Chapter 24
Aiden
“Please, let me tell him,” I hear Jolene say in her ‘don’t fuck with me’ tone as she bars the entrance to my office.
“It’s okay, Jolene,” I call out before she gets the chance to knee my brother in the nuts.
I know it’s him.
If it were Dad, she’d let him through because she knows she can’t do fuck-all about him. Mom would not push her way through. She’d wait to be walked in like a queen, and then she’d order coffee like Jolene is a server and we’re in a restaurant.
Only Tristan would try to assert the length of his dick by being a dick to my executive assistant. He’s that kind of special asshole.
“Tristan.” I acknowledge his presence, without looking up from my laptop screen. “Welcome to the den of betrayal and poor decisions.”
“You think this is funny?” His voice is sharp. Petulant.
I don’t bother asking him what he’s talking about because, honestly, I’m simply not interested.
I finish writing the email I was working on, and lean back in my chair.
I study my brother. Expensive blazer, hair gelled within an inch of its life, a scowl that’s more insecure than intimidating.
“What can I do for you?”
He sits down, or rather flops down, on a client chair.
He’s the baby of the family. Spoiled.
Gianna didn’t have that luxury because she’s a girl. Neither did I because I had responsibilities. So, Tristan, like every good spare, lived the high life when we were kids, and believes it’s his right.
Entitled dickhead!
“Betty wants to have a family dinner. She expects you to be there.”
“And I expect interest rates to drop below zero and stay there, but that’s not happening, either.”
He gives me a withering look. “All this is because you can’t control your wife. If she’d just shut the fuck up, Betty wouldn’t be—”
“Now, now, Tristan. Don’t blame Mia for you fucking Lulu on your marital bed.”
In the past, I’d have let him berate Mia, thinking I just want him gone so I can get back to work.
Now? Hell to the fucking no!
“Excuse me?”
“You were the one fucking your nanny, Tristan, and hiding it so poorly that Mia heard about it at her freaking kindergarten.”
He bangs a fist on my table.
If he was going to behave like a toddler, I was going to treat him like one.
I narrow my eyes. “You plan on stomping your feet as well?”
The look on his face: shock mingled with embarrassment mixed in with meanness is absolutely delicious.
I wish I’d recorded it. Huxley, who always wanted me to kick my brother’s bratty ass, would appreciate it.
“She’s ruined my marriage and our parents’,” he accuses.
I arch an eyebrow, amused. “Tristan, Mom and Dad’s marriage has always been what it is—a complete shitshow, because he’s been cheating on her since the start.
Your marriage is shitty because you can’t keep it in your pants, either.
Now, I’ve got a meeting with my wealth manager in ten minutes, so if you’re here to invite me to dinner, the answer is a hard no.
If it’s something else, get to the point. ”
He leans in, elbows braced on the arms of his chair, his jaw tense. “You know Dad’s trying to get you fired as CEO.”
“Yes, I do,” I say patiently, letting him see that I don’t give a damn.
His expression twists in puzzlement. “Well, I don’t think that’s a bad idea.”
“Of course, you don’t.”
Tristan has always had delusions of being able to lead this company better than me.
“But, he’s not going to give me the job.” His lips press tight.
I throw up my hands in a dramatic shrug. “Oh my God! That sounds terrible.”
“Stop it!” Tristan cries out, standing up, his knuckles resting on my desk. “Diana’s walking around like she owns the place. Telling people that she’s about to be made CEO.”
“Aw, poor Tristan!”
“Damn it, Aiden. Can you be serious for a minute?” He’s shouting now.
“I think you should say that again, but this time, stomp your feet; it’ll have more effect,” I suggest sarcastically.
I’m so sick and tired of this family, I realize in that moment. Sick and tired of carrying the company. Giving them the ability to live the way they do. Bringing the company back from the brink of death. And the thanks they give me is this.
My mother assaults my wife.
My friend and colleague tells her lies.
My father wants me fired.
My brother wants me fired.
My sister wants me to fund her life while she insults my wife.
Yeah. I’m so fucking done.
“Aiden, he’s going to give her the job.” Tristan’s voice is booming against the walls to the point that Jolene opens the door, concerned.
“Do I need to call security?”
“Get out,” Tristan turns on her.
“That’s enough, you don’t get to talk to Jo like that.” I get up, walk to the door, and smile gently at Jolene. “It’s fine.”
She walks to her desk, eyeing Tristan like he’s dogshit, not in the least intimidated by him.
That woman has balls!
I hold the door open. “Now, Tristan, I need you to get the fuck out.”
“Aiden, this is serious.” He tones himself down.
It’s standard operating procedure with my brother. He starts all fire and fury, and then calms down when he realizes that he can’t manipulate fuck all by screaming his head off. He does this often enough with Dad.
I usually just let him say his piece so he’ll leave me alone, but now I wish I’d treated him like a child when he behaved like one.
If nothing else, it’s very entertaining.
“I know it’s serious, Tristan.”
“She told me she has Dad’s vote,” he grits out. “Said she’s talked to three of the board members already. And word is—you’re getting axed at the board meeting.”
I let out a soft laugh. “She’s not wrong. I’ve seen the votes.”
Tristan blinks. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing. In any case, I only own half my shares.”
“What?” Tristan goes pale.
“I got divorced, remember?”
“I thought Dad was exaggerating.”
