Chapter 7
Nathan
“ N ate. Stay behind. I need a moment with you,” Dad says as the rest of the finance team clears the meeting room.
There’s a low murmur of oohs from the team, mocking me as if I got called to the principal’s office.
It’s all in good fun, except half of the executives in the room would probably love to see me topple off my pedestal.
When you’re the big boss’s son, there’s always a target on your back.
Unfortunately for them, I work hard and I’m good at my job.
If they want control of the portfolio, they’ll have to outperform me and my numbers. Good luck.
“What’s up, Dad?” I ask as the final team member exits, closing the door behind them.
He pushes back from his seat at the head of the long conference room table and starts pacing. That can’t be good. “Did you catch up with the Harvey kid this weekend? Any luck?”
I exhale deeply. “I tried. I stopped by his wife’s birthday party but I couldn’t catch him.”
Dad stops in place before turning to face me. “He’s pissed and wouldn’t talk to you?”
“No, nothing like that. Finn invited me when I reached out to him. He was busy at the party, and I got…distracted.”
“By?” Dad raises a quizzical brow.
Maybe I should admit I spent some time with a pretty woman at a bar. It’d make my dad happy to know I’m trying to move on. Except I’m not. I’m assuming that sometime before I die I’ll succumb to primal urges. But as far as love goes? It was amazing while I had it, but now…I’m through.
“I had one too many,” I easily lie. “I was too drunk to talk business.”
Grimacing, he rubs the back of his neck—his nervous tic. “Dammit.”
“There’s no guarantee Finn can even help.
” From what I understand, Finn’s pretty close with his grandpa but he graduated from UNLV with a bachelor of arts.
He has no interest in commercial real estate investments.
I can’t imagine Senior is sharing his secret plans of taking over the Vegas Strip with his photographer grandson.
“Yeah, that crossed my mind,” he replies distractedly.
“What’s the problem?” I ask as I study Dad’s strained brows and pursed lips, completing his vexed expression.
“I knew when I was considering purchasing the property there was already a buyer in line. So I had to be strategic.”
Very few investors can match my dad’s cash offers. When he wants something, he gets it, and everybody else has to settle for his leftovers. “By strategic do you mean you put your dick on the table and outbid the buyer?”
He averts his gaze. “I might’ve made a more generous offer. Anyway, I just found out from an insider in Senior’s company that he was the original buyer. He tried to counter after my offer but couldn’t rummage up the cash.”
I lean back in my chair, pressing my lower back deeper into the lumbar support. “So? You won.”
“ So ,” he mocks like he’s talking to a foolish teenager, “it means Senior had the same idea that I do. He wanted to flip the property and probably make a big investment into a new hotel-casino.”
The puzzle pieces click into place. “Meaning there’s no way in hell he’s going to sell you the parking lot to help you execute the project you snaked from him.”
“Snaked is a strong word.”
“It’s just business, Dad. He’s a grown-ass man. He’ll get over it.”
Guilt washes over his face. “Or he might not. Let’s just say in the past we’ve had a similar misunderstanding, and according to my inside source, Senior has no intention of forgiving me. I believe they have some R-rated nicknames for me over at Harvey Corp.”
My phone pings, indicating some meeting or another I’m late to. What else is new? My schedule is such a fucking mess. As usual, I ignore it. “What inside source is feeding you all this information?”
“I might’ve lent Harvey an intern who has been feeding me some pertinent information necessary for business decisions.”
My dad’s glaring immaturity is a little entertaining. If these men, who are past sixty, continue to squabble and plot like grade-school rivals, I’m going to need popcorn. “You planted a mole in Harvey’s company?” Smirking, I fold my arms over my chest. “And you wonder why Senior hates your guts.”
“It was innocent curiosity?—”
“ Innocent curiosity ,” I repeat slowly. “That’s a strange way to describe corporate espionage.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m pulling Casey back. He resigned from his position at Harvey’s office. He’s going to be a project manager for this property—our right-hand man. He’ll be back next week. Show him the ropes and take good care of him, okay?”
“As in kiss some major intern ass so he doesn’t rat you out for spying on Senior?”
Dad lifts his arms in the air and gives me a buggy stare. “Whose side are you on, huh?”
I circle my finger in midair. “After this display of theatrics, I think Senior’s.”
“Hilarious,” he responds flatly.
“Don’t worry so much. I’ll handle it. But can you make my life a little easier and keep things clean with Senior moving forward?”
He gives me a lazy, two-fingered salute, teeming with sarcasm. “Yes, boss.”
