Chapter 12
Caden
I had lain awake for most of the night, drifting in and out of sleep while holding Cara. A million thoughts had raced through my mind as I held her, her head on my chest, rising with each breath I took. Her long brown hair fell over her shoulders and I gently brushed it, trying to calm her and make her feel safe after the events of the evening. Two different men, two encounters, and all I wanted at this very moment was to stop the world for just a second to let her know that I would protect her. I listened to each breath she took. It was soothing and I wondered what dreams or nightmares she was having at this very second. I wanted to make it all better.
The sunlight peered through the crack between the drapes. I tapped my phone and squinted at the time, attempting to adjust my eyes. 6:30 a.m. This was supposed to be a working weekend with Graham and the ten other employees in our company. Graham had done a fantastic job of turning it into something else entirely.
I tapped a few more times on my phone, scrolling through emails while still holding Cara. I didn't want to lose the feeling and I didn't want to move. No matter the reason we were here, it felt good. It had been so long since I’d held a woman. It had been forever since I felt something for someone and believed that she may have felt something for me, no matter how slight.
“Good morning,” Cara said as she fluttered open her eyes. “What time is it?”
“Early,” I said, squeezing her tightly with my one arm.
“I'm sorry for crying so long.” Cara nuzzled her face in the crook of my shoulder. “It was all so overwhelming. I'm a bit embarrassed.”
“There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You went through a lot last night. It should have never have happened. I'll need to deal with this today,” I said as I pushed my head back into the pillow.
In all of the years I had known Graham, he had never been so aggressive or over the top like he had last night. He needed to know there were repercussions for his actions and I was going to make sure he faced them head on. His history with the law would ensure that he’d face jail time for this. Hurting Cara was unacceptable. Hell, hurting any woman was unacceptable.
At the same time, Graham had been over privileged while growing up, but he’d seen his fair share of hurt. If Cara wasn’t interested in pressing charges, maybe I shouldn’t push it. But I could make sure that Graham paid dearly for hurting her.
“I need to check out and get going,” Cara said. “I had hoped this weekend would be an escape for me but unfortunately, it's been a hard dose of reality. My love life sucks. Men suck.” Cara paused for a moment and then looked up at me. “Present company excluded.” She inhaled deeply, held it, and then exhaled, allowing her body to go completely limp. “Promise me we can see one another back home.”
“I promise, if you promise to keep space between you and LJ until we can see each other.” I knew I was overstepping my bounds, but I had to ask. I wanted her to keep her distance until we could figure out what was happening between us.
“I...I promise. But, when will that be?” she asked.
“Tonight, my place.”
* * * * *
It was difficult leaving Cara, but I had to deal with work. It was the reason I was at the hotel, the reason I had met Cara in the first place.
More importantly, I needed to deal with Graham. In all of his arrogant and spoiled tirades, he had never gotten violent or even appeared to have that side to him. He had crossed the line and Cara wasn't going to pursue what had happened. However, I was going to solve things in my own way—and in a way that would hurt Graham more than anything else.
The MaidenTech meeting was scheduled to be held in the second level conference room. It was supposed to be a planning meeting. The previous two days had been blocked off for reviewing what we had accomplished last year and last quarter. Neither of those things had happened. Graham was too busy pretending to be everyone’s friend, partying, spending money, and clearly creating havoc in my life.
I spent the last few hours after I left Cara taking care of important business and remembering all the things Cara had said the day before.
I decided to arrive at the meeting early and confront Graham. He had dodged my calls, not responded to my text messages, and not answered the door to his suite. But the one thing Graham couldn’t avoid was being early to a meeting where he got to be the star.
Predictably, Graham was at the front of the room, preparing his presentation. I wheeled my small suitcase next to the door and left it there. None of the other employees had arrived yet. It wasn’t uncommon for them to show up at the last minute, not because they were lazy or didn’t care, but because they were hardworking twenty-somethings that enjoyed to party, but also enjoyed working even more.
I walked in to the nearly empty room. Graham had his back to me.
“Care to talk about yesterday?” I said. My voice boomed through the room, startling Graham. He quickly spun on his heel to look at me.
“I have nothing to say, especially after you hit me. I should have called the police,” he said as he puffed out his chest.
I took two long strides and closed the distance between us, leaving less than three feet between us. Graham stepped backward, toward the door. Then he stopped, as if he realized how cowardly he looked while retreating.
