Chapter 55
CHAPTER 55
SIMON
I t was killing me that Abigail wouldn’t speak to me. I was trying to focus on work, but what she’d told me yesterday before she’d left our office at Fit Gal kept echoing through my head. I’m not ready to talk, Simon. I don’t know how long it’s going to take before I am or, frankly, if I ever will be ready, but until I am, this is the extent of the talking I’m willing to do.
After everything, it was really starting to look like seeing that bracelet in Ashley’s hand had been the straw that had finally broken the camel’s back.
I let out a loud sigh and looked away from my computer, moving my gaze to the cityscape beyond my window instead. Somewhere out there, probably at her office in the Walker Marketing building, Abigail was doing the exact same thing I was: building a bulletproof, kick ass pitch for Fit Guy.
Her heart was probably in it, though. Mine wasn’t.
I heard my office door open and bit back a groan, glancing over my shoulder and hoping like hell that it was one of the guys. It wasn’t.
George walked in, dressed in a light gray suit complete with the chain of his pocket watch dangling visibly. He looked like a dapper gentleman, not the monster hiding under the bed.
I scoffed before he’d even said anything, knowing full well I couldn’t handle whatever pressure my dad had for me today. “Why are you here?”
“Last I checked, it was still my firm.” He strode into my office and shut the door behind him, moving to the large window I’d just been staring out of and keeping his attention on something outside. “I received an email from Fit Gal inviting me to a presentation. Looks like they want to call in the big guns.”
“They invited all the CEOs to make sure you’re also a good fit. Don’t flatter yourself. They just want to get a feel for each company. They don’t want you there specifically.”
Dad nodded absently, his body half turned toward me but his gaze never leaving whatever he was staring at in the place he imagined was his kingdom. “That might be true, but I’m glad I’ll be there to keep an eye on you.”
“I’m sure.”
“You’ve been distracted, son.” He finally cut his gaze to me, those cool eyes locking on mine and his head slowly tilting. “I can feel it. You’ve been checking in less. Listening less. I don’t know what’s causing it, but I will figure it out, and once I do, I will make sure the distractions are removed.”
I inhaled deeply, looking right back at him to meet his unspoken challenge. Another day, another threat. Welcome to life with George Astor.
In the past, I might’ve tried arguing or protesting, but I wasn’t going to waste my time on that anymore. “I’m focused on getting the Fit Gal account. If you want to take over, then report to their offices tomorrow morning wearing athletic gear. If not, then I need to get back to work. What’s it going to be, George?”
I hadn’t often called him by his name, but so much resentment was brewing inside me right now that I couldn’t bring myself to get the word Dad out of my mouth. The few occasions on which I had called him by his name before had been during meetings or in other formal, professional settings.
This was the first time I’d done it in private, and when he heard it, I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of sadness go over his face. It left me speechless. I hadn’t seen anything but cold indifference, dismissal, or anger from him in years.
In response, he gave me a curt nod and lingered for a moment, the corners of his eyes tightening as he just stood there, staring at me. My eyebrows arched, but I didn’t voice the question. He knew I was waiting for him to tell me if he would be taking over or not, and when he didn’t say a word, I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to my laptop.
In my periphery, however, I could still see him. He turned slowly toward the door, striding over to it and then pausing before he opened it. Internally, I braced myself for a verbal lashing, but it never came. The next thing I knew, the door was shutting behind him and I was alone again.
That’s really not like him. It’s probably not a good thing either.
Someone else might’ve taken his silent retreat as a win, but I knew better. He hadn’t come at me today, but he would. When he was ready. Whatever being ready would mean to him under the circumstances, whether it was briefing someone else on the Fit Gal account to have them take over or simply terminating my service.
In the meantime, I had to keep working, though. Until he removed me from an account I’d gotten us a shot at, it was my shot to take. A deep sigh blew out of me and I dragged both hands through my hair, desperately trying to get my thoughts back on track.
It took me a few minutes of contemplating the general complexities of father-son relationships and the specific challenges my father and I faced, and then I finally shook myself out of it. The harsh reality was that our relationship was fucked. It had always been tenuous at best, but it was now broken beyond repair.
Thinking about how things might’ve been different wouldn’t make it so.
