“Please,” I bite. “My choices have never affected this company. You made sure of that.”
My father purses his lips as he takes a sip of his drink.
“Chris told me about the potential merger,” I say. My father raises his eyebrows.
“You bitch aboutmychoices, but you’re entertaining hiring a man who has been marriedfourtimes and has cheated on every single one of his spouses. Repeatedly.”
I don’t tell him how I know. I don’t need to. The admission isn’t a secret. Everyone knows about Garrett and his sordid marriages.
As if marriage means anything to him.
“Garrett may struggle, but he takes chances,” he says.
“I’ve never seen you take a leap, Aaron. With anything. Not until now.”
I cross my arms, looking out at the sea.
“I think he’s good for you, for the record.”
“Huh?”“Your boyfriend. I think he’s good for you.”
The weight of those words hit me like a brick.
He lets out a breath. “Might even be good for the company if you don’t fuck it up.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jacob
Just as I finish up my piss, I exit into the lobby, and nearly run right into someone.
“Sorry,” I say, and then I freeze as I see who it is. Garrett stands with a drink in his hand. “Well, well, if it isn’t lover-boy,” he says with a scoff. “Excuse me,” I say as I try to push past him, heading back to the bar if only to grab a drink. He follows me. I do not need this right now. It’s bad enough that I let the memories of him poison what should’ve been the most perfect moment ever, and now I have to stand face-to-face with him.Sometimes I swear the universe hates me. I signal the bartender and order a glass of wine. Garrett smiles behind me.
“Put it on my tab, please,” he says.
I turn to him, glaring at him. “No thank you, I can buy my own drink,” I say, looking back to the bartender who looks non-plussed. Garrett tips his head at me.
“Well, you’ve gotten quite bitter, haven’t you? What’s the matter, Jacob? Work getting you down these days?” He chuckles as if he thinks this is funny. That my life, that my job, are some sort of comical thing he’s privy to.
I glare at him once more. “Don’t act like you know me. You don’t.”
Garrett smiles, wickedly clutching his chest. “That hurts Jacob,” he says. “Or I’m sorry—is it Jake? What do you go by now—or rather what is he paying to call you?”
The bartender slides me my glass of wine, and I grab it without a second thought and throw down two twenties faster than should be humanly possible.
“Fuck off,Mr. Tempest,” I bite as I head for the back room where we’ve been sat. Garrett’s villainous laugh echoes behind me. My anxiety flares, but as soon as I get back in the room, I see Aaron, who looks anxiety-ridden when he sees Garrett behind me. Of all the men in this city, why did his ex have to be a man I’ve slept with? Why did the man vying for the same gig have to be the only man who’s ever made me feel like a cheap whore?
I do my best to offer Aaron a smile, even if it is fake. The last thing we both need is for anyone to suspect what’s going on between isn’t real, and Garrett just threw out an accusation that heknows.I can defend that it’s not what it looks like, and I’d probably be half right, but Garrett will never buy it. Because in the past, he’s bought me. In more ways than one.
“You boys are just in time,” Rob says.
“George was telling us all about the party tomorrow.”
I stop just shy of my chair when the words settle on me.
“Party?”
“Yes, Jacob, just as I was telling you while we were chatting at the bar.” He smirks, shoving the two twenties against my chest. Fuck.
