21. Matthew
21
MATTHEW
T he following day was the shareholders’ dinner. I dreaded what was to come. Best case scenario, this whole shell corporation thing was one big misunderstanding. Worse case was Wyatt being the biggest asshole in the world and I had believed in him and his bullshit.
Then there was Parker. I was going to have to sit across from him, look him in the eye, and pretend all of this wasn’t happening. Pretend that his livelihood, his freedom, wasn’t on the line because of his jerk of a brother-in-law. No pressure.
I researched all of Monday what banks Wyatt used, when he deposited the money, the frequency of the transfers. I wanted to find some sort of pattern, something that I could pinpoint as being outside of the norm. I wanted to be armed with the most information possible when I confronted Wyatt with what Holden had uncovered.
I was just walking out of the office, about to get into the town car, when Parker approached me. “Hey, Matthew! I came by your office earlier, but the door was locked.”
Parker usually stopped by my office at least once a day to say hi or bring me a document or two. I was one of the few higher-ups who had an open-door policy. With most of the other executives, usually their assistants guarded the door and let only a few people in, not wanting to be disturbed or seem too available.
I threaded my fingers through my hair, messing with the stupid hair gel. “Yeah sorry, Uncle P. I umm … got caught up.” I had to think quickly on my feet and find a good distraction. “Holden is thinking of proposing to Bridget, and I was listening to him drone on and on.”
Sure that conversation happened yesterday, but Parker would be none the wiser.
“Oh, really? That’s interesting since Holden was with me going over the Japan reports most of the day …” Parker trailed off, quirking an eyebrow inquisitively at me.
“Oh yeah.” I pursed my lips, the truth on the tip of my tongue, but instead I quipped, “I’m mixing my days up again. Wyatt has me working on too many things at once. I guess I really should start paying more attention.” I chuckled uncomfortably.
Parker must have sensed my discomfort because he held out his hand to grab my shoulder. “Matthew, are you okay? You seem very jumpy and out of sorts,” he inquired.
My eyes widened. Fuck . I needed to reel myself in before I fucked everything up before I had a chance to find enough evidence to stop Wyatt. I didn’t need to be visiting Parker in jail.
“Yeah, yeah. It’s just I saw Cassie recently and it’s been fucking with me,” I told a half-truth.
“Ah that makes more sense. She was a wonderful young lady, Matthew. Please remember your happiness is the most important thing. Not the money or notoriety.” Parker opened his mouth to say something more, but after a minute, he simply shook his head. Instead he said, “I’ll see you at the club.”
I nodded, getting into the town car and making my way to the country club where the doomed dinner was being held.
“Hors d'?uvre, sir?” The server extended a silver platter with assorted small appetizers on it toward me. I shook my head, declining politely, and I continued scanning the foyer for Wyatt.
Shareholders filed in slowly but surely—some with their wives, some solo. While many of them migrated to the dining hall where the sit-down dinner would take place, I walked outside, waiting for my adoptive father, with the smokers getting their last cigarette in before dinner.
I turned to one of my colleagues, bumming a cigarette off him. I wasn’t a smoker by any means, but these last few days would make even the most straight-laced person want a little relief.
Just as I exhaled the smoke, Wyatt waltzed his way over, raising an eyebrow. Liz was lagging behind with Rowena, her caregiver, pushing her wheelchair. She looked frail and nothing like the woman I once knew.
“Disgusting,” Wyatt muttered.
I snuffed out the cigarette before I scurried around Wyatt to make my way toward Liz, taking over for Rowena as designated wheelchair pusher.
We entered the dining hall and were greeted by investors and shareholders alike. I crouched down next to Liz, wanting a few moments to chat. I felt guilty for not visiting her more often like I intended, and I had to tell her that before we were amongst the crowd. Fuck the place cards and the assigned seating.
“I’m sorry, Ma, for not visiting. I thought ... I don't know what I thought,” I admitted sheepishly. I had been wrong about so much lately. Things had gotten so out of hand.
Liz waved me off and then extended her hand to palm my cheek. “Oh dear, it’s fine. I’m fine. I’ve come to terms with things. The doctors say there’s not much they can do. My heart is just too weak, and I wouldn’t survive another operation. Don’t mention it to your father, you know how he gets …” She inhaled a deep breath, looking around the room for presumably Wyatt. Liz exhaled when she saw he was speaking to Arthur Harris. Looking at me with a melancholy expression, she stated, “Matthew, I need you to know that all I’ve wanted is for you to be happy and successful. I’m not sure I understood what that meant until recently. The money—” She let out a humorless laugh. “The money gets you nowhere. I mean, look at me, we have endless amounts of money, but when it’s my time, I can’t stop it.”
