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I nod. “So were my sisters and I.”
“How are your sisters?”
“They’re both doing really well. Harley’s a surgeon. She’s married to a great guy. They have two kids. A boy and a girl. Skylar finished business school last year and now she works for Jackson.”
Rochelle starts to tear. “He would have had grandkids. Wow. He’s missing so much.”
I slowly nod. “He is. Harley named her son Scott, so his memory will always live on.”
We say our thank-yous to Rochelle and leave her house with a huge burden lifted off my shoulders.
I fist bump Aunt Cass on the way out. “My father was a fucking superhero.”
She enthusiastically nods. “Damn fucking straight he was.”
* * *
The next day,Carter corners me in my apartment building’s elevator. He looks like shit. Good. I hope he feels like shit too.
He has tears in his eyes. “Please, Reagan. Hear me out. There was no underhanded plan. I promise. My father mentioned wanting your company. I admit that I went undercover to get information from you that I could use against you.”
My mouth is wide open at that confession. “As I suspected. Working for Daddy all along. Leave Carter.”
“No. When I met you that day, saw you were pregnant and Trevor walked in, I just assumed you were a young newlywed mom. I didn’t want to cause you any trouble. I left and never once mentioned the encounter to my father. He never knew I went in the first place. I swear to you.”
“Really? Because I remember things differently. I remember you flirting with me until you saw that I was pregnant.”
“I admit that. I was immediately attracted to you. You mentioned something about honoring your late father by running a business. I decided at that moment that I had no interest in my father’s agenda regarding your company. But I did have interest in you. You’re so incredibly beautiful. I thought you were flirting back, but then Trevor walked in, and you stood up heavily pregnant. I assumed I misread the flirting and left. The only other person who knows about that encounter is LeRond.”
“Funny how this is the first I’m hearing of it. If it was so innocent, you could have mentioned it over the past several months. This is you and your father doing whatever it takes to get what you want. You’re always doing Daddy’s bidding, Carter.”
“No. I swear I didn’t give your business another thought until he told me the conditions of retirement months later. As soon as he did, I came to you.”
“Was that before or after he told you my business had to be a dead duck before his retirement?”
Carter is quiet for a moment.
I cross my arms. “Yes, he told me all about it. You weren’t supposed to steal my business from me. You were supposed to destroy it.”
He shakes his head. “He never mentioned that until the day we were on their boat. Until that day, I thought he just wanted it to look like I’d be getting your business in our marriage. But I fell for you and never considered following through on what he asked. I swear to you, Reagan, there was never one minute where I considered hurting you or your company. Not once. You know me. You know the real me. More than anyone else ever has. I would never do anything like that to you.” He puts his hands over his heart with tears streaming out of his eyes. “I love you. Please believe me. I need you.”
I shake my head, as tears stream down my own cheeks. “I don’t know what to believe, Carter. You have zero credibility with me. You’re a liar. Worse, you’re a liar without an ounce of backbone. Go fucking continue to watch your father assault woman while you stand by and do nothing about it. Leave me the fuck alone.”
“I’m just trying to beat my father. I’m just waiting until he’s gone to change things.”
“I’m sick of hearing that. You’ve let countless women get hurt by your inaction. You can’t excuse away every spineless thing you do by saying it’s all about the long play. I can’t hear it anymore.”
The elevator doors open, and I run out to my front door. He doesn’t follow. He just yells out, “I love you. I won’t stop trying.” The elevator doors mercifully close. I slide down my front door in tears.
At some point, I reach down for my phone and pull up my texts.
Me: Code red. At my apartment.
Trevor: OMW
Trevor arrives twenty minutes later with a bottle of my favorite wine. He peels me off the floor. He easily carries me inside and places me on my sofa. He goes to my kitchen and pours two glasses of the wine. He also grabs a few bags of chips.
He hands me my glass of wine and sits down next to me. He puts his arm around me and pulls me close. “You need to eat. You’ve lost weight.”
