7. Kash
Chapter Seven
KASH
I considered myself a very patient man, sometimes even a smart one. I was impulsive, but intuitive, and I was certain I was right about Naina. At least, I had been.
When I left her Inn two days ago, I was sure she would call in a few hours. Pride was a useless thing in these matters and really, I wasn’t asking much of her in exchange for paying for the renovations for her Inn. She had other debt that she could use the five million for.
Yet, it was two days later and still nothing. If I was a self-doubting man, I would wonder if I went wrong somewhere.
Good thing self-doubt wasn’t in my nature. Naina probably needed more time to get over her stubbornness. When I knew an offer was right, I never chased down an investor. I let them ruminate in their own misguidedness and when they realized they would be wrong to miss out on the opportunity, they came back. They always came back.
I thought of Naina’s fiery eyes and affronted look.
The lights of downtown San Francisco blinked back at me as I stared out the window. Our offices were right at the end, so half the offices in the building had views of downtown and the other half of the waterfront. From this conference room, I had views of both.
“What do you need from me, Lex?” I turned back around, looking at my old friend. We were friends in the way you would be friends with someone you had known most of your life and did business with.
“What I need is to not have my family’s name attached with SFV,” he said. “Our families have done business together since before either of us was born and I’m starting to think that wasn’t a good idea. Whatever mistakes they made, I’m not eager to repeat them.”
This was a frustrating conversation.
“Do you think I want another lawsuit? My whole life I have been told that SFV was built on standards of perfection no one could ever achieve. It’s my family’s name flashed across every news channel, and I can’t allow that.”
I’d thought a little squabble with our investors and a lawsuit was not enough to shake the foundations on which SFV stood. Unless those foundations relied on my father to keep them steady. Only a man like my father would fuck up and then expect his son to pay for it.
“My father wants me to get married to save the family’s name.”
Lex nodded, his light eyes watching me carefully.
“You could get married. You could live the life you were always meant to.”
I didn’t miss his use of meant to . Because it was meant for me by my father and as far as he was concerned, it was the only life I should lead.
“Or?”
Lex stood up, buttoning his coat.
“You want me to come back as an investor and I have no problem doing business with you. You . As long as your father is running things,” he sighed, “this lawsuit is the first of many from what I can see. Are you really willing to surrender everything so he can use you to wipe away his own crimes?”
I’d given this company too much of my time to let it crumble now.
There was a time when I would have done what was expected of me. Been the son my father shaped me to be with every lash of his whip. I used to think being the perfect son was to follow his orders. But then I remembered that he wanted me to be a Sutherland, take pride in the name, do anything and everything for the family.
I would be a terrible son if I didn’t give my father exactly what he wanted.
I nodded at Lex, letting him know I understood what he was saying.
Once he left, I walked down the hall to my office. My assistant, Drew, was already gone for the day. As was Vera. There was no one on this floor except for me.
I hid my surprise when I saw my father waiting in my office. My father never waited and he certainly never came to my office.
“Was that Lex Kingston?” He already knew the answer and yet he still asked.
There was something in the Sutherland genes that we all came out looking the same. My father’s features had hardened over the years but sometimes I could still see him in myself.
“The Kingston and SFV have done business together for a long time. If we lose an investor who has been with us that long, no one will want to invest in our next venture.”
Father nodded, moving to the bar on the corner of my office. I never really used it unless I was working late and he was driving me mental with his demands.
“It’s a smart move, bringing him back on our side. We’ll have to be more careful.”
Not we made a mistake. We will have to be careful. As in whatever it was, he planned to continue it. SFV had an odd structure to it, a company run by two rival families that had always remained rivals. The Ford-Vanderbilts owned 49% and the Sutherlands owned 51%. That 1% was all the power the Sutherlands had ever needed. Still, as a courtesy and out of respect of this business relationship, we always passed everything by the Ford-Vanderbilts.
My father and Lionel Ford-Vanderbilt were the final say in all matters. My father was CEO & President, Lionel the Vice-President. My whole life, I had been groomed to take over my father’s position.
“Your marriage will help us solidify our standing. SFV is an old name, it’s not easily shaken. This was just a hiccup.”
If it was a small hiccup, why did he feel the need to turn my life upside down for it? I was happy visiting Naina every week and having our little interactions.
My father looked at me carefully, raising his glass to his mouth. I kept my face blank.
“What do you think of Crystal?”
Did it matter?
“She’s fine.”
She didn’t speak a word the last few times we had been in the same room together.
My father placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t get stupid ideas into your head. This is your legacy. I made you who you are so you could take over this business and be the head of this family. That includes having a woman like Crystal by your side. It’s all part of the plan.”
“Yes, sir.”
Marrying Crystal wasn’t part of the plan.
If I was going to get married, I needed someone who could survive this game, survive me.
I pulled up outside the Windfield early Wednesday morning. The fog was still rolling off the ocean and there was a bit of chill in the air. Even though it was a little after six, the Windfield was starting to wake up. It was a beautiful Inn in a beautiful location.
Did Naina know that SFV had tried to buy it a few times? We wanted to have it as part of the Evergreen, but her father was never interested in selling, even in the midst of debt.
Getting out of the car, I leaned against the door and took a sip of my coffee. I was willing to give Naina an hour. Why had I shown up so early then? On the off chance that she left and I missed her.
In the meantime, I was going to stand here and drink my coffee.
“What are you doing?”
Startled, I almost dropped my coffee cup. Looking around the parking lot, I didn’t see anyone. Was I being haunted now as well? Now was not the time to start developing auditory hallucinations.
“Up here.”
I looked up and found a girl looking out of a second story window.
I recognized her, of course. Naina’s sister. I’d seen her plenty of times in the restaurant, always laughing and joking around with Naina. Some days, it was the only time Naina ever smiled.
“I’m waiting for your sister,” I said. “Is she up there?”
“Please, it’s six in the morning. Naina has been up for hours already and gotten a million things done.”
Well, that was concerning. Did she even go to sleep? Although, probably not with the weight of her world resting on her shoulders.
Money was something that always came easily to me. It was a fact of life, as tied to my identity as my name. I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to not have it. To worry about the crumbling foundations of a legacy I had to be responsible for.
“If you’re here about your offer, she hasn’t decided anything.”
That was a surprise. Both that Naina had told her sister about my offer and that she might be considering agreeing to it. Which was good because I didn’t have a lot of time to convince her.
“Be honest.” I looked up. “Has she always refused to see what’s right in front of her?”
She rolled her eyes, resting her chin on her raised hand.
“This may come as a shock to you, but not every girl wants to marry a billionaire.”
“What does Naina want then?”
She opened her mouth and closed it, a small divot appearing between her eyes.
“I don’t know what she wants, I’m only eighteen.”
As if that made it acceptable. I wasn’t going to blame her for not knowing what Naina wanted. I suspected that Naina and I were a lot alike. If someone didn’t know what we wanted out of life, it wasn’t their failure. It was because we didn’t want to share that shit.
“Is Naina up there, though?”
“No, I’m down here.”
I spun around and found Naina standing next to an older model SUV one parking spot over. Her hair was up in a bun and she was wearing black leggings with a loose green sweater. And somehow, over the course of a week, she had gotten even prettier.