Chapter Thirty-Seven
Zoe
After relaying everything I discovered to Ethan James, he studies me from across his desk. His salt and pepper hair is precisely cut to accent his impeccable wardrobe. While my father fights to be as imposing as him, he fails. Ethan is the real deal.
He tents his hands on top of his desk. “So why did you come to me?”
“Because you should have the opportunity to rectify something you would’ve done four years ago if you hadn’t been fed fraudulent information.” I’m not intimidated by him, but I do respect him. Okay. My hands are sweaty as fuck, but they aren’t shaking.
“And what’s that?”
I tilt my head and steady my shoulders. “You would’ve signed Jace and stolen him away from my father. If he wasn’t so pigheaded to realize what a good deal he was sabotaging.”
One corner of his mouth twitches. “Have you heard his new music?”
“Yes.” I lick my lips but show no other sign of weakness. “I’ve listened to everything he’s posted online, and it’s remarkable. You’d be making a mistake not to add him to your label.”
And I’m not saying that because I’ve re-listened to everything after hearing him declare to my father that he loves me. Or loved me. I bite my bottom lip as happy butterflies flutter in my belly.
He loves me. You don’t spend weeks pouring your heart out on paper and not still mean it. But before I fly to see him, I need to rectify two things. I need to get him a record label contract, and I need to tell my father to kiss my ass as I grab my stuff from my desk. I’ll miss working with Felix, but I’m not bowing down to him again. Ever.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“And what happens when he gets the girl that he’s been singing about for years?” His lips twitch again as heat floods through me. Having someone know that he was singing about me and the intimate details of making love to me is going to take some getting used to. “Is he still going to be able to write and sing with that much emotion?”
“Yes, I believe he will.” All those times, I thought he was singing about Samantha and wallowing in misery because he didn’t have her; he was singing about me.
“Good.” He relaxes his shoulders, rocks back into his chair, and braces his hands on the armrest. “I’ve heard his music. Both then and now.” His lips twitch again but never break into a full smile. Although, his eyes give him away as they twinkle with humor. “Tell him to be in my office next week, and we’ll finalize a deal that I believe you’ll both find satisfactory.”
“Yes, Sir.” I jump from my seat, no longer able to control my happiness. But the movements instantly bring on a wave of dizziness. Fuck. When did I last eat? I swipe my hands on my pants and steady my balance. “You won’t regret it.”
At some point, I need to get some sleep and eat. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends for days now.
“I don’t plan to.” His eyes grow serious as he studies me. “What do you say to a job with me? You’re clearly amazing at talent acquisition. You know the business inside and out. And it would totally piss your father off if you came and worked for me.”
“Let me think about it. I appreciate the offer, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do.” If things go well with Jace and he wants to live in Vegas or somewhere else, I don’t want to be tied down here.
Once I leave Ethan’s office, I return to my father’s building. I no longer consider it where I work and pull into my old parking space. The weather is pleasant. The sky is blue with a few puffy clouds, and even from my vehicle, I notice bees flitting around in the flowers adorning the walkway to the back entrance.
After stepping out of my car, someone yells my name. I turn to find Daisy jogging across the parking lot. “Hey, lady.” She smiles and gives me a quick hug.
“What’re you doing here?” I pat her back and walk toward the door.
“I’m here for moral support and to help you grab your gear. After you tell your dad to take this job and shove it.” She slings her arm over my shoulders. “Although, I’m worried I’m going to lose my calculus partner when you run off to Vegas to be with Jace, but I’ll survive.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do. You’ve been there when my dad acted like a giant douche canoe. The least I can do is support you when you need me. And my dad has never stooped this low, so you need me.”
“Thank you.” I slide my arm around her waist and squeeze her as I blink at the stinging in my eyes. “Thank you for being my best friend and for helping me deal with this mess.”
“You’re welcome.” She waves her free hand toward the entrance. “Let’s do this.”
As we travel inside and to the elevator, I’m quiet. The lobby looks the same as always. Clean and smells like lemon cleaner. Everything is sleek. Classic. Black and silver. The floor is marbled black, white, and silver with a fine line of gold throughout the space giving it an elegant feeling.
I must give my dad credit. He presents as top-of-the-line. Of course, when you undercut everyone and steal part of their money with shoddy contracts, you can splurge on window dressings.
