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He put down the wrench and walked over while cleaning his hands with a rag. “I wouldn’t fire you over that, son. You’re a hard worker, and that’s difficult to come by these days. I’d be an imbecile to fire you. As for the car, you’ve done all the work on her, and I’m sure you’ll continue to work on her, so she’s yours. Take it as a bonus for all your hard work.”
My eyes shot open, and I stood there in complete shock. “Mr. O’Connell, I couldn’t possibly. You said she was your pride and joy?”
He slapped me on the back. “She was, kid, she was. But I wanted to give her to my son and let him work and restore her to her old potential, but Niall doesn’t deserve her like you do. You put in the hard yards, and you treat her with care and kindness. Niall honestly doesn’t give a hoot about her, so… she’s yours, Mike. But on one condition,” he said.
I nodded, waiting to hear.
“I heard about you and Bernard’s girl…” He raised an eyebrow. “You did the right thing, son. It must’ve been tough letting the woman you love go.” I frowned and nodded, so he patted my shoulder. “Well, you did the right thing. Niall and Callie have been paired since Callie’s birth. I know it’s hard to understand, but Niall will make her happy. Their joining will bring our two-family dynasties together, and more importantly, it’ll help my business affairs exponentially. Bernard has contacts everywhere, and with the merger of our children, both our businesses will grow beyond our imagination. So, son, I owe you my gratitude and thanks for stepping aside and letting nature take its proper course.”
Holy fuck! Right in that moment, I wanted more than anything to lay a fist right into his gut. Stand over him and let him know what I thought of their so-called plan. How dare they play with Callie and Niall’s lives that way? Their children are basically nothing more than a business arrangement. I honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
I scrunched my face and furrowed my eyebrows in resentment.
I was going to quit!
I couldn’t stand around watching Callie’s life being dictated to her.
I shook my head and went to walk away, but Patty stopped me when he said, “Here’s the condition, kid. You take the car and continue working for me. That way you can still be around the woman you love. You think I don’t know how hard it will be for you seeing Callie move on with Niall? I do. But let me put it this way… if you’re around, then you can watch over her, make sure she’s being taken care of properly.”
Standing taller, I swallow the concrete that’s formed in my throat.
“I know my son… he loves Callie, but he can be an arrogant little prick sometimes. He probably gets that from me. But if you’re around, you can help her when she’s down and be the supportive best friend she’ll probably need. I know you can’t provide for her financially, Mike, but you can be support for her if she ever needs it.”
What the hell is he saying?
“We want to keep both families happy with this arrangement, and I can’t lose a good worker over something as trivial as this.”
I curl up my lip. Trivial?
This isn’t trivial to me, asshole!
“So, the car is yours, and you’ll stay here and continue working for me. It’s settled then.”
Honestly, I had no words because my mouth was dry, and all I wanted to do was scream at the bastard in front of me. But then the thought of leaving Callie to this life she had to endure came screaming in my head, and if I went now, God only knows what would happen to her.
So, as much as it was going to hurt me, as much pain as it would put me through to see her with Niall—another man—I had to stick around and make sure she was okay.
I decided there and then that I would never tell her about her father’s scheming plot with Patty. It would hurt her too much. Plus, I knew deep down, she actually cared for Niall in some small way. She may even love him if given the time, but I’d be there to make sure that when this all came crashing down at their feet, I was the one to pick up the pieces.
Patty put his greasy hand out for me to shake. The anger inside me was at boiling point, but I let it simmer and take a back seat. I shook his hand and nodded, letting him know I was on board. I felt sick, utterly devastated, but there was little I could do other than to go along with it for Callie’s sake.
“Good, lad. Now, you can have the rest of the day off. When you come back tomorrow, I’m upgrading your job title and pay. You’ll be my chauffeur, and help me out with my business dealings. Basically, you’ll be my personal assistant I guess you could call it, for the want of a better description. Now, how does that sound?” he asked.
“Thank you, sir,” was all I could say, but unfortunately, it came out in a sarcastic tone I honestly couldn’t have held back if I tried.
He chuckled. “You’re welcome, kid. Now off you scoot, I’ve got work to do. Oh, and Mike? You’ll be driving my car, so make sure you wear a suit to work from now on.”
I stumbled from the garage and into the open air. Inhaling a deep breath, I bent over resting my hands on my knees then exhaled.
What the hell was I doing?
Callie was basically being set up in an arranged marriage. If she’d known, she would’ve been mortified. I would’ve told her, I should have told her, but I kept my mouth shut. She deserved a happy life, and even though it’d be arranged, I was sure Niall truly did love her and would give her everything she deserved. If I told her what was going on, she would’ve run back to me, and I would have still been faced with the dilemma of not being able to provide for her. I was sure if she did come back to me at that time and not Niall, my chances of finding another job in Mornington Vale would be none because Patty and Bernard would have seen to that.
So, I’d keep my mouth shut and hopefully watch it all unravel. I would continue to work for Patty and try to save for the day Callie would realize what was happening, and we could be together. I simply had to wait, watch, and bide my time until Callie would see through the idiocy that was her life.
I drove home and spent the night wallowing in self-pity.
I was eighteen, in love with a woman I couldn’t have, and working for a damn evil tyrant. I wasn’t in a good place.
