Complete silence fills the room.
Before it gets too heated and I fly off the handle, Logan says, “Dane and I spoke…”
“Go ahead.” He nods for Logan to continue.
“We drafted a contract that would remove us as part owners of the firm.” I hold it up and toss it onto his desk as Logan says, “And you might think, we can’t do that. There’s a clause that states if one of us walks away from the firm, the other has the option to do so as well. We agreed on it back when you and I didn’t see eye to eye.”
“Are you two considering leaving the firm over this?” His mouth downturns, and his brows furrow.
We say in unison, “Yes.”
“What about our legacy here? Your inheritance?”
Logan is on a roll. “We want nothing more than to stay here, but there have to be boundaries. My relationship with Theresa is significantly better now that you haven’t been trying to micromanage at every turn. I want you to extend the same to Dane. Dane and I agree, we’ll walk away from our inheritance if that’s what it comes to. The language you have there is archaic.”
As my baby brother, I’m thankful he is sitting next to me, going to bat for me. I might have already lost it on Dad, but he’s been even-keeled this entire time.
Dad stares out the window like he’s not even here anymore. “I want the best for you two, and the last thing you need, Dane, is another woman cheating on you or using you again. It’s the worst feeling in the world…it breaks something inside of you.”
I feel bad for my dad, but it still doesn’t give him the right to do what he did to Kendall.
“It did break something inside of me, and I’m a better man, a better boyfriend now than I ever was with Maggie.”
Still staring out the window, he doesn’t say another word. Logan and I look at each other and shrug, unsure of what to do next, so we sit and wait for him to speak.
He slowly turns his head without making eye contact with us and flips through the document we drafted. Rubbing his forehead, he glances up. “You’ve already signed this.” His eyes jump between mine and Logan's like he can’t believe we’d walk away. Hurt flickers in his eyes. But this isn’t about him. It’s about taking control of our lives instead of having him intrude and hold the inheritance clause over our heads.
Picking up his pen, I think he’s about to sign it. If he does, then Logan and I walk out the door for good. It’s the right decision, and if he doesn’t want us in his life anymore, then that’s on him. I’m content with the decision. I’ll give it all up for her. Logan and I have a reputation in the community; it wouldn’t take us long to build our own firm.
Dad flips to the signature page, and the pen hits the paper. Waiting for him to sign, I’m shocked that he would let us walk away so easily.
The pen doesn’t move. “I need to think about this.” And he drops the pen. Logan and I let out a sigh. Please tell me he is not dragging this out to find a way to convince us to stay.
With that, I stand, and Logan follows. “You have until the end of the week. Dad, I’m serious.”
FORTY-ONE
Kendall
Reading his last text, it feels sincere. I have no idea how he’s going to fix this with his dad, but he seems determined. And the warmth wraps around me like a comforting blanket.
Dane:
You’re welcome. It’s hard for me to give you space.
Kendall:
I know it is. It’s what I need right now.
Dane:
I’m going to fix this. You take all the time you need.
I pondered skipping work today, but I didn’t want to overload my stylists. Being around my people will help me cope with all of this, even if they have no idea what is going on behind the scenes. The only ones who know are my girlfriends and Sally. Their ears were probably falling off by the time I was done explaining everything. Today, I’m focusing on my clients.
“Sally, my client printout isn’t on my station.” Waiting for an answer, I turn my body to see her face pale.
I quickly walk over and whisper, “Are you okay?”
