Chapter 3
Victor
Idrum my fingers on the long, rectangular table.
The four other men and women that make up my board listen as Griffin Lexington, Barlowe Technology’s chief executive director, drones on about the same things he did last week.
Our quarterly revenue is down. We need to downsize staffing.
As much as I respect the man, he needs to come up with better strategies if he wants the rest of the board to agree.
My staff is here to stay, and I’ll never change my mind.
We don’t need to pad our pockets with more money, putting hundreds of people out of careers they worked hard to achieve.
“We are about to launch our newest model of the XT phone, but our marketing team hit a snag,” Mr. Lexington continues.
I swear Mr. Tille, our secretary, is already asleep.
His arms rest across his chest, and his head tips farther down.
Gray mixes in with his dark brown hair. The man is nearing retirement age but is filling in, replacing Mr. Smith.
Mr. Tille’s daughter, who also happens to be my ex-girlfriend, sits beside him, listening intently, training to take over her father’s temporary role.
I’ve been able to avoid Rose since our brutal breakup ten years ago, but now that our stockholders, and my parents, approved of her taking over the secretary position, I have to get used to seeing her. Business is business.
“We need them to work overtime in order to come up with a new marketing strategy,” Mr. Lexington says.
I adjust in my chair. “Then how about they work overtime? Our staff is usually amenable if we give them adequate warning.”
“Well, as I’ve been saying, we’re down in revenue—”
I glare at him, and his words fall off. “We need a solid marketing strategy if we want the launch to be successful. So yes, Business 101, we need to spend money to make it.”
Mr. Lexington’s face is red, a vein throbbing prominently in his forehead. “Of course, Mr. Barlowe.”
His words are patronizing, but I ignore them. “If we’re done here—”
I push to my feet, but Mr. Lexington smiles. “No, there’s one more item on the agenda.” He waits for me to sit back down. “We need to talk about what happened on that television show. Two scandals within five months is too much. Not to mention your upcoming birthday and what that implies.”
Laughing, I look around at each of my board members. He must be kidding. Rose keeps her face neutral but doesn’t jump to my defense, so I can only assume she’s on Mr. Lexington’s side. Even Mrs. Frederick, our treasurer, has a serious expression on her usual soft features.
“You must be joking.”
“No, we’re not. Your grandfather might have approved your request to move the age requirement for you to get married and stay CEO from twenty-five to thirty-five when you were young and not ready to settle down, but your thirty-fifth birthday is in three months. Even your father—”
I clench and unclench my fingers underneath the table, anything to keep me from hitting this damned table. “You’ve talked to my father about this?”
“Yes, he actually called us so we could help come up with suggestions for potential brides.” He gives me a pointed look, and I take a deep breath.
Showing my hand here will only push them more.
“I’ll be frank with you. We think our numbers are tanking because of your very public breakup with that reality TV woman. ”
“Harmony. Her name is Harmony, and she and I are still great friends.” I flex my fingers again.
“How can our numbers be bad because I didn’t get married?
It’s not like I’m screwing around with a dozen women at the same time like the Hudson heir.
And I’m not getting drunk and crashing my car like the Milters’ heir. ”
“Well, your scandal with that fashion model was only two months before. All of this is reflecting badly on you and, in turn, the company.”
Ana is still haunting me all these months later. I was lucky I found out she was a scheming liar before I was in too deep.
“Mr. Lexington, don’t you think you’re being a little tough on Mr. Barlowe?
” Rose says before I can defend myself. “Like he said, he hasn’t done anything wrong.
It isn’t his fault that awful girl stood him up on his wedding day.
If she had gone through with it, Victor would’ve been married by the deadline. ”
I run my fingers through my hair. They haven’t mentioned this absurd clause for the CEO until three months before the cutoff date. I was hoping they’d let me bypass it.
This must be an elaborate prank. It has to be. That’s the only explanation.
Who am I kidding? All my board members are stale and dry, but they get the job done.
“How about we let me handle this on my own? My love life is my own, and I’d appreciate privacy.”
I need to concentrate on how to increase the revenue without laying off my employees. Finding a wife doesn’t rank in my top priorities, but if I tell them no, they won’t relent.
Mr. Lexington slides a piece of paper across the table, but I don’t reach for it. “I’m starting to think we might have to find another CEO who takes his role seriously.”
