James
As soon as the press release was over I dropped the act. I was in a bad mood. Nothing about the press release had been my idea but I had to save face for the media.
Somehow, the papers had gone through. The expansion was happening whether I agreed with it or not. I had to step up and be the face of the company the way I had always been, even when I didn’t agree with it.
When I got back to the office, I marched to Amanda’s office and opened her door without knocking.
“James,” she said smoothly as if she’d been expecting me. “You’re back sooner than I thought. The press release went well, I watched it.”
I shook my head. Amanda gestured toward a chair. I ignored it.
“You can’t keep doing this to me,” I said. “You know I didn’t want this, not yet.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Come on, James. Why are you still so damn hesitant? You wanted to do this and then suddenly you got cold feet. I wasn’t going to let your self-doubt stand in the way of our company reaching the next level.”
I shook my head. “That’s not the point. I didn’t sign those papers. I can sue you for this.”
Amanda smiled. “And? Who will believe you? A judge? A jury? The lawyer you’re going to approach? It won’t even go to court. Your signature is on those papers and it’s legitimate. What are you going to do?”
She was right. There was nothing I couldn’t do. Now that everything was out in the open – after the night at Caleb’s house everything had come out – Amanda didn’t even try to hide her secrets anymore. She was good at what she did. I didn’t even know why she’d hidden it before. It had more to do with my respect for her than what she was doing. That was my guess.
“Why were you so set on going against my wishes?” I asked.
Amanda shook her head. “You’re missing the point, James. You were with a woman, with stars in your eyes. You weren’t going to do anything about the company until we got rid of her and I couldn’t wait that long.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t want to do this anymore,” I said. “What is the point of working together when we’re not doing that anymore?”
Amanda shrugged. “We’ve been ‘not working together’ for a lot longer than you realize. I just let it slide because your habit didn’t affect the business. This time, it did.”
I shook my head and left the office. I had to do something about this. If anything, I had to find out how she as forging my signature. I had gone over the papers that Ava had found and the handwriting and signature were so close to mine it was easy to think it was my own.
I only knew one person who could give me an answer.
Charlie was in when I arrived. His secretary announced me through the phone and I walked through to his office.
“Well, this is a surprise,” Charlie said, glancing up at me. He didn’t look as happy to see me as he made it sound.
“I need to talk to you,” I said.
“Sit down,” Charlie said. It sounded more like an order than an invitation but I did it. I looked around the office. It was still exactly the way it had been when my father had been alive – all the way from the parquet floor to the heavy dark wood desk and the matching full-length shelves that covered one wall. An antique green lamp and brown curtains made the place looked like something from an Ian Fleming novel, except over the top luxurious.
“Okay, what can I do for you?” Charlie asked.
“You can tell me why you’re signing papers on my behalf for Amanda.”
Charlie blinked at me. “What are you talking about?”
I shook my head. “Don’t lie to me, Charlie. This is my career, my life, we’re talking about.”
Charlie shook his head and focused on pages in front of him on his desk.
“I don’t really see how your career – something that dad never wanted you to do – has anything to do with me.”
“You’re the only one that can do this. You’re the only one that can copy my handwriting and you would do something like this if the price was right.”
Charlie and my handwriting were so similar it wasn’t hard for him to copy mine. He sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“Fine,” he said. “Yes, I did it.”
I was angry. I had hoped he would deny it. He was my brother, for God’s sake.
“And you thought it was okay to fuck me over like this?” I asked.
Charlie shrugged. “I don’t really care about your business,” he said. “It’s not what Dad wanted.”
“So, you’re ruining it for me?”
Charlie smiled and I hated that look. It was the way he used to smile at me when he was teasing me and my dad wouldn’t tell him to stop even when I complained about it.
“It looked like your press conference went well. I wouldn’t call it ruined.”
I shook my head. “What is she paying you to do it?” I asked. “How much did she give you to betray me like this?”
Charlie smiled at me and this time, it was different.
“She’s not giving away your money if that’s what you’re worried about.”
I frowned at Charlie. I didn’t understand. He sat there with a smug grin on his face and it all fell into place. I couldn’t hide the surprise on my face.
“You’re sleeping with her?”
Charlie shrugged. “She told me to name my price. I did.”
I felt sick to my stomach. I suddenly found it hard to breathe.
“What the fuck, Charlie? Why?”
Charlie shrugged. “You know what Dad wanted.”
I didn’t know what to say. My emotions were overriding my thoughts.
“Why are you admitting this to me?” I asked.
Charlie smiled. “Because, unlike you, I have nothing to lose.”
I shook my head and left the office. I felt like throwing up. I walked into the men’s room and splashed cold water on my face. It didn’t help, at all. I looked at myself in the mirror. This was it, wasn’t it? The biggest fuck you Charlie could ever throw at me. The punishment for not doing what he or my dad wanted.
