“Thanks, Mom.”
“Nathan would have been so happy,” she continued, tears welling in her eyes again. “He’d have loved to see you and Mia together.”
He stepped away and put his hands in his pockets, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but here. His mother’s words reminded him he’d just kissed the woman he loved, while somewhere in this town his brother’s fiancée was alone, no longer able to kiss the man she loved. A hollow sensation spread through him, as if all his organs had been removed. He was bones and skin, nothing else, in his childhood home without his brother here beside him.
David finally sauntered into Noah’s office a week later. Noah had been expecting him, and quite frankly felt relieved David would finally bring up his accusations. The time that had lapsed since Julia gave her warning had only increased Noah’s concern, which was probably David’s intention.
David left the door open and settled in across from Noah, relaxing casually against the chair. He folded his fingers across his abdomen and smiled.
Noah did his best to appear relaxed despite being wound tighter than a public school budget. “What can I do for you?”
“Julia spoke to you, I presume? I told her not to mention it, but I don’t expect she listened. She always had a soft spot for you.”
Noah wasn’t interested in dancing around the subject. Or talking about Julia. He stood and walked to the door, swinging it shut before resuming his seat. “Why don’t you save us both time and say what you came here to say?”
He let out a low whistle. “Someone’s in a bad mood. What, the wife didn’t put out last night?”
Noah was out of his chair instantly, bent forward with his palms flat on the desk. “Don’t talk about her like that. Ever,” he warned. “I wouldn’t put up with it anywhere, but don’t think just because we’re at work I won’t break your jaw.”
David appeared delighted. “Sure would make things easier for me if you did. Then I wouldn’t have to use the fact that you’re committing insurance fraud against you.”
Noah schooled his features, still on his feet. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Come on, Noah. Let’s not do that. I heard you and Mia talking.”
Noah hated hearing her name come out of this asshole’s mouth. “Whatever you think you heard, it’s not true.”
“You didn’t marry her so she could quit her job and keep medical insurance? The timeline of events suggests otherwise. Seems a little too good to be true that two friends who have never had a public relationship up and get married within weeks of one quitting their job. Especially when that person has a costly medical condition.”
Noah straightened and slid his hands into his pockets. “Regardless of how it looks, that’s what happened. We’ve known each other forever and have been dating for months. I don’t give a shit that you weren’t aware. Your head is too focused on your own business to care about other people. Had we planned on getting married so soon? No. I’ll give you that little piece of honesty. She had an opportunity that required her to quit, and yes, we moved up the wedding for logistical reasons. But it was happening either way.”
“The conversation you two had doesn’t jive with that. Nice try, though. It almost sounds plausible.” He paused. “Almost.”
“Why do you care?” Noah asked. “What is it you want?”
“Sure, I’ll cut to the chase.” He checked his watch. “I have an appointment that started...five minutes ago, anyway.”
Noah’s back teeth snapped together.
“We both know your dad’s retiring, and the string of promotions will open up an associate position.”
Noah’s spine straightened. He’d meant what he said to Mia—he didn’t expect an automatic promotion and he’d worked his ass off to prove his worth at the firm independent of his role as the boss’s son. Either way, Noah was ten times the architect David was. Between the two, Noah was unquestionably the better fit.
“I’m the better candidate,” he said. It may not be the best decision to outline David’s professional shortcomings, but it was the only objective way he knew to explain why he deserved it. “Everyone knows you’ve made some questionable decisions on your projects. Code violations, accessibility issues related to ADA regulations, and vague notations. It’s no secret they’ve required you to have drawings reviewed by a more experienced architect before they’re passed to the engineers.”
David’s cocksure expression slipped a fraction. “That only happened twice, and it was years ago.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“I guess we’re both eavesdropping on conversations we shouldn’t, huh?” David propped his elbow on the armrest and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. “I’ve put everything I have into my career and I deserve a shot at the top. I’ve been here longer and have more experience. You shouldn’t assume it’s yours based on nepotism alone.”
“I never assumed that.”
“No?”
“No.”
James McKinley, one of the principals, who would become CEO after the senior Agnew left, had been a key mentor in Noah’s growth and development as an architect. He hadn’t cut Noah any slack. If anything, he’d made him work harder because he was an Agnew.