Chapter 6
Nathanial and Alexis walked into their rental house on the beach without saying a word to each other. Since leaving the restaurant, Nathanial’s thoughts had been on his future and what all Dillon and he spoke about over dinner. ” Nathanial, let me give you shares in all of these other companies that I own so that it puts you in play to make a lot more money later,” said Dillon as the two were eating their swordfish. The thought of what was offered to him continued to go through his mind while he ignored Alexis.
“Are you going to be alright?” asked Alexis as Nathanial walked in and immediately sat down in a chair away from the rest of the furniture in the living room. With a window looking out at the ocean in front of him, Nathanial let his mind drift away as he continued to think about everything that Dillon said and continuing to ignore Alexis. “I’m going to step out front and call Hannah,” she continued, acknowledging that Nathanial was lost in thought.
“No,” said Nathanial. “I don’t want her knowing what’s going on.”
Alexis nodded as Nathanial finally started speaking. “Why not?”
“Because it’s ultimately my business and I don’t want the world to know that I’m being muscled out of my company,” he explained. “If anything, I’d like to maintain whatever dignity I have left over so that after tomorrow, I can pickup the pieces and move on without much thought.”
“You’re not going to have to move on,” replied Alexis. “You’re still going to own a minority stake in the Australian company. So, you won’t be in charge of the day to day aspects of the business. You hated that part, even if you won’t admit it.”
Nathanial leaned his head back against the headrest before sighing. “It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, or even hated it. I didn’t get an opportunity to finish what I started.”
“Finish what you started?” she asked with a puzzled inflection. “What did you start?”
“Fixing the company,” he replied. “I’m currently responsible for fixing the broken company and I want to stay on until it’s complete.”
Alexis was even more confused. “But Nathanial, Hannah and I fixed your company,” she stated solemnly.
“I allowed it!” he shouted in defiance. “If I would have said no, then the two of you would be back in the United States right now picking up the scraps from your good for nothing bosses!”
“Stop it!” screamed Alexis. “You’re not thinking straight right now. Everything that’s happened is making you a different person than the man I’m dating.”
Nathanial leapt up from the chair and looked through the dark room at Alexis. “No, I see clearly now,” he said with a seething tone. “You and Hannah have both been incredibly tight lipped but I know that in the back of your mind, you were out to make sure I got out of the way. No one in that consortium thinks that I am capable of running my own business and I refuse to go out like this! I refuse to take a handout from some guy who they view is the second coming of Christ!”
“That’s enough, Nathanial!” screamed Alexis again as he approached her. “You are acting like a spoiled brat! I can’t change the fact that the board of the consortium wants you out because they don’t see you as a fit executive, but how dare you take it out on me and even think I was in on your ousting? I need you to stop having this tantrum and start thinking like an adult. What, if anything, would I gain from a change in ownership? I work for the Consortium of Oil Traders, not for any specific company that happens to exist within them. Why would I want you to be forced to sell off your shares? What would that get me other than an upset boyfriend, which I clearly have right now?” She paused for a moment while she looked at Nathanial in anger. “Why do you even care about that stupid company? It clearly was about to go bankrupt and there was nothing you could’ve done to save it. What does it matter?”
“What does it matter?” asked Nathanial rhetorically. “It matters because it’s mine and my name is on the door!” he shouted. “I own it so if it fails, I fail!”
“Then you failed!” shouted Alexis, clearly fed up with the direction the conversation went. The two stared at each other for a few moments with malice in their eyes. With heaving breathing between the two of them, Alexis put her hands in the air and turned around. “What’s gotten into you?” she asked calmly as she turned around. “When I found out this morning about this, I honestly thought you would be happy about this news. I figured, so long as the deal went through and you were compensated fairly, you’d be happy to be rid of the burden. What gives? Why are you so vehemently upset about all of this?”
Nathanial shook his head and turned around, walking back to his chair and sitting down. “Because I don’t have a say in any of this,” he said weakly. “Alexis, if I were asked if I wanted to sell the company, I would sell it and not think twice. I would unshackle myself from that burden, but because I’m being forced to sell, I want to hold on as long as I can to be a thorn in the side of whoever is making me give up. Alexis, I’m sick of this life and I don’t want to live it anymore, but I want to go out on my terms. I want to sell the company because I’m choosing to sell it, not because they’re telling me I have to.”
Alexis nodded. “So, you’re ok with selling the company but you’re not ok with someone telling you that you have to sell it?” she asked. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t expect you to,” he said rudely. “You’ve never owned anything like this in your life and you never will.”
Alexis’s eyes opened up wide as the words rolled off of his tongue, piercing her consciousness and hurting her deeply. “Ok,” she said softly as she slowly nodded her head in a forced affirmation. “Clearly, you don’t believe in me or what I am capable of. I think you and I aren’t meant to last.”
“Wait, I didn’t mean that,” said Nathanial defensively.
“No, but I did,” continued Alexis. “I fell for you in Dubai because you were charming, handsome, charismatic, and at the time, I thought you were smart. Clearly, it was all an incredibly large façade. You’re stubborn, selfish, and don’t like to be told no. You want the world to be hand delivered to you on a silver platter because of the amount of money in your bank account but when it comes time for you to actually have to work for it, there is no room. You don’t have it in you to work for something.” Alexis paused for a moment as she looked at Nathanial staring at her with hatred in his eyes. “That look that you are giving me now only confirms everything that I just said. I’m sorry, Nathanial, but we’re done now.”
“You will never have anyone as good as me!” he shouted as he stood up from his chair. “I am the absolute best you will ever do!”
“Then my best isn’t good enough!” screamed Alexis as she walked off toward the bedroom to gather her things, leaving Nathanial to sit in the living room alone to reflect on everything that happened.
She walked into the bedroom as tears started to flow from her eyes. The yelling and screaming from Nathanial scared her, especially since she had never seen him act out like this. He was angry, bitter, and above all, not the man that she was falling for. She knew the relationship was ending, though still tried to figure out a way in her head to make it work. He had been great to her so far, showering her with gifts and going out of his way to make sure that she was comfortable and happy. “Alexis,” she cried to herself. “What does he really offer you that no other man can give you?”
She pondered the though as she sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the white door that led to the hallway. Part of her hoped he would walk through it politely and apologize. That part of her wanted it to be ok and wanted him to revert back to the man she thought he was. However, it was to no avail. She sat in the dark and looked at the door for fifteen minutes; it was never disturbed. The realization was setting in that he didn’t care about her anymore and that he only cared about his appearance and what others thought about him. His pride was his first concern and not her, which she was not content with. She reached for her phone to text Hannah and stopped herself. “No, he wants it to be private,” she said as she clutched the device tightly. “I can at least give him that.”
Alexis wiped the tears from her eyes as she stood up and walked over to a door that led to a deck. She pulled it open and walked outside, looking out as the moon hovered over the night sky and illuminated the dark blue Pacific Ocean. The breeze was blowing her brunette hair to the side as she thought about everything. Her career was her primary focus and now, without Nathanial, she would have nothing to hold her back. Though she saved his company and boosted his portfolio, he would never admit that he allowed the company to fail and that Alexis saved it. His pride ended their budding relationship before it could take off, and though sad, Alexis accepted it as the best outcome. “This is for the best,” she said as she turned and walked back into the bedroom to start gathering her things. “This is all for the best.”