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He wasn’t only everything I’d wanted once upon a time.
He was everything I still wanted.
* * *
When we entered the Alstone Holdings offices, I steeled myself for the backlash that my presence would bring. I couldn’t even blame anyone for it because if I’d been in their situation, I would have been the same.
What felt like a hundred pairs of eyes swung to me when I entered the boardroom right on Zayde’s heels. The room erupted with noise, but Zayde held up a hand, effectively silencing it.
“Fallon has something to tell you all. Before she does, I want to make one thing crystal fucking clear. Any discussion about our relationship is off limits. You don’t mention it, you don’t even fucking think about it. If you don’t agree to those terms, we both walk out of here, right now. Do I make myself clear?”
Several people gaped at him in shock, myself included. I hadn’t expected that, not in a million years. But I appreciated it, more than he could ever know. I knew he was protecting himself, but he was also protecting me.
Arlo Cavendish was the first to recover. After glancing over at Zayde’s dad, who had pursed his lips but remained silent, he met Zayde’s gaze. “Understood.” He turned his attention to me, his tone softening. “Ms. Hyde. What would you like to tell us?”
I faltered. I’d never had so many eyes on me at once. But then I felt the heat of Zayde’s body against my side.
“Breathe,” he murmured, too softly for anyone else to hear.
It was enough. Sucking in a breath, I stepped right into the room, grasping the back of the empty chair in front of me as a bolster.
And then I threw my brother under the bus. “I need you all to know that I had no knowledge of the article. I believe that my brother Joseph was behind it.”
NINETEEN
Ihadn’t been allowed to stay while the negotiations happened. I’d relayed everything I knew to everyone gathered in the boardroom, but it still didn’t give anyone a reason to trust me. Alstone Holdings was caught up in damage control, and the last thing they needed was to have me around. James had picked me up and taken me back to his apartment, which suddenly seemed claustrophobic with the two of us there and only one bedroom. Once again, he insisted he was fine with sleeping on the floor, but I couldn’t kick him out of his own bedroom. In the end, after we’d had a stand-off, both of us stubborn to the end, he’d eventually relented. Or so he said.
We spent a long time talking about everything. About Hyde Consultings and how my dad had been the sole person in charge for a long time. Unlike Alstone Holdings, which was run by a board comprised of three separate family groups, the Hydes had always entrusted their business to one immediate family. Which meant that there was an obligation for each company head to pass it on to their children, primarily their firstborn sons. In my family’s case, that meant Joseph. I’d always had an awareness of the fact, of the way that he seemed to both hate our father for the way he treated us but simultaneously looked up to him and wanted to please him. And Roland Hyde had invested years in grooming his eldest son to be his successor. Did it make me a bad person for feeling some sympathy for my brother? Would he have made the decisions he had without my father speaking in his ear, tainting his perceptions?
I guess it was a question I’d never really know the answer to, but I hoped that deep down, Joe was a good person.
Or I had always hoped, up until now. With everything that had happened today, I hadn’t really had time to process my brother’s part in this whole thing, but now all the pieces had fallen into place.
“Why did he do it?” I spoke out loud, interrupting James. He blinked and then turned his gaze on me, instant understanding in his eyes.
“He’s been too heavily influenced by your dad,” he said at last. “I know it’s not what you want to hear.”
Picking up the cup of peppermint tea James had brewed for me, I blew across it, dispersing the steam curling through the air while I thought about my answer. “It’s not what I want to hear, but I know what you’re saying is the truth.”
He nodded. “For what it’s worth, my parents never agreed with yours. I don’t think my dad ever got on with your dad, even as kids. That’s why he only ever got involved in the superficial levels of the business, and then he diversified, branching out into other industries on his own. You can trust my family to be impartial. I hope.”
“I know.” My cousin had always been a bit of an outlier. He’d never been one to get involved in conflict, not if he could help it, preferring to stay neutral.
Before James could reply, my phone chimed, and a message preview popped up. It was Jessa.
I swiped my thumb across my screen to unlock it, and the full message popped up.
Jessa:Pleeease don’t hate me but I gave Z your number. I’ve never seen him look like that before
Like what?
Me:???
Jessa:This is Cass. He looked like someone had run over a puppy *crying emoji*
Jessa:Sorry about Cass. He’s not wrong though
My heart skipped a beat.
