I wondered if he heard himself. How I wouldn’t make it because I cared about people, the environment, and what the community wanted. There were days when I wondered howhehad made it this far, even though I saw it firsthand.
Ron Nelson only saw the world through dollar signs—how much money he could make and how much money his employees could make him.
That’s how he saw me.
I was good at making deals and closing them.
“You work for me.” He crossed his arms over his chest, standing tall and towering over me as I stayed seated.
He loved reminding me of that. As if I could ever fucking forget how stuck I was.
“I know that,” I gritted through my teeth, “but you’ve said I could submit one of my proposals. I thought this wasfinallymy chance.”
“You’ll have your chance, but this isn’t it. This is a good opportunity for us, and I’m not going to let you mess it up. Write another proposal—the one I and the board approved last week.”
For yetanotherluxury apartment complex.
Nelson Group was known for mixed-use development featuring luxury apartments and condos in addition to commercial space. While the company didn’t control the rent for businesses, it often inadvertently priced out a good portion of local businesses. It was exactly the type of concern I wanted to address, and yet, I was part of making it happen.
I thought I’d be able to fix thingsfrom the inside, and after working here for a few months, I’d start to make a difference on a large scale.
How fucking naive of me. It’d been four years of the same bullshit. Of constantly getting shut down. And the worst part? I couldn’t leave.
“It’s a mistake,” I said.
“That’s not your call to make.” He inhaled deeply, straightening his posture and gathering a semblance of composure. “I’ll entertain your ideas when things slow down, but for now, get that proposal done.”
My jaw clenched, because I’d heard that excuse over and over again.
“I’ll—” I bit down on my tongue to keep from saying what I really wanted to. I’d been holding my tongue for years with him, so I had plenty of practice. “Yeah, I’ll get it done.”
“Good.” He nodded. “You’re my closer, Gabriel. Stay focused on this, and we’ll secure yet another multi-million dollar deal.”
“Right.” I exhaled deeply. “I’ll have it on your desk tomorrow morning. I’m leaving for—” I was about to tell him about my upcoming trip when his phone rang.
“Good lord. Your mother is calling,” he said under his breath. “Proposal tomorrow morning.” He pointed at me, his eyes—so similar to mine—flicked from me to his ringing phone. “Yes, Blaire?” He sounded so damn annoyed. I truly didn’t know who he hated talking to more—me or my mother.
He turned around, leaving my office and walking down the hallway.
I knew my mother would be calling me in a few hours to complain about their conversation. It’s how they worked. I had no idea why they’d gotten married, and I truly didn’t understand why they decided to start a family. Icompletelyunderstood why they’d gotten divorced, but clearly, they hadn’t cut off contact from one another.
I tipped my head back, closing my eyes. I inhaled deeply for four seconds, held my breath for seven, and exhaled slowly for eight. Working for my father was not for the weak—he made that clear.
I was fucking exhausted. Exhausted with work. Exhausted with my parents. Exhausted of being a fucking disappointment.
But most of all I was frustrated that I couldn’t stand up to my father once and for all.
It was hard for me to remember exactly when our relationship shifted. It hadn’t always been like this…right?
We didn’t have a typical father-son relationship when I was growing up. He didn’t come to my sports games, and we didn’tspend much time together. When we spent time together, it was him taking me to work. In hindsight, my father had always viewed me as a potential employee rather than his son.
I remembered a time when Iwantedto be like him. I remembered when I wanted to work with him and follow in his footsteps. When I was younger, I was proud of my father and the company he’d built from the ground up—before I knew the lengths he’d go to for success.
But I hadn’t felt proud of him in a long time.
Even worse, I couldn’t remember the last time I felt proud of myself.
My father and I got along best when I first started college and told him I wanted to get into development. That didn’t last long, though, because quickly into my first year of undergrad, I realized I wanted to focus on sustainability and community development. Our relationship had been deteriorating ever since, so much so that I was surprised he offered me a job at Nelson Group.
