Page 80 of All the Beautiful Things
I tossed down my napkin and reached for my glass of wine. “I mean absolutely no disrespect when I say this Gerald, but I don’t think I’d have to give up anything.” I leaned forward, took pleasure as his features pinched in irritation, and rested my forearms on the table. “Our company is in a stronger position. Due to the last three deals Patrick here has tried to close, which were rife with nothing but trouble and delayed timelines and screw-ups in the proposals and changing construction plans halfway through.” I flipped my hand in the air. “Plus, there are the whispers I’ve heard of shoddy inspections passing through when they shouldn’t have and substandard materials being used.”
“That’s a bunch of bullshit,” Patrick hissed.
“Don’t you have a fiancée to get to?” I sneered at him to shut him up.
The benefit of traveling in the same circles as men like him was that there was no lack of gossip when everything in their life when to hell. Like the fact his fiancée, Shannon Hale, caught him screwing a coworker in the bathroom at a bar. She took off for Raleigh where Beaux, her brother, was the quarterback of the Rough Riders. It was over a year or two ago but based on the way his face turned purple, my aim hit its mark.
“Fuck you.”
If we weren’t in a public restaurant, my fist would have smashed Patrick’s nose right then. The look on his face and the tone in his voice had everything in me coiled tight.
I ignored him as best I could and faced Gerald.
“Let’s leave the personal insults out of it,” Gerald growled. “But speaking of, I’m surprised your dad isn’t with us. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him. How is he?”
My head was spinning from Gerald’s continued flip in topics but if he was trying to throw me off my game or what I wanted, he needs to rethink this strategy.
It spoke volumes of the loyalty our employees had with our company that we’d been able to keep it out of the public eye. I’d been intending on sharing with Gerald anyway, considering his long relationship with my family. That had been strained in recent years, possibly due to the woman next to me, but Dad knew I was telling him.
I picked at the cuff of my dress shirt and gritted my teeth. “He started chemo this week.”
“Oh.” The table went silent. Possibly the whole restaurant. All I heard was the ringing in my ears. Would that confession ever get easier?
“Hudson…” Nina’s hand fell to my knee. It felt foreign and not the least bit comforting but I wouldn’t cause a scene.
“Prostate cancer. Slow growing, high chance of survival. Just a bump in the road,” I said, a ball growing in my throat.
Cancer was never just a bump in the road, but I’d pretend along with Dad for his sake.
Across from me, Gerald’s face drained of color. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t heard. He didn’t tell me.”
“I know. We’re trying to keep it quiet for now.”
It was as much of a statement as a warning. I was full of them tonight. “He started this week. It’s new. We’ll let news slip when we have to but until then, I’m in charge.”
God… get me back to business.
Nina’s hand on my thigh squeezed. Whether to comfort me or remind me she was here I didn’t know. Without attracting attention from her brother or dad, I dropped my hand to my lap, removed hers from mine, and reached for my wine.
Next to me, she went ramrod straight at my dismissal. She shouldn’t be surprised.
“So,” I said, moving us along. “Like I said, due to your most recent projects in the city, I’m not sure you have a shot at winning the bids anyway. So maybe you shouldn’t be asking me what I want to give up to have you walk away, but what do I need to do so you’ll walk?”
Gerald’s gaze went intense. I was a cocky, arrogant prick when I needed to be, and Gerald was no fool.
It wasn’t until the corners of his lips turned up and he glanced at his daughter, who’d remained so silent outside touching me I realized I’d walked right into his web.
Snared.
“I want you to marry my daughter.”
24
Lilly
Angie picked me up at seven. I unwrapped my scarf as soon as I rushed out of my building and sank into the passenger seat of her old, beat-up Toyota.
I’d considered canceling as soon as I agreed to go out. Staying in for a night while Hudson was out when he could return home at any minute, me probably pacing like a moron didn’t sit well with me.
