Page 99 of Tanner

“When were you ever the first priority?”

Edward snaps at Tanner, “You want me to walk away? The head of Sexton Media can’t walk away from his company to let his sons take over. A sale like this would make headlines. An early retirement shows weakness.”

“Is that what this is about?” Tanner pushes away form the table. “Headlines and bank accounts? What happened to family? What happened to integrity? I’ve listened to my brothers bitch about the airs you put on in public, only to be distracted in the business. You take more than you give, and your demands for what goes on in the office are absurd. I remember when you used to help Mom. I also recall the day you decided you were too glamorous for manual labor. Talk about perception. What would people think if they knew you actually had no idea what it took to run Sexton Media?” He turns to Missy at the sound of her gasp. “I hear you got honored at the museum a few weeks ago. Did you lift one finger to actually earn that, or did you just write them a check?”

“Tanner, that’s enough.” Edward pounds his fist on the table.

Tanner’s not finished though. “You aren’t fooling anyone. Mom used to get honored because she actually helped. She would go above and beyond to make things happen. Change what needed to be changed to make San Francisco better.”

“And it got her pushed off a cliff,” Missy sneers. “I’m Mrs. Sexton now, so we do things my way. She was in charge then, and now, I fill those shoes. So help me God, I will get my way. I’ve been able to accomplish this much. You and your brothers will not stop me in getting what I want. So, take your little girlfriend here, sign off on your shares, and live your artist lifestyle in a shack of what you call home. Because I’ll tell you now, if you fight me on this, you will regret it.”

My eyes stay glued wide open as I look around the room, waiting to see how Edward and Tanner are going to respond. To my surprise, Edward looks unfazed, like he is used to her rants and has no control over the young woman he made his wife.

Tanner, on the other hand …

“Are you kidding me right now, Father?” The way he says father is anything but in a loving way. “Is this how this family is really run? You let her walk all over you and ruin Mom’s memory and everything she left for us?”

“She?” Missy yells. “Tanner, sometimes, I need to remind myself just how young you are and how clueless you are when it comes to the history of this company.”

Tanner takes his napkin off his lap and slams it on the table. “No, Missy, I know exactly how this company was started because, unlike you, I was actually there. You were a teenage whore who bed my brother and then my father. You had your sights on our family dollar way before my mother’s death. You might have a hold on my father, but you do not own us brothers. We will stay together because we know without a doubt that our mother, Marina Sexton, was more of a woman than you’ll ever be.”

Tanner pushes his chair away from the table, reaching for my hand, making sure I follow him, and we leave the most dysfunctional family dinner I’ve ever attended.

21

TANNER

“I’m sorry about my family.”

I know I don’t have a normal family, but it has never been clearer than after having dinner with them tonight. Going from dinner with Harper’s family to mine will give you whiplash. Mine are cutthroat. Even though her mom is sick, they all stay together, loving and supportive.

“They’re … interesting.” She hangs her coat on the rack by the door and toes off her shoes.

She didn’t say anything on the ride home. Neither of us did.

I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and down it. When I toss it in the trash, Harper is putting on her pajamas. Her brows are curved.

“What are you thinking about?” I ask her.

“Me?” She looks surprised. “Nothing. Just thinking about something Missy said. You said your brothers were intense. You didn’t say your stepmom was an ice queen.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it. When I was fifteen, I got dumped for the first time. My heart was shattered. I couldn’t eat for a month. She told me to get the fuck over it and go find another pussy to bury myself in.”

“She did not.” Harper looks horrified.

I nod. “She told me not to worry about girls because I was a Sexton, so I’d have my pick of any woman I wanted. And not to dream about settling down because they’d only want me for my money, and none of them would be worthy.”

“What an awful thing to say to a teenager. You didn’t believe her, did you?” She swallows. “Do you?”

I step up to her and open my arms. “Never.”

She falls into my chest, and I lay my chin on her head.

“I know you love me for who I am. My friends even questioned your intentions, and I told them to fuck off.”

Her head tilts up. “Ryan and Chris think I want you for your money? Before tonight, I didn’t know. I didn’t even—”

I silence her with a kiss. “I know.”