Chapter Nineteen

Nic

FOUR days. After getting Sasha back, he should’ve been bursting with joy like he never had in his life. Oh yeah, he was bursting sure enough, but it wasn’t joy filling him. It was heaps of frustration, a touch of anxiety, and a dash of confusion. He’d spent many hours each of these past four days with Sasha, in and out of bed, and they were all good hours. Yet an insurmountable wall surrounded him, one that even Lucy and Ben couldn’t get through.

The office phone rang, making him flinch and yanking him from his thoughts. Who the heck would call him on the landline? When he picked it up, he was surprised to hear Ben’s voice on the line.

“Family meeting,” Ben said. No greeting, no explanation, and no request. Just a demand. “In the den.” Then, he hung up on Nic. It was too early for this crap, and he needed to get to work. Nic shoved out of his chair, tossed his jacket on, grabbed the reports he was preparing for the board meeting later, and headed to the den. Lucy and Ben were already seated, and Percy walked in at the same time as Nic, both taking the sofa across from the kids.

“Your uncle and I need to get to work soon. Big board meeting today,” Percy said, reading Nic’s thoughts as usual. “What’s on your mind?”

“This won’t take long.” Lucy sat forward and flipped her long curly hair over her shoulder and out of her face. “We’re worried about Sasha.”

“Something’s wrong with Sasha,” Ben said at the same time. They looked at each other for a moment, and then Lucy continued.

“He never laughs anymore, and his smiles aren’t real.” She narrowed her eyes at Nic. “Did you apologize enough last Sunday? Are you being good to him?”

Nic threw his arms out. “Christ’s sake, Lucy, you’ve seen us together. I love the heck out of that man. I’d cut myself open and lay my guts out for him if he asked.”

“Ew, gross.”

“Coooool.”

“Kids,” Percy said, including Nic in his scowl. “As much as I’d love to see that disembowelment, I don’t think Nic is why Sasha’s down lately.”

Nic straightened in his seat. “I ask him sometimes, but he always says he’s fine. Okay, then it’s not only me seeing this.”

“No,” Lucy said. “But this started with the breakup. You’re back with him, so what else has changed since then?”

“He’s not living here anymore.” Ben was focused on the floor as he spoke. Yes, Nic was disappointed about that fact, but it sounded like Ben had been upset about it too.

“I tried,” Nic explained. “A few times actually. He wouldn’t move back.”

Percy grunted. “Doesn’t want to be dependent.”

“What?” Dependent? But Nic had even offered to rent him a room the other day, trying like some desperate stalker to keep Sasha closer.

“Maybe it’s his job. We all know what stress at work can do to a person.” Lucy looked pointedly at Nic.

He snorted. “Wait till it’s you.” He thought back all the way to Sunday. “He never mentioned work.”

“It means he hasn’t found anything yet.”

Nic eyed Percy. “Then how’s he paying for his apartment? Or his bills or gas and food?”

Shoving back in his seat, Percy leaned his head on the cushion behind him. “When he left, Sasha had no money and nowhere to go.” His words shoved a spike through Nic’s heart, and Percy seemed to know it, turning his head to meet Nic’s eyes. “Stop beating yourself up, Nic. I wasn’t trying to guilt you. I just meant he was in a bad place, but he wouldn’t accept any money, not even a loan. Trust me, I offered. The only thing that worked was helping him sell his truck.”

Shock punched through Nic’s body. How had he not noticed Sasha hadn’t been driving his truck? “What the fuck, Percy? He loved that truck.”

“And it’s the only thing he had with any equity left.” He shot Nic a glare. “I was trying to help him, dickhead. It was high value, but he only had a few grand of equity. It was enough to cover the move-in costs and get him by for a month or so. I gave him a recommendation to get a substitute position with hiring potential at Vashon schools. Obviously, there’s no work for him for a while because of the holiday.”

“Why wouldn’t he tell me any of this? If he’s struggling, why wouldn’t he say anything? I’m in a perfect position to help him.”

“Uncle Nic, have you met Sasha?” Ben rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t talk problems unless they’re someone else’s. I always thought he was the cheeriest person on Earth. Then I heard him on the phone with his dad on Thanksgiving. After that, I didn’t give him such a hard time anymore.”

Lucy smacked his arm. “You shouldn’t have been a butthead to begin with.”

“Hah, like you were any better when he first got here.”

Sasha had told him a little, letting Nic in more than he apparently let most people in. And what had Nic done? Abandoned him when things got tough, as his parents had time and again.

“Damn. I guess that explains a lot.” Percy sighed heavily, and when he looked up, guilt flashed across his face. “He asked why you didn’t call him yourself, and I said you had enough problems to deal with.”

“Fuck.” Before Nic could stop it, a sound like some wounded animal left his throat. He leaped up and paced at the end of the sofas, his hands running through his hair. “He’ll never believe me. I have to show him.”

