Chapter 34
CARTER
The drive back to Los Angeles had done nothing to clear my head. Parts of the country were breathtaking, while other parts were flat stretches of nothingness. Those parts were the worst, with nothing at all to distract me from the terrible feelings churning in my guts.
I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d made a huge mistake by leaving Shelby behind, but no matter how I had turned it over in my head, I also couldn’t find a way to make things work with us. There was no path to happiness for us.
The one realization I had come to on the drive was that, sadly, sometimes love wasn’t enough.
Now I was back in my mansion in the hills. I had bought the place because it was the kind of house a billionaire should own. I didn’t use most of the space. There was one whole wing I never went into. None of the rooms were even furnished on that side of the house.
On the side I did use, I mostly stuck to four rooms. The bedroom, the kitchen, the living room, and my office.
I also had a workout room, so five got regular use, if that counted.
The mansion felt obscenely extravagant after spending so much time at Shelby’s.
Her simple farmhouse was one floor and much more manageable than my cavernous hallways.
I floated through them like a ghost with no one to haunt. Some cleaners came in twice a week, but I didn’t keep anyone around full-time. Most of my waking hours were spent at the office, so when I was here, I wanted to be completely alone, sealed away from the world.
That was another thing Shelby’s farm had going for it. Out there, a man could take a step back from the madness and breathe free. No one was asking for anything except the chickens and ducks. And they were simple enough to please. It turned out the ducks were sweethearts once I got to know them.
I supposed Shelby would order me around a bit, but doing things for her didn’t feel like a burden. Helping her made me feel good, like I had a purpose.
Tomorrow, I had to go back to the office for the first time since I’d gone to Kentucky. Dreading it, I poured myself some whiskey and kept pacing around my home, peeking in corners I hadn’t visited in over a year at least.
My home was on a sprawling parcel of land. Maybe I should knock most of the house down and get a farm going. Then Shelby could move here and live with me without giving up everything that was important to her. We could bring all the chickens and ducks and run the operation right here.
My neighbors would probably have some opinions on that, though. The HOA had sent me ten emails the one time I put a garden gnome by my front gate. I was pretty sure they would send armed goons after me for opening an egg farm.
I could hire security, but the whole idea was already spiraling beyond control. Starting a mini war in the Hollywood Hills would not convince Shelby to move here, nor would it improve Allory Enterprises’ public image.
Even if there were no obstacles to Shelby coming out to Los Angeles to live with me, I suspected the relationship would still fail.
In Kentucky, I had been able to spend whole days with Shelby on her farm, but in LA, I was at the office more than I was home.
So even if Shelby literally moved into my home, I would barely see her.
That wouldn’t even be a relationship. And it certainly wouldn’t be fair to her.
She deserved better than a few hours here and there, with me distracted by calls and emails and a million corporate fires to put out.
I could get her a job at the company to see her more often, but the last thing I wanted to do was turn Shelby into another version of me.
The world had way too many me’s and not nearly enough Shelby’s as it was.
The more thinking I did, the clearer it became that the biggest obstacle standing between Shelby and me wasn’t living in different states. The problem was my life in general. It wasn’t just where I lived; it was how I lived.
I would have to change everything if a relationship could ever work with Shelby, which was the same thing as saying it was impossible. The sooner I came to terms with that, the sooner I could start trying to move on.
I had a lot more drinks so I could fall asleep. It was more like passing out, but who was around to judge me? No one. Now and forever.
I could scream in my giant mansion and no one would hear it. When I woke up, I almost did scream. Being back in Los Angeles felt like a nightmare instead of my real life. The splitting headache throbbing in my skull was not helping my mood.
I took a scorching hot shower to sweat as much booze out as I could. My head felt tender, and I tried not to touch it or move it so much. After the shower, I wolfed down some painkillers and a piece of toast.
The car service picked me up once I was dressed.
I was in no shape to drive. On the ride to the office, my collar felt too tight around my neck, and my suit jacket felt more like a straitjacket.
The building came into view, tall and mostly glass.
It was modern, cold, and sterile. I doubted there was a single chicken in that entire building, and as insane of a thought as that was, it made me feel sad.
I thought about texting that to Shelby, and she would send back something teasing me, which was how she showed affection. But contacting her felt cruel. A clean break meant a clean break. I had to resist the urge to keep picking at the wound just because I missed her.
I took the elevator from the parking garage up to the executive level of Allory Enterprises.
Everyone there greeted me, but it was formal, with none of the warmth I’d experienced in Ferris.
I wasn’t exactly in a chipper mood, either, feeling like I’d slept with my head in a vise.
My return greetings weren’t any warmer than theirs.
My three assistants followed me into my office, overlooking the city from on high.
They each ran through pressing issues, using some unspoken system, it seemed.
One problem after another, they rattled them off at me like machine-gun fire.
I addressed what I could and had them put a pin in a few other things before I finally silenced them.
“I need three things,” I said. “Coffee, pastry, and ten minutes to myself.”
