Her face is still in a strained smile but the screen goes black then readscall ended. I chuckle because I can’t help it. She’s plucky. I'll give her that.
“I haven’t seen you smile in a while.” Oh, she’s early.
“Hi, Mom,” I greet her and stand to hug her.
Her blue eyes aren’t as bright as they usually are, her hand trembles when she sits, she orders seltzer water instead of her usual, and her hair isn’t as neat as it usually is in public. To the naked eye she looks great, but as her son…
“What happened?”
“Liam.” I grip my glass. It’s always some bullshit when she calls me by my middle name.
“Spill,” I demand.
“First, I’m sorry. It sounded like a good plan at first. I just wanted to see you more—"
I hold up my hand. “Stop. Start from the beginning. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She tucks a graying blond strand behind her ear and takes a sip of the water the way I drink whiskey.
“A few years ago. I came up with the idea of hiring you a girlfriend. You were so alone and I thought she’d encourage you to be with us. Your dad found Layla.” My stomach drops and I feel my heart twisting. “I never thought you’d fall for her. When you did I opted to leave it alone. I tried to tell you several times after I found out we were still paying but your dad insisted he had it under control. When I heard she was kidnapped, I called Andres and he had no idea what I was talking about.” She wrings her hands but keeps talking. She knows I fucking hate waiting for information. My emotions are mixed the fuck up. There’s so much to digest. “I went to the cabin last night…” she pauses to wipe some tears. “And it’s all a lie.”
She pushes her phone in my direction. I feel like I’m going to puke. Layla is naked in bed with my dad. Each picture is worse than the other.Those cheating mutherfuckers.My emotions are being torn in such varying directions; they implode. An uneasy calm washes over me and I chuckle. I push the phone back to my mother with one finger.
“Thank you. It’s fucked up what you did but I can’t focus on it right now. I love you but I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk.”
She wants to press but she saw the shift in my demeanor so she simply nods. On autopilot I rise, retrieve my car, and drive to our corporate office. It’s so fucked up that I must keep everything in different compartments.
Once I arrive, I park in my spot and make my way to the top floor without greeting a soul. I walk into the board meeting and my dad is standing there looking like a fucking snake. I want to beat his ass with every fiber of my being but I don’t want to air the Hanlon family's business.
I address the room. “Congratulations, Albert,” I tell the VP. “You are now the CEO.” I look at my dad and do my best not to growl. “A word, Dad.” It burns my entire throat to call him that.
No one moves but continues to look at me. “TAKE OVER NOW, ALBERT!”
Albert snaps out of his stupor and takes the presentation remote from my dad. Pissed, he storms out of the room, pushing me with his shoulder on the way out. I’ve warned my dad several times that I’d dethrone him if he kept fucking with me. I’m the majority share owner, not him. It’s the way my grandfather set it up before he died. He knew my dad was a spiteful asshole. He’s just a figurehead and I just cut it off.
I follow him into the office, activate the privacy glass, and close the door for privacy. My mom may be hurt by the woman he chose but they have a crazy ass marriage and I know they’ll stay together. I may not be talking to her, but I love her enough not to put her business out there.
“You’re fired. Pack your shit and get the fuck out.”
His eyes flash with anger and I hate how much I favor him sometimes. “Watch your mouth you ungrateful asshole. I’m your father.”
The anger I feel explodes at his outburst. “Father? You’re a fucking sperm donor. You don’t act like a father. What kind of father cheats on his wife with his son's girlfriend?”
I’m shaking with anger. Anyone else would be fighting with me or knocked the fuck out right now. The hurt is there too. He is supposed to give a shit about me to some capacity. This proves he doesn’t.
“She was my girlfriend first!” he shouts out like I’m supposed to feel sorry for him.
It explains a lot. Her boundaries, the missionary only vanilla sex, and her strange disappearances.
“Okay. What kind of fucking idiot pays theirgirlfriendto fuck his son?” He charges me but I push him and he falls back and braces himself on the desk. “Don’t you fucking dare,” I warn him. “You hateful bastard. You manipulated a woman a little younger than me to fuck for my secrets. Then you lie to get me to marry a Founder’s kid. I don’t have to read my pre-nup to guess you offered some of my shares to Karessa so you can have the majority. You greedy piece of shit. Maybe I’ll convince mom to leave you and take half of your shares. Let’s see how you like having your life fucked with.”
I reach for the door but he charges me again. Turning, I push him off of me. I block his hit then lay his ass out with my right hook. It’s satisfying to see him fall. If he knew anything about me, he’d know I take private boxing lessons to stay in shape and it’s pointless to try to fight me.
My mom is on the other side of the door when I swing it open. “Call Dondi and tell him I’m taking that asshole’s spot at the table.”
I blow past her because I don’t feel like watching her care for the selfish asshole on the floor. That punch expelled some of my anger and I hate the hurt that’s seeping into its place. I loved Layla and this entire time she’s been playing me in the worst way possible. She took money from the man she was fucking like a whore while stealing the love I could’ve been giving another woman.
Climbing into my chair. I slam the door and try to take a few deep breaths. It’s not working. Yelling. I punch my passenger seat a few times before I allow myself to feel the heartbreak and disappointment I feel in everyone who’s supposed to love me. I wipe at the tears I didn’t know I was shedding. I want to call Layla and yell at her but I don’t. Once I’m done pulling myself together enough to start my car, I make a decision. That bitch is dead to me.
