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What really has me scratching my head is why he’s being so cold and vindictive, intentionally pushing my buttons. He should be on his knees, begging for my forgiveness for running out on me the way he did. My Rhence would have saved my company and handed it to me on a silver platter, not wrestled away control of it to hand it to some bimbo.
I sigh heavily. Okay, so I’m sure Eliza is no bimbo and may actually be great for the company. I really have to keep an open mind about her.
But is that Rhence’s thing these days? Is he into to the blonde, Icelandic-looking women now? I was his first girlfriend and being that my father is Irish and my mother is Black, I just assumed that my look was his “type.” Obviously there are a lot of things about Rhence Dalton that I didn’t know.
Is he sleeping with her? From a personal perspective, it’s clearly none of my business whether or not they’re doing the horizontal mambo. But from a professional perspective, it really wouldn’t do for one of my subordinates to be sleeping with our CEO. If they’re picking out office space together and she hasn’t even started yet, what will be the situation six months from now? Will I even be in the picture at all? He’s posing as some kind of hero, but really he’s an enemy trying to steal my company away for his girlfriend.
But why did he have to pickmycompany to gift to her? She’s relocating from New York to come live in Charlotte. Was the plan to move Miss Iceland 2023 to Charlotte, and the only way she’d come is if he promised her she could run her own financial advisory business? And my firm just happened to be in Charlotte and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, thanks to Quinn-fucking-Dobson.
My eyes widen at my revelation. That’s it. He’s being such an ass to me because I’m standing in the way of his new love’s happiness. He’s trying to make me so angry that I resign, leaving him free and clear to hand over the reins to Eliza.
I’m so incensed right now, I could spit nails. The nerve, the gall of that dirty, rotten, son of a bitch! I groan aloud as I turn onto my parents’ long cobblestone drive and down to the circular driveway. Maybe I was just feeling phantom passion between us earlier today. Maybe it was all wishful thinking on my part. Maybe I was just hoping that deep inside…he still wanted me just as much as I wanted him.
Still is the right word. As angry as I was for him leaving, I never stopped loving Rhence. And now seeing Rhence these past few days brings all the rush and anguish back with a vengeance. But this is almost like losing him all over again. He’s clearly over me and has been for a decade now. I’m the only loser still stuck in the past.
“Come on, you’re better than this,” I mutter to myself as I turn off the ignition. I grab my bag and hop out the car. When I enter the house, I move through the grand foyer, down into the great room, and then around to the gourmet kitchen.
Mom is sitting at the kitchen island staring absently into a glass of chardonnay. She didn’t even hear me come in. I’ve always teased my mom that she looks like Vivica Fox in theKill Billmovies. She took it as a compliment, and at times jokes that she’d go all Copperhead on me if I didn’t maintain straight “A’s.”
“Dr. Bradly,” I say, “what are you doing home this time of day? Did a client cancel?”
Mom tries to shake the startled expression from her face. “Hi, honey.” She glances at the clock on the wall. “Goodness, it looks like the time really got away from me. But yes, my four p.m. cancelled, so I decided to finish my notes here at home.”
“Was it a tough day?” I say, putting my bag down. “It seemed like you were really lost in thought there.” I look at the half-empty bottle of wine. “Mom, is everything all right?”
“What? Yes, of course everything’s fine, sweetheart,” she says, patting my shoulder.
“You’re sure? Dad’s okay? Everything is fine?”
“Yes, how many different ways do you need me to say it?” She forces a light-hearted laugh. “Now that you’re here, I’m going to heat up the vegetarian lasagna Marla prepared. You want to finish the salad and help me set the table? Your father will be home in about twenty minutes.”
“Yeah, of course,” I say as I turn on the water faucet to wash my hands. As I cut up some broccoli and cucumbers, Mom keeps staring at me. I can’t take this any longer. “Mom, please, what is it? Did my doctor call to say I only have six months to live?”
Mom frowns, showing her age. “Don’t even joke about such a thing.”
“Then level with me. What’s bugging you?”
“I don’t want to talk about me,” she says, waving a hand dismissively. “How was your day? Didn’t you mention that you were meeting with Rhence today?”
His name sends a jolt of lightning through me that’s both searing and thrilling me. I sigh my resignation and surrender. “Rhence wants to steal my company so he can move his girlfriend to Charlotte to run it.”
“What?” Mom’s eyes widen, looking primed for action. We might see Copperhead after all. “That devious little rat!”
I close my eyes and force the words out. “You were right about him all along, Mom,” I’m annoyed to feel a hot tear roll down my face. “Rhence never really loved me, and now he’s going to drive the knife in deeper by stealing my company.”
Mom sets down the plates and gathers me in her arms. “Baby, sweet girl. This doesn’t give me any pleasure at all. I’d like to wring that boy’s neck for hurting you all over again.”
My tears fall faster. “It’s like I never meant anything to him. It’s like none of it ever happened and I imagined all the love back then. I feel like such a fool. An idiotic, stupid, ridiculous fool.”
She cups my face and forces me to look at her. “Now you listen here, Rachel Lynn Bradly. That deviant boy was the problem, not you. You’re going to move forward from this and thrive. You are my daughter, you’re Dr. Helen Bradly’s daughter!” Her expression is fierce. “Don’t youeverforget that.”
I squeeze off any remaining tears and nod my head.
“Sweet baby.” She gives me another big hug. “We’ll have Dad give us the finer points about the contract terms, so we’ll know your legal standing.” She pulls back and looks me square in the eyes. “Even at absolute worse, let that fool have the company that Quinn gutted. You can start fresh with lessons learned.” She shakes her head, anticipating my next objection. “Nothing’s a failure unless you don’t learn from it. And as far as funding the startup, there must be a huge golden parachute in that contract if you’re displaced. So, don’t quit. Force him to fire you. Then you’ll have the millions you need to start up a new company.”
Her words sink in and take root. Maybe cutting ties altogether with Rhence and the failing company would finally allow me to bury the past and close the book on that chapter of my life. And extracting a few million out of the company I founded only seems fair enough. So, let Rhence flaunt his new girlfriend in my face. I’ll turn up the heat myself and push his buttons. With any luck, I’ll get myself fired by the end of the week and be done with this whole mess.
I wipe my face with the tissue Mom hands me. “Thanks, Dr. Bradly,” I manage with a weak smile. “What do I owe you for this session?”
