22. Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Tanner
T he next day, Vic shoves me out of the apartment, telling me she’s fine and to go into the office. She’s planning to do some work from home today, getting ready for us to go to Whistler tomorrow. She said she’s feeling a lot better and still wants to go, so I’m going into the office to get ready for our mini vacation as well. I arrive before anyone else and organize all the files I’d had at home. I plug my laptop into my monitors and get to work answering emails. After about an hour, I go into the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee.
“Good morning,” Richard says as he comes in behind me. “Enjoy your day off?”
I suppress a sigh. I knew he’d make a big deal of this.
“I didn’t take the day off, Richard. I probably worked more yesterday than I do when I’m in the office. I didn’t have anyone talking to me except for the one planned meeting which I conducted over video call.”
I also worked more hours than I usually do because I’d needed something to distract me from how worried I was about Vic, but I don’t tell Richard that.
He scoffs and pours his coffee. He’s old school, believing if you’re not in the office, you’re slacking. The only reason we have laptops these days is because it’s easier to go to meetings and bring your whole computer with you than to try to print out millions of reports. I’ve explained to him and the Board multiple times that allowing work-from-home options will boost morale and offer higher productivity outcomes, but no one cares about my statistics. No one cares that, when we were forced to work from home a few years ago, production levels soared, and when we were forced back into the office, they took a significant dip.
“I’m going to need that report on the Mile Ten Hotel by the end of the day,” Richard says, leaning against the counter. He looks smug, like he’s certain I’ll have to stay late today to make up the time I lost yesterday.
I keep my expression neutral as I sip my coffee. “I sent it to you this morning. It’s in your inbox.”
“Oh,” he says.
I don’t let him say any more. “I also finished the proposal for Gold Creek, the finances for Pine Ridge, and the final report for Canyon Cove. I only got half of the Marble Creek Golf Course proposal done, so that’s what I’ll be working on today.” I straighten and move to return to my office. “Oh,” I say, pausing when I’m next to him. “And Vic is doing better. Thanks for asking.”
When I get to my office, I close the door behind me. I sit at my desk and take off my glasses to rub a hand over my face. I shouldn’t have said that last part, but he infuriates me sometimes. I didn’t use to have such a hard time keeping my thoughts to myself. I could work with Richard and ignore his high-handed manipulations and derogatory comments, reminding myself that I have every intention of leaving this place at some point. But it’s become harder now that I’m supposed to own a piece of it, tying myself to Sterling and Richard for years. And Vic is his daughter. He didn’t even ask how she’s doing.
The morning is eaten quickly by work. I finish the Marble Creek Golf Course proposal and print it out to bring to the Board meeting this afternoon. I spend an hour at the office gym, a small one with two treadmills and a few dumbbells and kettle bells. Then I return to my desk with my lunch and continue working as I eat. I research other projects we could do, making a list for the Board meeting. About half an hour before the meeting, I’m feeling drained. I don’t really want to go. I don’t want to pitch these ideas, or the Mile Ten Hotel project. I don’t care about any of it. Fridays are the worst day of the week.
I open my desk drawer and pull out a square piece of paper. I keep a bunch of it in there because, as weird as it sounds, origami has always been relaxing for me. I started it back when Juliet was little. It was something we used to do together all the time. She kind of grew out of it, but I found, whenever I was stressed, the mindlessness of it would help clear my head. I don’t have to think about the folds for most of the things I create.
I set down my pen and pick up the paper. This time, I want to create something specific and I can’t quite remember how to do it, so I navigate to the origami website I like and fold the paper until I’ve made a bunny. The paper is blue with stars and swirls. It’s cute. I can already envision Vic rolling her eyes at me when I give it to her, and the small smile she’ll try to hide, but I’ll notice, anyway.
I sigh and pick up my documents and my laptop and head to the meeting. It’s as annoying as ever, a bunch of old-boys’-club boys who know exactly what they’re doing and how they’re going to do it. As I suspected, they want proposals for the hotel and the restaurant I’d found, but don’t like the idea for the small art gallery or the café. I maintain my neutral expression through the whole meeting. When I return to my office, I congratulate myself on a job well done with another coffee and more work.
At the end of the day, I pack everything up, including my laptop, so I can do some more work at home tonight before we leave tomorrow morning, when Richard stops in without knocking on my door.
“Leaving early?” he asks.
I swallow back the retort, then turn to him. “I’ve been here since 7am. It’s 4pm. I’m actually leaving an hour late. Did you need anything else before I head out?”
“I just wanted to talk to you. I understand Victoria was sick the last couple of days, but was leaving work really necessary?”
I don’t want to have this conversation. I’m not sure I can maintain my calm exterior if he pushes the issue. But he’s still my boss, until he decides to sign over the company—something he’s not mentioned once since the wedding, despite our contract.
I sit and motion for him to take the seat on the opposite side of my desk.
“I didn’t take the days off, Richard,” I remind him. “I was still working. I just did it at home.”
“What if there had been an important meeting?” he asks.
“There wasn’t. There was just the one with the suppliers, which was easier over video call, anyway. They asked if we could do all our meetings that way in the future, to save them having to come into Vancouver.”
“What if there had been?” he presses. “What if I’d needed something? Or someone else had needed something?”
I make a conscious effort to mirror his body language. He’s relaxed into his seat, his fingertips pressed together. I show him exactly what he’s showing me: I’m in charge here, I know what I’m talking about.
