Chapter 24

Wes

Another round of loud booms from the thunderstorm shakes the estate walls yet not my mood.

That hasn’t changed in four days.

Much like the fucking media plastering my face everywhere.

The release of the photo has not only resulted in more hounding requests for interviews – both personal and business – it’s also drudged up attention regarding the accident that took the lives of my parents.

Brought up old conspiracy theories.

Inspired new ones.

Click bait headlines are covering a vast range that paints me as everything possible from a beautiful souled, misunderstood mogul, to a hideous, money hungry, monster.

Pham is steadily releasing statements about the company to try and distract them from my personal life.

Recent charity donations.

Humanitarian projects.

The growth in income our company has shown in spite of a predicted shrinkage in revenue.

She’s having us release anything and everything she can think of to combat them from chomping at me in nonprofessional aspects.

From looking into possible past indiscretions that they won’t find.

Because there’s nothing there to find.

I hadn’t been with anyone since I took over the company – until Bryn.

I hadn’t left the estate for more than visiting my parents’ burial sight – that the media is now starting to also swarm – until Bryn.

I hadn’t taken photos whatsoever – until Bryn.

And speaking of Bryn, Evie demands we make some sort of press statement regarding her.

Beat her to the punch.

She hasn’t said a single word to anyone in the media related to us since she sold the photo.

Perhaps she’s having second thoughts about the stupid mistake?

Or perhaps her and Lauren’s attorney advised her not to?

I’m not sure.

I don’t care.

I don’t want to care.

I wish I could have a fucking drink to make sure I don’t even think about caring.

However, that’s unwise.

Drinking has a tendency to bring me more problems than answers.

At least according to my therapist, Dr. Erwitt Sawyer, who called me after Clark called him on Friday night .

I was encouraged to deal with my issues in other “more productive” manners like work.

And so here I am.

Needlessly obsessing over font choices for the anniversary announcement at eight o’clock on a Tuesday.

Fuck, I hate Tuesdays.

There’s a small delicate knock on my upstairs office door that can only belong to one person.

Rather than answer, I brace my elbow on the desk and rest my hand against the side of my face, shielding me from her view.

Her from mine.

“ Wes ?” Penny cautiously calls out after cracking it open. “Um…I uh…um…brought you some fresh peppermint tea?”

“Did you or did you not?” is practically barked without making eye contact. “The declaration ended in what appeared to be a question.”

“I um… did .”

“I’m not thirsty.”

“I understand that.” Yet her footsteps continue in my direction. “But you haven’t eaten once since the Winters vacated the premises.”

I haven’t.

However, I did vomit.

I physically couldn’t stand watching them leave on the cameras.

“And you’ve barely had anything to drink.” Her arrival is made known by fingertips briefly brushing my arm as she places the cup down at my side. “You need something in your system before you’re the one Hamilton has to be tending to bedside.”

The dropping of my hands to my lap is done in defeat.

She has a valid point.

It’s the same one Sawyer and Lucky have both attempted to make themselves.

“Peppermint oil is known for helping relieve tension and migraines, and it is believed that peppermint tea can do the same.” Penny gently pushes the beverage closer. “The studies that have been done proving this are still debated in the scientific community, but I think it works.” She adjusts herself to rest her ass against the edge of my desk. “Even if it’s just a placebo like effect.”

I nod to prevent myself from smirking.

Bryn would’ve tried to turn that into an adjective, and I would’ve insisted that her creation didn’t exist.

Then she would’ve sassed me for being such a stickler about words.

Definitions.

Rules.

Kissed me and expressed her love for me regardless of my need to always be fucking right.

Frustrated grumbles force me to slink further into my seat and briefly shut my eyes.

Why is this woman still on my mind?

Why does someone who betrayed my trust… everything I’ve fucking built …still have such a fucking hold on me?

“Is there anything I can do for you, Wes?”

The question summons my gaze back to hers.

“Is there any way I can bring you…” her bare foot less than innocently brushes against mine at the same time she slightly leans forward, “ comfort? ”

One glimpse at the area where we’re touching not only churns my stomach, it has me recoiling away as though I’ve literally been burned.

“ Am I interrupting? ” my best friend unhappily inquires prompting Penny to – thankfully – retreat.

There’s no hesitation to lock glares. “ No. ”

J.T. parks his frame next to the couch and folds his arm firmly across his chest exposing to me the expensive brown band watch my parents gave to him for his sixteenth birthday. It’s one I know he only wears when out for personal matters rather than those of business.

That means wherever he was tonight wasn’t for work.

And that’s fine.

He is allowed to have a social life even when I don’t.

Perhaps I should take his decision to go out with someone – rather than hover around me like a young Alfred – as a good thing.

As a headed back to what once was thing.

What should be.

What I can’t seem to force myself to actually want anymore.

