“I know exactly how to play him. I wish I had pried more and done this sooner. I knew things weren’t right between you and Brielle. I can’t believe he forced you into a relationship and he was trying to force you into marriage. It’s insane!” Sarah’s voice pitches higher than I’ve ever heard it. “This isn’t just about extricating you from the business. This is about making a point. So, this is what I propose. You go into the office on Monday and resign. Then we’ll come in and back you up. If he threatens you or us, I’ll resign too. I’ll tell him I’m going to work for Boeing.”
The widest grin materializes on my face. “That’s genius. He’ll be apoplectic.” Worry filters into my veins, dampening my initial euphoric rush. “What if he calls your bluff?”
Sarah smirks as she takes out her cell. “That’s the beauty of this plan. I will have a job offer from Boeing to rub in his face.”
“You will?” My eyes pop wide.
She taps out a text and tosses her phone aside. “I was at Harvard with the son of the Boeing chairman. He has a bit of a crush on me.”
Esther snorts out a laugh. “It’s more than a crush Mark has on you.”
Sarah shrugs, grinning as her phone pings already with a reply. “It will never amount to anything, but he doesn’t need to know that. I’m glad I kept him on my side,” she says, swiping her finger across the screen, “because now I have a Boeing offer to throw in Daddy’s face.”
“Excellent.” Esther raises her hand and they high-five like they’re back in school.
“So, are we in agreement?” Sarah asks, eyeballing both of us. “We’re doing this on Monday?”
“Are you sure?” I ask. “This could blow up in our faces.”
“It won’t,” Sarah assures me. “We also have Cartwright to throw into the mix if Dad tries to reject me as his successor. The only other alternative is Brewster Cartwright, and Dad won’t let that happen. He didn’t build that clause into the merger contract for nothing. He needs a successor, and he’ll have to accept it’s me or risk losing control of the business that’s been in his family for almost a hundred years.”
“We’re more than sure,” Esther adds. “You have done so much for us, Beck. It’s time to let us do this for you so you can become a full-time writer and live your dream.”
ChapterSixty-Five
Stevie
“Thanks for spending the day with us,” Mom says, pulling Esther in for another hug. She managed to trick Sarah into a hug earlier when Beck’s sisters arrived at Nana’s house for Christmas dinner, but she knows not to push her luck. Nana already retired to bed and said her goodbyes earlier. She kept falling asleep on the couch. I think the fire was making her drowsy.
“You don’t have to leave,” I remind them for the umpteenth time. “Nana has two spare bedrooms, and Beck and I are already staying at Mom’s, so you aren’t inconveniencing us.”
“You’ve very kind,” Esther says, giving me one final hug. “But we promised Father we’d drop by on our way home, and we’ve ruffled his feathers enough lately.”
Beck’s sisters rallied around him like I knew they would. Together, they tackled their father, forcing him to acquiesce to their will. Beck’s final day at the office was Thursday, and Sarah is now the official heir apparent. The Boeing offer was the ace up their sleeve, and Carlton Colbert folded on the spot when faced with the prospect of losing the only child who actually wants to succeed him in the family business. Beck negotiated for the girls to receive half their trust fund now, and the moneys were wired into their account last night.
His father can’t hold anything over him anymore and he is free to live his life how he pleases.
I am so happy for him. It’s like the biggest weight has been lifted from his shoulders, and I’ve never seen him more excited. He’s getting his home office remodeled after Christmas and taking a part of the dining room into the office space so it’s bigger now he will be spending more time in there.
“Tell him I wish him a Merry Christmas,” Beck says, kissing his sisters on their cheeks.
Carlton might have capitulated to his children and released Beck, but it doesn’t mean he’s a happy camper. He is frothing at the mouth and extremely angry at being outmaneuvered. He is refusing to speak to Beck. It’s laughable he thinks it’s some kind of punishment when it feels like a special reward. Beck isn’t close to his father, and I don’t think he cares much except that it upsets Esther.
“You should be able to tell him yourself,” Esther grumbles.
“He will come around,” Mom says purely to reassure the girls. She knows, as well as we do, that men like Carlton Colbert are as stubborn as a red wine stain.
“Take a walk with me?” Beck asks after his sisters have left. “I thought we could exchange gifts in the poppy field?” I didn’t want to give my gift to him with everyone around, and he was the same, so we have been putting it off all day.
“Let me help Mom with the cleanup first.”
“Shoo.” Mom practically shoves me at Beck. “You and Nana did all the cooking, and Beck already cleared most of the table. I can load the dishwasher by myself.”
Bundling up in coats, scarves, and heavy boots, we step outside and walk in the direction of the poppy field. I’m carrying the bag with his gift in one hand, and my free hand is curled around Beck’s. Although it’s cold, I barely feel it wrapped up in cozy layers and the warmth of Beck’s hand in mine. I don’t know when I got so comfortable with him because it’s happened gradually. Holding hands with him is as natural as breathing to me now. The thought causes a little stabby pain to attack my heart as I think of Garrick.
He's been on my mind today. Hugh and Dawn invited us for Christmas, but I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to be sad again this year, and going to North Bend would have made me sad because all I’d be thinking about is that one Christmas I had with my boyfriend.
It’s been seven months since Garrick left the hospital and nineteen months since the accident, and it’s getting harder and harder to hold on to what we had. It feels like a distant memory now. Whomever coined the saying “out of sight, out of mind” wasn’t entirely right. Yes, I don’t think about him as much, and it’s harder to picture him in my mind now I no longer see him, but I won’t ever forget him.
