“I–”
“Let me know you’re safe.” His eyes harden in the stark light of the car. “I won’t be able to sleep if I don’t know you’re home and safe.”
I bite my bottom lip. It’s on the tip of my tongue to defy him, but I can’t. “Okay.”
“Thank you.” He shuts my door and slips into the shadows.
After I start the engine, I wrap my hands around the steering wheel to keep from yanking the door back open and begging him to love me in secret. But secrets come to light. And destruction lies in their wake.
Chapter Eighteen
Alexander
The Next Day
The knock at my door pulls me out of another Daisy-induced fantasy. Thankfully, I’m interrupted before we get to the point of crashing and burning because no matter how I play things out, we don’t end up together.
“Yes?” I glance up from the papers I’m pretending to study as Cora closes the door.
“I’ve got something for you.” She waggles her eyebrows while waving an envelope in her hand. Her shoes clack on the tile as she moves across the room.
“What is it?” I’d settle for a bill at this point.
She tosses down the envelope with a flourish. “They bought it.”
“Who bought what?” I slip out the pages. They crinkle as I flip through them. Whoa. This is the highest payout I’ve ever received for a software package.
With this contract, it places my company over the six-figure mark in software design sales. Way over the six-figure mark in only three years of operation. We’re nowhere near what my father’s company makes, and he has no idea I’m moonlighting behind his back, but we’re continuing on an upward trajectory. As far as he knows, as far as he’s willing to listen to anything I say, I’m dabbling in a hobby. Would he be willing to listen now? Sean and Cora deserve guaranteed stability, not the volatility of a startup. If we marry the two companies–
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Cora crosses her arms over her chest and taps the toe of her shoe on the floor. “I don’t care if he wants to explore software design or put a man on Mars. This bid went out two months ago and under your company’s name. Under our business license, and it has nothing to do with your father. The agreement was signed before he gave you that bullshit song and dance that he’ll give you the company in one year if you stand on one leg and hold your breath.”
I chuckle at Cora’s lecture as she rests her hip against the edge of my desk. “You’re right. This was done before my dad agreed to give me the company.”
“Did he agree to anything? He gave you an ultimatum. He told you to get married, and he’d consider adding software development into the company’s vision and might remove the stipulation for keeping the products the same for ten years. And he may or may not retire at that time.” She rolls her eyes. “I don’t see that happening. He’s going to come up with another stipulation. And another. He’s manipulating you to get what he wants.”
She shoves off the desk and paces the floor. “It’s time to walk away. He’s trying to corner you into something you don’t want to do. You’d rather pick some woman you can’t stand to marry so you can get the company? Some woman that he approves of, or picks out for you, is more like it.” She says the last part of the sentence under her breath, spins on her heel, and marches back to stand in front of my desk. “Or you’re going to fall in love with some wonderful woman, and he’s not going to approve of the relationship. Just wait until he pulls out the next stipulation.”
“Cora.” I brace my hands on the armrests and shoves upward. “I can’t walk away. This is my family legacy.”
“A legacy that’s going to ruin your life.” She waves her hands in the air. “You’re going to be miserable and alone.” Her face is red as she glares. “You’re already miserable and alone. Mooning over this reception party girl.”
“No, I’m not,” I growl under my breath as I cross my arms over my chest. Pointing and stomping my foot only makes me look like a fool, and she’s right. I’ve looked at Daisy’s text message 50 times.
Daisy: I made it home. Thanks for caring.
And I do care. I can’t stop thinking about her and seeing her three days a week and not being able to claim her is killing me. I can’t sleep. I can’t stop replaying our every interaction, and some I’ve envisioned so strongly I almost believe they’re real.
But following through would be the end of everything I’ve worked for since I first stepped foot inside my father’s office. Back then, it was my grandfather’s office, and he sat me on his knee and told me one day, this would all be mine.
I lower my arms to my sides and rotate my shoulders. “I appreciate your concern. But–”
“Stop using your words.” She twirls on her heel and marches to the door. When her hand is on the knob, she gives me a shitty look. “You’re a pretty guy, but you’d be prettier if you kept your mouth shut. When you open it, you say stupid things.”
Seriously? I do not say stupid things. I flop onto my chair and study the contract. This is pipe dream money. When I started the company three years ago, I never imagined it would grow this fast. After putting it off for a year, I’d almost nixed the idea with my father’s negative feedback circling in my brain–you don’t know how to design software, who’s going to buy your products, how would you find buyers, you don’t understand the market. He could insert any idea and spin it into a negative.
But Sean and Cora convinced me to give it a shot. And here we are. I shake my head and smile. This is all the proof I need that I’m on the right track.
After a pleasant conversation with the buyer, I hang up. Would my father be proud if he knew? If we merged, both businesses could skyrocket. Tension stabs between my shoulder blades. What if Cora’s right? What if this is smoke and mirrors, and he never intends to expand the company? I wish I could ignore her comment, but I can’t. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s fed me a line.