“Don’t make demands on me, son,” his father said coolly. “Especially when you already know the answer.”
Hearing him admit it was even worse than Wyatt thought. A part of him really had been hoping someone else was responsible. That he hadn’t been so blatantly betrayed by his own father. Wyatt’s temper burned through him, the need to punch something coursing through him. “You put everyone at risk, Dad. Me. I’m your goddamned son! This company is supposed to be mine one day, and you were going to hand me a fucking time bomb? All these years, I’ve been the one to stand by you even when you acted like an asshole. And this is how you were going to reward me? Do you know how much I’ve given up to be this guy for you?”
He scoffed. “How much you’ve give up? I’ve spent my life molding you into who you are, giving you everything you needed to be successful. Without me—”
“I’d probably have a fucking life,” Wyatt finished bitterly. “I wouldn’t be sitting in some office for fourteen hours a day and thinking I’m making some kind of difference, when all I’ve been doing is supporting a sham and criminal.”
His father’s face went full red now, his composure slipping. “Don’t give me some Pollyanna bullshit, Wyatt. This business is a good one and a smart one. You’re naive if you think the other companies aren’t doing the exact same thing. To land the big fish, you have to make some concessions, and helping them wash a little money is a minor one.”
“Launder a little money?” he bit out. “Do you even care where that dirty cash might be coming from? Drugs? Slave trade? Hey, it’s okay if some little girl gets sold into prostitution as long as you get your big client, right?”
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“Ha! Dramatic? You’re lucky I’m not fucking climbing across this desk and shaking you,” he seethed. “I want it stopped. Immediately. We need to drop the clients who don’t want to be completely above board.”
His dad sniffed. “That’d be half my list. Not a fucking chance.”
Wyatt was so disgusted at the off-handed reply and his father’s smugness, he could barely stand to be in the room anymore. All these years, he’d looked to this office like the brass ring, the ultimate sign he’d captured that goal, that his inertia hadn’t been thwarted. But now the idea of it made his skin go cold.
Wyatt rose. “You fix it. Or I’ll blow the whistle.”
His dad shot to his feet. “How can you be so stupid? You do that and we lose everything.”
Wyatt gave his own derisive sniff. “Lucky for me, you’ve taught me how to invest well. I don’t need family money anymore. I’ve got loads of my own.”
“Son—” There was honest fear in his voice now.
“Clean it up. Starting today.” Wyatt walked to the door, grabbing the handle and then looking over his shoulder. “And find another CEO replacement to groom. I’ve got better things to do.”
His father’s eyes went round. “What?”
“I quit.”
Wyatt walked out and didn’t look back.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
two weeks later
“You’re giving her space?” Jace asked, plunking the stack of erotic books he’d been organizing for a display on the table next to him. “Why the fuck did you agree to that?”
Wyatt absently flipped through one of the novels Jace had put out, not seeing the words. He couldn’t seem to focus on anything these days. “Because I know how it feels to be on the other end of that request. Mia tried to guilt me into staying with her when I needed out. I refuse to put that pressure on someone else. Maybe we’re not ready for each other.”
“Dude, she’s scared.”
Wyatt gave him a thank-you-Captain-Obvious glare. “Don’t you think I fucking know that? Hell, I’m terrified, too. I don’t know how to have a relationship. Have you seen my track record?”
Jace smirked. “A string of women who probably couldn’t name one personal thing about you except the size of your dick and bank account?”
Wyatt shrugged. “Well, can’t blame them there, both are pretty memorable.”
Jace’s jaw fell in mock amazement. “What? The genius makes a joke? Grab your canned goods, world, the apocalypse is imminent.”
Wyatt threw the book at him, and Jace ducked, letting the thing crash into a shelf of lubricants behind him. Jace looked over his shoulder, laughing. “Clean up, aisle three!”
“I’m being serious,” Wyatt said, smiling despite his statement. It felt good to joke around with his little brother, to not have that tension between them anymore. For the first time in his life, Wyatt felt like he had someone he could truly confide in, someone who had his back. “The only real relationship I was ever in ended up with the girl I cared about killing herself because of me.”
Jace sighed. “Not because of you, bro. People break up every day. More goes into that decision to take your own life than losing your boyfriend. Mia needed help—help a twenty-one-year-old kid wasn’t capable of giving. We all have moments we wish we could go back and handle differently. God, I still don’t know how Evan ever gave me another chance after the stupid ass decisions I made when we were teenagers. Talk about ruining someone’s life.”