“I have my ways.” He strolled across the room and took a seat.
“What do you want?” I asked, noting the more laid-back look of khakis and a polo shirt. My father had never been one to go without a three-piece suit.
“I admit it took me some time to understand how you did it. Dismantling my empire piece by piece under my nose. And even more time for my anger to simmer.”
I folded my arms and glared at him, waiting for whatever devious plan he had concocted to bring me down.
“I’m impressed, William. All this time I thought you were squandering all I gave you, fooling around with that woman in Florida.” I sucked in air between my teeth, holding back my sharp retort. “Insisting on moving there after you finished school when you could have worked at any firm in the city for experience. But you were paying attention, manipulating, scheming, cheating, just like I did.”
“I never cheated.” Although I had done some underhanded things to make him fall.
“Whatever you want to call it. You learned it all from me.”
I snorted, looking down at him. “I learned what not to be from you.”
“Maybe,” he replied with a shrug, “but that final move and all the ones you played to get me to that closing table, those you learned from me. And I’m proud of you.”
My jaw dropped. “I don’t need your pride.”
“No, you needed me to pay for something you and your sister blamed me for.”
“Because you were at fault.”
Standing, he stroked his hand over the desk. “Your mother struggled with depression her entire life. She was on anti-depressants when I met her. It was a constant battle, and I supported her through every downturn.”
“By beating her son in front of her every chance you had? By berating her daughter and belittling her every chance?”
His head snapped up, eyes going dark. “You needed discipline, and the last thing she needed was your whining and messes. I made you what you are today, William. You and your sister. You’re tough, focused, and driven. Without me to guide you to that point, you’d still be in Florida despising your life.”
I grabbed him by the collar. “I would be happy. That’s what I would be. Not here alone and miserable while the woman I love is no longer mine.”
He brushed my hands away. “You were always emotional. That’s why you needed discipline. Too soft and clinging to your mother’s skirts. She didn’t need you underfoot while she was trying to have good days. She needed you quiet and in your place.”
“You’re delusional. How did I never see that? You drove her to kill herself. You are the reason she’s dead.”
His features went rigid, a flash of surprise the only sign of emotion. “I loved your mother. She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved, which is why I never remarried. She killed herself because she went off her meds, and I didn’t realize until it was too late. Hate me all you want, but it doesn’t change the truth.”
“Why are you here?” I couldn’t take any more of his delusional excuses.
He smoothed out his collar. “Carl Bradman has been talking about your new CFO. I saw him while I was at a dinner last week,and he was his usual arrogant self. Pissing away the liquor and hitting on the staff while his wife tried to keep him contained.”
“What does that have to do with Victoria?”
“Seems she left on terms he didn’t like. Did Tina do a check with her former employer?”
“Yes, they gave her high praises. I spoke to Carl the day I interviewed her. He gave me the same accolades.”
“Watch him. He’s someone I’ve never trusted. If he has something on her, he won’t hesitate to use it to his advantage.”
I scrunched my forehead, trying to think of what he would have on Tori. My suspicion that she’d left Bradman in a hurry returned. Secrets. She’d accused me of still having them while she had her own.
“Why are you telling me this? I thought you hated me.”
He chuckled, looking entirely too relaxed. In fact, I’d never seen him look so relaxed. “Because you may hate me, but you are still my son. The heir to my empire, one I know you’ll rebuild because I watched you build your own.”
I tried not to stumble back.
“Where do you think you learned everything from, William? Hate me all you want, but I told you I would make you CEO, and I did. Maybe not in the way I intended, but as my company was crumbling around me, you and your sister looked entirely too calm. There were other bidders for the hotel and the last of the holdings, but I made your mother a promise the day you were born, that you would have everything. You and your sister. You may not like the way I went about it, the way I raised you, but I fulfilled my promise to her, just like I imagine you did. Both brought you to where she wanted you. A billionaire with an empire to pass down to your children.”