“But you wouldn’t have called the police,” I said. “Not after what you did and what you were trying to do. Not after your own history with the law. Too much of a risk for you.”
“I...I don’t know what you’re talking about. Cara invited me there. We were about to have some fun until you showed up.”
Again, I could feel the rage build up inside of me. I took a long, deep breath and exhaled. “Graham, for as long as I can remember, I’ve had your back. When you did all of the stupid shit you did in high school and college, I bailed your ass out. Always. When you wanted to start this company and didn’t have a fucking clue how to do it, I helped. You whined, like you always do.” I took another step towards him as I felt myself slowly calming down, but being very deliberate with each and every word. “You and I both know who runs this company. You only have your title because I let you. I’ve felt sorry for you because no matter how hard you’ve tried, you’ve always been nothing but a complete fuck-up and disappointment.”
I watched as my words sank in. This was the first time I really unleashed how I felt about him, to him.
“That’s bullshit, Caden,” he said. “Complete bullshit. You’d have nothing if it wasn’t for my idea.”
I waited for his argument to develop, but there was nothing. That was what he was going with—his idea. The same idea, the same app that had been marketed a dozen different times by other companies, but failed. “Graham, we received our funding because of people I knew, not you. Your so called ‘idea’ was just that—an idea. It was further developed and nurtured by me and then the amazing people who work for this company made it happen. They slaved for thousands of hours to make it great. It’s why it’s now the number one phone app in its category.”
“More bullshit, Caden!” Graham stepped back, widening the gap between us. “I could replace every single one of those employees tomorrow with anyone. They aren’t anything special, just like you aren’t. And that girl? You can keep her.” Graham seemed to be on a roll and I let him to continue to spew his vulgarities and self-righteousness. “By the way, in case you’ve forgotten, I own the majority share of the company and I can fire you anytime…like now.”
I raised my eyebrows. He was stooping so low, I was surprised I’d worked with him for so long.
“You’re done.” Graham started laughing slowly and it built into an evil cackle.
I stood and smiled without saying a word. When his laugh finally died down and he realized I wasn’t reacting, he became quiet.
“In all of your high and mighty stupidity,” I said in a level voice, “did you ever really believe that I’d let things stand so you would be able to fire me at will? Did you really think I wouldn’t have an exit strategy when you decided to drive this company into the ground or better yet, insult every employee that works for us?”
“Those morons? Seriously, Caden? They’re code monkeys. All they want to do is create apps and get paid.” Graham shook his head and snickered. “You are a lot dumber than I thought you were.”
“Actually, Graham, that couldn’t be further from the truth. You own forty nine percent of the company. I own forty-eight.”
“Exactly, and our angel investor owns the rest.” Graham snickered again.
“And that’s why you’re an idiot. I purchased that three percent this morning. While you were out drinking and pretending to be everyone’s friend, I planned to take back the company I built. I now own fifty-one percent of MaidenTech.”
Graham shook his head, “No way. This isn’t happening. Besides, there’s not a single employee that would stand for this. They won’t stay.”
“You mean the people you called code monkeys? The employees you’ve pretended to be friends with and just called morons?”
“Yeah.” Graham laughed.
“You mean them.” I nodded my head at the door where the employees had already filtered in to the room quietly to witness the showdown.
Graham looked back over his shoulder to see the group of people staring at him quietly. His mouth opened in surprise.
“You think those people want to be led by you?” I closed the remaining space between Graham and me and looked him directly in the eyes. Through my clenched jaw, I said, “Graham, get the fuck out of here. You’re done with this company, this is over. The attorneys will be contacting you regarding your severance and how we proceed. I’d suggest you not make this into a bigger spectacle than it already is.”
His mouth opened and closed, and he shook his head in shock.
I stepped back, looked at the crowd, and waved. “Change of plans, everyone. Meeting is cancelled, enjoy the rest of your day. I’ll see you in the office tomorrow.”
The employees stood in silence as Graham’s mouth fell open again. He seemed to find his voice. “This isn’t over, Caden.”
“It is, Graham. And just so you know, I know what happened in that room last night. Cara told me everything and it’s only because of her that I’m not going to beat the hell out of you and have her press charges. She wants to believe there is still some good in you. I don’t believe it. Not for a second.”
Without a second thought, I walked past Graham, connecting my shoulder to his and knocked him several steps backward into one of the meeting tables. It was a warning.
I grabbed my suitcase and made my way to my car and on my way home, to an amazing woman who had agreed to meet me tonight.