Page 98 of Our Chaotic Love Affair

“That’s not your call to make.”

“Actually, it is.” I met his eyes. “You sent me to Rome. You told me to secure the deal or let it go. I let it go.”

“I told you to secure it.”

“You told me to handle it. I did.”

His jaw clenched. I watched him try to find the angle, the argument that would put me back in my place. He’d been doing it my whole life. Redirecting, reframing, reminding me that I was a Bancroft and that meant something.

It had always worked before.

“The optics of this are not good,” he started.

“They’re fine.” I cut him off. “Rossi can’t afford to make noise about why we dissolved the partnership. He’s too busy trying to keep his own empire from crumbling. And we’re clean. No scandal. No headlines about Bancroft Holdings propping up a sinking ship.”

“You should have consulted me.”

“You were unavailable.”

“I’m never unavailable for business.”

“I made an executive decision.”

Silence. He stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time. Maybe he was.

“What’s gotten into you?” he asked finally.

“Nothing’s gotten into me.”

“You made an executive decision without consulting me?” He stood, hands flat on the desk. “That’s not how we operate.”

“Maybe that’s the problem.”

“Excuse me?”

I stood too. “Maybe the problem is that I’ve spent too long taking orders instead of making decisions. Maybe the problem is that you’ve turned me into your errand boy instead of treating me like a partner.”

His eyes flashed. “You are not a partner. You’re my son.”

“I’m forty years old.”

“And you work for me.”

“Do I?” The question hung in the air between us. “Because I’m starting to think that’s not working for either of us anymore.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’m taking a step back.” I hadn’t planned to say it but the words felt right. “I’m going to evaluate my place within the company. Figure out what I actually want. And then I’ll let you know if I’m staying, and what changes I need to make if I do.”

Dad’s face went through several colors. “You’re threatening to leave.”

“I’m threatening to live. There’s a difference.”

“Cash, what happened? What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’ve watched my brothers meet women, fall in love, and start families and I’m the asshole sitting in an office running the business that keeps everyone fat and happy. They don’t need me to do that anymore. I’m taking a big step back and figuring out what I want.”

“Take the day and reconsider.”