I rear back. My grandfather started this company, and no one will take it from me. “How dare you threaten me?”
Mrs. Frederick pushes her glasses up her nose. “I think Griffin is going about it all wrong.” She shoots him a glare. “We just want the numbers to go back up, and with the release of our XT phone, we don’t want this scandal holding the company back.”
Rose raises her hand as if she’s in elementary school. “I have an idea!”
Everyone except Mr. Lexington ignores her. He turns to her with a shit-eating grin. “What’s that, dear?”
“As many of you know, Victor and I dated in the past.” She looks around the room, waiting for everyone’s agreement, but when no one reacts, she continues, “He and I can get married, and then he can keep his role as CEO. I’ve worked here for years, so I can help him move the company into the future. ”
My throat closes, but I keep my face neutral. No weaknesses, or the wolves will come for you, my father always said. I’d rather peel my own fingernails off than marry her. “No. Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” She leans over the table and loudly whispers, “You know that’s what our parents have wanted all along.”
We might’ve grown up in the same circles, but my parents never told me to marry her.
“Actually, I think that’s a great idea,” Mrs. Frederick says. “Rose is highly educated. You two can help lead Barlowe Technology to the future as a united front as she said.”
Mrs. Frederick was always on my side, and she knows about Rose and my past. Everyone in our world knows. So, why would she want to do this to me? “I refuse to marry someone I don’t love for the sake of the company.”
Mrs. Frederick sits forward and steeples her fingers under her chin. “Why not? Don’t you want a partner who knows your company and can help you when you’re overwhelmed?”
Mr. Tille startles us with a snore, unaware that the board is trying to marry his daughter off to me. I’m certain everyone has lost their minds at this point.
“Not to mention that Miss Tille is a looker. It won’t be a hardship for you,” Mr. Lexington says.
Mrs. Frederick tsks. “That’s inappropriate for you to say.”
He shrugs as if he can’t be bothered.
I need to get us off the topic of me marrying Rose, so it’s time to move forward with my half-baked idea. “I’m already in love with someone else.”
My phone vibrates inside my pocket. Normally, I’d ignore it, but I have a niggling feeling.
I resist the urge to shift as everyone studies me.
Sliding my phone out, I check to see who is bothering me.
If it’s during business hours, everyone knows to call my office.
And since Martha isn’t banging down the door, there has to be something.
A text flashes up at me. Mom. Great. She’s the last person I want to speak to, but for some reason, my thumb still clicks her message thread.
Mother
Your father had a heart attack and is in the hospital. No need to come, just thought I’d inform—
My heart thrashes in my ears, and I slam to my feet. I don’t meet my board members’ gazes as I murmur something about being right back. No one says anything. Or maybe they did, but I didn’t hear them.
Another message comes through. I click my sister’s name like it’s the only glass of water in the middle of a desert.
Isabella
Come now. The doctors aren’t sure if Dad will make it.
My phone slips through my fingers as her words sear into my memory.
If he doesn’t make it, I won’t have a parent left.
I don’t count my sad excuse of a mother as a parent.
She never raised me, hugged me, kissed me …
No, only my father did that stuff when he was home.
But there were long stretches of time when he barely left the office.
I grab my phone as if it’s a baby bird and if I’m too rough, something might happen. I dial Jay, and he answers on the second ring. “I need you to pick me up.”
“Sir?”
Jay’s uncertain tone twists my stomach. I’m never so short with him. “Please, come get me. I need to get to the hospital now.”
***
I sit ramrod straight in a chair. My father has been in the ICU for twenty-four hours, and I haven’t left the hospital since arriving. I informed my board members to not call unless it’s urgent.
Isabella is slouching in the seat beside me, her black hair covering her face. She’s been asleep for five hours—lucky her. Her usual put together front has crumbled. It might make me sound cruel, but it’s reassuring to find out this affects her as it does me.
While my mother—I grip the arm of my chair and grind my molars—is at home or doing whatever it is she does, we wait here to find out whether or not our father is going to live through the week.
A nurse walks into the waiting room. “Are you Robert Barlowe’s family?”
I nod, and Isabella stirs beside me but doesn’t wake up.
“He’s asking to see you.”
As I glance around the room, my chest becomes heavy when I realize she’s talking to me still. “If he’s awake and asking for me, does that mean he’s okay?”
