Dick: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance (24 page)

There
was something about Maddy’s disapproval that made mincemeat of my heart,
especially as she dressed down my father.

I wasn’t sure exactly what it
was, but as she glanced over at me like that with such a righteous fire in her
eyes, I felt incredibly small. No one ever made me feel that way, not even my
father. He had made me feel a lot of things in my lifetime, very few of them
good, but I could always tell myself that he did it as some kind of perverse
power play, and that would make me feel better again.

I couldn’t do that with Maddy,
and I didn’t know why. Maybe it was because, deep down, I knew she was right.
But what was I supposed to do? Mr. Verger was one of the biggest clients we
had. It was definitely going to upset Maddy, but I couldn’t just tell him “no.”
The kind of shit storm that would bring down on my father’s head would be
unreal. I might have done it just for that reason, if not for the fact that
shit rolls downhill.

No one said much else during
dinner, though I could tell from Maddy’s mother’s sighs that she considered the
evening ruined. I still didn’t fully understand what we were doing here. Was
this some kind of “atta boy” for handling the Verger problem? Or perhaps some
misguided reinforcement to ensure I didn’t chicken out on the whole sordid
matter? If so, it seemed very unlike my father.

When we’d all finished our meals,
he stood up from his place at the head of the table. “Vivian,” he said, “why
don’t you take Madison into the parlor for some after-dinner drinks. Preston,
you go ahead and take a few minutes to finish up here, and when you’re done, we
will finish this discussion in the study.”

Now it made sense. There was more
to it than met the eye, but not something my father wanted to discuss in front
of Maddy and her mother. Madison looked absolutely terrified at the prospect of
spending alone time with Vivian, and I couldn’t blame her. As my father retired
to the opulently decorated library at the far side of the house, I very quickly
decided I wasn’t hungry anymore. I took a moment to intercept Maddy just
outside the parlor door.

“I’m
sorry,” I told her. “I’ll try to make this quick.”

“It’s fine,” she snapped. I could
tell she was still upset about the thing with the shelter. “I can handle myself
against my mother. I’m sure you have other things to worry about.”

I sighed, running a hand through
my hair. “You just don’t understand, Maddy. This is the way of the world. If I
don’t do this, somebody else will, and then…”

“And then you’ll all have just a
little less money,” she finished for me, her fiery eyes leaping up to meet my
own. “Gee, when you put it like that, Preston, I can almost wrap my tiny
plebian brain around it.”

“I didn’t mean…” I began, but
Maddy was already pulling away from me and heading into the parlor with her
mom. It spoke volumes that she’d rather subject herself to Vivian’s unique
brand of torture than remain in my company one more minute. Was she really
going to put me through the ringer over this?

The whole thing was unsettling
for a variety of reasons, the least of which involved memories of my mother and
father’s relationship before she’d finally divorced him and moved out.

She had been a lot like Maddy.
She had morals and principles, and she never backed down when someone like my
father challenged them. He always regarded her with a condescending kind of
amusement, as though someone like her couldn’t possibly understand the nuances
of running a multi-billion dollar business. I realized with no small sense of
shame that I had been treating Maddy similarly, and as I turned to walk into my
father’s office, I wondered if it was worth it.

My father had hardly ever
bestowed a kind word on me before. Even when I was doing his bidding. But the
way he’d looked at me over dinner this evening, I could tell that he was proud
in some sick and twisted way. He wanted me to be cutthroat, and knocking down a
building was just one in a long line of tasks he’d forced on me that ate away
at my moral pillars.

And
the twisted thing was, I wanted this.

It was what I’d always wanted
from my father. I could afford all the diamonds and gold in the world, and yet
I’d never been able to afford his approval. It was always just out of my price
range, so to speak, and I’d spent my whole life coveting it.

Perhaps if my father hadn’t
demanded full custody of me, I’d have had my mother there to put things in
perspective. But he and his team of lawyers had seen to it that my mother
wasn’t granted even the barest of visitation rights. Money could buy a lot of
things, including a family court judge.

What changed?
I wondered as I slowly pushed open the office door.
What kind of game is he playing tonight?

I waited patiently just beyond
the threshold of the study. Clearly he’d expected to have a few more minutes
before I arrived. My father was on the phone.

“No, of course not,” he was
saying, his back to me as he stared out the window at the garden beyond. I
realized he probably had no idea I was even there. I was just about to clear my
throat when he continued: “Just because I’m going through with the marriage
doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

I stood stock still as I let
those words sink in. Who the hell was my father talking to? It sure as hell
wasn’t Vivian. My stomach churned. Was he cheating on Maddy’s mother?

The answer was obvious, but that
didn’t mean I wanted to believe it. Of all the things I’d imagined my father
was over the years, a philanderer wasn’t one of them.

But now it all made so much
sense. I’d always wondered what made my mother ask for a divorce. Philosophical
differences were one thing. My mother was a tolerant person, and to a degree,
she could have looked past those. But infidelity—
adultery?
That was something my mother wouldn’t have been able to
ignore.

Very quietly, I sat down on the
opposite side of his desk and listened to the remainder of his conversation.

