28. Elliott
TWENTY-EIGHT
Elliott
When I get to the office, all hell is breaking loose. Loud voices can be heard down the hall. My father, my uncles, and Joshua, all talking over each other. I’m glad I don’t have to walk past my father’s office to get to mine. I don’t want to be in the middle of whatever my father is so angry about. It’s then that I catch my cousin Nikki smirking. She winks at me.
Oh shit!
I point down the hall and mouth, “Did you do that?”
She nods. They confronted my father and uncle.
I bite back a laugh so I don’t give myself away and close my office door, then get on the phone. I’ll fill up my morning with as many calls as I can and paperwork. Look busy and hope they leave me out of it.
Not ten minutes later, my father’s barging through the door. No knocking for him, ever. He shuts it with a loud bang.
I raise my hand in a what the fuck gesture and point at the phone I’m holding against my ear and continue to talk like I don’t have a care in the world.
My father is fuming and pacing back and forth in front of my desk. I carry on my phone conversation, ignoring him and trying my best not to laugh. I don’t rush the call, which infuriates my father even more. After a minute or two, I end the phone call and pay attention to my father.
“What’s happening?”
“What’s happening? What’s happening? Don’t you know?”
I look at him, making my best impression of a deer in the headlights. “No, I got here half an hour ago and have been on the phone since. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
My father points a finger at Nikki’s now closed office door. “So you’re telling me you have nothing to do with that?”
“I don’t even know what that is.”
“Your cousin is threatening to sue us.”
“Joshua? Why? What happened?”
He growls. He actually growls. “Not that idiot. Nikki and Mandy.”
I frown. “What about them?”
“They threatened to sue the firm for sexual discrimination because they think they’re being passed over for partnership.”
I widen my eyes. “They said that?”
My father gets closer and hisses. “Yes.”
I lower my voice to match his tone. “They’re not wrong.”
He scowls. “They’re not supposed to know this. How the fuck did they find out? ”
“I have no idea, Dad. But they’re not dumb. It doesn’t take much to look around and see there are no women in any of the higher positions.”
“There have never been women in a higher position or a female partner. Why would it be different now?”
“You forget Grandma, the founder of this company.”
He scoffs. “It was my father, not my mother, who founded the firm.”
As smart as he is, he’s being pretty dense now. “Dad, how can you seriously say that? It was Grandma’s money, not Grandpa’s. And we’re not in the fifties. It’s the twenty-first century. Women are in positions of power everywhere. Leading companies and countries.”
He fixes his gaze on me, still trying to decide if I had anything to do with it. I lower my voice still, forcing him to get closer. “What are you going to do?”
His mouth turns down. “Nothing. We’ll wait it out. They’ll forget about it, eventually.”
“You really think so?”
My father puffs out his chest. “Yes. They’re both in serious relationships. As soon as one of them gets engaged, all they’ll think about is wedding shit and forget all about this stupid idea.”
My father takes the chair in front of my desk and I try my best not to sit stiffly. My leather chair squeaks as I adjust my posture. The sharp scent of his aftershave mingles with the faint aroma of the coffee cooling on my desk.
His voice, clipped and sharp, cuts through the air. “I don’t understand why they even want to make partner.”
I clench my jaw, willing myself to stay composed. It’s like he’s daring me to agree, daring me to share in his outdated, narrow-minded view of the world. I force a nod, swallowing the bitter taste rising in my throat, and send a silent apology to Nikki and Mandy. Two more years, I remind myself. I can endure two more years. My father’s gaze sharpens, waiting for a response, but I keep my expression neutral. God forbid I challenge him outright. That’s not how things work in this family. He doesn’t tolerate dissent, and I’ve learned that playing the long game is the only way to get anything done. Still, it burns, this complicit silence. I feel like I’m betraying my cousins, my sisters, every woman I’ve ever met. Jillian.
I wonder, not for the first time, if my mother had a secret lover. Surely there’s no way I’m related to this man. We couldn’t be more different. Where his world revolves around control and power, mine is about connection and empathy—things he sees as weaknesses. Things he’s tried to beat out of me, figuratively, and a few times, not, for as long as I can remember.
