AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What can I say, Edward? You bring out the best in me.” His tone is cool, collected. He’s gotten what he wanted, after all.
I give a sardonic laugh, stroking the knife beside my plate. I saw it in a movie once - a son losing it over Thanksgiving dinner, lunging across the table and taking his dad out. I never related so hard to someone in my life. The movie theater was horrified, I silently cheered the kid on.
“Just like you bring out the best in me.” I look at him and it’s like looking in a mirror.
His gray eyes are empty orbs of ice. I wonder if that’s what people see when they look at me. The likelihood grates me in a way that I take as evidence.
We are not the same.
“Enough.”
Her voice is soft, unassuming. But we don’t miss the warning edge in it. My mother’s looking at her plate, but her head is tilted in my father’s direction. As much as her command was directed at the both of us, I know that she meant it for him more than me.
And so it’s enough. Over the years we’ve learned which battles to pick, and it’s never the ones that my mother inserts herself into. My father’s a lot of things, but he won’t break her heart. He has that going for him, at least.
But being civil doesn’t come naturally to the Spencers, and the rest of brunch goes by with barely another word spoken. I’m relieved when my mother gets a headache and calls an early end to it, giving me the chance to get the fuck out before my father decides to corner me in her absence.
Grabbing my coat at the door though, I’m cornered by someone else.
“He won’t be here forever,” Gram says.
I turn around and she’s standing in the entrance hall, her shawl shrugged tightly around her narrow shoulders. She scuffles over to me, barely reaching my chest at full height.
“Thanks for trying to cheer me up,” I chuckle tiredly.
She shakes her head. “What I mean, Edward, is that you’re this family’s legacy. Our name rests on you, and what I want you to understand is… You are not your father. Don’t let your hatred for him rob you of something great.”
She caresses my cheek gently and then pads on through to her quarters without another word. As I watch her small, labored steps, I suddenly understand exactly what she means. And I know exactly what I have to do.
* * *
Flashes go offin my face, blinding me to the crowd of reporters who’ve gathered outside Spencer Holdings. They’re rabid, firing questions at me from all directions even though my people briefed them an hour ago. I was going to make a statement and would be taking no questions.
But a Spencer making a public statement never happens, so I can’t blame them. It’s like an early Christmas. What’s more, they have no idea what this is about. I’m hearing questions about the Philippines, mergers, succession, you name it.
“Thank you all for coming,” I call the conference to order. Hushed tones ripple through the seats but the reporters quiet down the way they’ve been trained to do. “I won’t keep you long.”
A guy with huge, nerdy glasses pops out of his chair. “Mr. Spencer, is this your comment on Global EX shedding points this past week?”
I raise a hand. Say nothing. After a few seconds, he gets the message and sits back down.
“This is my comment on the latest vitriol in the tabloids.” I pause, giving the wave of surprised excitement a chance to die down.
I look directly into the news camera closest to my face. “I know Cara Ford from the work my foundation is doing to help save the community theater downtown. Further than that, I don’t know the woman. I have never had any kind of relations with her outside of the normal donorship responsibilities.”
This time it’s a woman who rises from her seat. She’s wearing a knowing smile. “Forgive me, Mr. Spencer, but you can say anything up there and that doesn’t mean it’s true.”
I laugh, making sure to flash the smile that’s landed me on several magazine covers. The flashes go crazy and I can sense the close-up zoom of the news cameras. Play this game long enough and you get to read them like the open book that they are.
“I was waiting for the right time to make this announcement…” I stretch out my arm and on cue, Violet steps up to the lectern with me. I snake my arm around her waist and pull her close. “This is Violet. My fiance.”
The low buzz of confusion erupts into an all-out tabloid fest, as the reporters all jump up, jabbing their phones in my direction, yelling their follow-up questions. Foaming at the mouth for the perfect sound byte.
I hold up my hand again but they don’t quite shut up, so I raise my voice for the big finish. “I’ve never had relations with Cara Ford, because I’m devoted to the woman I’ve been engaged to for the past month. These rumors have been damaging to us and our families and I hope this sets the record straight. That’s all, thank you.”
They go wild, begging me to stay behind and answer their most pressing concerns. How long have we been dating? Who is Violet and what does she have to say about the pending nuptials? But we don’t hang back for any of it.
I hurry Violet back into the building and don’t stop until we’ve passed the security desk. The press is still out there, losing their shit and trying to get a jump on the story with their respective platforms.
