“He was going to fire you.”
“For what?” She lifts her head until her eyes meet mine. “Up until this weekend, he couldn’t do it if he wanted.”
I rub the bridge of my nose and sigh. “After we posted those stories, the night you kissed me. He called me the next day. He told me I needed to keep you from posting anything or he’d fire you.”
Her gasp sends a bullet through my heart. “I don’t understand.”
The whispered disbelief doesn’t ease the pain. I reach forward and place my hand on top of hers, lending her the strength I know she’s going to need.
“When I came over to help your family clean up after the storm, I talked to him. I knew you wanted to keep going with the marketing, and my boss wanted to see what we could do. The only way I could make sure that happened was if I went to himand told him we were going to boost social media marketing. I told him the plans.”
“And I’m guessing he said okay to you.” She shakes her head. “Unbelievable. He wouldn’t give me the time of day, but he didn’t even fight you on it.”
She yanks her hand from mine and stands, staring at her reflection in the mirror. The look on her face is the reason I didn’t want to tell her. She looks like someone just stole her puppy. Her fear of being rejected by those she loves pouring from her eyes.
I’m on my feet in two seconds, moving behind her. “Piper, look at me.” She lifts her eyes until they meet mine reflected in the mirror. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you the truth.”
“You should have, though. This is so unfair. He lets everyone else give him their opinions but not me. Hell, he even relented to Paula’s idea. What is so wrong with me that nobody listens to me?”
I’m done talking to her reflection. My hand reaches for her again, and I turn her around. She refuses to meet my eyes until I lift her chin. She needs to know how fucking special she is and it doesn’t matter what her dickhead brother thinks.
“I will always listen to you.” A few strands of hair fall to her face and I tuck them behind her ear. My thumb caresses her skin to bring her back to the moment as her focus drifts to her shoes. “If it makes you feel any better, I told him he’s an asshole for shooting down your idea. And I shouldn’t have had to step in on your behalf.”
Her eyes snap back to mine. “You did what?”
twenty-seven
. . .
piper
I can’t believehe called my brother out on his bullshit. Nobody else, besides Paula, has ever really done that. Sure, they’ve talked shit about him when he’s not around. But nothing like what Beau did. And they sure as hell didn’t stand up for me.
“I told him he was a dumbass. You have so many great ideas, and there wouldn’t be the massive growth the winery is seeing without you.”
Paula was right. I needed to hear his side of the story. I haven’t even talked to Pierce about this whole ordeal. We’ve kept it strictly business since I came back to the office. He’s going to wish he had fessed up to me about this when I see him again.
“Thank you.” My voice is barely above a whisper.
“So, are we good? Do you forgive me? Because as much as I love sharing puppy gifs with you, I miss my friend. I miss my girlfriend. You have no idea how much this has been eating me up inside.”
Do I forgive him? He should have told me all this from the beginning. I’m not sure why he thought I wouldn’t find out. Myfamily is a lot of things, but good at keeping secrets isn’t one of them. Although, I don’t think any of them knew about the threat of being fired or that Pierce actually knew about it this whole time.
“Clearly not enough to break down and tell me. Instead, I had to find out from overhearing the two of you.”
Is it a bitchy come back? Yes. Do I regret it? Not at all. Even if I was already leaning toward forgiving him after my talk with Paula, he doesn’t need to know that. He can squirm for a bit.
“I know. You have no idea how sorry I am.” Now he’s looking at the mirror behind me. The only reason I know is because I can see his reflection. “I’ve been a mess at work all week. And I turned down the promotion.”
“What? Why?” We were supposed to discuss it that night, but then everything happened and it slipped my mind.
“Because I don’t want to have to choose between working long hours and spending time with you. That position would have never brought me the joy I get from being near you, or working with businesses who actually need my help.”
He leans his forehead against the glass, caging me between him and the mirror. I don’t push him away. “I would have never made you choose.”
“I know.” His voice is soft. “I’m putting money back to go out on my own, but not in the way I’ve been working at the firm. I want to help people figure out their strengths to make their business a success without throwing a bunch of money at it. I’ll never be able to do that where I’m at now.”
Now he leans back and meets my eyes. “You are my success story. Not just in business, but also in life. You are the only person who has ever shown me unconditional love, and not treated me like I’m a burden.”
