Chapter 29
WREN
I rest against Darcy’s desk, feet crossed at the ankle and my arms folded. “What about a reverse beard?”
Darcy doesn’t take his gaze off the screen in front of him. Ever since we’ve gotten back from Aspen, it’s full speed ahead as usual. No stopping, no slowing down. “Do I even want to know what a reverse beard is?”
“I’m so glad you asked. It’s where you come out as straight and marry a woman, but we keep doing what we’re doing on the side.”
He leans back in his seat, the concern line in his forehead more prominent than usual.
I use my finger to smooth it out. “You have to stop pulling that face, or you’ll need to fill your face with more Botox than your mother.”
Darcy smiles. “I can’t help it when I’m concerned whether you’re okay or not.”
I go to cut him off, tell him I’m messing around, but he continues.
“In what world is that a reverse beard? It’s the literal definition of a beard.”
Oh.
I wave him off. “The reverse part is coming out again.”
“You mean shoving myself back in a closet? I think the ship has sailed for that to be a viable option. Everyone knows how gay I am.”
“Fine. Shut down my good ideas.”
“I would never ever shut down any of your good ideas.”
I narrow my gaze at him.
“If you had any,” he finishes.
I love playful Darcy. There are a lot of things I love about him, and none of them are appropriate.
I might be joking about trying to figure out a way to keep doing what we’re doing, but in the back of my mind, I really am scrambling for an answer.
Because I’m not ready to let him go. Yet, there’s this looming feeling hovering over us, a black cloud growing and only getting darker.
The shitstorm is coming. We don’t know when; I get the sense it’s soon, and neither of us is prepared for it.
There’s a knock on Darcy’s office door which makes me spring up from the desk like it’s setting my ass on fire.
I turn and step back, leaning against the large storage cupboard that runs along Darcy’s back wall in time for Toby to storm through the door.
“Have you seen?” There’s a panic in his tone I’ve never heard from him before, and by some miracle, even surprising myself, my overprotective brother instinct kicks in.
I stand upright. “What happened?”
“London. Check the news in London.”
Even though Junior is a downright dick and I hate him, the same protective instinct burns strong.
It’s not like anything I’ve ever experienced before—completely different to how I feel about Darcy, but one glance at him and a different kind of protectiveness kicks in.
For Tobias and even Junior, I want to fix things for them. With Darcy … I want to burn everything and anyone who hurts him to the fucking ground.
“What was it?” Darcy asks, turning to his computer.
“Westom Account Holdings,” Toby says, and Darcy types away.
I move closer and stare over his shoulder, watching some old white dude get carted off by police.
“Westom,” Darcy recalls. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
“Because Junior tried to get us to invest with them, but you had an off feeling, remember?”
My gaze flies to Toby’s. “Please tell me Junior didn’t go through with it.”
“He wouldn’t have. I told him not to,” Darcy says.
“He … uh …” Toby glances away.
Darcy deflates. “How much did he lose in this Ponzi scheme?”
Toby doesn’t answer.
Instead of grilling him, Darcy hits numbers on his handset phone and puts it on speaker.
It rings for a long time, and just when I think no one is going to answer, Junior picks up.
“I can fix it” is what he says.
“What did you do? How much are we tied up in this, and what the fuck is happening?”
I’ve never heard Darcy this rattled.
“It’s not that much. It was an investment that went bad.”
Darcy gets out of his chair, both hands gripping the edge of his desk so hard his knuckles turn white.
“This isn’t stocks crashing or a business going under.
This is legal shit, Junior. With a venture I told you not to invest in.
I knew something was fishy. I told you that.
And now, if it gets out that we had a stake in that company, we could be on the line for every single dollar stolen.
We could be talking jail time. You get that, don’t you? ”
“I know that, but I’m trying to find the contracts. We didn’t have a stake. We only invested with them. We’re a victim. Or, at least, we’ll be able to frame it that way. I’ll fix it, okay? I’ve got this.”
“You want to know why Father brought Wren in upon his death? Because he knew you were a fuckup. You’ve always been a fuckup. I’m on my way to London.” He hits a button on the handset, and the call goes dead.
“That was harsh, Darce,” Toby says.