“Nope. Mia’s got the other half. You know what, she may actually come to the board meeting as she’s now my equal in company ownership.”
“Women are not allowed,” he snarls.
I shrug. “Women have never been given shares, but Mia has them now.”
The truth is, firing me won’t actually get rid of me. I still own half the company—or rather, I did until I signed half my shares over to Mia. The paperwork isn’t finalized yet, but once it is, she’ll hold as much power as I do, and Winter Financial can’t afford to buy us out.
They’re leveraged, stretched thin, and the board knows it.
Nelson thinks he’s pushing me out, but unless he can cough up close to $50 million, I’ll still sit on that board. As will Mia.
Gianna got her payout years ago and holds no shares, and Tristan, well, he’s got enough to throw his weight around, but not sufficient enough to tip the scales alone.
He’s got the title and the family name, but none of the talent.
He lives way beyond his means, bleeding cash on leased cars and designer suits while pretending he’s indispensable.
If I walk, they’ll let Diana take over as CEO, and the investors think they can live with that, because she’s a solid CFO. But even they know that Diana’s good with numbers, but she’s not a leader, and she’ll never command the loyalty I built.
Losing this job won’t ruin me. My portfolio’s healthy—real estate, funds, dividends—and with a clean exit, Mia and I’ll be set for life. And if we’re not, I’ll just get a job. I’m not afraid of working.
But it’s not about the money. It’s the principle for Dad, who doesn’t just want me out—he wants me humiliated.
Good luck with that. He can’t take something away from me that I’m happy to part with.
“You don’t care?” There’s disbelief in Tristan’s voice, and something else. Confusion.
He’s looking at me like he doesn’t recognize me, as if I’ve been swapped for a better, less reactive, far more grounded version of myself.
“About Winter Financial?” I shake my head. “No, not if it means I have to lose my values like I lost my wife. You know what I care about these days? About showing up to a kindergarten fundraiser to finger paint. I care about making Mia smile. I care about holding my wife’s hand.”
Tristan looks horrified. He can’t wrap his head around what I’m saying. “You can’t be…serious, Aiden? You’ll lose everything.”
“I already did,” I snap. “When she left me. Now, I have one focus: to win my wife back. Winter Financial and all of you can go fuck yourselves for all I care. You don’t want me to be CEO? Fine by me. Just buy me out and I’ll be on my way.”
“Dad will do anything to get rid of you…. But I don’t think the company has that kind of cash flow.”
He is an imbecile, but he can do simple math.
“I’d love for them to try, because I really don’t want to have anything to do with Winter Financial, if that means I have to be Dad’s whipping boy.”
Tristan walks up to me, his eyes glazed, perplexed as he peers at my face. “Are you really just going to walk away and let Diana take over as CEO? She’ll drive the company into the ground. You know that.”
“Possibly,” I agree. “Then the board can fire her.”
Tristan stares at me like I’m speaking another language. “You’re leaving Winter Financial.”
“No reason to stay where I’m not wanted.”
I look at him, my brother, and realize that we have no connection. All that we’re a tight-knit family is just talk and not rooted in reality. I’m not close to anyone with the last name Winter. The only person I am close to is Mia, and I let these assholes push her away.
Now, Aiden, to be fair, they didn’t stick their tongue down Diana’s throat!
It wasn’t down her throat, for God’s sake. I just…kissed her back a little, for a second. But I wanted to kiss her for months before that, and that’s the betrayal I have to be forgiven for, by Mia and myself, if possible.
“What’s going to happen to me?” Tristan asks in a small voice, all the bravado gone.
He thought he’d rile me up and we’d stage a coup of sorts, and things would go back to the way they used to be. He won’t do his job. He’ll still get paid. I’ll carry everything on my shoulders. With Diana, he knows she won’t put up with his bullshit.
“That’s up to you, bud.”
Since this whole thing began, I feel like I have changed—not just intellectually, but deep in my bones.
The version of me that used to crave my father’s approval is gone.
The version that stayed late at the office to avoid going home is gone.
The man who let people disrespect his wife and called it diplomacy is dead.
“I don’t know what’s happening, Aiden.” He looks lost, and I feel for him. He’s my little brother, but I have nothing to give him. He’s a grown man, and he needs to take care of himself.
“What’s happening is that we’re shining a light on the rot that exists in our family. Now, if you don’t mind, I really need to get to my meeting and make sure I can live the way I like, even after I don’t have my job.”
He gapes at me like I told him I’ll be dancing naked at the Fourth of July parade.
After my brother leaves, Jolene gives me a knowing look. “So, you’re gonna leave?”
“I think so.”
“Even if they don’t fire you.” It’s not a question. She’s known me for a long while, and she can see what the others can’t. I’ve lost the fire.
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t think you had it in you,” she says after a long silence, a smile of admiration playing on her lips.
I chuckle. “Neither did I.”
“Well…damn.”
As I head for the door, she adds, making me pause, “For what it’s worth, I never thought you’d be the one to walk away from Winter Financial. From all this.”
“That’s the thing, Jolene.” I stand in my office doorway, the clarity I feel making everything inside me cleaner. “I’m not walking away from anything. I’m finally walking toward something that matters.”
“And what’s that?” She looks pleased with herself.
“After my last date with Mia, she let me kiss her once,” I tell her, my heart full as I remember the brush of her lips against mine. “I’m hoping to get two kisses after the next date.”