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Well, shit. He said people, but I knew he meant class.“You should stay with the poor people,”was what he wanted to say.
Shit. Shit. Shit. This was so much worse than a simple rejection. Who the hell did he think he was?
His words pierced my heart, and I immediately sobered, a large block of ice settling in my chest. What was I supposed to do with that? I looked down so he wouldn’t see the tears threatening. When I composed myself and looked back up, he was gone.
I swallowed the tears which burned in my throat like a hot poker. I went to the kitchen where I found a phone and called for a cab. As I walked to the front door, I made sure no one saw me leave. I sat on the step to wait.
The party was over for me.
Worse yet, the fantasy that I could ever belong, was over for me.
Chapter 1
Daniel
Thedingannouncedthearrival of the elevator. I started to step on, before I noticed two men were inside, waiting to get off. I backed away and motioned for them to exit. The all-too-common scene ensued as they realized who I was and awkwardly stammered their greetings while avoiding my steely gaze.
Life as the boss, I supposed.
I shook my head as the doors slid shut, trying to clear them from my thoughts. I hated when people went out of their way to practically bow to me. They seemed to assume that was the treatment due to me. Instead of impressing me, it only annoyed me.
The elevator stopped on the tenth floor and I couldn’t help the sigh as I stepped off, straightening the front of my jacket. This floor was administrative, each door marked with dark name plates that balanced the white walls.
Something made me stop in the middle of the hall for a moment. It was the same feeling that had kept me in my bed for a few extra minutes this morning, staring at the ceiling. On the drive into work, I asked the driver to open the sunroof, and I just looked at the sky. The clouds appeared motionless as we made our way down the freeway. It had been an unusually sunny morning in San Francisco and with the absence of clouds or fog, the way the sky stretched forever. I felt like life was infinite. Like anything could happen.
I slowly walked through the sun-filled space, past a row of offices to my door. Madeline, my assistant, was standing in front of her cubicle looking… was that a "chagrined" expression? This day was about to get worse.
“Dare I ask how your morning is going, Madeline?” I asked as I opened the door to my office and she followed. Despite it being in this building, I did love my office. It was full of light from the floor to ceiling windows with a large desk and a comfortable couch I spent entirely too much money on. There were bookshelves and colorful artwork lining the walls. It felt less sterile than the rest of the building.
My desk was gorgeous. A live-edge walnut top from wood sourced here in northern California. A smaller complementing conference table sat in the corner by the window, where I sometimes held meetings. The chairs around the table were currently occupied by two of my least favorite people: Jamie and Xander. It was unfortunate that I had to call them my brothers.
A bitter taste rushed into my mouth as I watched them sitting there looking completely emotionless. I couldn’t help the sigh that escaped my lips.
Madeline’s green eyes flashed between them and me as she held a tablet to her chest like it was a shield. She straightened up and walked over to me, leaning in to whisper. Although she couldn't get too close since her heavily pregnant belly created a natural barrier.
“Daniel,” she whispered, handing me the tablet. I scrolled through the spreadsheet she had opened and forced my face to remain neutral even as the world felt like it was dropping. I handed it back to her and nodded, patting her arm. She nodded her head and started to leave, Xander’s eyes never left her, staring at the dark green dress she wore. I wanted to punch him. Sure, Madeline was objectively a beautiful, young woman. But first, she was married and pregnant, and second, Xander was an asshole.
“So, did you see the news?” Jamie asked, throwing one leg over the other. Xander chuckled.
I simply arched a brow at him as I took a seat at the head of the table.
“We might not care about each other, but the company is a different matter. We…”
I lifted my hand to cut Xander off.
“I’m too busy for whatever this is. Let’s just get to the point. Which one of you did this?”
“What do you mean,Danny? What did we supposedly do?” The disbelief on Jamie’s face was almost convincing.
“It’s the very end of my tenure here–my very planned tenure–and something like this just happens to come up? Something that would ruin every effort I’ve made here for the past five years. It’s not a fucking coincidence, Jamie.”
“What are you talking about?” Xander almost sounded irate now. “Why do you think we would do this when we could finally be rid of you?”
“Oh, but wouldn’t my disgrace be enough of a motivation for you?” I smiled bitterly at them.
“Look,” Jamie said, trying to sound like the definition of rationality, holding up his hands. “We don’t like having you around. We don’t want you to stay any longer.”
I shrugged.