“Ma …” I trailed off, not knowing why she was saying all this.
Tears began forming in her eyes. “When we adopted you, I was scared of losing you after we’d already suffered so much loss?—”
“What’s all this about?” Wyatt demanded, glowering over where we were hunched together. I rose to meet my father eye to eye.
“I was just telling Matthew how proud I am of him and to stop smoking!” Liz swatted my rib playfully, smiling slightly. I looked down at my mother, puzzled, and she shook her head. The moment was over. Whatever she wanted to say was a moot point now.
“Matthew, I need a word with you.” Wyatt motioned for me to follow into the lounge area we just left.
I had to play my cards right, or I could very well fuck up everything. Less was more, I kept trying to remind myself.
Wyatt stood there wordlessly for a minute, looking me up and down. “Matthew. Oh Matthew, what are we going to do with you?”
I gulped. Could he have found out already? Was the office bugged? Paranoia started to surround me.
“What do you mean?” I asked dumbly.
“Don’t try to play cute!” Wyatt scolded, “You’re smoking? Are you purposely trying to upset your mother? What the hell was that back there? She’s in a fragile state and has not been doing her best, and you go out of your way to upset her.”
I blinked, bringing myself back to reality. My father had the audacity to scold me about smoking a fucking cigarette when he was out here framing his wife’s—who was so fucking fragile—brother-in-law. Yeah, he was one to talk.
“I’m sorry. It was a one-off.” I sucked my teeth, trying not to let my grievances air before I was ready.
“Matthew, I don’t think I’ll ever understand you.” Wyatt turned to leave, but I stopped him, desiring to capitalize on this moment alone.
“Wait, can I ask you something?”
Wyatt nodded. “Make it quick.”
“So I didn’t want to bring this up in front of Ma because like you said she’s in a delicate condition. But I was looking at some paperwork on Holden’s desk while he was at lunch. I was checking the status report from last week and I found a spreadsheet for a company called Nardini Industries.” I looked Wyatt square in the eye, searching for any clues or acknowledgment of his deception, but Wyatt wore a mask of indifference. “I found it odd that there’s a company in Parker’s name, especially since you’ve been saying how Parker is going to be ‘reassigned’ due to future restructuring.”
Wyatt pursed his lips, his nostrils flaring. “Matthew, if I were you, I’d watch the next words that come out of your mouth,” he warned, venom oozing from his mouth.
“Or what? You’ll frame me too?” I snapped. Wyatt’s defensive attitude was all the confirmation I needed.
“Shut your goddamn mouth.” Wyatt looked around, making sure nobody was in earshot of this alarming conversation. He started for the door again, probably hoping I would get the hint and follow.
But I was on a mission. After all the bullshit, the hoops I jumped through, I was starting to see it was all for nothing. All for someone who was unethical and lacked any sort of remorse for the sins they had committed. God knows what else Wyatt was hiding.
“You know …” I started signaling to Wyatt to come back, not worrying about my volume because I knew it would draw Wyatt’s attention. “There’s one thing I don’t quite get.”
Wyatt walked over to me, his face beet red and the veins on his forehead bulging. “What’s that?”
“You’ve known Parker most of your life. He’s married to your beloved wife’s sister. How could you do this to him?” I questioned, disgusted by the man standing before me.
Wyatt laughed, and I couldn’t believe the motherfucker had the balls to laugh. Nothing about this was humorous. Wyatt was playing with someone’s livelihood, with their freedom, and he didn’t seem to care in the slightest about it.
“See, this. This is why you will never make it in the business world. You could do so well under my guidance. I gave you my last name, setting you up to be a power player. I’ve basically been spoon-feeding you my insights. If it weren’t for that, you’d be just like the rest of the bottom feeders out there, doing the doggy paddle in an Olympic-sized swimming pool, trying to make a few bucks. You’ve always been a little too righteous for your own good. Word of advice, son—cut the pious act. You’re no morality police. It will do you some good to see that we live in a dog-eat-dog world, and some of us are just hungrier than others.”