“No, darling. It isn’t like that
at all,” he continued. I’d heard that tone before, the one he used when trying
to keep irate board members nice and calm. He was working this woman over, and
if I knew my father’s powers of persuasion, then she was buying it hook, line,
and sinker. “She’s no more special than you are. In fact, I have it on very
good authority that mistresses have more fun. You benefit from my attention and
my money without being tied down to a family. Isn’t that what a young girl like
yourself wants?”

I shook my head. It was pathetic,
really. He probably had some twenty-something waiting for him in the wings,
hanging on his every word while he reaped the benefits of her youth. I didn’t
want my father’s approval anymore. I didn’t want anything to do with a man who
would put everyone around him at risk just because he wanted to have his cake
and eat it too.

As the conversation devolved
further, I’d finally had enough. I cleared my throat loudly and watched my
father spin around, his eyes widening.

“Darling,
I have to go,” he said and hung up his phone.

I stared him down, waiting to
hear him concoct some excuse for his behavior. But all he said to me was, “How
much did you hear?”

I laughed bitterly, shaking my
head. “Enough to know you’re cheating on Madison’s mother,” I said.

For just a moment, my father
looked like he didn’t know what to do. For once in his life, it was like he had
no clue what to say or how to talk his way out of it. For a minute there, he
resembled something close to human. But then he just snorted and sat down
across from me, leaning back in his leather chair as he said:

“Don’t be naïve, Preston. Do you
really think Vivian’s marrying me for love?”

I thought back to all the things
Madison had told me about her mother. I couldn’t deny my father’s allegation,
but that didn’t make him right. I hardly knew what the two of them did in
private together, but I was betting that whatever it was, Vivian had come to
have a reasonable expectation of fidelity from the man she was about to marry.

As always, my father thought that
money excused everything. I shook my head in disgust.

“How long has this been going
on?” I asked him. And then, “I don’t just mean this one, either. Was this what
made Mom leave?”

That he chose not to answer.
Instead he waved his hand dismissively and muttered something about his private
life before getting to the task at hand.

“You might still have a lot to
learn about the nature of the world, Preston, but your performance with Harold
Verger speaks for itself.”

“Speaking of which, I thought we
might talk about the Verger deal…” I began, but my father cut me off,
continuing as if I hadn’t said a word.

“You’ve proven that I can rely on
you, son, and that’s no small feat. I think you’re ready to start taking on
more responsibility for the company. I think you’re ready to move up in the
ranks.”

I
narrowed my eyes at him. “And what does that mean?”

My father laughed. “It means that
my time at Harvey Enterprises is coming to an end. Maybe not this year or even
the next—but soon. You are my heir, and it’s time that I treated you like one.”

He paused, as if expecting me to
say something in return. When I didn’t, he said, “You’re going to get more
involved in the day-to-day operations of Harvey Enterprises, which means more
money for you and a bigger office. You’ll come work for me in the Harvey Tower
downtown. No more telecommuting from that little hole in the wall.”

That ‘hole in the wall’ was my
oasis, my sanctuary. It kept a firm boundary between me and my father, and I
wasn’t so sure I wanted to demolish it for
any
amount of money.

“What about Maddy?” I said. “Are
you going to hire her, too?”

My father shrugged. “Sure. We can
find something for her. Those part-time mail clerk positions have high
turnover. No reason I can’t stick her there.”

“What, for eight dollars an
hour?” I asked, raising my brows. “She’s making a hell of a lot more than that
now, and she deserves it. I know you’ve seen my productivity this month.”

“Yes, yes, you’ve been busy, but
with the exception of the Verger deal, I must admit much of what you’ve
accomplished hasn’t been to the level of profitability that I expect. Profits
are down nearly eight percent, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you
went soft right about the time you hired on your sweet little stepsister.”

I tried to keep my cool, avoiding
his attempt at putting me on the defensive. “Profits are down, but employee
morale is higher than it has been in years. Sure, I’ve made a few hard choices
that will negatively effect this quarter, but I did the right thing, and people
respect me for it. If you really want me to take over this company some day,
I’m going to need the chain of command to know that I’m a man worth
respecting.”

My father slammed his hand down
on a table, my body instinctively wincing against its impact. “Respect is far
easier attained through fear. Do you think I reached my station in life being
nice? Did you think I wouldn’t notice that you pushed dozens of part time
workers into enough hours that they qualify for benefits? That includes Maddy.
There isn’t a personal assistant on the planet worth the kind of money you’re
paying her.”

“I’m not going to argue with you
about this. Maddy deserves…” I began, but he cut me off again, his voice
raising to an octave I’d only heard when he was truly angry.

“It’s not about what people
deserve, son,” my dad said, his body visibly working to keep his rage contained
as he pulled a cigar box out of one of his desk drawers. “It’s about giving
them just enough to keep them from revolting. I thought I taught you better
than that.”

I shook my head, standing up. “I
don’t think this is going to work out,” I said. “Not unless Maddy gets a fair
shake in all this. I mean, if I’m going to take on more responsibilities, I’m
going to need a personal assistant. Why demote her and hire someone else when
we could just transfer her position to the tower? You want to pay her less,
fine. I can cover the difference out of my own salary. I’m not cutting her pay,
and that’s not up for negotiation.”