CHAPTER TEN
Evan
“Can I get you anything else, sirs?” The waiter put my whiskey on the table and stepped back.
“Another one for me too,” my dad said. “And make this one a double.”
The server practically clicked his heels before turning and trotting away to do my father’s bidding.
But it was fine. The downtown steakhouse was crowded for seven p.m. on a Thursday night. We managed to snag a relatively quiet corner table in the back but the noise from the restaurant was almost too much, filled with businesspeople getting drunk.
It was sad, really. In New York, a lot of these people were hoofing it back to their offices after the last bite of their steak. The work day in this city doesn’t end until midnight a lot of the time, and we were no exception. Lincoln works its people hard, and Henry and I were probably gonna hightail it back upstairs afterwards as well.
Fuck my life.
Is that what we were about?
Working, working, working, until death knocked at your door?
I’d be the richest guy in the cemetery, but what good was that?
“That waiter better bring my drink back quick,” my father said, knocking back the last swallow of his gin and tonic. “We’re empty over here.”
“Chill, Dad. If the waiter ran back here he’d spill your drink and you’d only be even more pissed.”
My father grunted, even more bull-doggish than usual.
All week, we’d been wrestling with a merger. Well, I was wrestling with it and handling all the important pieces of the puzzle while Dad sat back and just asked the occasional question. It was surprising. He wasn’t even hovering over my shoulder like usual.
Instead, Henry relaxed and barely said a word while I took the reins, guiding the conversation and subtly pulling out aspects of the pending deal. Usually my dad’s on top of this shit like white on rice, so this was a nice change.
Plus, it was about time. I’m forty-five now, I’ve been to the rodeo a couple times.
And this plan with Maggie was going real well. Somehow she gave me an aura of responsibility and respectability, a seal of approval that only came with being a family man.
No time like the present to probe.
“You were real laid back in the meeting today, Dad,” I drawled casually. “You feeling all right?”
My father gripped his empty glass and opened his mouth to say something. Just then the waiter came back with his drink and whisked the empty glass away. Waiting until he was gone, Henry took a sip of his fresh cocktail and leaned back. He tapped his fingers on the table and looked me in the face like he was making some sort of decision.
I’m not gonna lie. My heart sped up like the Road Runner getting to bolt. Was this going to be it? Was he gonna give up his throne? Was I finally going to become emperor?
And it looked promising at first.
“I’m getting old,” Henry said, eyes faraway. He rapped his fingers on the table top. “I want to have a legacy, something more than just money. Something that outlives my brief time here on this world.”
Okay. Cool. I can get behind that.
“What do you want, Dad?”
There were lots of thing he could do. Raise money for charities. Work at his foundation. Spend more time with my mom. There were many worthy causes, and Lincoln Conglomerate would operate just fine.
But my father’s thoughts were far away. He tapped his fingers on the table some more, just thinking.
“What is it Pops? What’s going on?”
Finally, Henry sighed and took a long drink while changing the subject.
“How are things going with Maggie? You put that ring on her finger yet?”
It was like the old man knew exactly what to say to knock me off course. Not that it took that much of an educated guess. Other than work, Maggie was my life. Fake fiancée or not, that girl was deep under my skin and I didn’t want her to go anywhere.
Yeah, she’d stolen my heart. Against all odds, I’d lost it to an employee from the pet store with dirty hands and a sweet smile. But hey, she was my perfect fit, and it’s hard to find one of those. You can look high and low, get on a billion dating sites, and miss the one right under your nose.
So I nodded.
“Yeah,” was my grunt. “We went to Raul’s and got the ring—”
“Raul’s? Nice job! I know I didn’t raise a cheapskate.” My father chuckled but it didn’t sound natural.
What the hell was up with him? I stared hard but didn’t ask.
“Yeah,” I said smoothly, like nothing was wrong. “Raul treated us real nice. We found the perfect ring and Maggie loves it.”
Because my fiancée was getting that giant pink diamond for sure, and I couldn’t wait to see it on her finger.
“I’m one lucky bastard,” was my grunt, taking another sip of the bourbon. “It don’t get better than this.”
“Well, you’re no bastard and I have the marriage certificate to prove it.” Dad laughed long and loud at his own cheesy joke. Yeah, there was no way to dispute I was his. We don’t look much alike, but our personalities are uncannily similar. Hell, was being a chip off the old block good or bad? Probably both.
Those pale blue eyes narrowed speculatively now.
“I can tell you’re in love with that girl. Good for you. I figured she was special when you asked to bring her over. You never brought anyone home before.”
I shrugged. All those other women didn’t mean dick to me. Maggie on the other hand....
“Well I’m marrying this one. The other ones were whores who just wanted my money. You know how it goes.”