“You sure?” he follows up, stark white tennis shoe covered foot lightly tapping the unwashed floor. “I can come back if I am.”

The unusual footwear choice has me tilting my head in suspicion.

Glowering.

Glaring.

“ Where. Were. You? ” squeezes past my gritted teeth.

“Out.”

“ With? ”

“Hawthorne.” His deep swallowing is attached to him putting the edge of his crab keychain back into this pocket. “He wanted to gather some information about the breach of contract situation in an informal setting.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“And who else did you see?”

Another nervous swallow occurs. “I caught up with someone else for a celebratory drink.”

It’s impossible to narrow my stare further. “You shouldn’t have met with her.”

To my surprise, he says nothing.

“You shouldn’t be anywhere near her.”

Still nothing.

“You’re not the face of her fucking company! You’re not living on her fucking property!” Slamming my fist down on the desk is thoughtlessly done. “ You’re not her best fucking friend, Justus! ”

His nod is slow. Slightly sheepish. Yet unapologetic. “And you’re not in charge of how I spend my private time, Weston.”

“You should have a drink while it’s still warm,” Penny quietly proclaims prior to pushing the cup just a little closer. “I think you’ll really like it.”

Doubtful.

Tea is not one of my preferred beverages.

“Is that all she offered you?” J.T. unhappily bites on a twitched glare. “ Tea? ” He makes sure to hold my stare hostage. “Or did she offer a little A too?”

Completely caught off guard by his accusation causes me to choke on my response. “ What?! ”

“You said you were over him,” he spits in her direction, prompting her to turn and face him. “You’re clearly not.”

She presses her lips tightly together as if refusing to reply.

“So, what was that shit with me?” The hurt in his voice sparks a different ache in my chest to expand. “A pity fuck? Settling for second best until first was available?”

Not needing to join the discussion and damn sure not needing to hear it leads me to murmuring, “Take this conversation out of my office. I have work to do.”

“You need to take a break from work,” Penny insists, attention falling to me. “Enjoy a little bit of comfort…”

“You are not the comfort he wants,” my second in command bluntly informs, summoning both of our stares back to him. “You are never going to be what he wants.”

“You don’t know that!”

“You need to accept that!”

“ She can’t ,” Park unexpectedly interjects, relocating everyone’s focus to where he’s entered the room. “That’s why she sent the photo to the magazine.”

“What?!” Her jaw instantly drops. “I didn’t!”

Park moves his position only a couple of feet forward. “You’re in love with him.”

“That’s an oversell,” J.T. grumbles in disagreement.

“It’s not,” the head of security corrects without hesitation. “I’ve seen the footage.”

At that, her eyes widen in apparent panic. “I…um…I…I…should…go.”

“ Stay ,” commands the male blocking her exit. “And forfuckssake , drop the innocent, bumbling act. It’s a bit much.”

“I-I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“I’ve watched hours of you lurking around Wilcox. His office. Smelling and wearing his shirts. His deodorant.”

That’s… odd .

“The way you constantly look at him. Pretend to flirt with Soni during his shift so you can watch Wes on the monitors. The outrage you displayed when Bryn arrived and every time you found them anywhere near each other.”

She shakes her head during a faint mumbling, “That’s not…that um…”

“It’s why verifying that you were actually the one who sent that photo from Bryn’s account wasn’t nearly as difficult as it could’ve been. You left every opportunity on the board for me to put your general in check.”

“I-”

“You had sex with J.T. the night Bryn and Wilcox slept off the premises not because you were lonely and ‘finally seeing him outside of Wes’s shadow’ but because you wanted to know everything you could about their outing. Where they were . Where they were going to be. What they were doing.”

“I-”

“And that’s how you knew there was photograph with Wilcox’s face in her online drive.”

“I-”

“And you knew Bryn left herself logged into the computer in the library across the hall because it was the only one, she ever used. When she looked for jobs. An apartment. A car. When her and Wes fixed her résumé.”

“I practically gave her that computer!” I furiously shout. “It was meant for only her!”

Park slyly slides his hands into his pockets while keeping Penny’s glare. “You knew how to access that photo. You knew how and when to craft and send an email and cover your tracks. You knew the chances of Bryn even noticing something like that were slim to none because she could never find her phone anyway, so hiding it while setting everything in motion was probably the easiest part of the whole thing.”

“ What?! ” reverberates around the room from me and J.T. both.

“You are the only one who has dusted that library since Wilcox gave her access to it.” Her mouth twitches to deny the accusation yet is cut off by Park’s continuing. “ Don’t. I can timestamp and timeline match. And I know that I can because I have. ”

Another wide-eyed expression appears.

“Your access to her email and phone is how you found the app to have them send the money to when you realized her bank account is the only thing not lazily linked.”

