27. Twenty-Seven

27

TWENTY-SEVEN

M y heart pounded as I looked between the hallway Olivia had disappeared down and my father.

What I wanted to do was chase her, tell her I loved her—because I did—and lock ourselves in the penthouse for a week. I needed to feel her in my arms more than anything.

What I had to do was deal with my father. I was no longer a child. I was a man. That meant I was done being bossed around by my father. I was done respecting him. It was time to deal with him.

Slowly, I shut the door and turned back to my father. He looked smug. Did he think he’d just won something? It appeared so, and that made me angrier than before.

“What were you using the money for?” I asked in a low voice.

“What?” Surprise registered on Dad’s features. “What are you talking about? She made that up.” He grabbed his reading glasses from the desk, something he only wore when he wanted a distraction, and started tapping on his computer. “I have a photo of the Dawber girl if you want a look. She’s not beautiful, but she’s not ugly. We can get her in touch with your mother’s doctor and get a few tweaks in before we release any photos of the two of you together. You need time to disassociate yourself from Olivia anyway.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”

Dad looked up. “You don’t want her to have surgery? She’s got a bit of a pig thing going here with her nose.” He pulled up his own nose to demonstrate. “You’re much more attractive than she is. We need to spruce her up a bit before we can add her to the family.”

He paused a beat. “Of course, any kids you have—hopefully you’ll get the boy on the first try so you won’t have to keep sleeping with her—might inherit that nose, so we’ll have to be on the lookout for that.”

I took a moment to look back on my childhood. I’d always thought I’d respected my father. That was just a given. It wasn’t the truth, though. I’d been afraid of him. Underneath his posh exterior lived an oily interior. He was not who he pretended to be. Others had figured that out before me—Olivia had pegged him right away—but I was just now seeing the real Ryder Stone.

“You’re a piece of shit,” I said without realizing what I was going to say.

“There’s no need to get worked up,” Dad complained. “Geez. Take a chill pill, Zachary. I’m sorry if you got in too deep with the Carter girl to escape without a broken heart. It’s better this way though. You’re better off without her.”

“No, I’m not, and I’m not losing her.” There was no give to my tone. This was it. The final showdown with my father. “I’m not ever losing her. She’s my forever.”

Dad looked over the rim of his glasses, as if he was looking down his nose at me. “Your forever just took off. I’m pretty sure she’s done with you.” Why did he look so happy about that?

“She’s not done with me,” I countered, briefly looking back at the door when I heard it open, my heart soaring as I wished for Olivia to return. To my surprise, I found my mother joining the fray.

“What’s going on?” she asked, glancing between us.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself about,” Dad said darkly. His dislike for my mother was evident. I’d missed that, too. It wasn’t simply neglect. He wasn’t just a terrible husband. He was a man who hated his wife, and for no reason other than he was a jerk. “Zachary and I were just talking about his future. You don’t need to be involved.”

That was enough to have me making up my mind. “Sit down, Mom.” I ushered her in and shut the door behind her. “You should be involved in this conversation. You’re part of this family after all.”

Mom looked at me, then at my father.

“You’re not involved in this, Cora,” Dad countered. “Why don’t you do what you do best and give your credit card a workout? Or, maybe you should go to that spa you like. I can see some actual movement in your forehead. It might be time for a touch up.”

I slammed my fist against the door. Not through it or anything. The doors were solid, not hollow. I would’ve broken my hand if I tried to punch through it, and I was done breaking things for this man, including my own heart. I hit it with the fleshy side, causing my father’s eyebrows to migrate up his forehead.

“Do you need a drink to calm yourself?” Dad asked. “I can’t believe you’re acting this way … and over a woman who is nothing in the grand scheme of things.”

Mom made a weird growling noise under her breath. “Is this about Olivia?” she asked. Her attention was on me. “I saw her when I was getting off the elevator. She was leaving … and crying.”

I pressed my hands to the door to stop myself from running out. I didn’t want Olivia— my Olivia —crying. Instead, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted Rex. He would be there for his sister. I needed him to do something for me before that, though. I typed out the message as quickly as possible, collecting my wits the whole time, then pocketed my phone.

“There’s going to be a change with Stone Group,” I said to my mother, who had yet to sit in the chair I’d indicated. “Sit,” I prodded in a soft voice. “This is going to be a long conversation.”

Uncertain, Mom sat. “Just tell me what’s going on. I’m a little worried here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this.”

“That’s because I’m finally seeing my father clearly for the first time,” I replied. “Guess what, Mom? I don’t like what I see.”

She opened her mouth, then shut it. I could practically hear the gears of her mind working as she looked around.

Before I could continue, the office door opened again. This time it was Ruby, Opal, and Pearl spilling into the office.

“That was quick,” I said, frowning. “I just texted Rex to get you guys up here.”

“Well, he contacted us about an hour ago,” Ruby replied. “He said that you would need us, although he was vague on the specifics.” She darted a look toward Dad, who was starting to get more and more flustered. He was a man who liked his space, who liked to be in charge. I was taking all of his options out of his hands.

