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Nerves tingled in my fingertips as I rode the elevator up with Hailey by my side and Antonya in my arms, and I stared at my own, pensive expression from under furrowed brows. I hadn’t been so apprehensive for a business meeting since I was 12, but my daughter’s feather-like weight in the crook of my elbow kept my mind from running away from me.
“You’re cute, Anthony.” Drawing my attention away from my golden reflection, Hailey gently raked her fingers through Antonya’s tuft of hair as she smiled at me. Serenity radiated from her, and I soaked it up greedily with a deep, hard inhalation. “I thought you’d be in your element. You’ve done this forever.”
“This is different.”
Oh, fuck was it different.
My low growl only widened Hailey’s smile, and she rubbed my arm over my shirt soothingly. Holding my breath, I closed my eyes briefly to relish this moment of intimacy in a stupid, small elevator. There was one reason and one reason only that I couldn’t seem to find that emotionless place inside me.
Mark was going to be at this meeting.
After everything that had gone on during the cookout-slash-anniversary party on Saturday—only three days ago—Hailey and I wanted to get the jump on my father. She’d asked George to hold a meeting, so we could explain what was going on; we wouldn’t jeopardize her career any more than it had been. Not only would Mark be there as a character supporter, but many of the higher-ups, and even the CEO of Slander’s. I still don’t know how George had managed that, but I assumed he dropped my name.
Hailey had been right about that, at least; I still had influence in the business world. There was no reason not to milk it.
A shrill ping pulled me from my thoughts, and I blinked hard as my heart thundered hard in its cage. Slowly, the elevator doors pulled open, and the cubical farm that was Hailey’s sprawling workplace came into view. Row after row of partitions separated employees hard at work, and I inhaled deeply before following Hailey off the elevator.
Maybe not so unsurprisingly, no one indulged their curiosity as we skirted the farm beyond a passing glance. If Hailey was any indication, this company only hired the best of the best. Even so, the nagging in my gut told me there’d be plenty of gossiping going on during lunch.
The closer we came to the glass wall separating the farm and the meeting office, the straighter my back and shoulders became. My mind cleared, body easing into the comfort of a scenario I’d experienced more times than I cared to count. Glancing down at Antonya’s sleeping face, resolved solidified into a dense ball in my chest that slowed my heart rate.
Glancing over the bodies milling around the long, freshly polished table, I clenched and released my jaw as thought after thought eased into my mind’s eye. Hailey pushed open the glass door, and the light conversation that had been going on stopped as all eyes turned to us. George’s rotund form waddled towards us, and he broke the second-long silence as his face broke out into a smile directed towards the both of us.
“Hailey! Mr. Richards! And this must be the elusive Antonya.” He didn’t try to touch or get too close to my daughter, but George’s eyes lit up with the glee of a man that loved children. “There’ll be time to gawk over her later. Let me introduce you all.”
Getting right to business, George went about doing just as he’d said, and I shook hands even as my attention stuck to the man at the back of the group and off to the right. Mark watched me with razor precision, and the hairs on my arms stood up underneath my button down as he scanned me through narrowed eyes. Stepping up with confidence as heavy and thick as a brick, he stared me down while George’s introduction drone in my ears.
I didn’t look away, and the appraising glint in Mark’s eye glittered brightly before he stuck out his hand. His gaze slid to Antonya as we shook hands harder than necessary, and he nodded curtly, wordlessly, before stepping back.
“Alright, now that that’s taken care of, let’s get down to business.” Carefully hiding the relief that surged through me, I took a seat at the front of the table, and Hailey sat to my right. Rocking Antonya habitually, back and forth, I couldn’t stop the sigh that rushed from my nose. Hailey placed her hand on my thigh under the table before George spoke up again, and I sent her a quick, grateful smile. “So, this is a meeting to discuss any possible backlash from personal altercations with your father… Is there any context you can give us to help explain the situation?”
Answering the questions was easy, but we knew it would be; the uncertainty of the situation all stemmed from whether or not the higher-ups would simply fire Hailey or not. She wanted to work; she loved this company, and she was great at what she did.
Knowing looks went around the table as I explained the situation with my father, and my surety over this route solidified. Clearly, his antics weren’t unknown to these powerful business controllers, and as I fell silent, the CEO—a woman named Eliza Slanders—leaned forward to prop her clasped hands on the table top.
“I’m glad you decided to come to us… I’m very aware of Mr. Richards’ controlling nature and quick temper. There isn’t a person here that hasn’t heard stories of it. Slanders is a nationwide company, and we haven’t been in danger of being ruined since 1944… however… your personal problems shouldn’t spill over to endanger anyone, Mr. Richards. Understand this—I get it. Your father is a foolish, spoilt child in the best of circumstances, but I won’t guarantee Ms. Montgomery her job because you can’t contain him. You had options you should’ve explored before taking such a radical course of action to prevent this from happening.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, I only nodded curtly as Slanders stared at me levelly for a long moment that stiffened my muscles. She was easily as old as my father, and I couldn’t help but respect her even as she scolded me. In total control, she turned her gaze to Hailey, and the hand on my thigh flexed as heat seeped through my suit pants.
“Again, I appreciate the forewarning. I’ve gone through your trainer grades and reports, Ms. Montgomery, and there’s no doubt that you’re an asset to this company. As with Mr. Richards, you cannot allow your personal problems to cascade into the work environment. You’re not as indispensable as you may think you are. That may change in the future, but in this moment, you’re a trainer—nothing more. Taking all of this into consideration, including your personal references, I’ve decided that you can continue on for now. Depending on the intensity of the blowback from this, I’ll decide how we proceed personally.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much—I promise to work to avoid this from ever happening again, Mrs. Slanders.” Hailey’s voice shook, a barely noticeable tremor, and her hand left my thigh as she stood up hastily. “Thank you.”
She bowed shallowly, a little awkwardly, before sinking back into her seat, and I smiled at the relief that colored her face a pale pink. Across the length of the table, Slanders’ eyes flickered to mine, and I clenched my jaw before nodding fi
rmly. Her intention behind this decision became immediately clear, and I could do nothing but appreciate it.
Slanders wanted any sort of business relationship with me that she could get without ruining her own integrity. This was the smartest way to play. Providing rental cars, trucks, and many other types of vehicles was all well and good, but she had plans.
I’m entrenched in the most elegant, smooth mastery of blackmail ever.
Tearing my eyes off Slanders’, I leaned back in my seat to glance at my daughter’s peaceful expression. The tension that had raced through my veins eased up, and I smiled as the conversation resumed around me.
“If you ask me, I think this isn’t such a bad idea. Being a company that hasn’t had a run-in with Richards sort of makes us an outcast. I might even be willing to bet that we’d benefit from one of his tantrums. At least we’d get some free publicity—he’d make sure of that.” George’s spin on the situation was, if nothing else, unique and unexpected, and I rocked my daughter absently as the actual employees of Slanders delved into conversation.
Taking this moment in secret to grab Hailey’s hand under the table, I rocked my daughter quietly. Squeezing my palm, relieved achievement radiated from Hailey like a heater on high, and she cast me a slight smile that shone in her eyes. Rubbing the back of her hand with my thumb, I ignored the eyes burning into the side of my face from the other end of the table.
The meeting took all of an hour, and everyone filed out in a fairly good mood—everyone but Mark. Standing between his chair and the table, he only stared at me through fierce eyes, and I passed off Antonya to Hailey. She didn’t protest, quietly taking our daughter and exiting the room, and the silence dragging in her wake bore down on my chest. My heart pounded hard, and blood beat against my eardrums as self-degradation swamped the thin space between my skull and my brain.
