Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
gunner
“ W onderful speech, mr. ransom. so inspiring.”
“Thank you, Ms. Duffy,” I say to the perky middle-aged blonde pumping my hand. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“I’m not the only one,” she gushes. “You had the whole audience hanging on your every word. Any man who can keep a bunch of teenagers off TikTok for more than ten minutes has my total respect. And what an amazing turnout. You must be so pleased.”
“Of course,” I murmur, my gaze skimming over the lingering crowd.
Hundreds of community leaders, corporate donors, students and families attended tonight’s scholarship awards ceremony. The Ransom Global Foundation hosts the annual event to celebrate high school seniors interested in tech careers. I always look forward to the special evening, and it hurts like hell not having Marlowe here beside me.
“We can’t thank you enough for your generosity,” Ms. Duffy gushes some more, wrapping an arm around her biracial son’s shoulders. “Zachary was sooo excited to win the Young Innovator Award.”
“He earned it,” I say warmly. “He’s bright and talented, works hard and enjoys helping others. We’re confident he’ll thrive in our internship program next summer.”
Mother and son beam at my praise.
“I’d definitely love to work for Pantheon one day,” Zachary enthuses. “You guys have some of the coolest apps out there, plus you’re the best CEO.”
“Well played,” I tease, ruffling his curly black hair.
My brother joins us, drawing Ms. Duffy’s attention. While they chat, I sling an arm around Zachary’s shoulders and murmur in his ear, “You need to rethink some of your extracurricular activities. Hacking, specifically.”
His eyes bug out. “H-How did you?—”
“I have eyes everywhere.”
He gulps nervously. “I . . . I just?—”
“Believe me, I understand the impulse. But you’re leaving too many crumbs, kiddo, and I don’t want you getting caught before I’ve had a chance to unlock your full potential.” I wink at him. “Lay low for a while. Enjoy your senior year, go to prom. Then get ready for an unforgettable internship where you’ll learn from the best. Deal?”
He smiles. “Deal.”
“Attaboy,” I say, ruffling his hair again.
His mother touches my arm. “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I thought your banner last week was so romantic. I hope it worked on your girlfriend. But if not?—”
“ Mom ,” Zachary groans, doing a facepalm. “Can you just chill for once?”
She laughs, batting her lashes at me and Maverick.
“Let’s go.” Zachary throws us an apologetic look before steering his mother away.
Maverick grins beside me. “Even though she was a little too chatty for my taste, there’s just something irresistible about lonely divorcées?—”
“Don’t even think about it,” I warn.
He laughs before we’re swarmed by more people.
An hour later, we’re back in the car and heading away from downtown. Maverick pours a glass of whiskey from the minibar and offers it to me.
“No, thanks.”
His eyebrow lifts. “Still abstaining?”
I nod, unknotting my tie.
He murmurs something into his glass before taking a sip.
“For the record,” I grumble, “it wasn’t necessary for you to ride with me tonight. You could’ve brought a plus one.”
“And have you looking like a sad sack all night?” Maverick snorts. “No way.”
“I wouldn’t have fallen apart if you came with a date. I’m not that pathetic.”
He gives me a look that says we both know better.
Scowling, I pull out my phone to doomscroll through newsfeeds, but not even the grimmest headlines can distract me from thoughts of Marlowe.
She’s always in my head, even though she hates my guts. If I weren’t such a selfish bastard, I’d let her move on. She’s better off without me.
But I’m nothing without her. So I have to find a way to get her back.
“I’m thinking about buying her a piano,” I mumble, half to myself. “I checked out the floor plan of her new apartment, and I think a baby grand could fit in her living room.”
“So you didn’t learn your lesson from banner-gate?” Maverick chuckles grimly when I scowl. “Sorry, Gunn, but I told you a woman like Marlowe needs more than grand gestures.”
“For your information, she loves my so-called grand gestures.” Or at least she used to. Before I screwed everything up and lost her.
Maverick sighs. “Look, I’m not gonna lie. Flying an entire orchestra to Hawaii was pretty damn epic. You did things for Marlowe you never even considered doing for Laurene—or anyone else for that matter. But as much as she might’ve enjoyed the perks of dating a romantic billionaire, I’m betting what she wants most from you is honesty. Transparency. She wants to know how you’re hardwired. She wants to crack your code.” His voice softens. “Above all else, Gunn, she wants your heart.”
My jaw clenches, eyes narrowing on my brother’s face.
“No, I haven’t been secretly talking to her. She just happens to have more depth than any woman you’ve ever dated.” Maverick chuckles, shaking his head at me. “Before you drop eighty grand on a piano she might set on fire, think long and hard about what I said.”
I put my head back against the seat, mulling over his words. I’d give up my fortune for just one more shot with Marlowe. But she made it painfully clear she’s done with me, and it’s tearing me apart.
As we near the exit for her apartment, it takes all my willpower not to tell Trace to get off. I’m so desperate for a glimpse of her that I’ve seriously considered sitting outside her building and watching her windows. Losing her has awakened my inner stalker, apparently.
Frowning at the thought, I jerk my tie free of my collar and ball it up in my fist. I could use a drink right about now to take the edge off, but that’s not an option. It can’t be.
“You’re not Dad,” Maverick says tautly, as if reading my mind. “I don’t care what kind of bullshit programming you internalized as a kid. You’re not Dale Ransom.”
I don’t respond for a long time, simply staring straight ahead while Maverick sips his whiskey, waiting.
“Remember when I went to that tech conference in Munich?” I finally say, my voice low. “It was the day after I broke up with Marlowe, and I was a complete fucking wreck. My first night in town, I got totally wasted and passed out in my hotel room. The next morning, I woke up facedown in my own vomit. I was so out of it I couldn’t even make it to the opening session to deliver the keynote address. Veronica covered my ass, telling everyone I had food poisoning. But she was so disappointed in me, she could barely look at me for days.” My insides burn with renewed shame. “It was one of the lowest moments of my professional life. That’s when I knew I had to make some changes.”
“So you went cold turkey.”
I nod tightly. “I’m not saying I’ll never touch another drink. But I need to take a break. I need to know I’m not using alcohol as a crutch. I need to know it doesn’t control me. I need . . .” My voice trails off, hand clenching on my thigh.
“You need to know you’re not an alcoholic,” Maverick finishes for me.
I swallow hard and nod, gritting my teeth. “It’s not just the drinking. The half billion I cost our company? That wasn’t just a careless mistake. I made a dangerous, reckless gamble because I was feeling invincible, point blank.” I glare challengingly at Maverick. “So tell me again how I’m nothing like Dad.”
He stares at me for a long moment, then reaches over and puts his hand on my shoulder.
“You’re not him,” he quietly reiterates. “But it doesn’t matter how hard I try to convince you. Until you believe it yourself, you’re going to be stuck in an endless loop of guilt and misery. You deserve better than that, Gunner. And so does Marlowe. So do whatever it takes to get yourself right. Then for fuck’s sake, man, go get your girl back.”