God, this was a mess. I had to get out of this, somehow. I had to get away from Amanda. I had started a company with her because I had believed that she was the best person for the job – cold, emotionally uninvolved, pure business. I had needed that.
Unfortunately, her cold attitude translated into cruelty, too. Her uninvolved status made her selfish. And she had forgotten about the human element to life, the part that should have cared. I couldn’t do this with her now that I knew what she was capable of, now that I knew who she was.
I felt like I’d been going through my life with my eyes closed. How the hell had all of this happened? Well, no more.
I fished my phone out of my pocket and dialed Caleb’s number. Since the incident with Ava, almost two weeks ago, now, we had barely spoken. He wasn’t involved in the company finances anymore, and there is nothing stronger than a woman to break up a lifelong friendship between two men.
But I needed him. I had no one else.
“Thanks for meeting me,” I said when we sat down at our usual table at First Watch for lunch. Caleb nodded his face an emotionless mask. “I know we haven’t been on great terms, but I need your help.”
Caleb frowned. “I don’t know how well we can work together.”
I shook my head. “Look, I get it. I messed up in a lot of ways and I’m sorry. The fight between us… it shouldn’t have happened.” I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
Caleb raised his eyebrows. “You’re apologizing?”
I nodded. “I know. I’m not very good at it but I’m trying something new.”
“It suits you,” Caleb said. “I’m sorry, too. I should have asked….”
“Let’s just put it behind us,” I said. “I really need your help with Amanda”
Caleb leaned back in his chair and sighed. “You always need help with Amanda.”
“This time, it’s serious. I want out.”
“What?”
A waiter arrived and we ordered coffee and club sandwiches – the usual. He disappeared again. Caleb looked at me, confused.
“You want out?”
I nodded. “I don’t want to be in a partnership with her anymore. This is toxic and she’s taking me for a ride. She has been, for a long time.”
Caleb shook his head as if he was trying to unscramble the concept in his mind.
“I don’t understand. This company is your life. It’s your shout into the void when Charlie has taken everything your dad left behind. You don’t want to hold onto that?”
I sighed. “It’s a big deal. And the thing with Charlie… God, if only I could get away from the guy. But if I built my own empire I can do it again. And as for my dad… he’s dead. I’m going to have to stop trying to impress him at some point.”
Caleb nodded slowly. “I get what you’re saying but that’s a very big revelation to have overnight and it’s not something you’re going to be able to just with a snap of your fingers.”
“No, I know that.”
“What brought this about?”
I took a deep breath. “Amanda has been sleeping with Charlie to get him to forge my signature for all the papers.”
Caleb stared at me, mouth half open.
“What?” he finally asked.
I nodded. “Amanda gets what she wants and Charlie is a spiteful son of a bitch. The combination works. I need it to stop, though. I want to get out of it. What can I do?”
Caleb looked like he was still recovering.
“This is a lot to take in,” he said. He scratched his head. Coffee arrived and we took the time to add sugar and milk as we liked it.
“I can’t believe it,” Caleb said. “Where did you find out?”
“Charlie told me. I confronted him directly. He’s the only person that can do this so I went there and I asked.”
Caleb shook his head. “Why would he just admit that to you?”
“He’s got nothing to lose. He told me so himself. There’s no reason for him to keep it quiet. I think Amanda was counting on that, but she underestimated my brother a little.”
Caleb sipped his coffee thinking.
“There are two ways to sort this out,” Caleb said. “Either you both must agree to end the partnership, or either of you has to buy the other out.”
I shook my head. “I don’t see how she’s going to agree to dissolve the partnership. She wants my financial input. And if I offer to buy her out? I think she’ll make the price steep, even for me.”
Caleb nodded. “I don’t think she’s going to be reasonable about it, either? What if she buys you out? And keep the business?”
“That would be ideal. I don’t know if she would go for that.”
“That’s where we should start, I think,” Caleb said. “If you’re ready to break away and start from scratch again.”
Starting from scratch was the one thing I was good at. I felt like I had done that every time something big had happened. After Ava, the first time. After Charlie had been chosen to take over the business. After my father had died. After Ava, now. It was all about picking yourself back up.
It didn’t look like much with the women and the alcohol and everything else I did to sedate myself enough not to feel, but I knew what it was like to put myself back together again and again. I was getting good at it.
“I’m going to speak to her,” I said. “I’ll start with her buying me out and take it from there. I don’t know how she’ll react or if she’ll even consider it.”
Caleb nodded. “She’s really full of shit.”
I nodded. “It’s a start, though. All I know is that I wanted to get away from her and everything she’s been doing to me for so long.