“Everybody should get comfortable,” I said as closed the door yet again. I was starting to hate the thing. It was the first obstacle standing in my way to get back to Olivia. I had to finish this out first. “We have some things to discuss.”

“No, we don’t,” Dad shot back. “Zachary and I were having a conversation between the two of us—he’ll be ending his marriage to that girl and entering into a smarter union in the upcoming months—and it has nothing to do with any of you.”

I gripped my hands into fists at my sides. “Stop saying that,” I growled.

“You really should stop saying that,” Opal agreed. “It’s not happening.”

“Of course it is.” Dad shot Opal a dismissive look. “I’m the patriarch of this family. What I say goes.”

“You can’t force him to divorce Olivia and marry someone else,” Ruby argued. “He loves Olivia. She’s good for him. You should be happy about them being together.”

“Well, I’m not.” Dad shook his head. “The girl seems smart enough, but she can’t do anything for this family. That means she’s out.”

“She can love me,” I said. “In fact, she loves me better than anybody ever has.” Technically, Olivia had never told me she loved me. That was the point of the Husband-and-Wife game, though. We were both gearing up for it. I knew, without a doubt, she loved me as much as I loved her.

“We’re not letting you get between Zach and Olivia,” Pearl interjected. “It’s just not happening. I’m not sure what your plan is here—other than to drive Zach insane—but it’s not going to be a thing.”

“And who says you get a say in it?” Dad challenged.

“Who says you get a say in it?” Mom asked out of nowhere. She was clearly getting worked up. “It’s none of your business, Ryder.”

“Do you know what’s none of your business, Cora?” Dad shot back. “Anything that happens in this office, in this casino, is none of your business. You should go elsewhere.” He made a shooing motion, as if she was a cat walking across his keyboard.

“Don’t talk to my mother like that,” I growled.

“I’m going to do whatever I want,” Dad countered. “This is my company. I say what does and doesn’t happen here. If you don’t like it, well, you can get out too.” He bobbed his head in such a way I knew he wasn’t going to back down gracefully. I was going to have to force him out.

“Except that’s not true, is it?” Opal, who had moved to stand next to Mom’s chair, fixed Dad with the sort of smug look I recognized from his repertoire. She was smug, just like him. She was determined to win at all costs just like him. Unlike him, I trusted her. Where was she going with this, though?

“What’s not true?” Dad asked, confusion lacing every word.

“It’s not true that this is your company,” Opal replied. “It’s Mom’s company. Grandpa Whitaker made sure to write that into the rules of succession when he put you in charge shortly before he died. He knew he was sick, and he protected Mom with his dying breath.”

She had my full attention now. “What are you talking about?”

“Technically, everything belongs to Mom,” Pearl answered. “We’ve been doing a little research. Mom wasn’t ready to run the company when Grandpa died, but he wanted her protected because he didn’t trust Dad. Dad owns shares of the company, but Mom owns the biggest chunk of the pie.”

“Your mother and I own shares together,” Dad snapped.

“Oh, no.” The way Pearl smiled reminded me of a cat that was about to pounce. “The shares aren’t community property. They’re in Mom’s name and can only be transferred to a blood relative. That means us.” She gestured between Ruby, Opal, and me. “You’re not on the list of acceptable recipients.”

The smoke in my brain started to clear. “That’s the answer to the riddle,” I said. I wasn’t specifically talking to anybody in the room but myself, but it didn’t matter. It was all coming out today. “That’s why you were stealing the money. It didn’t make any sense when I thought the money belonged to you, but it doesn’t. It belongs to Mom.”

Mom sat up straighter. “What money?”

“Zachary!” Dad’s voice boomed throughout the office as he made a last-ditch effort to stop me from telling them what I knew.

We were way beyond that, though. “Dad has been embezzling from the company.” Now it was my turn to smile as Mom gasped. “For the last year or so—I’ll have to look up the specific dates—he’s been taking out chunks of money. They were smaller at first. The last few months have been five-hundred-grand. He hid it under a shell company. Olivia figured it all out. That’s why she was here.”

“I knew I liked her.” Ruby pumped her fist. “Ha!” She jabbed a finger at my father. Her reaction seemed a little over the top, but it elicited a smile from me that I wasn’t expecting.

“Why would you steal from the company?” Mom demanded of Dad.

“I’m not,” Dad replied. He was back to staring at his computer screen. This time, though, it was impossible to miss the way his hands were shaking. “Olivia made that up. She’s a troublemaker. That’s one of the reasons I want her out of this family.”

“She didn’t make it up, and if you don’t stop casting aspersions on her, I’m going to punch you in the face,” I threatened him. “I won’t even feel a little bad for it.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary.” Pearl danced behind the desk, her long fingernails gliding over Dad’s hair in a sign that she wasn’t even going to pretend to respect him. “Daddy is going to punch himself in the face before this is all said and done.”

“I’m pretty sure he already did that,” Ruby drawled.

