Four Tanner

Getting called into my father's office was never a good thing. There were only two outcomes. It would either be more work for me or a major upheaval in my life. Either way, I knew I wasn't going to walk out of there happy.

"You called?" I said, hovering in the doorway of his office.

"There you are, Tanner," he replied, turning his chair to face me. "I've been waiting."

Yep. There was that tone in his voice again. Disapproval, as always. He'd messaged me less than ten minutes ago in the middle of a major update to his system, and still, I wasn't fast enough for him.

"Sorry," I muttered, stepping inside. "What did you need to see me for?"

"Take a seat, Tanner."

I didn't like the sound of that, but I did what I was bidden. My father was one of the biggest real estate agents in the Chicago area and didn't like wasting his time, even if it was on his only son. I'd learned long ago that it was best not to keep him waiting.

"I'm sure you remember that conference I sent you to a few weeks back?"

I nodded. How could I forget? That was the night Wyatt Trombley fucked me and disappeared before I woke up. I'd thought about him every night since, unable to shake the memories from my brain. For some reason, I was still pissed at him for leaving without a word. Not that any other hookup would have gone differently. But there was something about him I just couldn't shake. So, instead of admitting to myself that the sex had been some of the best in my life, I decided to hate him for sneaking out in the middle of the night. He was supposed to be my guide for the rest of the conference.

Not to mention, the fucker stole my favorite butt plug.

"Yeah, I remember it," I sighed, leaning back in my chair.

"Well, since you didn't manage to build the connections we wanted—"

"That Wyatt guy fucked off before he could show me around!"

My father looked over the top of his glasses, his cold eyes staring over the frames. "That sounds like an excuse, Tanner. Excuses are f—"

"For losers, I know," I replied, repeating the same thing he'd been telling me since I was a toddler.

"There's no excuse for not making the sale, and there's definitely no excuse for not making connections at that conference." He leaned back in his chair, his hands folded over his lap. "You were surrounded by hundreds of realtors, and you came back with nothing. Even if Wyatt did disappear, which I doubt…"

"He did!"

"Regardless," my father said, cutting me off. "Every opportunity was there, and you didn't take it." He sighed, giving me a small shrug. "That's why I've had to make a difficult decision."

I furrowed my brows. "A difficult decision?"

"Yes. I've decided to let you go."

I was too stunned to speak. For a long moment, I just stared at him, my mouth hanging open.

"You… You're firing me?!" I balked. "Your own son?"

"Yes," he said candidly. "I am. Because while I expect a high level of performance from my employees, I expect even more from my son." He gestured up at the wall where a large photo of my grandfather, the founder of the business, hung in a thick gold frame. "This is a family business, and I need to know that I can count on my family to keep it running the way it should be run. Your cousin Vinny works here, and he's done an amazing job. Top seller every month for the past two years. And you," he gestured in my direction. "You just play on your computer all day."

"I literally rebuilt your entire listing and sales system from the ground up!" I was on my feet, nearly shouting at him. "Your profits are up fifteen percent because I cut out the middle man for you!"

"Nobody has proven that was your doing."

"I sent you the spreadsheets!" I cried.

"Tanner!" he roared, getting to his feet. "Do not raise your voice at me! You know better than that! You will give me the respect I deserve!"

For half a second, I thought I was going to stand up to him, to finally tell him what I thought. But as quickly as the anger flared up, I felt it die away. My shoulders dropped, and I breathed out a heavy sigh.

"Sorry."

"That's better," he said, taking a seat once more.

He glared up in my direction, but I couldn't bring myself to meet his gaze.

"But because you are family, I'm going to give you one last chance."

I didn't reply.

"Walter Trombley is looking for someone to work at his agency. He wants someone who knows the ropes and can hit the ground running. He needs to increase his sales for this upcoming quarter, and I told him you're the man for the job."

"I'm not a salesman…"

"You are now," my father replied, tossing a sheet of paper across the desk at me.

I picked it up, scanning over the surface. It was an agent's license for the state of Michigan. And it had my name on it.

"You… You took the exam for me?"

"No, I had one of the interns do it," he said, waving me off. "You'll start selling the moment you arrive in Ludington. I've already emailed you all the information you'll need to get started. Your flight is tomorrow morning."

"Where am I going to live?" I asked. My father owned the apartment complex I lived in, but as far as I knew, he didn't own any in Michigan. "I'm not ready to move."

"I already broke your lease. And, if you want to take over this business someday, you'll be ready to move by tomorrow. I'll have your things sent along when you find a place to stay, but for now, you'll just have to shack up with Wyatt."

My heart nearly fell out of my butt. Live with Wyatt? I couldn't do that.

"And I don't want to hear another word about it," my father added, anticipating my reply. "Walter has already agreed to take you on, and you start on Monday." He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk. "And you better be ready to work your ass off," he said, pointing a threatening finger in my direction. "I'm serious. If you make me look bad in front of Walter…" he paused for a moment. "Don't bother coming back."

I felt like someone had punched me in the gut as the air left my body. My entire life had been comprised of nothing but the family business. My grandparents had worked there, my parents worked there, and my cousins worked there. As my father's only child, it had always been my destiny to take over someday. As a child, it excited me. The prospect of being rich with a never-ending stream of income was a dream come true. But the older I got, the more I realized it was harder and harder to satisfy the old man. Even with constant effort, I'd somehow managed to get on his bad side.

Now, my only chance at redemption was to take this new job and blow it out of the park. I had no idea how I was going to do it, but my entire future hung in the balance. That was enough motivation for anyone.

"I… I understand," I replied at last. "I won't let you down."

My father gave me a soft smile. "This'll be good for you, I promise. You've needed some inspiration lately, and I think this will be just the ticket. Wyatt is a great salesman. He'll teach you everything you need to know. Maybe a fresh perspective will help."

He stared at me expectantly.

"Th-Thanks, Dad," I said.

"You're welcome." He gave me a small dismissive wave. "Now go pack. And tell Vinny to come see me on your way out. I need to tell him about his party at the club this weekend."

I nodded, pulling the door closed behind me as I left. Vinny was getting parties to celebrate his accomplishments while I was being fired and sent to live in Michigan as a final wake-up call. It didn't seem fair, but I knew I couldn't say anything about it. Besides, my mind wasn't on all that anyway.

The moment the door shut behind me, all I could think about was Wyatt. In twenty-four hours, I was going to be living with the straight man that had fucked me and snuck out without a word. My dick twitched in my pants at the thought, and I let out a low growl.

"Fuck that guy," I muttered, stomping back to my desk. "He's a prick."

I was going to treat Wyatt just the way he'd treated me. I'd go in, use him to get what I wanted, and leave before he had the chance to say a damn word. He was nothing but a tool to prove to my father that I was ready to take on the family business and prove to him once and for all that I was worth something.

Seeing Wyatt was going to suck. But my consolation prize would be his look of sheer panic when I showed up on his doorstep.