My father was a narcissistic, power-tripping asshole. He’d want to punish me for daring to believe I could grow the company in my own way. Taking Darcy from me would be the penance he imposed.
On the other hand, he wanted to remind me that he was still technically in charge of everything I’d started to think of as mine. He could drag my employees to his idiotic conference halfway across the country. He could put us in hotels and dictate our schedules. It was all his, and he wanted me to remember he could take it away with a snap of his fingers.
I ran a hand through my hair, still pacing.
I heard a sound outside the door. Someone was sliding a key in the reader. The lock gave a mechanical whine and there was a clicking noise. The handle turned and Darcy stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She wore a simple white top tucked into a black skirt that showed off her long legs and toned arms. Her short hair was pinned back over one ear and it made her look adorable and sexy all at the same time.
“Darcy,” I breathed.
“Hey,” she said.
I wasn’t sure how it would go when we saw each other tonight, but I found myself going to her and wrapping my arms around her small frame. It felt good to hold her again. I wasn’t sure how long we simply stood like that wrapped in each other ’s arms, but when we finally broke away, I could see her eyes were troubled.
“What now?” she asked.
“He knows about us,” I said. I moved to sit on the couch at the edge of my room and Darcy took the love seat across from me.
She crossed her legs and folded her arms, frowning. “Yeah, that was pretty obvious after he called me in your office. What do you think he’ll do about it?”
“He wants to send me a message. He’s going to try to get rid of you.”
“Can he do that if I stay in line?”
I considered. “Yes. He caught the wrong kind of national attention for wrongfully terminating employees en masse already, but I think he could slip one unjustified firing under the rug pretty easily.”
She studied her hands. “What if we both just leave? We could walk away and start our own magazine or something. You wouldn’t have to worry about your dad anymore.”
“Not possible,” I said.
“Why?”
I clenched my teeth, feeling annoyed. “Because I’ve invested too much in this to walk away. And I’m not going to run from my problems. I’ll face them head on.”
Darcy looked like she wanted to flick me on the nose. “That’s dumb macho bullshit. It’s not running. And even if it was, wouldn’t you run if a train was barreling down on you? Or would you puff out your chest and let it vaporize you?”
“My dad isn’t a train. He’s just an old man with a fragile ego. I’m sure there’s a way to get him out of our hair without burning everything down. I just need some time to figure it out.”
She looked like she wanted to argue more, but then she looked up in thought. “What if we made some really positive strides for the magazine? Like if I publish the interview on you and it’s popular? Or we revisit the idea of my weekly column? Maybe that could help move magazines off the shelf and give him second thoughts about interfering.”
“First of all, nobody wants to read an interview about me. Second, it won’t work. The vision I have for the magazine is information and entertainment–hand in hand. Your piece is all information and no entertainment.”
The look on Darcy’s face told me I’d spoken too harshly. I wanted to backtrack what I said, but I reached for her instead. “Darcy…”
“No,” she said, backing away. “It’s fine. I’m just a convenient place to put your dick when the need arises, but I should learn my place and keep my mouth shut, right? Obviously, I couldn’t ever have a good idea.”
“That’s not what I said.” She was pissing me off. Sure, I’d been a little bit of an ass, but didn’t she realize how much I was already putting on the line by being with her? My stress levels had been at an all-time high ever since Monday, and I simply didn’t have the patience to be tactful. “And if you realized how much I’ve already put on the line to keep my dad from firing you, you’d be on your knees thanking me instead of complaining.”Too far.I knew it as soon as I said it, but the momentum of stupidity was an amazing thing, and it had me by the throat.
I expected tears, maybe. Instead, Darcy stood straighter and laughed through her nose. “So this is the real you, huh? I thought maybe you were actually a good guy. But this is it, isn’t it? You feel like you’ve been doing me a favor all this time? Well, good news. I’m done accepting your favors. So you can take them and fuck off.”
She turned and left. I was still fuming, so I let her go. I was pissed at her, at myself, and at my dad. It was all a perfect storm of shit and I just wanted to break something. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to be reasonable or worry about hurt feelings.
“Fuck!” I shouted a few moments later. I slammed my fist down on the table, making the hotel phone give an alarmed little jump. I planted my palms and hung my head.
Maybe this was good. If things were done between me and Darcy, I could go back to focusing on work. That was what I’d wanted all along, right?
The uneasy swirling feeling in my stomach said otherwise, but I gritted my teeth and pretended not to notice it.
This was good. This was what I wanted.