Chapter 43
CHAPTER 43
“A gift?”
Stark could hear the harsh surprise in his father’s voice. He shut his office door and put his phone on speaker, placing it on his desk as he sat down.
“What do you mean a gift?” Alexander’s surprise had been replaced by suspicion.
“I’m not investing in your company, but I will give the money to you, free and clear. No expectation for you to pay it back,” Stark said.
A heavy silence filled the air before his father said, “What’s the catch?”
“Two catches, actually,” Stark said. “The first one is that this is it for us. I give you the money, and you stay out of my life for good.”
“And the second?”
“You fire Jasper.”
“I can’t fire Jasper,” his father sputtered. “He’s my CEO, for God’s sake.”
“Those are my terms for getting the money,” Stark said calmly.
“Isaac, be reasonable,” Alexander said. “I can’t fire Jasper. He’s family.”
“Family? That’s the reason you’re keeping him on?” Stark said. “You let me leave without a single protest, but you can’t fire Jasper even when he’s destroyed your company.”
“He hasn’t destroyed it,” his father said. “A few bad decisions don’t mean -”
“You’re in this mess because of him,” Stark said. “Refusing to acknowledge it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”
“Son, I get that you’ve always been jealous of Jasper, but stooping to this level of pettiness isn’t you.”
“How would you know? You don’t know anything about me,” Isaac said. “But for the record, I’m not asking you to fire Jasper because of jealousy. I’m only doing this to help you and your company.”
That wasn’t entirely true, but Stark didn’t feel any guilt. His father could either accept his terms or not, and after this, Stark would never have to deal with him or his cousin again.
His father sighed deeply. “Fine. I’ll fire Jasper. But you should know that this lack of commitment to your family is deeply disturbing to me.”
Stark laughed hard and with genuine amusement. “That’s fucking rich coming from the man who whined about firing the man destroying his company but didn’t balk at giving up a relationship with his son for money.”
“You’re forcing me to do that,” his father snapped. “You’re the one deciding to end our relationship, Isaac, not me.”
“You’re right,” Stark said. “And it’s a decision I will never regret. I’ll transfer the money as soon as I have proof that Jasper no longer works for the company. Goodbye, Dad.”
He ended the call, a giddy excitement bubbling up inside of him. He expected to feel guilt, maybe even a little remorse at the death of his relationship with his father, but there was just that giddiness and a feeling of freedom.
There was a knock on his door before Lucas opened it and stuck his head in. “Hey, do you have a minute to… whoa, you okay?”
“Why?” Stark asked.
“You look weird,” Lucas said before grimacing. “Shit, that was rude. Sorry.”
A large grin crossed Stark’s face. “I just got my cousin fired because the son of a bitch thought he could mess with my woman.”
Lucas blinked at him. “Yeah, I’m gonna need the whole story on that.”
Stark motioned for him to come in before reaching into the bottom drawer of his desk and bringing out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. “Only if you have a celebratory drink with me.”
Lucas closed the door. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
It took nearly twenty minutes for Stark to tell Lucas what he’d done. He’d even given Lucas the Cliff’s Notes version of how bad his relationship with his father was and how happy he was to have him out of his life for good.
Now, sitting in the silence of his office, he thought he would have instant regret over sharing so much personal information with a coworker. To his surprise, he didn’t have any regrets. It felt good to share with Lucas.
“God, I am thrilled that fucker Jasper got what was coming to him,” Lucas said.
“You don’t think insisting my father fire him was over the top?” Stark asked.
“Oh, it was totally over the top,” Lucas said with a laugh. “Which is what makes it so great. Fuck that guy.”
“Fuck that guy,” Stark echoed, raising his glass.
Lucas raised his, and they both drank.
Despite his lack of regrets, a bit of insecurity raised its ugly head, and Stark couldn’t help but say, “Sorry to share so much personal shit.”
