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“I know it’s early, but I needed to speak with you in person.”
His gray brows knit. “Okay.”
He let me in, but kept me near the front door, as if to push me out suddenly if the moment arose. And I knew what moment that would be, and her name was Anita, my step-mother. Though I didn’t see her often, it was more than I interacted with my own mother, unfortunately.
When my parents divorced, it was as though my mom divorced me too. She moved to Florida with her new husband to “get a fresh start on life.” Aside from holiday and birthday calls, I didn’t talk to her much at all.
“I saw Brock. He said he’s working with you in Denver now.”
My father crossed his arms and nodded, but his eyes stayed on the floor. “Yeah, that’s right.”
“Dad?” I tried to get him to look at me, but all I got was a glance. “I thought we were working together this summer. I can’t work with Brock, you know that.”
“You need to get over your issues with him.”
The words hit me hard, but they weren’t the first time I’d heard them. Still, it didn’t make the sting any less potent. My father and step-mother didn’t acknowledge the past regarding Brock and I. My father always told me to “get over my issues,” but never gave weight to my claims. And I never spoke of it. I’d never called Brock out since the night he hurt me. Years later, we all still danced around the truth.
“I can’t be under the same roof as him. Much less have him be someone I report to.”
“Then maybe the Case-VanBuren firm isn’t where you should be working.”
My stomach tightened. “I need this job, you know that. I have grad school to pay for.” I had a partial academic scholarship that covered tuition, but all other expenses were on me.
He looked over his shoulder, then leaned in and whispered, “I can try to get some money to you. Off
the books.” He winked, as if that made it all better. But I knew this game.
My father and I didn’t come from money. He’d been a struggling real estate agent when he met Anita. Case Investments at that time was a young business, and it had been drowning. She was the one with the money and the name, an effective leash she kept around my father’s neck.
Case Investments turned into Case-VanBuren. My father might be president, but Brock was VP, and would take over, despite my father having started the company on his own before he met Anita.
“I won’t take her money. Not now, not the other times you’ve offered it. I can support myself. I’ve been doing it for a while. But I need a job to do that.”
“You have one,” he said harshly. “Just keep your head down, and you won’t even notice Brock.”
Yeah, right. But this went deeper than Brock being in Denver. “Why is he even here? He was running the New York branch. Why bring him in?”
“Because Denver has lost a major client. Brock can bring more of them in. New York is fine, but Denver needs some help.”
“I can help! That’s why you hired me. I can bring a client in.”
“Brock has the track record, and you’re not even an associate. You’re…” he waved his hand, and I finished the sentence for him.
“I’m just in a grunt position.”
He didn’t deny it, because he knew as well as I did what I was and how he viewed me.
“Look, Brock is staying.”
“Dad—” but the rest didn’t come, because it didn’t matter. Just like that night, when I’d gone to my father and told him what had happened, he chose Brock over me. I wasn’t going to wait any longer for him to save the day. I wasn’t going to put myself in a position that sickened me.
“You have a job if you want it, but I won’t discuss Brock with you anymore.”
I shook my head. “Then I can’t work for you.”
“That’s your choice. Not mine.”
I clenched my jaw, because my choice had been taken away ten years ago. And it was that one moment that changed everything.