Her face stays impassive. “The doctor will be able to update you shortly. If you follow me, I’ll show you the way.”
I tap my fingers in order from my pointer finger to my pinky against my thumb, trying to calm my heart.
But it’s like a bull at a rodeo, refusing to be tamed.
The nurse uses her badge to open the double doors, and she ushers me inside.
Once we’re heading down the corridor, I keep my eyes on the floor in front of me.
Everything is so sterile and bright. My father is still young.
He shouldn’t be here because of a heart attack.
His bad heart is why he retired young, you fool.
The nurse suddenly stops, and when I lift my gaze, she says, “You may go inside, but you only have about fifteen minutes.”
I nod my thanks and take a deep breath before reaching for the door handle. My hand lingers on the cool steel. I’m not ready for this. My father might have been a busy man, but he was more loving than my mother ever was. Fate is cruel, taking the one family member who I know loves me.
Isabella isn’t as bad as our mother, but her icy exterior has blocked me out ever since she was a teenager.
Taking one last breath, I turn the knob and walk inside. The dimmed lights give off a gentle illumination. The monitor next to my father’s bed beeps the most reassuring sound.
I stand next to his hospital bed. If he wasn’t connected to the machines, I could almost pretend he was sleeping.
“Victor?” my father rasps. He struggles to open his eyes, but when he does, his gaze meets mine. “Oh, Vic, I’m so happy you’re here.”
There’s a rare uncertainty lacing his words. My stomach twists into a thousand little knots, but I shove that feeling away.
I reach out and place my hand over his. “I’ll always be here when you need me, you know that.”
He nods once, and his eyes slam shut. “I’ve never told you this, but you’re a grown man now.” His words are soft, as if he’s forcing himself to speak. When he reopens his eyes, my heart drops. “I’m scared, Son. My time on this planet seems to be numbered.”
I open my mouth to contradict him, but he gives me a look that screams, “Let me talk!”
“When I had my last heart attack a year ago, they said I probably wouldn’t survive the next one. I’m not sure I’ll make it out of this hospital.”
I squeeze his hand gently. “You will make it out. Look,” I say, motioning at him. “You’re awake and talking to me. You’re in the best hospital around.”
Dad winces. “Please, just promise me something so it will ease my mind.”
Cocking my head to the side, I study my father. His lips are chapped, and his skin is paler than usual. His salt-and-pepper hair is disheveled, but he’s here. He’s alive. “I’ll promise you anything.”
“Marry for love. Don’t allow your mother to set you up with one of those heiresses.
Well, unless you fall in love with one of them.
” He huffs. His breathing comes in shallow bursts as if even talking is too much for him.
“I’m rambling. All I’m saying is please don’t let your mom or the board sway you when it comes to marriage.
It’s a lifelong commitment not to be taken lightly.
I know the board is pushing you right now because of the stupid rule your grandfather made.
Look at me. I married your mother because he wanted me married by twenty-five, and I let your grandma set me up with someone just to stay CEO. ”
A sudden ache takes over my throat as I swallow. I’ve always felt sorry for myself due to my mother’s lack of maternal instincts. I never thought how it must affect my dad.
“Son, are you listening?”
I nod, my tongue too dry to speak.
“Promise me.”
He doesn’t have to elaborate. Only one woman’s face pops into my mind at the thought of marrying for love. Maybe I don’t love her yet, but she’s the only woman who has made me feel alive. And that’s enough for me.
“I promise to marry for love.” A sudden and stupid idea pops into my head, but I’ll do anything to make my father happy. “Actually, there is a woman I love, and we were planning on getting married next week.”
My father’s eyes blink rapidly. “What?”
“As you mentioned, the board has been pressuring me to get married. I thought a small, secret wedding would be better for privacy.” I smile as if I’m not lying through my teeth. “Her name is Serenity, and I think you’ll love her.”
“Serenity?” My father says her name like it’s an answered prayer. “I’m scared I won’t make it another week. Can you move it up to this weekend?”
Three days. This weekend is in three days. “Yes, of course, Father.”
I’m not sure if my dad is exaggerating, but I can’t take the chance. This is exactly how my grandfather passed away. After his heart attack, during his recovery, there was a complication, and then he was gone.
There’s a possibility these could be his last words, and I have to grant him his wish.