I shake the idea away. It would be hard not to keep up with the Nate Archer Saga when it’s been plastered on the front page of every tabloid.
“Thank you, and yes, I recently got engaged,” I reply, although it isn’t the full truth.
“Have you already set a date? Don’t let my invite get lost in the mail.” Winston chuckles.
Whether there’s real warmth to it or not is debatable, but I forge ahead.
“No dates yet. We want to enjoy this stress-free period before wedding planning begins.”
“Fair enough. And work?”
“Going fine.”
“Gosh, I still remember when you worked for me. So young. So brilliant. So innovative. And look at you now, continuing to achieve those things despite those conspiring against you.”
I blink thrice, taken aback by his choice ofconspiringas a word. While it could be played off as a compliment, it isn’t something you’d say to a friend. It almost sounded like it came from a place of jealousy. I could give him the benefit of the doubt, but this was as good a segue as I’d get for the purpose of my call.
“Actually, I was calling to ask about Ethan,” I start, but I don’t get the chance to continue when I’m cut off abruptly.
“What about him?” Winton’s voice is stern—hard—darker than an overprotective father should sound if he’sworried about his son.
I take a deep breath in, preparing myself for the confrontation I’ve been avoiding.
“I’m sure you’ve heard that back in September, a spark went off on an Archer Aviation plane during a showcase. Ethan was seen backstage before the incident.”
Winston laughs, a low, rumbling sound that seems to vibrate through the phone.
The hairs on the back of my neck spike up at the chill that runs through my spine.
“Do you want me to keep playing this game, or do you want the truth,Nate?” He says my name with so much venom and hatred that he confirms my suspicions.
Winston Wallace always prided himself on his no-bullshit personality and honesty. And while I’d always admired that in him, I also believed that a trait like that came with morality. By the way he’s asking that question, I must have been wrong.
“Tell me the truth, Winston. And don’t spare any detail,” I grit through my teeth.
He lets out another one of his deep laughs, and it’s then that it clicks. He’s been giving me these same laughs all along. I’ve just been too blind to notice that they were malicious rather than friendly.
“Not sure if I have much explaining to do when you seem to have it figured out. One of my engineers made the device. Ethan weaseled his way into your company through me. And well, the rest is history.”
The details do fill themselves in, but it’s missing something much deeper—the motive.
“Why?” I ask, genuinely wondering what I’ve done to this guy to make him hate me as much as he does. I may haveonly spent two years at his company, but I did decent work, advanced his already existing technologies, and created new ones.
“Why?” Winston let out a vicious laugh, sharp and cruel. “I begged you to stay and work for me—went as far as increasing your rookie salary, and you still decided to leave. Do you know how far I could have made it if you had continued with me? Sofuckingfar. I could have broken into the Fortune 500 companies and gone on to be admired in the aviation industry. But you put an end to those plans when you chose to leave. All because you believed in yourself and your fucking vision.”
I can’t stop the bile rising in my throat.
The way he speaks about the things he wanted—the things I’ve been able to achieve—feels so superficial. He didn’t care about the engineering he was doing or its impact on the world. He was after two things—fame and money.
“Why are you willingly admitting this to me?” I question.
Everything he’d told me could probably take him to court. I could be recording this conversation as we speak. I could take the information and plan his own downfall, but he’s giving up that information so easily.
“I mean, why not?” Winston says casually. “You’re not going anywhere with this information. That’s the one thing that always shocked me about you, Nate. You’re too kind, and you choose to see the best in others. People don’t make it to the top without having bad blood on their hands. And somehow,youdid it. I spent eight years watching you succeed, and I was sick of it.”
Most of my questions have already been answered, and though there’s probably still more to uncover, it’s enough for now. I got my answers and the closure I needed to move on. Now it’s time to prove him wrong.
“Goodbye, Winston. I'll see you in court.”
