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The tension in the boardroom is so thick you can see it sparkling in the air.
“My department had an amazing year, you’re right. A lot of that can be laid at Deb’s feet, of course. She’s not really my assistant. She’s my partner. She could run the department without me much easier than I could without her. Icouldn’tdo it without her. If anybody needs a promotion and raise, it should be her.”
Eyes flick behind me, and I can hear Deb adjusting in her seat uncomfortably under the unexpected attention I’ve thrown her way.
“What really made the difference, though, was I fell in love. It’s amazing how love makes everything in your life better, isn’t it? Even the things you’d think it wouldn’t have any influence on.” I meet Daniel’s eye, and his face tightens in discomfort and unease.
“I worked harder and faster, not only because I wanted them to be proud of me and what I do, but because the more time I spent at the office, the less time I spent with them. I busted my ass ten hours a day where I usually would have been here for thirteen, cut through all the bullshit that comes with running a department that buys failing businesses, and managed to get more done because of it.
“I even took a vacation for the first time since I started with the company, even though I didn’t go anywhere. I stayed in bed for five days.” I smile to myself at what prompted that impromptu time off. The night that Justin truly made me his. “It was fantastic. I highly recommend it.”
“I did that once,” Jessica, a forty-something no-nonsense head of finance, says. “Nine months later I took a six-week maternity leave.”
Laughter breaks out amongst our audience, and my chest tightens with the wish that Juliawaspregnant with my child right now.
“Worth it?” I ask her, and a brilliant smile lights up her face in reply. “Best vacation I ever had,” she confirms.
“Yeah,” I smile back, thinking of painted nails and sex so wet we had to buy a new couch. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“If we could move on to other items,” my father butts in, trying to steer the conversation away from me and my melancholy.
“No, I’m not finished yet,” I interrupt. “Because I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these past few weeks, ever since I told you I was in love and wanted to start a family. You see,” I say, looking around the table. “I’m bisexual and was one of the few lucky enough to fall in love with my best friends. But my father was terrified of what that would do tohisreputation—disgusted that he could have raised a heathen degenerate. Never mind that polygamous relationships are becoming more and more popular all over the United States. In some countries, it’s always been the norm. Several states and municipalities inside other states have begun giving those couples legal rights and protections just like any regular heterosexual pair. It wasn’t allowed in his family. We couldn’t risk the stock prices.
“But I’ve been thinking,reallythinking, about the company and my place in it. And my place in life, for that matter. I’m wondering what the fuck is the point of being rich—and as you say, a leader in my community—if I’m so fucking miserable I’m one Adele song away from slitting my wrists? What the fuck is the point of it all if you don’t go home to someone you love who shares it all with you?”
You could hear a pin drop. I didn’t come here intending to blow up what remains of my life, but I can’t deny it feels damn good doing it. Every person at the table, and beyond for that matter, are either staring at me with their jaws on their chests or looking at each other as if their neighbor could explain what the fuck is going on.
My dad restacks his paperwork with his folders and portfolio before he finally meets my eye.
“I was angry at first, Remington, but now I’m genuinely concerned for your mental health. You’re obviously unwell, and this isn’t the time or place for that conversation.”
“I’m not sick, Dad. Queerness isn’t a disease, I’m sorry to inform you.”
My father scoffs in disgust.
“I’m worried about you, Son.” He looks over my shoulder. “Ms. Thompson,” he addresses Deb. “Why don’t you escort him back to his office, and I’ll call his mother to have the doctor come visit him.”
“It’s not me that should be worried. It’s you. Everything we’ve built, and you’re still not satisfied. Look at all the hard work the thousands of people who work for you do, that the fifty people shoved into this room do, and you think it’s so fragile that one whisper of bad press can tear it down. That says more about the type of company you run than it says about me.”
“In today’s culture, no one can afford a scandal, and you are the definition of one!” he hisses, slamming his fist on the table.
I’m—done. I’m so done with this. I should have done it months ago. Years ago. I should have been brave enough from the start and never joined the business to begin with. I should have been like Justin and followed my heart while telling the rest of the world to fuck off.
I stand up from the table and from the corner of my eye see Deb stand up behind me, her papers clutched tight to her chest.
“Lancaster United can’t afford a scandal?” I pull my wallet out from my pocket and start yanking out credit cards, throwing them one by one onto the table and at my father’s face. “Here. Now you don’t have to worry about how much it’ll cost you. I quit.”
I yank the cash from my wallet and throw that as well, letting it rain across the table like so much trash.
“I quit. I quit you! I quit this company! Life is too short to live it miserable when you have a choice otherwise.”
“You can’t quit,” my father scoffs, giving me a baleful glare. “You can’t walk away. I own you. I own your trust fund. Hell, the company even owns your apartment.”
“Then I’ll be out in a week. I’m sorry for the disruption, everybody. I’ll let you get back to your meeting now.”
“Remi!” Daniel says, but I’m already moving towards the door.
“Let him go,” I hear my father say. “If he wants to throw his life away, it’s his choice. But we won’t let him drag the company down with him.”