“I was available all day by phone and email. If there had been some important meeting that couldn’t be done over a video call, I could have come in for it, then returned home. My wife was sick. When I got home on Wednesday, she was so sick she’d left the front door open. You were the one who wanted me to marry your daughter. Now you’re mad that I’m actually being her husband? What, exactly, did you want me to do?”
I’m not going to tell him how high her fever was, how worried I was about her, how close I was to taking her to the hospital.
He huffs. “I don’t know, Tanner. I can tell you I never left work because my wife was a little under the weather. And now you’re going to be off on your honeymoon. I wanted to give you this company because I thought it was the most important thing to you. That’s how it should be. You’ll be in charge, not just of this business, but all the people who are connected to it. Consider that.”
He stands as if to go.
“When?” I ask before he can take more than a step toward the door.
“When what?” he responds.
“When are you going to give me the company? The contract states you have six months from our wedding date. Yet here we are two months later, and you haven’t even brought it up.”
He gives me his businessman smile. “I said you had to become a Sterling, not make my daughter a Marcus.”
“It’s not in the contract, Richard,” I counter. “I looked when Vic said she wanted to change her name. What did you want me to do? Tell her, ‘Actually, Vic, you can’t change your last name because your dad wants to give his multi-billion dollar business to a Sterling, but doesn’t want to give it to you?’”
“I’m starting to doubt whether I should be giving you anything at all,” he says. “I’m wondering if you’re even the man I thought you were.”
Of course I’m not the man he thought I was. I’ve been playing a role since the moment I stepped into this building almost eight years ago, showing Richard—and everyone else at Sterling Properties—exactly what they wanted to see. I’d tell him exactly that, except for one thing: Vic. She wants the business, and I’m the only one who will give it to her. We may have a contract, but I’m sure he’ll find a way around it if he needs to.
So I stand, taking a breath as I prepare to lie. “You’re right, sir. I’m sorry. I probably overreacted. It won’t happen again.”
He smiles at me, nodding before leaving my office. I finish gathering my things, and the little origami bunny, and head home.
When I get there, Vic is laughing from the kitchen. The apartment smells amazing. I kick off my shoes and set my keys on the key hook, calling, “Honey, I’m home.”
“Oh, shit,” Vic says. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll text you tonight.”
My eyebrows lift at these words, but then I chuckle as I hear who responds.
“Sounds good,” Lis says. “I can’t wait to hear how it went.”
They hang up what I assume was a video call and Vic comes out of the kitchen. “You’re home earlier than I thought.”
She’s dressed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, her hair tied back in a messy bun. I’ve never seen her look so comfortable before, not even when we were in university.
“I started a bit early today since you kicked me out first thing. What’s going on?”
“I made dinner,” she says. “To say thank you for yesterday and the day before. Lis talked me through it, so it should be good. No promises, though. It should be ready in about forty minutes, if you want to shower or whatever. I thought we could have dinner a bit early tonight, if you don’t mind. I’m still kinda tired and want to go to bed early.”
“That’s fine. You’re all packed for tomorrow?” She nods as I set my things down by my bedroom door, then walk toward her. I want nothing more than to pull her to me, kiss her, tell her that I had a shitty day without her and don’t want to go back into that office. Ever, if possible. Instead, I smile and say, “You didn’t have to make dinner. I appreciate it, though.”
One thing I’ve learned over the last two months is that Vic likes to eat, but she doesn’t like to cook, so this feels really big.
She smiles at me. “It’s the least I could do. You were amazing the last couple days. I hate being sick. So much.”
“I’m not surprised. I’ll shower and change, then we can eat.”
“You don’t mind staying in on a Friday night? I wasn’t sure if you had any plans.”
I shake my head. “No plans. I don’t have friends, remember? Also, even though you fell asleep through it, I watched your favourite movie last night. Tonight, you get to watch mine.” I wink and am about to turn to get ready to shower, when I pause and turn back. “I almost forgot. I have something for you.”
“You didn’t—”
I pull the paper bunny from my pocket and hand it to her.
She smiles and rolls her eyes, exactly the way I’d imagined she would. “You’re ridiculous.” She takes it from me. “But this is adorable. Thank you.”
Much later, after an amazing dinner of pork roast with mashed potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts, and after I make Vic watch a sci-fi action flick I love that she’s apparently seen because Spencer also loves it, I tell her good night and go to my bedroom, unearthing an ancient laptop and booting it up. It starts quickly, since Wyatt made some upgrades to it a couple years ago.
I call him now.
“Hey,” he says. “You’re coming to Mom and Dad’s next weekend for Thanksgiving, right? Mom called me today to ask if Vic wants to go in on our Secret Santa exchange.”
“Why didn’t she call me?”
“I asked her that. She said she didn’t want to bother you while you were at work.”
I open a new document on the laptop. “So she bothered you instead?”
“Well, I work from home, you know.” I can hear the eye roll in his voice as he says it. Wyatt makes almost as much money as I do, but our family doesn’t take him as seriously because he doesn’t go into an office. They have some old school thinking similar to Richard’s. But then, maybe my idea can help with that.
“I’ll ask her. We’re heading to Whistler tomorrow morning, but we’re back on Tuesday, so I’ll let Mom know then. I called for a reason, though. I had an idea today, and I wanted to talk to you about it.”