We step away from each other and stride across the floor. The receptionist waves at me like always. But this is it. I won’t be back in this building.
I press the elevator button and wait for my heart to stop thudding.
“Everything will be fine.”
“Yeah.” My stomach rolls again. “As long as I don’t get sick.”
“Are you feeling okay?” Her eyes grow concerned as she slaps her palm on my forehead. “You don’t feel hot.”
“I’m fine. Really. I haven’t had anything to eat today.” Or yesterday.
“Okay. When we get out of here, we’ll get you something to eat. Do you want me to go to your office and pack while you talk to him?”
“I’d love that. Thank you. The quicker we get out of here, the better.”
She gets off on the level below my father’s floor, and as I wait for each click of the elevator car links to draw me closer to him and swallow over the dryness in my throat. This is harder than I anticipated. I’ve always prided myself on being an obedient child. Someone he’d respect and appreciate for doing well in school. For listening. For following in his footsteps. But I don’t want these to be my footsteps. I’m ashamed of how he treats people. Not just Jace.
When I look at everything with a jaded eye, I can see why his clients left as soon as they could to get away from him.
The door slides open, and my father’s assistant smiles but returns to the conversation she’s holding on the phone. Instead of waiting, I brush past her, knock on the door and step inside. If I wait, I might lose my nerve and leave without speaking to him.
He’s sitting behind his desk, scanning a file. The oversized desk nearly dwarfs the room. “Father.” I snap the door shut behind me. “We need to talk about Jace.”
“Do we?” He leans back, making the chair squeak under his weight. “I told you I didn’t want to hear his name spoken out of your mouth again.” His eyes, glittering like diamonds. “I’m not interested in him whether he has new shit out or not.” The vein at his temple bounces as his heart beats. “And you shouldn’t be either. Not after what he pulled in Saint Lucia.”
I lick my lips. “About that. I’m afraid I wasn’t privy to all the information about that night or about the past four years.”
He snaps up out of his chair, causing it to roll backward, skidding to a stop right before crashing into the plate-glass windows. “Whatever he said to you is a lie. He’s making up these songs to try and worm his way into your good graces again. It’s all manipulation.” He shakes his head. “When are you going to get your head out of the clouds over this joker?”
“I’m not. And he didn’t contact me.” I inhale and steady my breathing.
“I don’t hold an ounce of guilt over not signing him years ago. He was a liability for whoever signed him, and as you can tell, no one else did.”
“Because of you. Because you were mad and thought he was trying to use me to get to you.”
“You’re right.”
“Sadly, it wasn’t to protect me. It was because you thought he had the audacity to try and trick you.” I don’t believe any of it now. My father is irrational in his feelings about Jace.
“And?”
“And you were wrong. He cared about me all along.”
He throws back his head and laughs. “Because he sang some cheesy song about you? What a fucking na?ve fool you are.”
“Thanks.” My hands ball into fists. “I appreciate the support. I’m sorry things didn’t end better between us.”
“He’s using you. He’s a fucking liar.” He stomps toward me until I back away from him. Finally, he stops and props his hands on his hips. “I can’t believe you’d entertain picking him over me.”
“I would’ve if he’d told me the truth from the beginning.” My hands shake from nerves and adrenaline. I’ve never feared him touching me, but I’m starting to grow worried as his agitation amplifies. “I watched the video. I heard every word you said to him. Every lie and manipulation you used to get him to end things with me. Your threats of getting him arrested. How you planted the drugs. And those lies about the woman you said he was with.” I fight back the rage as it surges through me. “It was disgusting. I’m sickened by you and….” I inhale. “I quit. I’ll no longer work for you, and I don’t want you to be a part of my life.”
“That’s crazy talk.”
“I’m done with this conversation.”
As I speedwalk to the elevator to go down to the floor where Daisy awaits, my head spins. The floor swoops up as if it’s going to knock my feet out from under me. The edges of the hallway turn black and swim. Just a little bit more.
I slip inside the elevator and the world tips sideways. Shit. I reach out and grab the wall to remain upright as the blood whooshes in my ears. As soon as I get out of here, I need to rest.
The door slides open, and everything goes black. What–
Two arms grab me, and I go down.