Lucas shook his head. “No apology necessary. I’m glad you shared. Not to sound like a cheesy Lifetime movie, but I’d like to be friends if you’re interested.”
“I’d like that,” Stark said with a grin.
“Good, because our ladies are best friends, and we’re about to spend a whole shitload of time together,” Lucas laughed. “When did you and Rayna start dating? Because Em hasn’t said a word to me about it.”
“It’s not exactly official,” Stark said. “I haven’t told Rayna how I feel yet. But I will tonight.”
Lucas leaned forward, holding out his glass. “To finding the one you love.”
Stark clinked his glass against Lucas’s. “To finding the one you love.”
* * *
Stark rang Rayna’s doorbell, smiling at her when she opened the door. “Hey there.”
“Hi!” Her look of happiness at seeing him on her porch made him feel good. “Come inside.”
He stepped into the warmth, shutting the door behind him as Rayna said, “Have you eaten? I’m making dinner. It’s chocked full of vegetables and disgustingly healthy. Want to join me?”
He laughed. “I’d love to.”
“Good, you can chop the vegetables,” she said.
Five minutes later, he stood at her kitchen counter, facing a chopping board and a truly epic pile of raw vegetables.
“You weren’t kidding about the vegetables,” he said.
“I know, right? I’m not really that great of a cook, but this is an easy recipe, and I make it a lot.” Rayna studied Bea, who sat at Stark’s feet, staring eagerly at him. “You’ll need to give her a piece of every vegetable you cut. If you don’t, she’ll whine until your ears bleed.”
“Good to know,” he said before cutting off a slice of carrot and tossing it to Bea.
She caught it with a snap of her jaws, crunching it happily.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“Good. Busy at work, and then I did a few rescue related things afterward. Yours?”
“I spoke with my father today,” he said.
She stopped cutting the chicken and turned to face him. “How did it go?”
“I took your advice and gave the money to him as a gift,” he said.
“How do you feel about that?” she asked.
He loved the concern on her face and that she was worried about him.
“It was the right decision,” he said. “But I did have some conditions.”
“What do you mean?” Rayna added the chicken to the hot pan on the stove.
“I’ll give him the money as a gift, but he has to stay out of my life forever and fire Jasper.”
She paused in stirring the chicken, the sizzle and pop growing louder as she stared at him before suddenly smiling. “I’m so proud of you, Isaac.”
Warmth washed over him, and any lingering doubt he felt over his conversation with his father dropped away. “You are?”
“Yes,” she said before turning the heat down under the pan of chicken and nudging her way past Bea. She slid her arms around his waist. “You’re helping the employees at your father’s company and setting boundaries. Your father is toxic and doesn’t deserve to have you in his life.”
“Thank you, baby.” He pressed a kiss against her lips.
She squeezed his waist before giving him a hesitant look. “Hey, um, you wanted your dad to fire Jasper because he’s trashing the company, right?”
“Mostly,” he said.
“Isaac,” she chewed at her bottom lip, “I don’t -”
He stopped her with another kiss before resting his forehead against hers. “He deserves everything he’s got coming to him, baby.”
“Comeuppance,” she said.
He arched an eyebrow at her, and she reddened slightly. “Emma says terrible people get their comeuppance eventually, and she was right.”
He kissed her again before she returned to the stove to continue cooking the chicken. They worked in silence for a few minutes. He glanced at Rayna, love and an almost euphoric contentment rushing through him. He would tell her he loved her over dinner, tell her how much she meant to him and that he couldn’t live without her.
He dropped a piece of cauliflower into Bea’s open mouth, grinning at the excited way she chewed it. Stupid little daydreams were already running through his head… he and Rayna marrying, tearing down their houses and building the home of their dreams for them and their children. He’d have a kennel built on the third property, he decided. A large and heated kennel with all the latest technology that would allow Rayna to save even more dogs. She would love that.
“Can you pass me the oven mitts?” Rayna pointed to a pair of oven mitts sitting on the counter.