I went to the Fit Guy marketing package I’d been putting together and I kept at it between other meetings for the rest of the day. Barely even noticing that it’d gotten dark outside, I almost jumped when my door suddenly opened and I realized there was no more office hum coming from the other side.
“We’re heading out,” Josh said, popping his head in and giving me a tired smile. “If you’re in the mood for wings and beer, we’re hitting up the Doghouse before we go home.”
“Well, that’s an appropriate place for me to go.” I tried to say it ironically, but I was too damn exhausted. “Yeah. Okay. Never mind. I’m coming.”
Pushing my chair back, I saved what I’d been working on and packed up. Then I met the guys in the lobby and walked to the bar down the street with them from there. Josh glanced at me once we’d found a table and had gotten our first round.
“When you said this was the appropriate place for you to go, you meant because you’re in the doghouse with Abi, right?”
“Yep.”
“She still hasn’t heard you out?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t think she’s going to. Not this time.”
Benny leaned across the table from where he was seated on the opposite side of our booth. The dim lighting gave the bar a cavernous feel, shadows stretching long across the scuffed floorboards and falling across my friend’s face.
“You have to make things right with her, Si. The two of you have come too far and you’ve been through too much for you to leave it like this.”
“I know, but I can’t force her to talk to me.”
A single bulb flickered near the dartboard, its weak glow barely illuminating the board itself. Low-hanging pendant lamps over the bar cast harsh pools of light, highlighting the hands of our fellow drinkers wrapped around their glasses.
I was glad the guys had chosen this place tonight. A trendy, bougie, after-work vibe would not have done well for me. The dark and musty Doghouse, however, matched my mood perfectly.
“It’s not about force, dude,” David objected, beer bottle dangling between his fingers as he shook his head at me. “No one is saying you should force her to talk to you, but you need to do something .”
“My dad knows something is up, which kind of makes it feel like the best thing I could be doing is what she asked me to: leave her alone until she’s ready to talk. He hasn’t figured out yet that it’s about her again and I need to make sure it stays that way.”
“Or you could just tell him the truth,” Benny suggested, though he didn’t sound completely convinced. “I know things have been tough between you, but he’s still your dad. Maybe if you just sat him down and gave it to him straight, he’d understand how much she means to you.”
I snorted before I could stop myself. “If he was anyone else, I would give that a try, but I sat him down about Abigail ten fucking years ago and he didn’t listen then. He’s not going to listen now.”
“He could surprise you.” Josh’s eyes narrowed before he let out a sigh. “Or not. Let’s be honest. He’s probably not going to surprise you, but it might be worth a try.”
“I doubt it.” I hated saying all this in the context of my family. My own father. But that didn’t make it any less true. “If you want to be honest, then let’s be totally honest, shall we?”
The guys nodded and I grimaced, but even if this was painful, it had to be said. “My dad will stop at nothing to tear me and Abigail apart. That’s the way it’s always been. She’s a Walker and I think he’s afraid that if we stay together, I’ll jump ship to join their firm. If it means keeping me in his business, he’ll do whatever it takes to stop us from being together.”
“Okay,” Josh said thoughtfully. “What if you tell him it won’t happen? That you won’t jump ship just because you’re with her?”
“Because he can’t guarantee that,” Benny answered for me, leaning back against the worn, fake leather of the booth and letting out a sigh. “So long as we’re being honest, let’s stipulate to agree to the fact that Nathan is a better boss. From what I’ve heard, he treats his people well. When he announced his retirement, he handed the reins over to his daughters. He’s overseeing that process, but he’s not getting in their way.”
“All of which means that in my dad’s head, it’s highly likely that I’ll eventually walk if I get closer to the Walkers.”
David took a beat to think it over before he shrugged. “Maybe you should.”
“What?” I frowned, stopping with my beer halfway to my mouth as I turned to face my friend. “What do you mean, maybe I should ?”
“I’m saying that if it comes to that, if you tell your dad you want to be with her and he tries to tear you apart, maybe you should consider it.”
“Consider what?”
“He means that you should consider leaving,” Josh said, sounding more resigned to the idea than opposed to it. “Walk away from the company. From George. You’re talented, bro. You’d be an asset to any firm, and if Walker won’t take you, look at someone else or start your own thing, but don’t let a company and its CEO dictate who you should be with. Even if that company belongs to your family and the CEO is your dad.”