23. Ares
A res~
It was like she wouldn’t be satisfied until I went completely crazy.
As I stared at her email, her refusal to answer my calls was just making matters worse. I wasn’t sure how things had gotten so out of control, but I knew enough to recognize that we couldn’t continue to go on this way. Capri and I needed to talk and find some middle ground.
I’d also be damned if she went to go work for someone else.
Yeah, she had enough money of her own to not ever half to work, but not contributing was just not in her nature.
As the sale stood, after her father took his share, she’d be left with enough money to take her time finding a new job, but she would still eventually find one, and I could be honest and say that I wasn’t okay with that.
If Capri ever got past her anger, she’d realize just what it meant to be married to me, and having Ares Cormac’s wife as an employee just wouldn’t do.
The idea that she’d have a boss- subject to some other man’s orders -did not sit well with me.
I didn’t want her running herself ragged for someone else’s millions, nor did I want her exposed to any unpleasantness that might come from working for someone that was less than ethical.
Granted, my last name should be enough to protect her from any corporate abuse, but I’d rather not take the chance.
Plus, if it wasn’t enough that Capri was running me through the ringer, my siblings and parents kept calling me, wanting an explanation for my sudden marriage, and more importantly, a reassurance of where that left them.
Since I was already thirty-eight, Dalton and Didi had been excited at the possibility of being my heirs, and with Capri now in the picture, they were left to their own devices now.
Their endless line of credit suddenly had a limit, and they were practically frantic over it.
As for my parents, my father knew better than to question me about this, whereas my mother liked to pretend that she still had my respect.
So, ever since the news of my marriage had hit the media, she’d been continuously calling me, wanting to have a formal reception, something that I’d never do.
I was surrounded by fake people all the damn time, so the last thing that I wanted to do was socialize with them on my off time.
Galas and charity events were a different matter, still considered work in my eyes.
So, with everyone on their own side, there was only one person that I could call with the expectation of unbiased advice.
I needed someone to talk me down before I showed up at Martha Holdings or at home.
I needed some perspective before I wrapped my hands around my wife’s neck, then choked the infuriating life out of her.
“What’s up, man?”
“While I was in Chicago, Capri filed for divorce, sold Martha Holdings back to TCC, and turned in her resignation, telling me to go to hell because she wasn’t a gold-digger,” I told Perry before taking a drink of bourbon straight from the bottle.
The bar in my office was more of an after-hours-closing-a-deal kind of thing, but right now, it was saving Capri’s life.
“Oh...well, fuck,” he replied, nonplussed. “That’s...that’s a lot for a couple of weeks of marriage.”
“Will you be serious?” I drawled out. “My life is falling apart right now.”
Silence.
“Perry?”
“Uhm...what I heard was your wife selling you back a company that was rightfully yours to begin with because she wasn’t after you for your money,” he said carefully. “Yeah, the filing for divorce and resignation are a bit of a bitch, but is your life really falling apart?”
I knew what he was saying. Millions of people prayed for my kind of life, and they did the unthinkable to try to achieve what my grandfather had built.
People believed that money was the soothing balm for all their troubles, and for some, it probably was.
Still, many people refused to believe that the wealthy also had their own troubles, some that money couldn’t make better, and it was just my luck that Capri wasn’t a gold-digger, which left me fucked.
“The problem is that it feels as if my life is falling apart because my wife is unhappy with me,” I corrected. “What does that say about me when we’ve only been married for two weeks?”
“It says that Cupid really does fucking exist,” he laughed.
“I can’t let her work for someone else, Perry,” I said, making him laugh harder.
“Now that’s the Ares Cormac that I know,” he said once he stopped laughing at my problems. “I can’t imagine that you’d ever let another man tell your wife what to do.”
“It’s about more than that,” I informed him. “Capri hasn’t been hardened by the corporate world, and I’d like to keep her that way.”
“I get that,” he replied sincerely. “So, how pissed off is she?”
“Enough that she’ll probably hate me for the rest of her life,” I admitted. “I’ve disrupted her entire world, and she’s not acclimating as gracefully as I’d hoped.”
“Well, we both know that you’ll never let her divorce you, whether you feel something for her or not, so that’s not really a problem that needs handling,” he pointed out.
“As for Martha Holdings, that’s also something else that’s in your control, something that your expensive lawyers could handle easily. ”
“And her resignation?”
“I’m afraid that’s not anything that anyone can help you with,” he answered, giving me no help at all. “My only advice is to do whatever you need to in order to get her to forgive you.”
“Easier said than done,” I huffed. “The woman is fucking stubborn.”
“Is she stubborn or is she just doing whatever she has to in order to survive you, Ares?” he asked seriously. “You are Ares Cormac, and your reputation precedes you, my friend.”
“She’s my wife,” I reminded him. “I’m supposed to live for her, not the other way around.”
“God bless you,” Perry laughed. “Only you would say something like that.”
“What’s wrong with what I said?”
“It’s not the fifties anymore, Ares,” he replied, still chuckling. “Women nowadays are very big on everything being equal, and I imagine that Capri also falls into that category, seeing as how she practically ran Martha Holdings, even before her father gave up the reins.”
“As progressive as that ideal may be, that’s not the real world,” I countered. “Women will never be seen as equals as long as insecure men still hold power. So, it’s my job to make sure that my wife is as untouched as possible from all the bullshit that’s out there.”
“You really should go into motivational speaking,” he quipped, and if we weren’t on the phone, I’d flip him off.
“You’re not helping,” I informed him.
“Look, it’s hard to give you advice when I hardly even know the woman,” he said honestly. “All I can tell you is to quit being you for a few seconds.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Listen to her,” he advised. “Even if she’s screaming your ears bloody, just sit there and listen.
Don’t try to fix the situation for her. Don’t run roughshod over her like you do everything else in your life, Ares.
Even if she never becomes your equal in wealth, power, or status, she’s still holds more weight in your life than even you.
Don’t forget, if you ever become incapacitated, she’s the one who decides to pull the plug or not. ”
That got a laugh out of me. “Touché.”
“I’m just being honest,” he replied cheekily.
“Which is why we’re friends,” I pointed out.
“Just remember, do not confuse her with her father,” he advised.
“I don’t,” I assured him.
“Let me rephrase...do not speak to her as if she’s her father,” he corrected. “Her only mistake was in believing her father over you, which she should have done.”
Perry was the only person that I’d ever say this to. “I need her to love me back.”
“Then be a person worth loving,” he replied easily, but not unkindly.
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”
He laughed. “Good luck.”
“Thanks,” I drawled out sardonically. “I’m going to need it.”
Once we hung up, I clicked reply to Capri’s email, and while I wasn’t sure if she’d even see it, if she was willing to put it all out there, then she deserved the same from me.
Mrs. Cormac,
In response to your resignation letter, the answer is no.
Sincerely,
Ares Cormac, Your Husband
Now it was time to go home and face the music.