“Well, son, I think you’re going to have to make a decision. Victoria or your position at Armex.”
"That's such bullshit! I'm not breaking up with her," I declared defiantly.
"Tyler-"
"In fact," I said loudly, speaking over him, "I'm going to hire her, even if it is short-lived. So not only will you be firing your son, but your stepdaughter too!”
* * *
“That’s just five,” Jeff said as he leaned back in his seat across from me. I’d summoned my fellow colleague to my office for a little a private chat about what to do about the soon-to-come vote for my removal. He was enjoying a cheeseburger with bacon and fries from Wendy’s while I dined on a grilled chicken sandwich. “You need at least six.”
“Damn,” I muttered.
“It’s that God damn Charles Whitmore,” Jeff growled, grabbing his Coke and taking a sip before setting it back down. “If it weren’t for him, you’d be in the clear.”
“Fuck that dude.”
“Yeah.” Jeff swallowed and then stared at me. “But why go through all this trouble anyway? Why not just do what your father asked? Your stepsister can’t be worth all this trouble, can she?”
“She’s worth every bit of it, Jeff,” I said firmly.
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this. A few months ago, there was no chick on planet Earth that was worthy of your affection.” Jeff finished off the rest of his cheeseburger and then shook. “I can’t imagine it, though.”
“Imagine what?”
“Banging my own stepsister.”
I grinned. He caught me off guard on that one.
“Anyway,” I said, abruptly changing the subject, “Who’s on the fence in all this? All we have to do is get one of them to side with me.”
Jeff picked up a napkin and wiped his hands before dropping it in the Wendy’s bag. Grabbing a fry and then dipping it in ketchup, he sat back in his seat and leveled a serious gaze on me. “Well, there’s Ritchie and Kevin.”
“What about them?”
Jeff waved his red-tipped fry at my face. “Well, Rich wants an apology and he might consider voting in your favor. He doesn’t like you, but if he had a chance to stick it to Charles, he’d take it.”
I snorted. “An apology? For what?”
Jeff popped the French fry in his mouth and chewed. “For sleeping with his ex.”
“Seriously?”
Jeff nodded. “Her name is Mandy Lane, remember her?”
I racked my brain for the girl’s face, but I couldn’t come up with an image. “No,” I said finally. “I don’t.”
Jeff grabbed another fry and waved it theatrically. “That’s unfortunate. Very unfortunate.”
“Yeah, even more unfortunate because I’m not apologizing. From what you said, he wasn’t even with her anymore. Why does he even care?”
“Oh come on, Ty. You know how it is, he was hoping to rekindle things.”
“Look, just forget all this scheming. Whatever happens, will happen. If my dad wants to help remove me, then so be it.”
The truth was that my pride would never let me grovel, even if it meant keeping my job. It was just one of my pitfalls as a man. My pride always got in the way.
Shaking his head, Jeff popped his fry into his mouth, smacked his hands together several times to rid himself of salt and then stood up. “Well, it’s your decision, buddy. I’d hate to be in your position,” he warned as he grabbed his leftover fries and dumped them into his Wendy’s bag as he prepared to leave my office. “It’s your future on the line, after all.”
Chapter 14
Victoria
"I can't come work for you,” I said, holding back tears. I was sitting beside Tyler, who'd shown up at the end of my shift in his limo after a long, arduous day at work.
Tyler looked at me, making my heart flip.
My God, I can't get enough of him, I thought. It never ceased to amaze me how the man could just turn me into mush with one simple look.
"Why not?"
He seems to be taking this news well, I thought, searching his face for disappointment. I saw none. For some reason, that bothered me.
Holding back my crocodile tears, I explained what happened when I'd confronted Christine. "She doesn't want me to work for anyone else," I said as I finished my tale. "She revels in my misery."
"What a sadistic cunt," growled Tyler.
He still wasn't breaking down in tears. Not that I’d expected that, but I was hoping for a little more disappointment at least.
"Tell me about it," I muttered. "I felt like such an idiot when I remembered my contract. I should've known I'd forgotten something."
"Don’t beat yourself up over it," Tyler soothed. "You were in the heat of the moment. You couldn't have known."
But you should be more upset about this, I thought. You seemed so excited this morning, but now you seem . . . subdued. It pissed me off that I didn’t have the courage to come right out and tell him that.
The cabin fell silent as our driver, Jonathan, rolled to a stop at a stoplight.