Penny’s head tilts in an irritated fashion to one side.

“But what you didn’t know is that she used that app so rarely she never reverified her account or actually linked it to her bank, meaning you basically gave the tabloids the photo.”

“None of that’s true,” J.T. rushes to insist, body following suit. “Tell him that’s not true, Penny. Tell Park he’s wrong about…something.” His eyes plead louder than his voice. “ Anything! ”

“God, could you stop whining and grow a pair?” the redheaded woman surprisingly snips in obvious exasperation. “I swear you could not be more fucking desperate if you were wearing a glowing neon yellow arrow saying ‘pick me’ instead of your too old for prep school uniform you call a suit.”

I’m not sure whose mouth falls faster, mine or his.

“ Yes ,” Penny hisses and meets my stare, attempting to mask her recently exposed virulent nature. “I am in love with you.”

“You’re not in love,” Park bites on my behalf. “You’re obsessed . There’s a difference.”

“I’m not obsessed!” She shrieks directly at him in additional annoyance. “I’m protective!” The aggression she’s displaying has me eyeballing the custom letter opener that was once my father’s. “That’s all I’ve ever been! That’s all I’ve ever done is protect you! Getting Bronwen demoted – although I really wanted her fired – by chipping that teacup and blaming her for it only happened because I knew she was looking for the secret place you have stored emergency cash. Pretending Clyde cornered and tried to assault me, so that he’d get fired because I knew he was planning to start growing weed in our greenhouse and selling it.” A flash of hysteria presents itself. “And that pretending to be a defenseless hooker was no different! She had ‘no money’ but magically always had fancy dresses and shoes and fucking makeup?! She was a liar! And she didn’t give a damn about you! Just what you could do for her and her overpaid, underworking, whore of a mother!”

Shock keeps my vocal cords momentarily constricted.

“Bryn didn’t give a fuck about you or what you wanted! That’s why she wasn’t trying to hide with you or keep you hidden from the world like you wanted!”

The accusation has me briefly glancing away.

Is that what I wanted?

Yes.

Is that what I needed?

Afterall this time…I can honestly say no.

I needed to do more than exist.

I needed to take the mask off.

I needed to venture back into the world and begin to find my way again.

“You’re right,” is almost whispered when we lock our eyes again. “Bryn didn’t give a fuck about what I wanted. She gave a fuck about what I needed . And when someone loves you, truly loves you, they’re willing to do that.”

“That’s what I’ve done!” She pleads slinking too close. “I’ve done everything to show you I’m the one you need!”

“You’re insane!” J.T. condemns with a pointed finger.

“I’m in love!”

“ You’re obsessed ,” Park repeats his previous accusation except this time he maintains his hold on the conversation. “Which is why what you did to Bryn makes sense to me. That move – from my Chinese chess playing experience – makes perfect fucking sense. You needed to stop your opponent from coming for your general, from getting that checkmate, from winning the game, but what doesn’t make sense, what I still don’t understand is why Lauren?” The wrinkle in his brow is immediate. “How did tormenting her protect Wilcox?”

There’s no stopping me propelling myself onto my feet at the same time I roar, “ You poisoned Lauren?! ”

“ You did that?! ” echoes J.T.

“She was trying to take the place of your mother,” Penny states without vacillation. “She was trying to become her total replacement. The only family you would ever need.” Additional resentment rears itself in her expression. “She has you so damn reliant on her that you don’t see the value in your other staff! Staff like Clark! Clark who has been here for so many fucking years for you! Clark who is more qualified than she could ever be! Clark who should be Head of Household! Who should’ve always been Head of Household! Who would’ve been Head of Household had you not shoved your misplaced guilt about killing her Atlantic City loving husband down everyone’s throat by allowing her to take his place!”

Unlike before when we were literally toe to toe, I don’t feel the instinct to flinch away.

I feel the one to lean closer.

To make my presence as well my wrath in its entirety known.

Felt.

“And all you had to do was sit back and let Hamilton to do his fucking job!” Her foot stomp doesn’t startle me. “Let him send her off to the goddamn hospital where she would’ve been out of the way, and you could see Clark for his true potential and me for mine!” Another slamming of her appendage occurs. “ You made the mistake of interfering! Of letting her bring that slut here! You left me no choice but to fix things!”

“ You are the mistake. ”

Hurt hops into her expression and spreads her lips wide.

“ And I am going to correct it. ”

She shakes her head while muttering, “ Nonononono… ”

“Park,” I narrow my gaze at the young redhead that’s finally cowering, “properly dispose of Miss Astrid.”

“ Noooo! ” shouts an unexpected male voice, pulling everyone’s attention to the doorway. “ Please, don’t do that, Wes! I beg of you! ” Clark’s imploring is attached to him darting inside. “ Please, don’t kill my daughter! ”