Page 101 of Sins of the Father
Steven walks me to the elevator. “Harper, I don’t want you to be anywhere around that man.”
“You’d rather go yourself?”
“I don’t want to go at all.”
“So you do or don’t want me to go with you?”
“I always want you with me.”
I step into the elevator. “Okay. I’ll see you tonight, and you can fill me in on the details.”
The doors start to shut, and he puts his hand in the middle, and they open back up. “Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for stopping by.”
“My pleasure, Mr. Sinclair.”
15
Steven
What is Dudmeyer up to?
As soon as my two o’clock meeting is over, I go to his office.
“Steven, what can I do for you?”
“Craig, I’m not going tomorrow night. Find someone else to take my place.” For years, I’ve had to deal with their friendship. Every time Maximillion has a fundraiser or sinks his teeth into a cause, which is only if there is something in it for him, Dudmeyer requires me to be there. I’ve always gone and played the dutiful employee, not wanting to piss off the boss, while avoiding any interaction with Maximillion or my mother. She is always there playing her assistant role, and watching her run around, making things happen for him only scrapes my wound deeper.
Dudmeyer taps his fingertips together. “You’re a VP in the company, and our entire executive team will be there. The governor has passed many laws to help our bottom line, and we’re all going to support him and show our gratitude. Bring your checkbook.”
There’s no way I’m writing a check for the sperm donor’s campaign.
“I have no interest—”
“You have no interest in supporting the man who helped you get this job? Is there a specific reason you are suddenly opposed to supporting him?”
I’ve never supported him.
You always did whatever you were told to do.
“Politics aren’t really my thing,” I say, in a last-ditch effort to get out of going. The last thing I want to do is have to explain my hatred for Maximillion to Dudmeyer.
He rises. “Son, you better make them your thing. You represent this company. Decisions you make affect our bottom line. The people you rub shoulders with need to be those who are our friends. Maximillion Evinrude, our governor, is one of those people. He rubs our back, we rub his. You understand?”
My gut flips. All I’ve ever wanted to do was keep my head down and climb up the corporate ladder to support myself and financially help my mom when the day comes that Maximillion gets bored of her and finally sends her packing. She says it’s love, but if he loved my mother, he wouldn’t be married to another woman. So she may love him, but I’m not blind. I see how one-sided it is.
“Steven, do we have a problem?” He raises his eyebrows.
I rise. “No.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow night, then. And don’t forget your checkbook.”
I leave his office and go directly to mine. But my blood is boiling, and I can’t concentrate. Since Shira has been taking on a ton of my tasks, I’m ahead of this week’s projects. At four, I decide it’s useless to be here and pack up.
Shira looks up from her desk. “You leaving?”
