Chapter 7 Charlie #2
I slip out the door and close it behind me, looking at my phone.
It’s Ryder again. He’s called three times since I boarded my flight this morning.
There’s also an SOS from my assistant, and my stomach crawls into my mouth.
I’m about to dial her when the phone rings again.
I see it’s Ryder, and with Mom outside having a smoke—I wish she would quit—and with Pettie preoccupied, I sneak into my bedroom.
“I’m sorry about last night. I should have never let that happen.
I’ve been under a lot of stress, but that’s no excuse.
It was very unprofessional,” I say, letting out the words in one puff.
I just don’t want Ryder to apologize first. Because obviously, last night was a mistake, and we were both liquored up.
“Well, I’m not remotely sorry. I’m only sorry you booted me out. Is it because I only had one condom?”
“What? No.” I let out an awkward laugh, my cheeks burning. I instinctively look over my shoulder to make sure no one is around.
“Charlie?”
“Yes.” I cough, trying to ignore his smooth voice and how charming he can be if last night wasn’t any indication.
“You’re talking to the guy who just sabotaged his career. Maybe give yourself a break.”
“True.” My heart thrums, and I look over my shoulder again.
“Seriously, Charlie. Why did you go back to LA so soon?” Ryder asks. “I want to spend time with you and get reacquainted now that we’re both… older.”
That can never happen.
“Why are you calling me, Ryder? My assistant can take it from here.” I’d received his CEO replacement contract.
Miles Alexander would step in, after all, even though he planned to do it remotely.
It was a shocking revelation. But then, Miles Alexander was a curious character, and I had so many questions about him.
However, I wasn’t about to get into it with Ryder.
“If your assistant has it handled, why is Good Morning Vancouver calling me?” Ryder asks.
“Oh, shit. Are you serious?” I drag my hand down my face.
I’m so not up for this. If the most well-watched morning news channel in the lower mainland is calling him, they must have a lead on this story.
And it needs to be squashed now. “We need to move up the press release, okay? I’ll call Good Morning Vancouver and tell them we have a bigger story about the handsome recluse Alexander stepping up to take over the Lotus Club and Alexander companies. ”
“You find my brother handsome?” Ryder narrows his eyes.
Everyone knows the Alexander brothers are devastatingly attractive, but I don’t need to remind him.
Instead, I finish my thought. “If it’s too late, and your incriminating video has leaked, our backup plan is for you to go public and tell your story.
You’ll tell the world how passionate you are about the environment and apologize for your actions.
And you will make up for your wrongs by stepping down from CEO.
Your lasting legacy with the Lotus Club will be to make it and all the other Alexander family companies plastic and petrol-free. Up for it?”
“I’ll be the laughingstock of the city.”
“I won’t lie. People will wonder what you were thinking.”
He sighs. “I don’t know, Charlie. I’d rather just resign and have Miles, my handsome brother, step in like he was supposed to if he hadn’t gone through hell. He’d, when he… ah, fuck it. You know, we were told this morning that Dad might not make it, but I’ll do what you wish.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I’d understand if you weren’t after what your family went through,” he says.
“He’s your father, and I’m sure this is very upsetting for you, so I am sorry. But we need to act quickly to reduce the damage. I don’t see any other way than you spilling your heart. If your emotions come through, even better.”
“Are you saying I should exploit my father’s condition?”
“I’m just saying that when the public knows you’re having a hard time, they’ll be more likely to be forgiving of your actions.”
“Yeah, okay. If it were anyone else, I’d tell them where to go, but I trust you, Charlie. I know you’ve built some icy walls around you after everything you’ve been through, but I still know the real you. And I know you’d never hurt me. I’d like to—”
His words make me wheezy, and I interrupt him before he can make me dizzier. “I’m doing what I’d do for any client. I owe you my fiduciary duty, and I honestly believe this is the only way to save the Lotus Club’s bacon.”
“You know, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to save the Lotus Club’s bacon at all.”
“I don’t hold grudges,” I say, though I held a grudge against Ryder for forever—a grudge that ate at me from limb to limb.
Though, he clearly felt bad about the sour business relations between our families, and maybe it was time to forgive the past. It was his father who seized the opportunity.
Maybe what I mean is, “I’m also not one to compromise my professional ethics. ”
“Of course not. You’re a much better person than I am. I just wish you could be here.”
The door creaks down the hall, and my son is looking up at me with big brown eyes. “I have to go,” I say.
“Wait, Charlie. I wanted to ask you something.”
“Sorry, it will have to wait.” I hang up.