Growing up under his roof was like walking on eggshells, always striving for his approval, knowing it would never come. My grades were never good enough. My accomplishments never impressive enough. Even as a child, I could sense his disappointment, his barely veiled irritation at having a son who wasn’t cut from his mold. I worked harder than anyone else in my class, joined every club, and excelled at every sport I tried, all in a futile attempt to hear him say, I’m proud of you. It never happened.
My sisters had it worse. They didn’t even warrant his criticism—just dismissal. To him, they were insignificant, little more than background noise in the grand scheme of his empire. He couldn’t see the brilliance in Sabrina’s sharp mind, the way she could dissect an argument and rebuild it into something unassailable. He ignored Elsa’s resilience, her uncanny ability to balance her career and her family with grace. He didn’t care. They were girls, and in his world, that made them irrelevant.
If it weren’t for our mother, we might not have survived him. She was kind, gentle in a way that felt like a reprieve from the coldness of our father. But she was also complicit in her silence, always trying to keep the peace, always urging us to understand that “your father just has high expectations.” She didn’t protect us—not really—but she loved us in her own way, and we clung to that.
The three of us—Sabrina, Elsa, and I—we leaned on each other. We still do. We’re a team, bound by the shared experience of growing up under our father’s impossible standards. When he ignored my sisters, I stepped in. When he tore me down, they built me back up. We were all we had, and it made us stronger, closer.
And now, sitting here, I can’t help but marvel at how far we’ve come in spite of him. Sabrina and Elsa venturing onto a different path, following their dreams, happy and successful.
I nod again, feigning agreement with whatever drivel he’s spouting now, even as my stomach churns. I’m counting down the minutes until he gets out of my office and takes his suffocating presence with him.
The thought of stopping by Jillian’s shop later keeps me sane. Maybe I’ll tell her everything. Or maybe I’ll let her laughter and lightness remind me that not everything in the world is cold and hard like my father. Either way, I know I’ll feel better as soon as I see her.
For now, I grit my teeth and endure because that’s what I’ve always done. But the satisfaction of knowing that my cousins will knock my father on his ass is enough to keep me from gagging.
My father stands up. “Make sure to keep your mouth shut.” He barrels out of my office, not bothering to close the door. I allow myself to relax in my chair and close my eyes, rubbing at my temples—trying to thwart the forming headache.
A light knock on my open door brings me back. Megs is standing at the opening. She walks in when I smile at her.
“Megs, save me, please.”
She shakes her head. “Keep yourself out of that mess. You have nothing to do with it.” She winks at me. “That’s all I have to say about that.”
Oh, Megs, you witch. Nothing gets past you. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I wink back at her.
She walks around my desk, goes straight to the lower drawer, opens it, and retrieves the folder my father gave me weeks ago—I forgot all about it. “You can’t avoid this any longer.” She drops the folder on my desk. “Your father is foaming at the mouth, looking for a neck to wring, and if he finds out you haven’t even looked at this yet”—she slides the folder in front of me—“your neck will be it.”
I push it to the side. “I’ll look at it later today.”
She slides it back. “Now, Elliott. Look at it now. It’s bigger than you think.”
I frown. What else does she know? I open the folder and skim the first page. It’s a purchase proposal for a single building located not far from where I live. Owned by Leonora Caruso, who has refused several offers to sell.
I look up at Margaret. “I remember her—I met her once a year or so ago. A little old lady with balls of steel. My father is still trying to get her building. What’s so big about it?”
“Keep reading, Elliott.” She watches me like an old-time schoolteacher.
I flip through the pages listing all the escalating offers and refusals. Every attempt made to purchase the building, and then it jumps at me. No. No fucking way. This can’t be happening. Of all the thousands of buildings in New York, it had to be Jillian’s. “It’s a clusterfuck.”
“Language, Elliott.” In her eyes, I’m still a boy.
“Sorry, Megs. There’s no other word to describe it.”