Darcy glares, and his jaw hardens, and I find myself stepping in.
“I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but Toby’s right. You don’t think Junior did what he did to prove to you that he can do the job?”
“He thinks putting us in legal trouble, tying our conglomerate to a fucking Ponzi scheme, is proving I can trust him? I gave him all of Europe to oversee, and in the first few months, he almost ruins us.”
I put my hands out. “Take a breath. You don’t have all the information yet. You don’t know how much he put in, how involved he was?—”
Then Darcy levels me with a look. “You of all people know the last thing this company needs is a massive scandal.”
Toby’s gaze burns as his focus ping-pongs between Darcy and me.
He can’t know what Darcy’s talking about, and hopefully, he assumes he means that my pure existence is a huge family scandal.
Well, Dad , guess Darcy and I have one-upped you.
“I need to go.” Darcy starts gathering his things, putting his laptop in his bag, and rummaging for his phone, planner, and anything else he needs.
“I’m coming with you,” I say.
“No,” Darcy snaps, and I flinch. “Sorry. I’m not mad at you. I’m just mad. I need you to take care of this office while I fix Junior’s mess.”
“Y-you want me? In-in charge?” After Junior, who’s had years of experience and a business degree under his belt, has fucked up? No, thank you.
“Do I think you’re ready? No. Do I have a choice? Also no.”
That fills me with confidence.
“I’m sorry. I have to go.”
He stalks out of the office, and I hate that I couldn’t even give him a kiss goodbye. Hell, I’d settle for even a hug.
I watch as Darcy disappears onto the elevator, and I sink into his vacated seat.
“Junior is a dead man,” Toby says.
“How bad could this be?”
Toby takes the seat opposite me. “Depends on how deep he got involved. Like he said, if he merely invested with Westom, he’s right that MediaCorp or whichever offshoot he invested through will technically be a victim. But …”
“But?”
“But if he then convinced others to invest? We might be on the hook for whoever else got scammed, thanks to Junior’s movements.”
“Fuck.”
I pick up the phone and hit Redial, putting it on speaker again.
“What are you doing?” Toby asks.
“Seeing if he’s okay.”
“Darcy?”
I wish. “Junior.”
Toby’s head swivels around, taking in the whole room.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Wondering what alternate universe I’ve stumbled into.”
I go to answer him, but the phone picks up.
Junior doesn’t say anything.
“Hello?”
For a second, I think the call dropped out on his end, but then I hear a loud sniff.
“Are you … crying?” I don’t mean to sound condescending. I swear I don’t.
“Fuck you. What do you want?” His voice is raspy. “I thought you were Darcy calling to yell at me again.”
“Darcy’s on his way to the airport. I was calling to see if you’re okay.”
The line goes silent again.
When he speaks, it’s less croaky and more confident. “Sorry, this is Wren, right?”
Toby laughs. “I was confused as well.”
I throw up my hands. “You do realize you two were assholes to me first, don’t you? And for no reason. I had no choice in being born.”
Toby averts his gaze, something like guilt across his face.
“Did you call to check on me or to gloat over me screwing up?” Junior asks.
“As much as I don’t like your attitude on most days, I can tell you’re panicking. You made a mistake, and we’re all in this together.”
“Way to sound like a Disney movie,” Toby mutters under his breath.
“Not helping, Toby,” I say. “Is there anything we can do to help? Maybe come up with a plan before Darcy lands in about nine or so hours?”
“Junior, did you get others to invest in Westom?” Toby asks.
“Of course I did. How else was it supposed to take off?”
Both Toby and I slump.
“We’re going to need a list of those people,” Toby says.
“You’re going to help too?” Junior asks.
“Like Wren said. This is our company. All four of us. It’s Father’s legacy.”
I smile. “Is this where we braid each other’s hair?”
“Fuck off,” both of my brothers say at the same time.
“Aww, we’re bonding!”
Toby’s lip curls and he stands. “Get us that list.” He reaches over and ends the call. “We have some legal research to do.”
It’s not how I was hoping to spend my day, but with Darcy gone and adamant I need to stay behind, I can’t help thinking that big black cloud above our heads has burst open.