Chapter 1 #2
I shoved my hands into my pockets as a gust of wind blew down Main Street. The sun was shining, and most of the snow had melted, but damn, with that wind, it didn’t seem to make any difference.
Liam slowed his steps, his brown boots scuffing the white sidewalk. I realized maybe he was waiting to find out if I would be joining them.
“Uh, sure, thank you,” I muttered then ducked my neck so my mouth would be covered by my coat.
“Are you going to Uncle Colson’s right now too?” Maddy asked, turning her head slightly to the left to catch my eye.
Liam glanced over once then focused on the street ahead.
“Nope, I actually have to call in about my work and then I’m going next door to Nora’s house. That’s where I’m staying.”
“What do you work at?” Mila asked. I smirked at the wrong use of words, but it was cute so I didn’t correct her.
“I work from wherever my laptop is.”
Seraph twisted her head my way, her face scrunching in confusion. “Why don’t you stay at Uncle Cole’s house?”
The question slammed into me harder than the wind.
It was such an innocent question, but a reminder just the same.
How was I supposed to explain that my brother was slowly warming up to me but wouldn’t be offering me his spare room any time soon?
Maybe if I used Harry Potter references?
I was like Harry, living under the stairs, but I didn’t have any powers or owls and I wasn’t the cousin…
I was the little half sister everyone hated.
“Uh…” I started, but Liam covered for me.
“Nora is out of town right now and asked if Haley would house sit for her.”
All three girls murmured in understanding.
I turned my face to catch Liam’s gaze and mouthed the words, Thank you.
He didn’t respond, just kept walking.
Okay…
We advanced down Main Street a little further, but Liam still hadn’t said anything.
It bugged me on a weird level. He was Colson’s best friend, so it only made sense that we had some kind of familiarity, but I didn’t want to feel like I had to push for it this hard.
If he didn’t like me, or want anything to do with me, it was honestly fine, but I knew his girls would be around Colson a lot, and I had every intention of being around my brother just as often.
We were going to have to get used to one another.
I wanted to say as much to him, but now his face was drawn tight as he stared at his cell phone, so I kept my mouth shut.
Finally, we were in front of my SUV.
“Well, thanks for making sure I got to my car nice and safe,” I said, mostly to Mila.
She waved and sweetly said, “You’re welcome.”
Liam added, “Macon isn’t really dangerous though, just so you know.”
“But she’s a girl all alone, you always tell us to never be alone in town,” Maddy countered, furrowing her dark brows.
I laughed, loving how quickly the girls were able to turn this on him. Kids were funny.
Opening my door—and hopefully helping end the questions—I politely said. “Bye, guys, I’ll see you around.”
Then I shut myself inside and waved through the window, letting out a sigh as I watched the back of Liam’s wool sweater disappear around the corner.
I felt so out of place here in this town, and Liam’s standoffish attitude only hammered that home. The reminder that it had taken Colson three days to finally speak to me after I arrived in Macon, made me blush with embarrassment. I should have left by day two, but I had nowhere to go.
I burned a bridge with my parents by following Cole to Oregon.
My dad had tried to undercut Cole in the purchase of a company.
I ratted him out then bought the company myself.
Now I was here because I felt guilty about how royally not only our dad but my mother too had screwed him over.
Don’t even get me started on what my mother did to Cole’s poor garden.
They were written out of my life for good, and I wasn’t going back.
While the seats and steering wheel warmed, and I worked to shake off my thoughts, my phone connected to the car’s Bluetooth, and began playing my voice messages.
A nasally voice filled the car as the message played.
“Hello, Ms. Hanes, this is Daniel from Hush Shoes. I work with Clyde in the San Francisco Office…anyway, sorry to bother you, but Clyde is out sick, and his assistant seemed unsure of who is next in the chain of command aside from you. Clyde was working on getting a management team set up, but I believe he’s still in the interview process.
Anyway, can you give me a call at your earliest convenience? ”
Shit.
I hit call on Daniel’s contact as I began navigating out of the parking space then proceeded toward Nora’s.
“Ms. Hanes, thank you for calling me back so quickly,” Daniel answered on the first ring.
I had met the man last fall and he was nice enough, but I was focused. “Daniel, what happened to Bryant James?”
There was a pause and the rustling of a few papers being shuffled around. “He’s no longer a part of Hush Shoes.”
I signaled at a four way stop, letting out a heavy sigh.
“How long has Clyde been out?”
More shuffling echoed along with a few muttered whispers.
I could imagine a frantic search going on around Daniel’s desk as the junior associates tried to piece together the leadership of this new company.
I had purchased Hush Shoes only six months ago, but Clyde and Bryant were already set in place to run it.
As far as I knew, things were going well.
We’d just checked in on a conference call two weeks ago.
