The woman said, “There are ways to keep a child from the public eye.”
Bryce said, “Will you draw up a plan for us? We’ll do what it takes to keep our child out of this.” He gestured toward the room with the rowdy reporters.
My hand twitched to cover my stomach. “Soon, please.” It was starting to hit me that a billionaire might have infinite resources at their disposal, and yet, there were sacrifices to be made as well.
No matter how much it hurt, I had to make sure my baby was taken care of. She had to come first.
56.Bryce
Since there wasa gap in meetings in the middle of my day, I went to see Simon at his house. Even though he was a board member and a major shareholder, he wasn’t hired for a specific job within the company. So he typically came to the office for our weekly executive meetings and monthly board meetings. Otherwise, he worked from home or advised on special projects.
Today, when I got to his estate, his house manager, Iris, didn’t lead me to the library. Instead, she took me to the expansive back porch, where Simon sat at a table with a spread of fruits, meats, and cheeses in front of him. His shoulders were slightly hunched. Maybe it was my imagination, but he seemed thinner too, even with a blanket wrapped around him.
As I got closer, I could feel warmth radiating from several standing heaters around the table.
“Simon,” Iris said, “you have a guest.”
He perked up a bit, looking over his shoulder at me. Then he waved me over. “Come sit. Iris, will you bring out some extra food and a cup for Bryce?”
That’s when I noticed there was a carafe of his favorite drink—an Arnold Palmer—on the table along with a glass tumbler and the small charcuterie tray that had been picked over.
“I will,” she said, then turned and walked away, leaving Simon and me outside.
It was a cold fall day, edging into early winter, but with the heaters, it was comfortable outside. The backyard was stunning, perfectly manicured with an ornate water feature at the center. It splashed over the edges, giving a steady stream of soothing background noise.
“Congratulations on your engagement,” he told me as I sat down.
Unexpected anger swirled throughout my chest because it didn’t have to be like this. I could have met Jada and dated her. Taken my time with her. Gotten to know her—what she liked and what she didn’t. Shown her that I was a good man, not that I would just jump into a marriage to save a business.
Biting back more venomous words, I said, “I saw your children are really torn up.”
Simon huffed out a laugh. “Devastated.”
“Why are they this way?” I asked, figuring the time for pretenses between us was long gone. I wondered if I understood his children more than I had before. Did Simon force them to do things against their will as well? Was he so cunning that they had no choice but to comply or suffer the consequences of dissension?
Before answering, he lifted his tumbler, taking a drink with a shaking hand. “You’re asking what I did to fuck them up.”
I didn’t respond because we both knew I was, just in less crass terms.
He breathed a heavy sigh. “When you want for nothing as a child, you grow up thinking you deserve everything.”
I arched my eyebrows. “You’re saying rich people are entitled.” I balked at the idea. Money didn’t change people; it only made them more of who they already were.
But Simon leaned forward. “Look at you. You grew up poor in the middle of nowhere. Of course you appreciate everything that comes your way because you were used to getting nothing.”
I flinched at his assessment, because I had a rich life in Cottonwood Falls, even if Simon didn’t see that.
“Quentin?” Simon continued, “Raised by a single mom in the inner city.”
My chest tightened at the oversimplification of Q’s story.
“Aaric? Solidly middle class. Cruz, the same,” he said.
“But Jude’s family is wealthy,” I argued. Although I wasn’t on the best terms with Jude right now, was he right about growing up with wealth?
Simon said, “Jude was ‘adopted’ by you. He’s as much a product of your friendship as he is his parents’ upbringing.”
The words weighed heavily on me, especially with Jude’s recent actions. Had some of this been my fault? Before I could ponder it much longer, Simon said, “My kids had everything they could have wished for and more. When you have the world at your fingertips, you treat it like a toy or a game instead of the precious thing it is.”
