Chapter 46
Ryker
I received a text from my father around eight forty-five tonight asking Logan and I to meet him on campus at Whittaker Hall. Logan and I were preparing for the end of semester party at the mansion when our phones went off.
Father, Logan
Father
Meet me at Whittaker
Hall asap.
My leg bounces rapidly as I sit in my father’s campus office which he was given by Dean Ashby for his work with Ellington University and the Elite. My palms are sweaty against the wooden handles of the chair.
Logan sits next me, not looking nearly as agitated as I feel. But why would he be? He doesn’t get the brunt of our father’s disdain.
I feel his eyes on me as my leg continues to bob.
“Dude, calm down,” Logan whispers, his eyes searching my face.
“Easy for you to say. He doesn’t hate you,” I grit out. Logan rolls his eyes.
“He doesn’t hate you, Ryker. Don’t be ridiculous,” he hisses.
“He has a funny way of showing it,” I scoff. My father has hated me since the moment I told him I didn’t want to work for The Steele Corporation under his ruling. He thinks I’m disrespectful, unruly, and he can’t stand someone going against him.
The door opens and shuts with a click as my father walks into the room and takes a seat across from us, the air turning instantly ten degrees cooler.
His black hair is slicked back, as always, the suit he’s wearing is nicely pressed, and he’s still sporting a mob mustache. The wrinkles under his eyes and on his forehead as he scowls make him look years older than his age of forty-five.
I realize now that I don’t even recall a time I’ve seen my father smile. He’s always had this perpetual scowl on his face. At least around me.
I can’t imagine what he wanted to meet for that couldn’t have waited until Logan and I came home in a few days. My hands grip the handles of the chair tight as my father begins to speak.
“Hello, boys. Thank you for coming so quickly. I needed to discuss some urgent matters with you,” he says before tossing a manila folder in my direction. I can feel Logan’s eyes on me as I pick up the folder and open it.
My jaw tightens as I study the pages in front of me. A picture of a man who looks like Gwen stares back at me. They have the same sapphire blue eyes.
My eyes scan the paper.
Wade Sharpe, class of 2001 Birthday: April 7 th , 1979
Age: 45
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Active Elite Member from 1998 to 2001
Elite Status: Alumni Marital Status: Divorced
Children: Guinevere Lane Sharpe
Appearance: Brunette, 6’0, blue eyes, Caucasian
My blood runs cold as I realize what this is. It’s a file on Gwen’s dad, on her family, on her.
I flip through the other pages, seeing a full file on Gwen’s mother and on Gwen herself. I can’t help myself from reading through Gwen’s file.
Guinevere Lane Sharpe Birthday: October 31 st ,2002
Age: 22
Location: Barrington, RI & Essex, CT
Elite Status: Legacy Marital Status: Single
Children: None
Appearance: Brunette, 5’4, blue eyes, Caucasian
I am about to explode as I wonder why my father has a file on Gwen and her family. Why he’s showing it to me.
Closing the file, I look up at my father who is watching me expectantly.
“Why do you have these?” I ask, trying my best to sound nonchalant.
My father leans his elbows on his desk and steeples his fingers. “Dean Ashby informed me that your little girlfriend is a legacy,” he tells me, his face unreadable. I already knew Gwen was a legacy since she’d told me a couple days ago, so this isn’t groundbreaking news. But I suppose to my father, it is.
Logan looks over to me, shock clear on his face, but he doesn’t say anything.
“I’m guessing you’re still seeing her?” Father asks, cocking an eyebrow. Do I lie and tell him I have no idea what he’s talking about, or do I tell him the truth? That Gwen and I are official. I decide on the truth, because I’m done giving a shit what he thinks.
“Yes.”
Father leans back in his chair and straightens his suit. Without looking up at me, he says, “Good. Then you’ll be getting married within the next six months, before you take your spot at the company.”
My heart stops, and I’m pretty sure my jaw is on the floor. Logan’s head whips from our father to me, waiting to see my reaction. I don’t even have words.
Of course, I would marry Gwen tomorrow if I could. I know Gwen is going to be my wife one day. That is something I’ve known since the moment she showed me she wasn’t like all the girls. Guinevere Sharpe is mine, and we will get married someday, but there’s no way she’ll agree to getting married in six months.
And what the hell does being married have to do with anything? I don’t plan on working for the company anyway, so this is moot.
Steeling myself, I stand and lean over the desk.
“That’s not happening,” I tell him. “She’ll never agree to that.”
Father shrugs. “Then you’ll have to make her agree. This is family tradition, Ryker. Your grandfather married before building the company, and he forced me to do the same before I began to work under him. Now, it’s your turn. You’re 22, the exact age your mother and I were married. It is what we do, and you will do it,” he commands.
I swear my heart is beating so hard it’s going to fly out of my chest.
“Father, I,” Logan starts before father interrupts him.
“You will be doing the same next year. There is no debate or discussion. This is not only a Steele tradition, but an Elite tradition. As Elite’s, you both have an obligation to the vow you took when being initiated in. This was always going to happen.”
Logan’s face turns red, and I’ve never seen him angry toward our father. He’s never talked back or argued with his orders. He’s always followed the rules and accepted whatever our father told him. But he looks fucking pissed.
“Do you know how crazy this is?” Logan shouts, standing from his chair abruptly. “There is no way in hell I am getting married next year. I don’t even have a girlfriend. I’m sorry, father. But I’m not doing it.”
I purse my lips, trying to hide a grin from taking over my face. I have never been so proud of my brother.
Logan walks to the door and reaches for the handle.
“Logan, we are not finished here,” father says sternly.
“Yes, we are.”
With that, Logan opens the door and storms out of the room, leaving me with our father who is practically foaming at the mouth. Logan has never had an outburst, and my father looks like he could have a heart attack from the interaction.
You go, little brother.
My father takes a deep breath before looking back at me, the displeasure on his face evident.
“See what you’ve done? You’ve corrupted your brother so much, he’s beginning to become defiant,” my father scoffs.
“Maybe he’s just realized that your rules and traditions are stupid, and that he doesn’t have to follow your every demand,” I shrug.
“You will fix this. You will convince your brother to fall back in line, or so help me, God, I will take everything from you. Your inheritance, your home, your tuition, your car. Everything, Ryker. Do you understand me? You are not in charge here, son. I am.”
I back away from his desk, staring down at him as I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. Fishing it out, I see a text from Gwen and my chest squeezes. I should be at the party with her. I should be dancing and drinking and kissing her. Not having this utterly ridiculous conversation with my father .
My Rebel
Me
Where are you?
Shit. I have to get out of here. I need to get home to her. When my father texted earlier, I didn’t even think to tell Gwen. I just got Logan and drove to campus. My mind was racing with thoughts about what the meeting could be about and what mood my father was going to be in.
“I have to go,” I state, not even acknowledging what he just said. He can threaten all he wants, but he wouldn’t really do that, would he? At least, he couldn’t legally take my inheritance, and I would get a lawyer if I needed to.
My father says he’s in charge, but he won’t be for long. Not when I find every little secret he’s been burying since he became CEO of The Steele Corporation. I know there’s something there, and I am determined to find it to get him out of my life for good.
Part of me feels guilty for wanting my own father out of my life because people like Gwen would do anything for their father to be in theirs, but Robert Steele is no father. He is a dictator. I will not allow him to run my life anymore.
He has another thing coming if he thinks I’ll actually try to talk Logan into obeying his absurd rules. I don’t even know why he’d ask that of me knowing I don’t agree with him either.
Sorry, father . Not happening.
This ends now.