“Show him what?” Lucy asked, but Nic didn’t answer. “Uncle Nic! Show him what?”

He turned to his family. “Show him I can handle it, all of it. The good, the bad, the ugly. Quick. We don’t have much time. I have to get to this damn board meeting, but Percy, I have things for you to do while I’m in there.”

“You sure you don’t need moral support?” Percy asked. “Your father’s going to be there.”

Nic shook his head. “This is more important.”

Everyone stared at him with mouths agape and eyebrows raised. Was it that out of character for him to put something before the business? It’s not like he hadn’t put them first when he could. Right? He frowned. Hadn’t he? When he thought back, it had always been Percy or a nanny or caregiver going to the kids’ schools when they had trouble or extracurricular activities. He’d missed every holiday with the kids since last New Year’s.

And Percy? He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone out for drinks with Percy when it wasn’t a business trip. They used to go camping, sailing, and scuba diving all the time before Nic’s father had retired from his CEO seat. Shit, he didn’t know about anything going on in Percy’s life lately. Was he dating someone new after his ex-boyfriend had gotten him all twisted up nearly a year ago? Nic had to have been blind all this time. After all, he lived in the same damn house with Percy. What a shitty friend he was turning out to be.

“Anyway, it’s time to go. The helo’s on standby.” He leaned down to hug each of the kids. Even the hugs had been something Sasha had brought back into Nic’s life. “Don’t worry. I’m going to do everything I can to help Sasha.”

As he and Percy headed into the office, Nic gave Percy instructions on what needed to be done. He needed to review his reports for the meeting, but he couldn’t concentrate on anything except his forthcoming conversation with Sasha.

When they arrived, the board was getting ready to convene, and Nic parted ways with Percy. He entered the smaller conference room. All ten members of the board, including his father, were already seated and well into their coffee and pastries. Well, this was confusing. He was nearly ten minutes early, so why were they all here as if they’d agreed to an earlier time, leaving him out of the loop?

“Nicolas, have a seat.” His father gestured toward Nic’s normal position at the end of the conference table.

Nic lifted his brows but sat as directed, dropping his reports on the table in front of him. “Well, hello. Everyone’s here early. Was I-5 traffic decent today or did someone change the meeting schedule?”

A few people suppressed laughter, but most of the members’ faces remained serious. This didn’t bode well. Maybe he’d gotten the time wrong. His father stood at the head of the table, surveyed all the board members, giving a couple of them stern looks, and finally settled his gaze on Nic.

“We’ve conducted a meeting early this morning, so this one is a special convening of the board,” he said.

“You had one without your CEO present?” Nic asked, panning the room not much differently than his father had a moment earlier. Most of the members wouldn’t make eye contact with Nic.

“In light of the decline over the last few quarters and the recent lawsuit—”

“Which was resolved, dropped by the plaintiff.”

“And the contracts that were lost—”

“Which were all recovered or replaced with an actual increase in sales.”

His father cleared his throat, his face turning a somewhat dark shade of pink. “We, the board, have decided to relieve you of your position as CEO. The vote was unanimous.” Several members, ones who couldn’t make eye contact earlier, squirmed in their seats. “The search for a replacement CEO will begin immediately with planned turnover set for the end of February.”

His father kept talking through all the formalities, severance package details, hiring process for the replacement, and so on, but Nic had checked out. He was supposed to have until the end of the quarter to pick up the numbers. He was supposed to have more time. He’d still met their demands, even considering the quarter wasn’t over. Yet they’d still fired him, and in an underhanded way, as if he’d done something wrong.

Numbness slid through him, beginning with his limbs and then his face and finally his chest. A floating sensation like he’d been set adrift pushed at the top of his head and dizziness crept in. Anxiety. This place was all he’d known, and it had consumed his life. What would he do now?

He’d never had a chance. His parents had already decided months ago to replace Nic. They talked about giving him the quarter, but here it was the most successful quarter in nearly a year and he was still getting canned. After a decade of dedication and sacrifice at his own family business.

He looked around at the board members. Most of them he liked and respected. He couldn’t even hold this against them. Nic’s father was a controlling stockholder along with Nic’s mother. If his father decided to get rid of a CEO, there was no override. If members voted against him, he could have them removed from the board. No one could even fight for Nic, including himself.

Sasha’s words echoed in his thoughts. Would it be such a bad thing to try something new? He’d had faith that Nic would succeed without Leighton Price, that he could be happy somewhere else, maybe with the expansion proposed by Basile. Would he have had the strength to go for the deal if not for Sasha? The opportunity in the first place might never have come without him. If not for the Christmas cookie baking incident. Somehow, that man’s faith in him dragged Nic back from the edge, reassured him that he could remain standing despite this blow.

