Chapter 33
He was going to confront Tobias, despite being all too aware of his brother’s wrath, and his avoidance of discussing anything to do with Matthias.
Xavier stepped out of the elevator on the 21st floor of Stone Enterprises and found Vivian, Tobias’s PA, sitting at her desk with her eyes focused on the computer screen. Not wanting to interrupt her, he waited for her to look up at him. In the past he would have usually flirted with PAs, but today he was checking for any messages from Izzy.
As usual, there were none. He’d emailed her once a few days ago, to let him know when she wanted more work. He understood her worry over finances, and wanted that to be one worry less for her.
But so far, she hadn’t replied.
Vivian looked up. “Can I help?”
He smiled. “Is Tobias available?”
She didn’t even flinch, or check a diary, or look at anything online. “He is, but he’s got a meeting in 20 minutes.” She seemed to know his daily schedule off by heart.
“Is he in a good mood?”
The way she opened her perfectly painted lips and said nothing, told him ‘no’.
“Wish me luck.”
She gave him the kind of smile that he was used to. He knocked once, and heard nothing. Impatient, he knocked again, and this time opened the door a fraction, sticking his head through the gap to find Tobias on the phone.
Ooops.
For a moment, he considered the wisdom of what Izzy had told him. What worked for one person wouldn’t necessarily work for another. Maybe he could backtrack and talk about something else.
His brother lifted his face and looked at him. Angry eyes blazed into his and the tell-tale crease in the middle of his forehead signaled Tobias’s already pissed off mood.
It was too late to turn around and leave.
“I’ll be home early. Don’t worry, babe.”
Babe?
Who the hell was he talking to?
“Love you,” Tobias said, in a voice what was as sweet as sugar, before slamming the phone down. “What do you want?” he asked.
Strange how much of a Jekyll and Hyde character this man could be.
“Is it safe to come in?” Xavier attempted humor, and slowly opened the door wider, but didn’t step inside.
“I’ve got a meeting in 10. Make it quick.”
Vivian had told him he had 20 minutes, but he decided not to question that. “Are you still mad at me?” he asked, walking towards Tobias’s desk.
“You’re so easy to pull the wool over,” Tobias commented, sitting back in his leather chair.
“I don’t follow.”
“You do understand, don’t you, that the only reason you got funding from Hennessy is because Matthias wanted a way in.”
“A way into what?”
“To get to me.”
Jeez. Fuck. No. “Bullshit,” he spat the word out, disgusted, and annoyed by Tobias’s tendency to think something was about him.
“It’s the truth.” Tobias replied, calmly.
“Chad injecting cash into my new venture isn’t about you. For fuck’s sake, Tobias, not everything is about you.”
“That’s because you’re still not clever enough to read between the lines.”
There he went again, lauding himself up. “What happened between you two? Why would Matthias need to go through me to get to you?”
And get to him for what?
Hennessy’s company investing in him had been one of the few good things to happen to him for a while, and he wasn’t going to sit here and let Tobias think the deal was about him.
When Tobias said nothing, his anger exploded. “I’m getting fed up of you having a go at me for something I knew nothing about,” he said, slowly. “And what pisses me off even more, is that you’re still being vague, and I’m still none the wiser as to what went down between you both. I’m not surprised he pissed you off. It’s not difficult to piss you off, Tobias.”
Tobias’s mouth tightened, the usual tell that indicated he hadn’t liked what he’d heard. “You’re not the easiest of people to be around. You can be one of the biggest pains in the butt. People do things for you because they’re scared of you. Let me guess, Matthias overstepped his mark. He went over your head and signed off on a deal you didn’t approve of?”
Tobias glared at him, and still said nothing, which infuriated him further.
“If I’ve told you that Matthias is no longer with the company, that should have been enough for you to butt out.”
“But I’ve signed the deal. I need his investment—or rather his company’s investment, because this isn’t about him or me or Hennessy, but about how we can do business together. It’s not personal.”
His brother’s deadly gaze could have burned a hole through his skin.
“I made the mistake of thinking you had a wise head on those shoulders,” said Tobias, “That despite your desire to show off and brag about what a hotshot you are, that there were some real,” he tapped his head with two fingers, “brain cells up here.”
“That’s right, go back to being your usual condescending self, Tobias.” He looked at his watch. “You think what I do is so inferior? You think because I don’t have a big glass building, because I don’t have a ‘legitimate’ business,” he air-quoted the ‘legitimate’, “you think I’m a loser? That’s your opinion, and you’re entitled to it. You can think what you want. It doesn’t matter.”
“Go to hell.”
“You’re telling me to go to hell instead of explaining why Matthias has pissed you off so much?” This was typical of him. “I don’t know what’s going on with you but this can’t go on. You’re bringing a new life into the world. You should be happy. Not like this.”
He got up and stormed out.
His fingers reached for his cell phone on the elevator down, the temptation to call Izzy was strong.
He was tempted to have a cup of coffee. Tempted to talk. If there was someone right now in his life who understood more about him, it was Izzy.
But, he put his cell phone away. It was her week of exams, and he wasn’t going to contact her.