7. Grayson

CHAPTER 7

GRAYSON

D ad looks between me and Jade as Lara finishes counting the votes. "Who initiated this competition, anyway? The two of you are supposed to be working together."

Jade glances at me before her mouth opens.

Though I don't know why, I step forward, meeting Dad's irritated gaze. "It was my idea. We had a difference of opinion, and I was too set on my design to cooperate."

Jade shoots me a strange look, shaking her head.

Lara tosses the last voting slip on the conference room table. "And the numbers have it. The design we're going to go with is Jade's."

Dad nods, glancing at the layouts Jade has printed out of her design. "I like this idea about bringing back Sunday cartoons and a daily crossword. It's a good way to connect with people."

"Thank you." Jade shifts her weight from one side to the other as she looks down at the designs. "Paloma Lawson is the graphic designer. She's also agreed to build the website for us at her friends-and-family rate."

"Impressive." Dad slides his hands into his khakis, heading for the door. "Now, I have golf. If the two of you have more problems with each other, try not to spend the day fighting about it like children. Grayson, come with me."

I roll my shoulders back, standing tall as I follow him out of the room and across the office, not stopping until we reach the door to mine.

With a tilt of his chin, he orders me into the room before joining me, shutting the door behind him.

Dad sighs, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Do you think that I haven't seen the problems you've been causing with Jade since she got here?"

"Look, I may not have been the most receptive to her in the beginning, but I can agree that she is doing good work here. The vision she brought forward today seems like it's going to be the best decision for the company."

He perches on the edge of my desk. "You need to stop entering competitions with people. Try learning from them instead."

I grit my teeth, biting back the urge to tell him it was Jade who challenged me first. He would only tell me that I should have ignored her or tried to negotiate with her.

Clearing the tightness in my throat, I sit down in the chair behind my desk, glancing at the computer in front of me. "If we're done with this conversation, I have things that I should be doing right now."

Dad sits down in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk, leaning forward and folding his arms on top of the pale wood veneer. "Do you want to tell me what those things are?"

"I took on the advice column for the time being, and now it looks like I need to get in contact with someone to do the crosswords for us."

"You're going to cooperate with her now, instead of making this harder on everyone involved?"

"Yes." I force the word out, but it's bitter.

Even though I claimed responsibility for this, he seems so ready to think that I'm going to cause more problems down the line.

No matter what I say or do, he will find a way to blame this on me, the same way he's been finding a way to blame me for things my entire life.

Right now, all I can see is the CEO position slipping through my fingers. The one shot at finally making him proud of me is disappearing.

Dad says nothing as he takes another long look at me before leaving my office.

Lara enters as he disappears, shutting the door behind her. She clutches her tablet close as she sits down across from me. "Jade asked me to come in and see if you know a good cartoonist or have some contacts to license cartoons from."

Groaning, I lean back in my seat. "All I want is five minutes alone."

"Well, unfortunately, Jade is expensive and her time with us is limited, which means that you need to put it in gear. We have a long list of things to deal with and sitting here sulking isn't going to help anything."

I arch an eyebrow as I look at her, the corner of my mouth twitching. "Are you sure that's the way you want to talk to your boss?"

Lara snorts. "I've been working for you for eight years. I know for a fact this is exactly the way I need to talk to you because you don't respond to anything else."

I groan. "I didn't think you, out of all people, were going to be taking Jade's side in this matter too."

"Oh? You mean the same thing you did back there when you told Leo you were the one picking a fight with her?"

My eyes roll as I lean forward and unlock my computer, searching for my list of contacts. "I might have done that, but I probably shouldn't have. It's just given one more reason for Dad to think that I'm never going to be anything but a massive failure."

"Don't be melodramatic." Lara crosses one leg over the other and types the passcode into her tablet. "Now, how about those names and numbers so I can start calling people?"

I give her a couple contacts, eager for the moment she gets out of my office and leaves me alone.

All I need is a few minutes to collect myself. It's been a long couple of weeks dealing with Jade and the memories she brings rushing back.

Lara takes down the information before she gets up and leaves, the door swinging shut behind her.

The second I'm alone, my head drops down to my desk. The pounding in my temples grows louder as Jade's muffled voice comes through the glass wall.

When I look over, her pencil skirt is climbing high up her toned thighs as she sits on top of her desk with one leg crossed over the other.

The look on her face is the same one she used to get when she was flirting with me.

My hands ball into fists as I twist in my seat, turning my back to her.

I don't need to see whatever show she's putting on for the latest man to fall into her trap.

However, the curious part of me has me shifting in my chair enough to see her as her foot bobs.

Jade tosses her head back as she laughs, honey hair cascading and those stormy blue eyes turning my way. She arches an eyebrow, moving on the desk just enough to have her skirt climbing higher up her leg.

I sigh and rake my hand through my hair.

There's no way I'm going to be able to get through the next ten weeks. Not with the stress that keeps piling on my shoulders.

And the way that everyone seems to be taking Jade's side in this war between us.

Mac thinks that I should be nicer to her. Maybe even try being friends.

Dad clearly thinks I need to make peace with her one way or another, even if I would rather drag my naked body over a bed of hot coals instead.

Jade pulls her hair over one shoulder, still keeping her gaze locked on me.

There is a tiny, childish part of me that wants to raise my middle finger just to get her riled up.

I always liked her when she was feisty with me at college. I used to think that she couldn't get more attractive between taunting me and chewing me out.

Whenever we were fighting back then, all it took was a smile or a kiss on her pulse and she would be putty in my hands.

Maybe I do miss the way she used to melt for me.

The few women that have been in my life since school never melted. They didn't care whether I was coming or going as long as I was paying for their dates and their shopping sprees.

Once I cut them off, they lost interest.

Jade always hated that I had more money than I knew what to do with. She thought the money was the least interesting part of me.

If I'm being honest with myself, I think I might miss that.

In those days, there was no problem we couldn't solve wrapped up in my bed.

Maybe that's the way to get through the issues we have now.