“Father.”
“Why are you not in the office? Dennis told me you’re dealing with an emergency? You better be in the hospital right now. I didn’t convince my friends to invest in this company to have my son bail when shit gets hard.”
My stomach sank. He would never understand my reasons.
“I’ll be back after the holidays. The team can handle everything. Hell, they are the ones that do the work. I just smile for the press.”
“Don’t try to be cute with me. You belong there, not in some suburb.”
“So you do know where I am.”
“Petra informed me that your wife left you. You seem to be under the impression you can save the marriage, yet many believe that’s a waste of your time. If Laney isn’t happy receiving your generous salary, the condo you provide for her, and her luxury lifestyle, then who cares? Let her go.”
“Do not speak about her like that. What the fuck, Dad?” In less than twelve hours, both my assistant Petra and my dad had insulted my wife. “I’m trying to save my marriage because it matters to me. She matters to me.”
He scoffed. “The company matters more. She’s fine, but she’s not worth losing the company. I always knew her artsy values would be an issue. I think you understand what’s at stake here, son.”
“You’re threatening me with your influence over the board. You’re explicitly saying that I should give up on my wife, my marriage of nine years, because you’ll remove me as CEO. I’m correct, right?” A sliver of cold seeped into my spine, making me sit up straighter. I had never spoken up against him. He could ruin me, despite the good job I’d been doing and the increase in profit I’d been making every year. The constant game of politics had slowly sucked the life out of me, and I was fucking tired. “Am I right, Dad?” I asked again.
He cleared his throat. “You’re being dramatic, which must be because your wife is messing with your head. You should be better disciplined and not let your emotions distract you like this. That means you’re weak, and I know I raised you better than this. I expect you at the office in a week or you, Dennis, and I will meet to talk about expectations and job duties.”
Then my dad hung up.
Pounding formed at the base of my skull, a scalding migraine from pure anger. If I were home, I’d use a massive ice pack that goes over my face and eases the stress instantly. Laney bought it for me after my third year in the job, and it became our routine. She’d put on a playlist, let me lay my head in her lap, and we’d relax until the headache faded.
Knowing I didn’t have that comfort—and might not ever again—broke me. The feelings I had refused to feel bubbled up, and I tossed my phone on the table and rushed outside. Condensation covered my face from the chill, and I inhaled,staring up at the star-covered sky. There were no clouds here or pollution like the city. The blinking lights twinkled, almost mocking me with their beauty. People were happy here, not constantly hustling and working fourteen-hour days. They enjoyed life—something I seemed to have forgotten how to do. I had had what I wanted and lost it.
I wasn’t sure how long I stood out there, my hands turning to ice and my face numb, but laughter from next door distracted me. Light spilled out of the open garage door, and Laney’s familiar chuckle drifted toward me. God, I had missed that sound.
“There’s no way it’ll fit! You need to saw it!”
“I will not saw it. This is the tree I picked, damn it, and it’ll work.”
“Dad, I’m telling you—” She broke off into a fit of laughter. “This is like a movie scene. You’re being unreasonable.”
“I’ll tell you what’s unreasonable—it’s this stupid doorframe. I’m gonna take it off.”
“Don’t you dare touch my doorframe, Steven, or you’ll be sleeping on the porch tonight,” Laney’s mom said.
My lips curved up, despite not feeling joy. Laney’s parents were the epitome of warmth and love. They laughed loudly, showed emotion with ease, and focused more on loving flaws than pointing them out. When I first met them, I was jealous of Laney. I wanted parents like hers.
Hers would never tell her to end a marriage because work mattered more.
“Hon, take a breather. Can you throw this out on the curb? Walk it off.”
“Fine. But do not mess with my tree. I cut it down myself, and I love it.”
Footsteps thudded on the concrete as Steve carried a box of trash toward the curb. He grumbled something under his breath, but then his attention landed on me.
“Connor, why the hell are you standing outside like a creepo?”
I almost laughed. “I needed fresh air.”
Steve frowned and glanced at the garage, then back at me, and then back.
“Hmm, okay. Now, Laney might be upset if I do this, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”
“Meaning…?”