“You have to tell her.”
“I know.” I blink at her. “How do you even know about me and Jillian?”
“You’re not the only one who lives in that neighborhood.” She leans in closer. “And Leonora is a close friend of mine.” Her voice is low.
“You’re her woman on the inside.” My voice is as low as hers.
She shrugs. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I smile at her despite the churning in my stomach. There’s no stopping that headache now. “I’ll take care of this.”
She nods, walking backward. “Make sure you do.”
When she gets to the door, I call her, “Megs? Be careful. You have a neck, too.”
I come into the store as Angela is leaving. Jillian is wrapping up with a customer and I loiter on the opposite side of the room so as not to intrude—take the extra time to calm my nerves. I have to tell her, but I have no idea what her reaction will be. What if she throws me out and never speaks to me again?
I walk back to her when the sound of the bell tells me the customer has left. She’s wearing a fitted sky-blue T-shirt, the hue a perfect match for the color of her eyes. But it’s not only the shirt or the way it clings to her—it’s the smile tipping her full, kissable lips that captures me completely. Her smiles come easier now, unguarded, and genuine, lighting up her whole face in a way that leaves me breathless. Being the recipient of one sends a zing down my spine, sharp and undeniable, traveling to places that have no business stirring to life right now. Her smile calms my nerves and makes me a coward. I need time. I’ll tell her. Soon. But not now. I can’t spoil that smile.
She comes from behind the counter to greet me. “You’re here more often than my part-time employees. Are you looking for a side job, perhaps?”
I lean into her and kiss her cheek. “That’s not a bad idea at all. What’s the store policy on dating the boss?”
She presses his lips together and looks up as if in deep thought. “Hmmm. I may have to consult HR about that.” Then returns to safety behind the counter.
“Remember when I told you about my lunch with my cousins?”
“Yes.”
I smile. “I wish you could have been in my office this morning. It was beautiful.”
Her eyes widen. “What happened? ”
“I got to the office and my father, my cousin Josh, and his father were in the middle of a huge fight.”
Jillian gasps. “Oh no, I hope everybody was okay.”
“Oh, they were fine. It wasn’t a physical fight. A lot of yelling and blame shifting. Each accusing the other of having said something to Nikki and Mandy. Well, not their father. He was mad on their behalf. He’s the youngest of the three and was never taken as seriously.”
Jillian moves a vase to the side. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
Her interest makes me want to kiss her. “I walked into the firm and I saw the commotion. Their voices could be heard down the hall. I immediately knew what was happening, so I snuck into my office, got on the phone, and started working like it was a day like any other.”
I can’t help the smile on my face.
“Don’t stop, tell me more.” She’s leaning onto the counter between us now and I get a peek at her cleavage.
“My father came into my office, and he was furious. I was on the phone, so I made him wait a couple extra minutes, which of course only made him angrier.”
Jillian’s hand goes to her mouth.
“When I finally hung up the call, my father accused me of instigating my cousins, which, of course, I denied. I should win an Oscar for that acting job.”
Jillian laughs. “Did he believe you?”
I nod. “Yeah, I think he did.”
“Could this get back to you somehow? Get you in trouble?”
I shrug. “The worst he can do is fire me, and honestly, I’d be happy if he did. ”
She frowns. “Why not quit then?”
“It’s complicated. It’s a family-run business. For generations now. If I left and went to work for the competition, it would hurt more than my father. It would hurt other people in the company I care about, too.”
She sighs. “I can understand that. The ties that bind us are sometimes a trap.”
More than she can imagine. Two years, I remind myself again.
I smile, trying to lift the mood again. “My sisters talked to our cousins about you, and now Nikki and Mandy want to meet you.”
“I’d love to meet them.”
I laugh. “I don’t know about that. You, my cousins, and my sisters all together? It feels like trouble. I’m a little scared.”
She grins. “Nah, feels like a fun outing. I’ll bring Sheila too.”
“I don’t know if I can handle all that girl power.”
Jillian raises a fist up in the air. “Down with the patriarchy.”