He grabbed them and handed them to her, then studied the backsplash. It was a truly horrendous beige and gold colour with orange and yellow flowers stamped on every third tile. The overwhelming eighties of it rivaled the pink, sparkling roses wallpaper in his house.
“This backsplash is something else,” he said.
She laughed. “It’s retro.”
“That’s one way of describing it,” he said.
“Says the guy with the glittery pink wallpaper,” she teased.
“Watch it, or I’ll ask them to keep some of it when they tear the house down and have them install it in the new house.” He gave Bea another piece of carrot before realizing Rayna wasn’t laughing.
He looked over at her, his stomach tensing at the look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said, turning off the stove and dumping the chicken into a glass dish.
“Something is wrong,” he said. “Tell me what it is.”
She shrugged. “I’d just forgotten what this was between us.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.
She gave him a fleeting smile. “You’re being nice to me because you want my property.”
A tidal wave of hurt nearly drowned him. He dropped the knife on the counter and stepped back, putting even more space between himself and Rayna.
“You think what’s happening between us is because I want your property?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Why the fuck do you believe that?”
She gave him a bewildered look. “Because, Isaac, we have nothing in common except fantastic sex. I am not your type at all. You date lawyers and doctors who wear makeup, have an actual fashion sense, and aren’t covered in a layer of dog and cat hair. I know that I will never be someone you actually want to date, okay? I just let myself be swept up in…”
She released her breath in a heavy sigh. “It doesn’t matter. I know what you want from me, and it isn’t a relationship.”
“So, that’s who you think I am? A shallow asshole who’s sleeping with you to get your property.”
She frowned and started toward him, stopping when he held up his hand. “Don’t, Rayna.”
Anger settled over her features. “Are you seriously doing the wounded bird act with me right now? Do you or do you not want my property, Isaac?”
“You know I do,” he spat. “But that’s not the point. The point is -”
“That’s exactly the point,” she said. “You want to buy my property. I am not selling it to you. That won’t change no matter how amazing the sex is between us or how nice you are to me.”
Stark stared silently at Rayna, his chest so tight he could barely breathe. The whole time he was falling in love with her, she thought he was just using her. She didn’t believe anything he’d said to her was real, and the weight of that knowledge nearly crushed him.
“Isaac,” Rayna started toward him with confusion and what almost looked like hurt on her face, “sit down and -”
“Don’t, “he repeated, backing toward the doorway. “It isn’t only about your property for me.”
She bit at her bottom lip, looking like she was about to cry. “Isn’t it? Because you just talked about tearing down my house, Isaac.”
“Because I want…”
He trailed off, his surety that Rayna was the one for him lying in tatters at his feet. How could he be in love with someone who couldn’t see him for who he really was?
Now, a tear did slip down her cheek. “You want this house gone because it’s stopping you from getting what you want. You can’t see how much it means to me, how hard I worked to make it mine.”
“That isn’t true,” he said.
“Isn’t it?” she said softly.
Harsh despair replaced the anger and the hurt. His shoulders slumped, and he took a deep breath and swallowed the golf ball that had suddenly lodged itself in his throat.
“No,” he said hoarsely, “but it doesn’t matter anymore. You’re right. You’re not my type, and whatever this was between us is now over.”
Hot fury replaced the hurt on her face. “Of course it is. Because what Isaac Stark wants, Isaac Stark gets. Right?”
“Precisely,” he snapped, his anger suddenly as hot as her own. “My involvement with you was a mistake, Ms. Abrams. It won’t happen again.”
As fast as it appeared, her rage disappeared, leaving behind a sick hurt that nearly destroyed him despite his anger with her.
“I want you to leave,” she said, her voice dull and void of emotion. “Leave and don’t ever speak to me again, Stark.”
“Happy to,” he bit out. His stomach churning, he grabbed his jacket and stalked out of her house, slamming the door behind him.