Rolling back my chair, I stand. “All right, if there’s nothing else, please excuse me as I get to work on cleaning up your mess.”
My hand is on the door handle when my dad stops me.
“There’s one more thing I need to talk to you about.” The way he says it makes my stomach drop. His tone is completely devoid of humor.
“What?”
“First, I need you to promise me you’ll stay calm.” After taking a seat across the table, he gestures to the seat I just got up from.
I hold a poker face, pretending I’m unconcerned, but wild scenarios run through my mind. Is Mom okay? I talked to her last week, and she sounded in great spirits. Is Dad sick? He looks strong as ever—actually a little thicker around the midsection since he settled down with Julia.
“Say what you need to. I’m calm,” I say as I slump back into the seat.
He folds his hands together and purposely stares at the table, not meeting my eyes. “ADA Trent Murphy and I golfed this past weekend. As a courtesy, he wanted me to let you know that Peter was released early from prison.”
Shocked silence is all I can manage for what seems like eternity.
“Nate,” Dad says sternly, his voice pulling me back to reality.
My mouth is so dry I can barely get the words out. “That’s…what…six years early? He only served half his sentence. How did this happen?”
“On paper? Counseling, therapy, good behavior. In actuality, crowding issues.”
My stomach lurches as reality continues to set in.
How many more ways can I fail Elise? I wasn’t there when she died.
She held out as long as she could in the hospital, waiting for me, but I couldn’t make it because I was stuck on the wrong coast. By the time I got home, Claire and all her belongings were swiftly removed from my home.
Her home. She’s not my daughter by blood, but I was more of a father to her than piece-of-shit Peter will ever be capable of.
“Somebody needs to warn Ruby?—”
“Enough,” Dad warns. “If you go near that family again, they will be granted the restraining order they so desperately want.”
“Then you warn her. The first thing Peter will do is try to get in touch with Claire, which is not happening.” My jaw clenches even picturing those two in the same room.
It took Elise strength she didn’t know she had to leave with Claire and press charges against the man who tormented her for so long.
He doesn’t deserve a relationship with his daughter.
Dad folds his hands together tightly. Suddenly, his eyes are pleading. “I haven’t told you the worst part.”
I lift my head, meeting his stare with daggers in my eyes. “What could possibly be worse?”
“Peter had a better chance at early release if he had a stable home to return to. He’s living with Ruby and Claire now.”
“No. Absolutely not?—”
“Nathan, it’s not your choice.”
“ What the fuck, Dad ?” I bellow. “I told you all the stories. The living nightmare Elise escaped from. Peter’s deranged and violent. He only takes breaks from snorting lines to prep a goddamn needle. He’s not allowed near Claire. Not in this lifetime or the next. I will not allow it. ”
Dad’s patient as my breathing goes from the loud, growly grunts of a pissed-off bull, to a slow, calm cadence. I’m thirty-three and he’s still parenting me by waiting until my tantrum is over to speak.
“It breaks my heart to say this, but she’s not your child. This isn’t up to you. It’s Ruby’s job to protect her grandchild.”
I hate this feeling. Overwhelming dread at the imminent doom I can’t do anything to stop. “If I killed him, she’d be safe. Elise could rest in her grave knowing her daughter won’t be harmed.”
“Perhaps.” Dad ducks his head in a weak nod. “But what would Elise think about you locked away for a life sentence, even lonelier than you are now? Do you honestly think that’s what she’d want for the man she loved so much?”
“That was slimy.” My words barely come through my gritted teeth. “Don’t use my tragedy against me.”
“I’m for you, Nate. Not against you. You are not to involve yourself in this.
You have a huge project to focus on. We can place a PI on it to give us peace of mind.
If we see anything other than perfect behavior out of Peter, I’ll personally ensure the LVMPD throws him right back into the garbage can he crawled out of. Can you trust me?”
I go silent again, listening to the loud ticks of the wall-mounted clock. I didn’t notice it before. Now, the rhythmic tick, tock is deafening. A new realization hits me, and I toss Dad an icy stare. “You’ve known for a while, haven’t you?”
“Hm?”
“The property, this father-son project… You just wanted me distracted.”
He goes stoic. His lack of response isn’t an admission or denial. “I love you, Nate. I’m here if you need me.” With that, he rises. Dad makes a point to pat my shoulder before striding out of the meeting room.
Once I’m alone, his words echo off the walls, haunting me, because I know them so well. I’m here if you need me. It’s the last thing I said to Claire three years ago.
Now she needs me.
And I can’t keep my promise.