want to associate myself with something like that.
Rage simmered in my bloodstream, burning like lava in my veins. I could fucking get in trouble for this. Be fined. If anyone found out about it, over and above the criminality of it, I could be blackballed in the industry.
No one in this city would ever work with me again.
What the fuck is wrong with that man?
The pitch my team and I had come up with hadn’t been quite as good as hers—I’d grant him that—but it had been a mock pitch. It wasn’t even for a real campaign. There were almost a dozen mock pitches still ahead of us. We could’ve made up any ground we might’ve lost, but I didn’t even think we would’ve lost ground.
Fit Gal hadn’t declared a winner for the individual pitches today, only for the commercials—for which Abi and I had been a team anyway. Which meant that he’d dumped all that risk on me, without even bothering to inform me about it, for absolutely nothing.
I ground my teeth and sat stock still for the rest of the meeting, barely able to grit out the words thank you when Ashley complimented Abi’s pitch. I had half a mind to walk out of the room when we were done and never come back here, but Fit Gal was too valuable a client and Astor and Co would take a serious hit if I got our founder arrested.
Plus, Mom wouldn’t survive something like that. Maybe if Brooks hadn’t?—
“And now for the winners of the commercial challenge,” Blake’s voice broke into my thoughts. “Simon and Abigail!”
Shit. That’s less than ideal.
The woman wanted nothing to do with me and my first instinct was to go along with what she wanted, which was that I leave her alone, but then I remembered that no one told me what to do. Eventually, she was going to have to hear me out.
I’d done nothing wrong. Well, not knowingly, anyway.
Either way, she and I would have to work together again in Florida and I wasn’t about to screw up something important to Fit Gal simply because she was pissed at me. Again. Ashley and Blake had made it plenty clear that this expo was a big deal, and Abi and I were going to make sure they didn’t lose out because of us.
Once I figure out how to convince her to even talk to me again.
I exhaled deeply and shook hands with Jeffrey and Blake after the meeting, nodding in response to Karen’s congratulations and narrowly avoiding Ashley as I left the room. Abi got out of there like her ass was on fire as soon as we were dismissed and I didn’t blame her.
No doubt London will be watching a tutorial on how to fashion a shiv in a few minutes.
A pang shot through me—and not because I was afraid of a sharpened toothbrush. I felt like absolute shit over what had happened today and I was already feeling the pain coming my way because of it. I’d been this close to winning Abi’s trust again.
Had I wanted us to pick up where we’d left off and try to make a run at life together? No. Well, maybe. I didn’t really know, but I did know that having her back in my life was the closest thing I’d felt to possibility in a long, long time.
My life had been feeling so empty for so long, and I hadn’t even realized it until I’d realized it. Abi’s unexpected re-entry into my existence had definitely made me realize it, though. She’d brought me back to life. She’d made me reassess where I’d been at and she’d made me want more, even if I hadn’t quite figured out what that more was just yet.
Now, that was all over and I’d lost her. Possibly for good.
Unless I could figure out a way to talk to her outside of work, because she definitely wasn’t going to give me the time of day within these walls. I went by our office before I left anyway, but she wasn’t there.
Unsurprising, considering that we’d only come in today for the meeting. I was quickly learning that when Fit Gal had insisted upon the presence of a representative from every firm being present at their HQ twice a week, they hadn’t actually meant twice a week. What they’d meant was that said representative had to be available for whenever meetings or events were scheduled, but also work out of their offices at least twice a week.
It wasn’t ideal, but I’d been prepared for it. I had no idea how Abigail was managing, but I suspected it had a lot to do with Austin, and the mere thought set my teeth on edge. God, I need to get over that.
Giving up on finding her in the building, I decided to head out myself. There was a conversation I needed to have and I needed to have it now. Today. Before the immediate wrath over what he’d done this time left me.
On my way to my car, my phone rang and I scowled, convinced it was my dad until I pulled the device out of my pocket and saw Benny’s name on my screen. Since he was handling things on my behalf at the firm, I took the call.
“What is it?”
“Jeez. It’s nice to talk to you too, buddy.” He let out a low whistle. “What crawled up your ass, and is it dead yet or is it still in the painful throes of dying?”
I gritted my teeth and forced out the words. “Stop talking about my ass, Benny. What’s going on?”
“We’re throwing a birthday bash for Josh tomorrow. I’m expecting you to be there.”
I tipped my head back to face the light gray clouds. “I’m really not in the mood for a party.”
“It’s Josh’s birthday, man. What the hell? You can’t not be there. What happened?”
“Things went to hell with Abigail. Again.” I finally realized I wasn’t even going to get a speck of sunshine from above to warm my frozen blood, and kept striding toward my car. On the other hand, it was only frozen when I thought about her. As soon as I turned my mind back to the person who had caused my current situation, lava started coursing through my veins again. “Look, Benny, I don’t really want to talk about this right now.”
“What if I invite Abi and her friends?” he suggested immediately. “Josh seemed to be into Eden anyway, so it’s a win-win.”
“Good luck.” I scoffed. “I doubt any of them are going to take you up on an invitation after what happened today, but I’ll think about it. You caught me at the wrongest time.”
He was silent for a beat. “You’re sure you don’t want to talk about it?”