They got me what I asked for and closed my office door with them on the outside of it. I collapsed into my desk chair and took a bite of sugary bear claw, washing it down with blessed coffee.
Despite the rocky start to the day, I knew I could get back into the swing of things here. I was just a little rusty. You didn’t jump on a treadmill at full speed. You had to work back up to it. As long as nothing too big rattled my cage today, I would be all right.
Exactly ten minutes after my assistants had closed the door, my phone buzzed. With a sigh, I answered.
“Sir, the board wants a debriefing on your Kentucky trip,” Leighton, one of my assistants, said.
I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. Of course they did. “When?”
“Uh, right now…”
I bit back the curse that came out instinctively. It wasn’t Leighton’s fault. “Tell them it’ll be a minute. If that’s a problem, they can reschedule.”
“I’ll tell them.”
“And tell them I expect more coffee.”
“Noted.”
I hung up and scrubbed at my tired eyes, trying to rub some of the sand out of them.
There was nothing to tell the board. The PR thing was still being put together, hampered by the fact that all the footage we had gotten at Ronnie Miller’s was no longer usable, since I was going into business with him personally instead of through Allory.
We could show him in the campaign, but all the extra videos he was posting of himself on the farm no longer had anything to do with making Allory look good. I hadn’t partnered with any other farmers, either, so there was no one else to take his place.
All in all, the trip hadn’t done a hell of a lot for Allory’s image. I had met the woman of my dreams, but since I was letting her slip through my fingers, even that couldn’t be counted as a win.
My accomplishments weren’t going to blow the board away. That was for sure.
I looked through a few emails, wanting to make the board wait. Fuck them for scheduling a surprise meeting first thing. I was tempted to not show up at all, but that would just upset them even more, and my father would never let me hear the end of it.
With a deep, steadying breath, I got to my feet and marched down the hall toward whatever fate had in store for me. All the seats at the table were occupied except for mine. I stayed standing, leaning my hands on the table for support.
I glanced around at everyone, including my father. “Full house this morning. I’m flattered.”
Dad took the lead as he usually did, still trying to run the company from his board seat. I wasn’t sure why he had retired in the first place if he didn’t want to step back from the business.
“We wanted to congratulate you on doing such a good job in Ferris,” Dad said.
I narrowed my eyes at him, but I couldn’t detect any signs of sarcasm or any hidden barbs. It sounded like an honest-to-God compliment. “Thank you?” I replied uncertainly.
He nodded. “Yes, the PR guys have put together some of the footage and it looks solid.”
I looked around at the other board members and all of them seemed legitimately pleased with the work I had done. I shrugged and grinned. “Well, that’s great,” I told them. “Excellent meeting.”
I turned to leave, but Dad stopped me. “Wait, there’s something else.”
Of course there is. With a sigh, I turned around. “What is it?”
“You know Shelby Whitaker,” he said. “According to the social media team, you spent a lot of time out at her farm.”
I nodded. “Yeah, she was the one who made that post that went viral. You bought her family’s farm and closed it. It pretty much wrecked an entire community.”
He waved all that away. “The board needs you to go back down there. Her egg farm might become a real threat someday. It’s already making a dent in our sales in her area. We want you to sign off on an acquisition and make it happen.”
My ears rang, but it had nothing to do with my hangover. Of course this is what they want. Of course this is how it was always going to end.
“Let me guess,” I said through numb lips. “We’re going to buy it just so we can close it?”
Dad shrugged. “Once you find a winning strategy, no sense in changing it up.”
I laughed at him. It was the bitter, broken sound of a man who had just realized he couldn’t do this anymore. The money, the status, I didn’t care about any of it. I was already a billionaire in my own right. I didn’t need the company or my fucking father’s approval.
“I have a different proposal for you and the board,” I said, looking around at them with fire in my eyes. “From here on out, Allory will leave Shelby Whitaker and the town of Ferris alone. They’re off limits.”
My father scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. We’ll do business wherever we want.”
“No, you won’t.” I stood firm, knowing I was holding the winning hand. “In fact, I think it’s best you stay out of Kentucky altogether.”
“And what makes you think we’ll agree to any of that?” Dad asked, his fist clenched around his mug like he might shatter it.
“Simple,” I said. “If you fight me on any of this, or if you try to mess with Shelby’s farm, I’ll pull every skeleton out of Allory’s closet I know about, which is a lot, and I’ll put them on display for the world to see.
If you think one viral post trashing us is bad, wait for the shitstorm I will unleash if you don’t do what I ask.
The company stock will be worthless and all of you might have to work for a living for once in your lives. ”
“That would be a mistake,” my father said, looking uncomfortable, which was rare for him. He wasn’t used to me standing up to him.
“Then it sounds like we have an agreement,” I said with a smile. “Don’t worry. As soon as all the paperwork is finished, I’m resigning. I’m done doing your dirty work.”
It was the only thing other than falling for Shelby that I had ever done with myself in mind, and it felt damn good to be selfish.
“There’s one more thing,” I said. “And I’ll warn you right now, you’re not going to like it.”