“I am sorry I couldn’t warn you beforehand,” she said, handing it to me.
I took the glass from her with a shrug and tipped it all into my mouth, then gave it back to her, signaling for a refill.
“To be honest, I was amazed you even tried to stop him, Jane,” I said grudgingly. “You could have lost your job. He’s back as chairman, you know.”
“What?” Jane exclaimed. She, unlike everyone else, had simply expected some sort of penalty.
My dad had been itching to check my excesses, but loyal Jane felt this was too extreme.
Maybe I’m too hard on her,I thought, but shrugged again, this time taking my drink in smaller gulps.
“I see they haven’t announced it yet. Maybe they want me to herald my own ruin,” I muttered.
“You aren’t ruined, Mr. Walker. Your dad is just…being your dad.” Jane stood in front of my desk, looking down at me with her arms crossed in front her chest. Despite our working relationship, I’d always sensed my secretary had the hots for me. Now she was looking at me like a cat eyeing a canary, her eyes running hotly over the hard lines of my chest. I ran my hand through my hair again, not caring that the usual carefully groomed waves were now tousled and unruly.
Jane licked her lips, and I got the feeling she was thinking inappropriate thoughts despite my obvious distress. Didn’t bother me much, chicks always seemed to want to fuck me. Guess I’d never discouraged it, to be honest. But I never crossed the line at work. And definitely not while my world was crashing around me. I heaved a breath and pressed my fingertips to my temple, shutting my eyes tightly.
A sound beside me caught my attention, and I realized that Jane was standing at my chair, a hand hovering over my shoulder. She patted the hard muscles there and I felt her thumb move in a gentle circle. Comfort would be good now, but absolutely not from her. I felt my lips tightening into a hard line.
Jane hesitated, seeming reluctant to ask her next question. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I said, giving a pronounced sigh that made my chest heave as I raised the glass to finish off my drink. “Get Andy on the phone. Tell him it’s urgent. And hold off all my calls,” I continued. “I don’t want to talk to anyone.”
“Your mom called back for you,” Jane voiced, ignoring my last declaration. She obviously thought that talking to my mother would help settle my state of mind. Perhaps she thought Mom could sway my father’s decision. Poor loyal Jane was unaware of the silent pact the old bastard had forced on me.
“I don’t want to talk to anyone Jane,” I barked, and she wilted under my thunderous glower.
“Ok, Mr. Walker,” she conceded. “I’ll get Mr. Geller on the phone.”
She took the empty glass off my desk and walked over to the bar counter to set it down. Though she clearly didn’t like my snappy attitude, she must have understood that life as I knew it was about to take a drastic turn.
She paused at the door, turning to face me for a moment, eyes downcast as she murmured, “Mr. Walker…if there’s…anything I can do, just let me know, okay? You need to know that I care…” She cleared her throat. “I care deeply.” I had a sudden realization that if I caught her on a drunk night, I might get a declaration of love from my secretary. I brushed it off abruptly. I didn’t have time for this shit.
“Tell him to meet me at The Oaks,” I changed the subject back to my meeting with Andy. It was an expensive but exclusive bar he and I frequented after work some days. After the long, boring meetings I was forced to endure to hold my place at the helm of this fucking company. Boring to me, at least. My father seemed to view business as a blood sport. I scowled.
Jane schooled her expression and simply nodded in response. She left the office, closing the door silently behind her.
Chapter 4
Prince Walker
“Damn, I’m sorry, Prince. Your old man hasn’t changed,” Andy said, shaking his head.
“Yeah well, I need to know my options. Can I fight this?” I asked, leveling my gaze at my friend. The Oaks was our go-to, and we were seated at a private section of the bar. Outside, the building hummed with low music and the chattering of white-collared men, young and already weary of the monotony of their daily routines.
The waiter came by carrying our drinks on a tray.
“How many of these have you had today?” Andy asked.
“Two in the office, another two while I was waiting for you to get here. That would make this my third,” I lied as I raised the glass to Andy in a sarcastic salute and gulped the liquid down in one swallow.
“Should I get you another one?” the waiter asked, standing off to the corner, the tray in his hand.
“I think you’re going too fast, Prince.” Andy signaled to the waiter to hold on. “Have you had anything to eat?”
I shook my head and rubbed my stubbed chin with my palm. I knew I looked awful.Who gives a fuck about that now?
“Well, we have to put some food in you. Can we get something to eat—?” Andy started to ask the waiter.