“No, he didn’t punch himself in the face.” Pearl leaned down so she was at an even level with Dad. “He punched himself in the nuts. I think we all know what he wanted the money for.” She sent an apologetic look toward Mom.

For once, my mother was not putting on a happy face for appearances. No, she was grim … and resigned. “Which one was it?” she asked in an icy voice.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Dad replied. “This is all a misunderstanding.”

“No, it’s not.” Mom slid her eyes to me. “You said it was about a year ago?”

“Give or take,” I replied. “It might be a little longer.”

“That would make it Claire.” Mom leaned back in her chair, her fingernails tapping on the arms. “Did you get her pregnant, Ryder?” She didn’t sound sad when she clucked her tongue. “I warned you what would happen if you got one of them pregnant.”

I was flabbergasted. “You knew?”

“Of course I knew.” Mom rolled her eyes. “Your father is many things; a gifted liar isn’t one of them. I told him he was allowed to sleep with whomever he wanted—it just meant I wasn’t going to have to fake orgasms as he panted on top of me—as long as he didn’t get one of them pregnant.”

“Seems somebody has been a bad boy,” Ruby trilled.

My sisters seemed almost gleeful as my father’s empire crumbled around him. Under different circumstances, I would’ve laughed. I wasn’t there yet, though. I still needed to make things right with Olivia.

“You’re done at this company,” I said to Dad. “In fact, you’re going to draft your retirement announcement right now and it’s going to be effective today.”

“We’re going to lock you out of all the computers,” Opal sang.

“We’re going to take away all your secretaries,” Ruby added.

“We’re going to put you on an allowance,” Pearl said on a laugh.

“I’m the boss here,” Dad countered. “Me! You all can’t do anything to me.”

“You’re wrong,” Mom said. She seemed resigned more than anything else. It wasn’t sadness fueling her, but weariness. “You’re going to do what Zach said. Then we’re going to figure out exactly how much money you embezzled, and you’re going to sell that amount of stock to us to cover your debt.”

“No!” Dad had already done the math. He would be down to so little stock once the dust settled that he would have to start doing the one thing he never wanted to do. Live on a budget.

“Oh, it’s happening,” Mom said. “You’re either going along with our plan, or we’re calling the police to report what you’ve done.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Dad was grasping at straws now. He knew it was over and yet he couldn’t let himself admit defeat. “You wouldn’t turn me in. Think of all the bad press.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Ruby countered. “I’m thinking that when the truth comes out about what a pig you are—we have files too, Daddy—that Mom is going to look like a saint.”

“She’s going to be the queen of the strip,” Opal agreed. “Every man in town will be after her.”

“And we’ll finally be free to date whoever we want without threats from you hanging over our heads,” Pearl said.

Mom and I jerked our chins in her direction in tandem.

“What threats?” Mom sputtered.

“He said he wouldn’t allow us to keep our jobs, or pay for weddings, or keep our rooms at the casino if we didn’t date approved men,” Ruby replied. “He’s been threatening us with that for years. In retaliation, we refused to date … or marry.”

“You’re the reason I don’t have grandchildren?” Mom was on her feet, her rage palpable. Later, it would strike me as funny that her lack of grandchildren was the final straw for her. In the moment, however, I was simply impressed with her strength.

“This is a business,” Dad replied. “It has to be run like a business.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you weren’t running it like a business when you stuck your little stick in Claire and got her pregnant,” Mom replied. “By the way, she doesn’t love you. I know you think she does, but she basically had sex with you for the money. How sad she’s going to be when she realizes you’re going to be left with nothing.”

“You can’t do this.” Dad sounded desperate now. “I won’t let you push me out of the empire I built.”

“It’s already done,” I replied. “You’re going to resign today—including dealing with your stock so we can put that money back where it belongs—or you’re going to jail. You get to decide which avenue we pursue.” I leaned forward. “Personally, I’m hoping you opt for the latter.”

“Me, too,” Ruby said. “I think a guy like Dad will have a lot of fun in prison. I bet he’ll make some great new friends.”

“They won’t let you melt down about losing a golf game in prison,” Mom said. She folded her arms over her chest. “You have sixty seconds to decide. Otherwise, I’m calling the police and we’ll just force a vote with the board to oust you ourselves. It’s not as if they like you.”

Dad blinked. Then he swallowed hard. When his eyes swung to me, there was terror there. “You can’t let them do this.”

“Really?” It was funny to me that I was the one he was trying to get on his side. “You hurt my wife. On purpose. You’re lucky this is all we’re doing to you.” I started for the door. “Get the lawyers up here. Get it moving. I’ll be back.”

“Where are you going?” Ruby asked.

“After my wife. I won’t lose her. Plus, this is a family affair.” I smirked as I opened the door. “All of our family should be here.”

Ruby shot me a thumbs-up. “Bring back Rex when you come. We might need some muscle.”

“That’s a good idea.”

The last thing I heard as the door fell shut behind me was my father’s anguished yell of my name.

He was finished, though, and I wasn’t going to miss him even a little bit.