He nodded. “She’d been accepted to medical school when she found out she was pregnant. I was born a few weeks before she was supposed to start. She and my dad had it all planned out...how they were going to take care of me but still make it so she could go.”
I ached to touch Ronan, but I settled for carefully removing the controller from his grip because his hold on it had turned brutal. The move allowed me to get closer to him but he didn’t seem to notice because he began tapping his fingers together. His eyes were on the paused game on the screen but I could tell he wasn’t seeing it anymore.
“I…I actually thought he’d forgive me if I followed in her footsteps.”
“By becoming a doctor, you mean?”
A curt nod. “It didn’t matter. None of it mattered.”
“Is your dad still alive?”
“No. He had a stroke. I was still in my first year of med school. He was still alive when I got to the hospital.” Ronan’s voice cracked as he said, “I told him I’d take care of him. He…he told me to go to hell.” Ronan sucked in a deep breath as if trying to get control of himself. “His brain started swelling the next day. There wasn’t anything anyone could do for him.”
“I’m sorry, Ronan,” I whispered, and I took the risk and placed my hand on his arm. He immediately flinched and pulled away. The move hurt but I didn’t recoil in on myself the way I wanted.
“Sorry,” Ronan murmured as he realized what he’d done.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m glad you got to be a part of our family, Ronan. Even if my crazy mom did threaten you and force feed you pie.”
I was thrilled when Ronan smiled a little bit. “That really was a bad pie,” he finally said.
“You have no idea,” I said as I grabbed the controller and handed it back to him. I hit the start button on the game and then leaned back against the couch cushions and began telling him all about how bad a cook my mother had truly been.
Chapter 19
Ronan
I couldn’t focuson the email on the screen in front of me as I listened to yet another person chew Seth out over the phone. I couldn’t make out the actual words from where I was sitting at the table in the corner of Seth’s office, but the raised voice was obvious even coming through the handset that Seth was holding to his ear. It had been two days since the employees had found out about Seth’s meeting in New York the following week and the anger and resentment hadn’t let up in the least. I suspected if I hadn’t been sitting in Seth’s office, many of the employees who’d barged in would have been even more disrespectful than they already were. But as rude as some of the clearly anxious workers had been, Seth had handled himself well and he’d never lost his patience or raised his voice in anger despite some of the barbs comparing him to his father and finding him lacking.
I’d struggled with the turn of events that had happened the night Seth and I had played video games. I’d ended up revealing much more than I had intended and in fact, it was more than I’d ever told Trace about my tumultuous relationship with my father. Maybe it was because of everything Seth had so openly shared with me, I wasn’t sure. Maybe, like Seth, I needed to lance the woundsthat had been festering inside of me for so long. And while I hadn’t expected to miraculously feel better, I also hadn’t felt the need to escape Seth’s presence either. But I hadn’t been able to accept his touch. I had no doubt that my actions had hurt him but he’d let me off the hook without question. There’d been a few brief awkward moments as we both tried to get our bearings but they’d passed quickly and we’d ended up playing video games for another three hours before Seth had actually dozed off and fallen asleep on my shoulder. If he hadn’t had to work the next day, I would have been content to enjoy the feel of his body pressed against mine all night.
Because he wasn’t dangerous to me when he was asleep.
While Seth worked, I focused on the updates I’d gotten from Mav and Daisy. I was pleased to discover that Mav had made a lot of progress in destroying Barry Fields’s life. Not only had the multiple restraining orders issued against the piece of shit therapist been leaked online via the man’s own social media accounts and website, Mav had emptied his bank accounts, fucked up his credit and made every accrediting and licensing agency in the country aware of a criminal history that didn’t actually exist.
Since Seth had no longer felt the need to make the daily run to the Mercer Island house, he’d ordered us a couple of sandwiches at lunchtime. Afterwards, I’d started looking through the bids a few security firms had submitted for taking over security of both the garage and the office building.
Seth hadn’t balked at the surveillance system I’d suggested despite the high price tag and when Stan had called the measures extreme, Seth had simply reminded him that as majority partner, it was his call to make. It turned out that despite Stan’s position as Chief Executive Officer, he had very little legal control over the company. His share of Nichols Shipping came out to less than fifteen percent, a high enough number to make him a wealthy man but nowhere near what Seth was making from the company. I had my reservations about the older man because he had a tendency to talk down to Seth, but Seth was clearly grateful for the insight Stan provided so I held my tongue.
I heard Seth hang up the phone and I glanced over my shoulderto see him hanging his head and running his fingers through his hair. I was about to ask him how he was doing when the office door flew open so hard that it slammed into the wall. A red faced, portly guy surged through it, a folder in his hand.
“I’ve left you three messages, Nichols!” the man bellowed. He threw the folder at Seth. “If you even think of trying to pull a fast one on us, we’ll hit you with everything we’ve got. Our lawyers will have your ass wrapped up so tight, you won’t be able to shit for weeks!”
“Mr. Abernathy-”
The man, who I now realized was the union president for some of the men and women who worked for Seth, slapped his hands on the desk and got in Seth’s face as he grabbed him by the shirt. “Listen here, you little shit-”
I didn’t even listen to the rest of what the fucker had to say as I got up and strode across the office. I grabbed him by the back of his collar and yanked him upright. “I think you’re the one who needs to listen, you fat little fuck,” I bit out as I used my free hand to propel the guy backwards until he hit the wall next to the office door. I ignored the startled look Seth’s assistant gave me from her desk just outside the office.
“Ronan-” I heard Seth call, but I ignored him.
“If you ever speak to him that way again or lay even one fucking finger on him, I will kick your fat ass until you’re the one who can’t take a shit without crying. Get the fuck out!” I snarled before shoving the guy so hard that he stumbled to his knees outside the office door. I grabbed the door and slammed it shut, then flipped the lock. I turned to find Seth just feet behind me, his face drawn up tight with anger.
“Damn it, Ronan, I was handling it.”
“That fucker-”
“Is an important part of this company,” Seth interrupted. “Like it or not, I need to be able to work with him! You can’t just-”
