Chapter Nineteen. Rowan #2
“Don’t you get that everything has to do with me?
You marrying Chad. You getting to stay here in management at TinSpirits.
You being … fucking everywhere all of a sudden.
” He throws his hands up but I can see him rein in his frustration.
I hold back a laugh. He’s actually going to claim that he’s the reason I still have a job?
Is he out of his fucking mind? “Chad has been my best friend since kindergarten, Row. Our families all but founded this damn town. I get you might hate me for what happened with the company, but don’t use him to get back at me.
The last thing I want is for him to get hurt. ”
That’s what he thinks this is all about. That I’m stealing away his best friend to get back at him?
Christ. His selfishness is worse than I thought.
I snort. “Thanks for confirming where your loyalties lie. Friends first, sister last. Got it.” His friend’s heartbreak matters more than my own ever did. I walk over and open my door, trying to give him the hint that this conversation is way past over.
“Do you ever get tired of being so damn dramatic?”
“You’re seriously going to say that to me after the temper tantrums I’ve seen you throw?
” I level him with a dubious look. “Let’s hope you’ve had the same talk with Chad, huh?
” My words surprise him, his shocked eyes say as much, but when I reach my desk and turn back around, he’s still standing there.
“For the record, using a friend to get back at a sibling? That’s something out of your playbook. Not mine.”
“To think I came in here to try and make sure we were good.”
“You’re so full of shit.”
“And so are you. You can’t fool someone you’ve known your whole life, Row. Like I said, something’s going on here. What are you playing at?”
Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to. Weren’t those Holden’s words that are so very fitting in this moment?
And while my brother claims to know me, I know him too and he’s fishing. He’s scared about something and wants to know if I know more than him. His fragile, male ego has been tested with Holden bringing me on.
My smile is quick and cruel. “How to have my cake and eat it too. That’s what I’m playing at. You always have, why can’t I?”
He barks out a laugh, but the nervous little vibrato says that he’s not sure if he should believe me or not. “I’m not on board with this. This whole checks-and-balances thing.”
“Wait. Didn’t you just say you’re the reason I’m still here in management?
I think you’d have no one to blame other than yourself for it, then.
” I sigh dramatically and shake my head.
“Looks like with me as your equal, you just might have to play by the rules for once in your life. Do you even know how to do that?”
“This isn’t funny.”
“You’re right. But you were just bragging about already winning before the election even started so … I mean, you have to have a check to all that privilege somewhere.”
I’m not one who should be talking, but …
“I did all this to make life better for the two of us. The sale of the company. The seat on the city council. Helping Mom and Dad by managing the trust. I’ve put all of that on my shoulders to ensure our family’s continued success.
I don’t understand why you continually treat me like I’m screwing you over. ”
Does he believe this bullshit he’s slinging? I had my doubts he belonged in politics. Now I do believe he’ll fit in just fine.
“Transparency goes a long way, Rhett, and that’s something you’ve failed at when it comes to this company.”
“I know.” His smile is reticent. “It’s not always easy being the boss and bearing the brunt of stress to make sure all of these people keep their jobs.” I open my mouth, a sarcastic comment on my tongue, when he points to the gift still untouched before me. “That’s probably from Chad.”
“It’s not,” Chad says from where he’s just opened the door and entered my office.
“We’re talking about the gift, right? Because it’s not.
” He looks from Rhett to me and then back, clearly sensing the undeniable tension.
“Everything okay in here? I can’t remember the last time I saw the two of you talking like this. ”
I smile, more than cognizant now of how closely my brother is watching Chad’s and my interactions now.
“Well, it seems your best friend is reading your fiancée the riot act over whether she really wants to get married and why the sudden about-face. The way I see it, our relationship is none of his business.”
There you go, Chad. Where do your loyalties lie?
Chad looks at Rhett and grins. “You’ve always had my back, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got this one.” He winks.
“She has fangs,” my brother says, repeating a line he used to say when we were kids. The go-to insult he’d throw my way when the boys didn’t want his little sister tagging along.
The three of us laugh but I’m under no impression that Rhett’s throwback joke is in good humor. He’s pissed about Holden’s fast one on the co-CEO thing and doesn’t know how to deal with it.
“Dude, you’ve been on the receiving end of your mother’s full-force planning mode. We’re both a little shell-shocked with everything our moms are throwing at us,” Chad says, unknowingly reinforcing the reasoning I gave.
It does look like we’re compatible after all.
“What is in the package?” Chad says, lifting his chin at it and raising his eyebrows. “Should I be worried you have a secret admirer trying to take my place?”
I laugh but don’t pull it off very well as both of them wait expectantly for me to open it.
I swear to God it better not be something ridiculous from Holden.
Within seconds I have the envelope open, and a utility blade slides out on the desk with a clatter.
“What the hell?” they both say as they step closer, and I catch a glimpse of the card inside. The words are written in block letters. A handwriting style I’ve learned to recognize over the past few months.
I KNOW YOU DON’T WANT MY APOLOGIES, SO TAKE THIS INSTEAD. THE NEXT POWER PLAY IS YOURS. DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH IT. IT’S YOURS.
The painting and its preservation or its demise. That’s what this note means.
Holden just gave me a $3 million painting and the razor blade to destroy it if I so choose.