I was stunned. I seriously wanted to believe that these allegations weren’t true. I believed in my adoptive family. Thought they were a testament to how I was supposed to behave. A good, wholesome family. What a crock of shit that was. Everything I once believed in was a lie.
“You’re despicable. What would Ma say if she found out? Or better yet the SEC?” I implored, playing on Wyatt’s weakness with the mention of his sick wife.
“You think you’ve got it all figured out? Well, jokes on you, Matthew, you don’t! I can’t imagine how much more we can do for you. We’ve tried to mold you. Tried to show you the way to live, but you’ve always found a way to fuck it up. You couldn’t even get something as simple as dating right. You somehow managed to find some way to complicate it with ‘feelings.’ How many times do I have to tell you? There is no love in business. There’s fondness and familiarity. That’s it.” Wyatt rolled his eyes, continuing to try to bait me. “You couldn’t just be happy with a woman like Natalia or even that Maya chick. Someone good for you and this lifestyle.” Wyatt threw his hands up in exasperation. “No, you just had to go and pine over that little orphan girl some more.”
“Cassie?” I questioned, knowing the answer as to who Wyatt was referencing already but needing to hear it from the horse's mouth.
“Yes, Cassandra , your precious girlfriend.” Wyatt spat her name, malice laced around the words. “She was never good enough for you. Wouldn’t even accept my attempts at getting rid of her. All she would talk about was this future she was planning with you. I thought I was doing a good thing, offering to make some connections for her in the art world, but she wouldn’t even consider it. In the end, everything worked out as it should, but you’re still not happy. I don’t get it. Don’t you see the lengths I’m willing to go through for your happiness?”
My eyes widened as Wyatt let the truth tumble from his mouth for the first time. His disapproval was evident. Instead of feeling relieved to finally have confirmation, I felt like a fool. I allowed myself to be duped by my only family. I tried not to be too hard on myself—I was just a kid after all—but seeing how far back this all had gone turned my stomach. Wyatt not only hated Cassie, but he offered her money to leave me? What a shame the truth came out too late.
“How could you?” I narrowed my eyes, pissed at the inconvenient truths being exposed. This was the second time I was heartbroken in the last few days.
“Oh get over yourself. I did you a favor,” Wyatt dismissed, looking to the doorway of the dining hall where Arthur was now poking his head in. “Now like I’ve been telling you, we have a lot of important events coming up. You need to be at the top of your game. Your mother is still insisting on planning the company’s anniversary party, much to my dismay. And I think you need to talk to the doctor about those sleeping pills. And quit fucking smoking! Now if you’re done with your little temper tantrum, come on.” Wyatt started for the door again.
I stood there, staring blankly. How could he be planning to go in there and pretend everything was business as usual? Was this what had been happening for years? How had I never noticed the two-faced nature of my adoptive father?
No, I couldn’t go back there—not now, maybe not ever. Not after having all of this thrown at me at once. I was no longer able to fake it anymore. I couldn’t sit there with a smile on my face and act like my whole world hadn’t just caught fire. The truth changed everything. It took away my ability to be blinded by love any longer. All the deception, the pretenses, all the meaningless bullshit I wasted my time on—all of it was for nothing. I couldn’t look away from the problems that were caused by my ignorance. While I lived in bliss, Cassie lived in agony all those years ago.
One thing was for certain—now wasn’t the time for me to bust this whole operation open. No, I wasn’t in the right headspace. When the time was right, I would rip off the bandage, exposing all that I had learned. Just not tonight.
“Matthew?” Wyatt motioned for me to follow, speaking through gritted teeth.
I shook my head. “I can’t. I’m gonna need time.” I couldn’t be rash. If I cut Wyatt off, then not only did I lose everything, but Parker could as well. “I think I need to take a sabbatical. Like you said, I need to get my head on straight. Talk to the doctor, get myself back on track.” And put some fucking distance between you and me , I added mentally.
I walked toward the doors leading outside, knowing there wasn’t much Wyatt could do with Arthur standing there. I smirked as I turned my back to Wyatt. “I’ll call you soon! Give my best to Ma!” I called over my shoulder, heading to my car, ignoring Wyatt’s hushed protests.
As I exited the fancy country club and was greeted with the crisp fall air, I inhaled a deep breath. For the first time in years, I could breathe freely.