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I placed my hands over my mouth, thinking about how lonely and unhappy my mother had been. How my father had carried around this guilt for years. So many of his actions now made sense. Maybe even the next one he revealed did. Maybe.
He rested his hand on my cheek. “Scarlett,” he whispered, “I begged Kane to let you go. Let you grow up. I saw so much of your mother and me in the two of you. I was afraid his own ego would get the better of you both. And I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you like I did your mother.”
“So, you did send him away?” I felt so betrayed that he had lied to me all those years ago.
“No. I wouldn’t do that. He’d earned that promotion. The timing of it just happened to work in my favor, or so I thought.”
“You had no right. Kane isn’t like you,” I spat out.
“Once upon a time, I wasn’t like me. But you’re right—Kane is the better man. And he fought like hell with me. It wasn’t until after I told him about your mother that he came to realize he needed to let you go for a while.”
I grabbed my stomach, feeling sick. “Did you make him think I would take my own life?”
“No. I made him see that you needed to live life. I was well aware of all the mistakes I had made with you. Though he was more than happy to point them out to me. And he was right. But the fact remained that you needed to come into your own.”
“I was coming into my own,” I fired back. “Kane helped me more than anyone. He helped me see who I was and that I shouldn’t be afraid or embarrassed because I was different. He taught me to believe I could make my dreams come true.”
Auggie let out a heavy breath. “He did the job I should have done. But it was even more reason for me to be concerned. I wanted you to be able to separate your feelings about yourself from him. He wanted that too.”
I stood and ran a hand through my curls, not believing my father had convinced the love of my life to leave me. I was livid with both of them. While also sort of understanding why. Even so, while their intentions were good, their actions were foolish. Why did the men in my life have to make everything so complicated? “You both should have talked to me. Trusted me,” I threw at him.
Auggie stood and, without a second thought, embraced me. “You’re right. And now we are both paying for that mistake. And you are too, and for that I am truly sorry. You deserved better from me. I hope one day you can forgive me. And Kane. He’s a good man, Scarlett.”
I burrowed my head in his chest. “I know.” As maddening and meddling as he was, I knew how good he was. And I knew I had to forgive him. “I suppose he’s going to become the new CEO.”
“More than likely. How do you feel about that?”
“I don’t know. I really wanted to beat him.” I laughed somewhat maniacally.
Auggie leaned away but kept me safely in his arms. He seemed reluctant to let go. “You have every right to be proud of your plan. I know I am. You would have given Kane a run for his money. Regardless, I placed you in a position I had no right to. The question now is, what do you want? And how can I help, other than to get out of your way?”
Wow. What did I want? I wasn’t used to thinking about that. Unexpectedly, I had a world of possibilities in front of me. I liked it. I liked it very much. I took a moment to think about what this really meant. What I really wanted. I laughed to myself. Was it really any question what I wanted? There was absolutely no doubt. “Do you know Kane’s address, by chance?”
Auggie grinned. “I’m sure Randall can find it for you, or Jaycie.”
“Um . . . let’s leave Jaycie out of this.”
Auggie gave me a knowing look before letting me go. “I’ll get Randall on it.”
“Thank you.”
He headed for his desk. “I’m sure you’ll be busy tonight, but I’d still like to have dinner with you. We have a lot to catch up on.”
“Yes, we do.” I wanted him to know me. The real me.
“You can bring Kane,” he offered.
I tossed my head from side to side and smiled. “We’ll see how it goes.”
“He’s not going to let you go this time. After all, the man was ready to turn in his resignation for you. He’d do anything for you. Believe me, I know,” he playfully grumbled. “I can’t tell you how many times over the years he’s put me in my place because of you.”