I’m in control here. I have the power and the next move is mine to make.
“Rowan?” Chad asks cautiously as he steps toward me, concern edging his tone. “Why would someone send you that?”
I cover the card with the envelop and place it in the trash beneath my desk just as Chad places his hand on my lower back like the loving fiancé he’s supposed to be.
More than aware that Holden is watching our every interaction now, I look over to Chad and offer a reticent smile.
“It’s not what it looks like.” I roll my eyes playfully, heeding his worried tone from moments before.
“Harris down in production borrowed my utility knife last week for something. I made a joke that no one ever returns what they borrow from me. Apparently, he’s making a point that he does.
” The lie is effortless and they buy it because it sounds like something Harris would do.
“That’s welcome news. I was certain it was a threat from our new boss.” Rhett’s joke falls flat as we all look toward the door as if Holden might have heard that down the hallway.
“Did you need me?” I ask Chad in an attempt to change the subject.
“No, I needed Rhett, but I called a couple of times last night. You didn’t answer. Everything okay?” he asks and smooths his hand up and down my back.
“Yeah. Sorry.” I look down at the utility knife. “I was…” Asleep and my phone was on silent. I was busy fucking Holden. I was—
“She was busy,” Holden says, waltzing into my office. My poker face fails—ever so briefly—and I’m not naive enough to think the two don’t catch it.
“Oh?” I’m not sure if Chad or Rhett make the sound because I’m too busy staring at Holden.
“Yep.” A flash of a knowing smile aimed their way before he continues, “We were going over her contract. Negotiating her compensation.” He gives a deliberate shake of his head. “Your sister plays hardball, Rhett. You could take a lesson or two from her. The lady knows how to stand her ground.”
“Hm. Seems she shows a side to you the rest of us don’t get to see,” Rhett murmurs.
“Or maybe I actually pay attention and notice. Either way,” Holden says with a flicker of his fingers, “I need to speak to Rowan. You can see yourself out.”
“You can say whatever you need to say with us present,” Rhett says as Chad stiffens beside me.
Holden notices Chad’s reaction but it’s his eyes going to Chad’s hand on me that causes his jaw to clench. “No thanks,” Holden says.
“Why not? If we’re co-CEOs then everything’s fair game, right? All conversations. All decisions. All negotiations.”
“Hm. Yes.” Holden flashes a shark’s smile and I draw in a deep breath. Seems my brother likes to play with fire. “Except for this.”
“This?” Rhett asks as Chad shifts some to face Holden more.
“Sign her contract. Finalize her compensation package. Lay out the perks she’ll be getting.”
Every part of my brother’s body bristles. “Compensation package? Perks? We didn’t have this discussion.” I can hear the whiny-little-boy voice he had as a kid when he’d complain to my parents about things not being fair.
Holden raises his eyebrows. “We didn’t have to. You’ve already taken way more than your share from the company. I reward those who don’t. Shut the door on the way out.” He clears his throat and then adds for emphasis, “Please.”
It takes a second but they do what they’re told, and when Holden sits down, when that smirk graces that beautifully talented mouth of his, he says, “I see you got my gift.”
“And I see you just waged a big-dick contest.”
His chuckle is devious. “I’ll win, Rowan.
I’ll always win. But I’d be more than up for reminding you since it seems you’re having trouble remembering.
” He glances over his shoulder to my office’s interior window that looks out toward the hallway.
“Those do have blinds on them, don’t they? I can show you now if you’d like.”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“And you think I’m bluffing.”
We hold each other’s stares as snapshots of last night flash through my mind. By the darkening of his eyes, I have a feeling he’s reliving a few moments himself.
“I don’t like his hands on you.”
“Neither do I.”
“It’s an easy solution. Break it off or tell me what it is you’re still to gain and I’ll get that for you.”
“Is this going to be a problem, Holden?” This isn’t something I’m budging on until I know my place in this new world. I come first.
“Yes.”
“But you understand.”
He groans. “Just make sure you’re never alone with him … and for that matter, I’m never alone with him, and we’ll be good.”
“You’re overstepping.”
“Perhaps.” He glances down to the table and then back up to me. “But overstepping is way better than Chad accidentally, say, falling out of”—he glances out my window and then smirks—“a fourth-story window.”
“Not funny.”
“But tempting.” There’s an aloofness to his tone that has me wondering just how dark Holden’s fantasy is. “You got my gift, I see.”
“I did. Thank you, but I can’t accept it.”
“A utility knife?”
“No. The…” Did I misinterpret what he meant? About the painting? About—
He starts laughing. “You will accept both, Sunshine. I meant what I said. That’s my apology to you for the miscommunication. Do with it what you wish. It’s yours to destroy or use as you want. The power play is yours to make.”
“Why would I destroy or mar something that others find beauty in?” I ask.
He angles his head to the side and says, “I said the same thing to myself, but then again, look how I made you feel over the past few weeks.” My chest burns with emotion from his words more than his apology, from his acknowledgment of how much he hurt me, but I don’t have time to fully process it before he stands, walks toward the door, and then points to the blade. “And there’s my apology for it.”
I pick up the utility blade and let its weight grow heavy in my hand. Could I hurt something others consider beautiful?