Henry grunted.
“I do, for sure. Before I met your mom, I was a man about town and there were hooches everywhere. Those were the good old days. Not that I don’t appreciate Evelyn,” he said hastily, “but wow, sometimes I wish I were forty years younger.”
He chuckled at his own joke and took a long guzzle of the gin and tonic.
But then Henry got serious, and I swear something was up. Because Dad’s devious. His moods turn on a dime, the old man mercurial like quicksilver.
Maybe I’d forgotten who I was up against. Henry Lincoln built a company from a scrappy start-up into an international powerhouse. There was no way to truly read him, he’s capable of using the sharpest steel or the softest velvet to get what he wants.
But I was smart enough to know that something was definitely off. Taking another sip of my drink, I waited, outwardly calm. But inside, my spidey sense tingled.
Dad examined me again, those cold blue eyes casual but calculating. And why not? Sitting across the table, I was an opponent, not his son.
He put down his glass and pushed it a little ways, jaw tight before leaning onto the table and bracing his forearms against the edge. Wasn’t there a recent TED talk about power postures? Was that what he was doing?
Sure enough, the bomb dropped.
“Evan, you’ll never get control of Lincoln Conglomerate,” the words slipped out casually, like he was saying good morning. “I’ve decided to stay on as CEO for the foreseeable future.”
Shit!
What the hell?
You motherfucker! Betrayal, hot and bitter, filled my mouth. But I could tell my father had more to say. Clenching my jaw, I forced myself to sit through whatever bullshit was coming my way.
“The company is mine,” my father went on to say. “Completely. I’ll keep control of it until I die because that’s how I want it to be.”
He leaned back. And this is sad, but malice flickered in his eyes as well as jealousy. Why was he jealous of me, his own son? My thoughts whirled.
Henry continued, voice smug.
“In case I’m not being clear, listen to this and listen well. You’ll NEVER be CEO of Lincoln Conglomerate as long as I draw breath.”
What the hell?
Where was this coming from?
I’ve slaved long and hard for the company, working my fingers to the bone. I’ve done nothing in forty-five years but give my life to this company. And now he was throwing my dreams on the floor, trashing them like they were worth shit?
What the hell?
But it was true.
My dad’s eyes were like glaciers, cold and dead. Who the fuck was this guy and where was this coming from?
He continued then.
“The clause about you getting married before becoming CEO was a lie,” he rumbled casually. “I pulled it out of my ass because I figured you’d never do it, what with the hooches you hung out with. But now that you’re getting your shit together, I’m pulling that offer completely off the table.”
I rose to my feet at that last slap in the face. My hip bumped the table, tipping the whiskey so that it spilled across the pristine tablecloth. But Henry didn’t so much as flinch.
I was furious. Anger roared through me like wildfire.
“This is the shit you do to your only fucking son?” I shouted, ignoring the looks of other guests. “The one who made the company stock go through the roof after years of shitty profits?”
“You didn’t do anything I couldn’t do myself,” my dad said coldly.
He was fucking deluded. Henry was an old school guy, one out of touch with the modern world. He had all the latest gadgets but that meant nothing. The man knew jack shit about digital advertising, millennials, and the green revolution.
So I snorted, getting a hold of myself.
“Well good luck with that,” I said frigidly. “Consider this my resignation.”
And with that, I strode out of the restaurant, mind swirling. What the fuck was wrong with my father? Why had he pulled this one eighty? Had he lost his mind?
If Henry had been honest from the beginning and told me he never wanted to leave the helm of Lincoln Conglomerate, it would have been cool. The company was his baby, and sometimes you can’t bear to let the baby go.
But my life would have been different for sure. I wouldn’t have worked sixty or seventy hour weeks. Instead, I would have put in my nine to five, and then developed something of my own on the side.
Because sure, I was hungry to make money. But I was even hungrier to be my own boss and to face new and unknown challenges. Years of putting my nose to the grindstone had sucked valuable time away that could have been used in a different direction. That made my dad’s betrayal burn even worse.
Stalking out of the restaurant, I picked up my phone and got Trevor on the line.
“Meet me at the front of the restaurant. Dinner’s done.”
“Yes, Mr. Lincoln,” came my driver’s clipped voice.
And sure enough, Trevor was waiting for me at the curb. And when he opened the car door, I climbed in, muscles clenched with fury.
All my plans, destroyed.
The work I’d put in over the years. For nothing.
And Maggie. I’d dragged a beautiful girl into this mess.
But no. That’s not true. She was the best thing about this fucked-up situation. If not for Henry, then I wouldn’t have her in my life. And one thing was crystal clear, even in the middle of this shitty situation. I wanted Maggie with me, no matter what. I wanted her, period.