I had no idea how so much had gone this wrong so fast.
“He’s been out for five days.”
Double shit.
I didn’t understand why they were suddenly flaking out when Hush Shoes was their company.
I merely backed them as an investor. Maybe Clyde was just having cold feet, but our projections were up, the new shoe was set to launch within a few months and from the early responses we had in a few focus groups, the product was a hit.
We already had three different celebrities on board with trying the product, and at least five thousand fashion influencers.
For a low-level startup, we were doing great.
“I’ll call Clyde. For now, you’re acting manager, Daniel. Do you know what needs to be done?”
“Yes, ma’am. I just need approval for a few expenditures that exceed five thousand.”
I nodded, turning into Nora’s driveway. “Send everything to me. I’ll approve whatever you need, just keep things on track.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Shoving the gear into park, I let out another sigh.
“And Daniel, stop calling me ma’am. I’m Haley or Ms. Hanes.”
“You got it, Ms. Hanes.”
Our call disconnected, and I sunk against my headrest.
While the timing was terrible, there was something soothing about work.
The ease and finesse of knowing exactly what to say and what to do.
I knew when I graduated that I would walk in my father’s footsteps; it came so naturally to me.
It was why I began shadowing his associates, tagging along in board meetings and hopping onto all of his business calls.
Why I put up with as much as I have over the years.
Being as young as I am in an industry full of sharks and monsters, I wanted to prove I could swim with them.
I learned that Blaire was right, I was a tool—and a sharp one, at that. I trained and studied. I hustled and obtained my BBA in record time, kept my head down, and helped Dad when he needed me. Then I discovered something about my father, and that’s when everything changed.
He had been opening shell companies in his children’s names for years, straining lines of credit and setting us as the CEOs without our knowledge, all to pad his ventures and expand the purse strings of his own wallet.
I learned how to take control of those companies, and how to cut away the fat, just like Blaire taught me.
I controlled everything after I took the money left in them and created an empire, all under my father’s nose.
My father’s associates learned what had happened, and since I had started running things at eighteen, most of them became my associates.
Gunther, one of my father’s oldest friends, was my mentor, and he had been helping me smooth out the areas I wasn’t familiar with.
And since I was only twenty years old, I leaned on him a lot to guide me through everything.
My age didn’t prevent me from reaching for every single opportunity on the table in business meetings.
At home, in my own life, though. I felt insecure, tiny.
Unsure of what the future would hold and how I’d look in five years.
Did I want a family? A husband…kids? My chest felt cold as the familiar numb feeling swept through me. I had no clue.
No plans.
No aspirations.
I just wanted to matter and make a difference somewhere, and for now that would have to be enough. Maybe I could carve a life out here…maybe I’d be that sharp knife Blaire talked about, but instead of cutting or helping my family, I’d be able to create a space where I could matter.
I had to stop overthinking things and get busy. Exiting the car, I made my way along the shoveled path to Nora’s house, eyeing the one next door.
My brother Colson was home, and while he’d started warming up to me, I was still hesitant to head over unless I had something to offer him. Instead, I trudged inside Nora’s freezing cold house and decided to start baking.
Right as I set my purse down on the counter, my phone rang.
Nora.
“Hey!” I answered.
Nora sounded like she usually did—sad.
“Hey, I just wanted to check in.”
Nora was not only my brother Colson’s girlfriend but also the owner of the house I was currently staying in. She had a spare room and told me to stay as long as I wanted.
She was one of the good ones. I knew because I was practically a pro at picking out the bad ones.
“Things are good. I haven’t burned anything down,” I joked, eyeing the oven.
The first time I burned a dish of food, I had called her because it did sort of catch on fire.
She assured me it was fine, and that I hadn’t ruined anything, but I had to keep the windows open for a long time.
She doesn’t know this, but I checked into a hotel that night because it was too damn cold to stay here.
She laughed softly.
“Good. Well I just wanted to tell you that I’m still unsure of my plans. I feel like it might be time to come back, but I don’t know. It’s so peaceful up here…”
We were going on seven days since she’d left. Colson was a mess. Unfortunately, I didn’t know either of them well enough to get involved.
“Well, do whatever you feel is right. Things are good here. I’m fine. The house is good.” I stopped, not wanting to mention my brother.
“Well, I’ll text you again in a few days. I should know by then when I’ll be coming back.”
“Okay, sounds good. And Nora?”
I slammed my eyes shut, digging my fingers into the counter.
“Yeah?”
“Colson misses you, but he’s all right. Take the time you need.”
She waited a second, sniffed, and with a wobbly voice, replied, “Okay. Thanks, Haley.”
I set the phone back down on the counter and looked around. Now, how the heck do I get the house to feel a little warmer?