“Not until I handle the problem.” There was only one person I wanted to speak to right then, and as soon as I got into my car, I knew exactly where I was going. “Can I call you back?”
“You got it, bro. Talk to you later.” Although I could hear he was hesitant to do it, he hung up and I tossed my phone onto my passenger seat without another glance at it.
Wrapping my fingers around the leather of my steering wheel, I backed out of my parking spot and drove directly to my parents’ house. These days, my father spent most of his time there. Mercifully, the man was almost never at our offices anymore.
It was an arrangement that suited me just fine, even if it meant I had to drive out to their mansion to see him. Their place had huge marble pillars out front and a full staff running the home, including maids, butlers, gardeners, a chef, and a whole host of people who ensured that Mom and Dad never had to do a single damn thing.
Slamming to a stop after racing up their long driveway, I threw open my door and stalked up the stairs to their grand entrance. Once upon a time, I’d thought this was how people lived, but as I stormed through their ornately carved, double wide doors and into their foyer, I couldn’t help but feel a frisson of disgust for where I’d come from.
I used to be proud. Of my family. Of our home. Now, I was forced to wonder how much of the success the old man had achieved had been stolen off the back of someone else’s efforts. How much of what he had rightfully belonged to other people?
Jared, their commander in chief around here, strode out of the kitchen at his usual clipped pace and attempted to intercept me halfway across the foyer. “Welcome home, Simon. If you’ll just wait in the?—”
“I’m not waiting,” I snapped at him, my footsteps echoing on the marble floors in the quiet, cavernous space as I marched down the hall. “I need to speak to him. Right now.”
“I’ll take you to his study.” Jared finally fell into step beside me, accompanying me even though I’d grown up here. I knew where I was going and I didn’t need his help, but when we reached the doors to my father’s office, he insisted upon opening them and announcing me anyway. “Apologies for the interruption, sir. Simon is here to see you. He wouldn’t wait.”
Dad didn’t even look up when I walked in, examining some papers on his desk as if they held the secrets to the universe. “You’re here. Why? I don’t recall inviting you, and if I’m not mistaken, you should be making our pitch right about now.”
I choked back rage. “ Our pitch? You mean the pitch we stole , right? Our pitch was the one you told me not to make.”
“What of it, Simon?” he drawled, bored and still not looking up. “I delivered you the best pitch available. Why are you here instead of making it?”
“That stunt you pulled today will not be happening again,” I seethed as I stopped in the center of the room, taking in the overstuffed leather couches and the volumes of antique books on the shelves behind him.
I used to think this was what I wanted. I thought that one day, when I was all grown up, I wanted my own office just like this one, with its massive partners’ desk and a view of the city, like I was king ruling over my kingdom.
The night he had ordered me to go to Harvard—or else—I’d looked around this very office and I’d realized I had none of the power in here. I’d realized that until the day I could walk in here as an equal, I never would have any control over what he decided for me.
Dad finally put his papers down and scoffed as he slowly lifted his gaze to mine. “Oh yeah? Just how are you going to stop me from doing whatever the hell I want? It wasn’t a stunt, Simon. We needed to start strong and I made sure that we did.”
“One more stunt,” I continued as if he hadn’t spoken. I’d learned doing that from the best after all, and I lifted my chin, looking right into his eyes. “One more, and I’m done. I’m done, Dad. Do you hear me? Not only with the companies, but with you. Completely.”
I held his gaze for another long moment before I spun on my heels and left. It’d taken me long enough to realize that I did have some power in here. I just hadn’t had the balls to act like it before. Ultimately, he was just a man. A man who was growing older and who wouldn’t be around forever. A man who could go to prison just like any other and a man who needed to realize that I was not going to keep letting him control me.
He’d already lost one son and I doubted he’d risk losing the last one he had left too, but it was a gamble I was willing to make. Even if it ended up costing me everything.
On my way out of the house, my mother tried to stop me. She appeared from around the corner of the far end of the corridor, obviously having been told by Jared that I was here. Her dark eyebrows were pinched, the lines that had appeared on her skin after my brother’s death etched deeper than ever as her green eyes caught on mine.
On the surface, she was flawless. A beautiful woman always dressed in only the finest designer wear, a cream-colored linen dress today with her graying dark hair twisted in an elegant style behind her head. But underneath all that, she was just as broken as I was—and she had been since long before my brother’s death. My father had broken her long ago and he kept picking at the pieces that were left.
If I could’ve put a stop to it, I would’ve, but I’d tried convincing her to leave him. She’d refused. Locking her gaze on mine, I saw the pain streak across her delicate features, her eyes suddenly round and pleading. “Simon?—”
I shook my head and blew past her, really not able to hang around or even slow down. It felt like I couldn’t breathe in the house anymore. I just needed to get out and put as much distance between myself and it as possible.
“I’ve made excuses for him for long enough, Mother,” I said without stopping. “I can’t do it anymore. I’m sorry you lost Brooks. I really am, but I lost him too and it’s about fucking time that he starts realizing that won’t excuse every bad thing he does forever.”
I meant it, too. My father had been a nightmare before my brother had passed, but he’d become a downright terror after. He’d taken everything that had meant anything to me once before and I’d be damned if I let him do it again.