Page 32 of The Charmer

Speak of the devil…

Eric strode into the office without waiting for an invite and stood over Cooper’s desk.

“Sure, what’s up?”

It irked Cooper that he couldn’t call Eric ‘dad’ in the office. They’d dropped the ‘dad’ and ‘son’ act as soon as he joined the company. Sad but true.

Cooper had worked hard, putting in long hours, nailing the big deals, doing more for Vance Corporation than any other employee in the company’s history, all in the vain hope that his father would treat him like a valued asset, or better, the son he’d once loved.

No more. He was done wishing for something that would never eventuate.

Eric crossed his arms. “What’s the deal with the Wallace woman? Have you signed her yet?” He tapped his watch. “We’re due to meet with the investors in a few days.”

Cooper pointed at the document folder in front of him. “I’m meeting with her in an hour.”

An ugly sneer creased Eric’s face. “That’s just dandy, but is she going to sign on the dotted line?”

“I’m confident.” Cooper kept his answers short, non-confrontational, just like he’d learned to do because of his dad’s short temper.

Eric glanced away, oddly uncomfortable, before eyeballing him. “What will you do then?”

Cooper stared at his dad in confusion. They’d never talked beyond the deal. Cooper knew the day he delivered the signed documentation was the day he walked out of here with his contract in tatters, but his father had never asked about his future plans. Eric was rarely interested in anything but himself.

“Do you really want to know?”

To his surprise, Eric slumped into the chair opposite and lost the surly expression. “Yeah, I do. You’ve worked here ever since university, I think I’m entitled to know your plans.”

“As my ex-employer or as my father?”

Cooper almost spat the words even though he knew now wasn’t the time or place to have the in-depth father/son chat he’d craved for the last year. He had more important things to focus on, like convincing a crazy artist to hand over her studio.

“Guess I deserved that.”

If Cooper had been surprised by his father’s question, Eric’s concerned expression floored him. For a moment, it almost appeared like his dad cared.

“Look, Coop, things have been pretty full-on around here for the last year. Maybe I’ve taken you for granted. You’re a good worker. You’ll go places.” Eric’s expression hardened. “Seems a shame to throw it all away on a whim.”

A whim? His father thought Cooper’s dream of starting his own company was nothing more than a whim?

Cooper’s tiny flicker of hope extinguished. His dad wasn’t interested in re-establishing a father/son bond. He wasn’t interested in making up for lost time, for all the months they’d wasted dancing around one another.

Uh-uh, his dad was only concerned about his precious business.

Cooper should’ve known.

He stood abruptly, shrugged into his suit jacket, and picked up the presentation folder. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but this isn’t a whim. Striking out on my own is something I have to do. You’d understand that if you knew me.”

Cooper ignored the hurt in his father’s eyes and walked out the door, his attention already focussed on the meeting ahead and its importance for his future.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ariel flitted around the studio, lighting lime and tangerine candles, plumping the sequinned purple cushions on the ruby sofas, and tidying up the evidence of her nerves.

She’d drunk a dozen cups of chamomile tea since calling Cooper this morning to let him know today was as good a time as any to hear his pitch. But now, as she stacked the cups in the dishwasher and made her umpteenth visit to the toilet, she wondered if she’d done the right thing.

‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ had been one of Barb’s favourite sayings so Ariel had taken the plunge and called him, despite her stomach still churning since their almost-kiss last night.

If she’d had her way, she would’ve never laid eyes on Cooper again but they’d made a deal; he’d upheld his end of the bargain and now it was her turn.

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