“We’ll need the new contracts completed and the quarterly rep—”

Nic rose from his seat and gathered his reports.

“Nicolas, are you listening? Where are you going?”

He faced the board members. “It’s been wonderful working with you all. Some of you I’ve worked with from the time I first arrived fresh from my MBA, and you’ve given me valuable advice and guidance. I’ll miss having that in whatever venture I take on next. Despite these unfortunate circumstances, I do wish you all well. Have a wonderful day.”

He’d reached the door by the time his flustered father could say anything. “Are you leaving? You can’t leave right now. We’re not finished.”

“Yes, I believe we are,” Nic said, pausing at the door. “I’m due over forty days of paid leave. I believe that takes me all the way out to my termination date. My lawyer will work with HR on the severance package while I’m on leave. I believe that about covers it. Oh, well, except for my staff. They’ll be coming with me. Both Summer and Percy will be submitting their resignations today as well. As they don’t have employment contracts, their resignations will be in HR before the day’s over.”

Okay, so he probably should have consulted Summer, but if he’d doubted his secretary would come with him, he wouldn’t have mentioned her. Percy was an easy bet. The only reason his friend had stayed at Leighton Price this long was that he would never see Nic if they didn’t work together.

“You can’t quit without notice!” His father had completely lost his composure for once, scowling heavily with his voice raised.

“I didn’t resign. I was terminated with a unanimous vote by the board of directors. You may state whatever date you wish, but my employment contract stipulates thirty days after the vote as the termination date. My contract-guaranteed leave more than covers all of those thirty days. The paperwork is going to HR today, and my leave begins tomorrow. I wish you luck in your hunt for a competent CEO.”

He didn’t give his father a chance at another word. Nic left for his office. Summer wasn’t upset when Nic explained things to her, but she was nervous about lapses in pay. Once he assured her she wouldn’t have to move and he’d cover everything and even send her on a paid vacation until he’d transitioned to the new company, she was excited about it.

Several hours later, an unbelievably high stack of paperwork had been completed, and Nic had made the call to Anselmo to broker the business meeting between his in-laws and Nic. Anselmo was ecstatic about Nic’s decision to partner with the family.

Soon after, Nic, accompanied by Percy, was on the helo crossing the Sound. He began to laugh, and he couldn’t stop, even when Percy looked at him like he was an escaped mental patient. He was free as he’d never been before, with no expectations to meet but his own. A lightness of being struck him, and there was nothing he wanted more than for Sasha to feel it. This had to be what happiness felt like. Had he ever felt it fully until now?

“All right, who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” Percy asked as they left the helo.

A wide smile stuck on his face, Nic threw an arm over Percy’s shoulder. “I guess this is what happens when you find out the tumor is gone. How about you? How are you doing with being jobless and all?”

Giving in, Percy laughed. “Are you trying to tell me that being your friend isn’t work?”

“I’ve been paying you? I need a new accountant, then,” Nic said. His smile faltered slightly. “Please tell me you were able to do what I needed to be done today.”

“No worries. It’s done.”

Nic nodded. “Thank you.”

“Not sure you’ll want to thank me yet.” A grimace crossed Percy’s face. “I think you’ll have your work cut out for you trying to convince Sasha to dump on you without dumping your dumb ass.”

“He kind of has no choice. There’s not a feasible way to reverse what I had you do.”

“Which is why I say, ‘You only live dangerously once.’”

As they entered the first-floor foyer, Nic pointed toward the rear where Percy’s suite was. “Go to your room and stay away from me. Your negativity might be contagious.”

Percy started to do just that but then stopped. “Hey, Nic. It’s good to see you this way. I haven’t seen you like this since we were in college.”

Nic’s gaze followed Percy until he disappeared down the hall. Yeah, he remembered those days, too, his first taste of freedom. It had been good until his father had yanked the familial leash. He’d had no resources of his own, attending on scholarships and his parents’ money. The family business had never been something he’d wanted, only something expected and then demanded as payment for Nic’s education.

Things were different now. Nic had his own money, billions, and his own resources. His house was his own, his assets, his helicopter—all his and acquired through hard work, conservative management, and smart investments. His work ethic had earned valuable contacts in the business world, and that was the best thing he’d ever gained from Leighton Price. Yes, he probably could have gotten a decent position somewhere on his own, but surviving and thriving weren’t the same.

He was going to thrive because of Sasha, and he damned well had to make sure Sasha thrived too. With Nic. If that meant taking on every little battle Sasha had ever fought alone, he would demand it. Earlier, Sasha had called but said he had business to take care of and wouldn’t be over. So tonight, Nic would be patient and wait until tomorrow. But tomorrow was another story. He’d go to Sasha’s and wouldn’t leave until he had full access to every one of Sasha’s problems. Tomorrow, he wanted trouble.