Page 133 of There's No Us Without You
I clear my throat to get his attention.
Jumping, he snaps his head towards me, then almost on cue, his shoulders slump forward, a sad smile forming on his face. “Eden,” he says, rubbing his hands over his slacks. “Thanks for coming in. I wasn’t sure if you’d show up. Not that... I would blame you.”
I cross my arms over my chest and dart my gaze around the small room—anywhere but his face. “It’s fine. What is it you wanted to talk about?”
With a sigh, Tony pulls out the top drawer of the filing cabinet to the right of his desk and grabs a yellow manilla folder. He holds it out to me. “Here,” he says, nodding to the item.
A little hesitant, I swallow down the lump in my throat and snatch it from his hand. “What’s this?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Our new agreement. The old one was... unfair. I realise that now.” He motions to the spare chair in the corner of the room. “Do you want to take a seat and read over it?”
“Sure.” I pull the chair out from the wall and sit down, crossing my legs and resting the folder on my thigh.
There’s a contract sitting inside, and what stands out the most is the change of date Tony has proposed for me to get him the rest of the money.
It’s a year from today’s date.
“I’m confused,” I say, rubbing my forehead. “I thought you needed to sell it and that’s why you sourced another potential buyer?”
Tony shakes his head, lowering his eyes. “I... may have lied about the other buyer.” Without lifting his head, he glances up, wincing. “There never was one. It was... just a way for your mother to get you to come crawling back to her. She thought if I threatened to sell to someone else, you’d come back begging.”
Fuming is what I should be after everything that woman has done, but at this point, all I feel is numb.
And not at all surprised.
Tilting my head, I close the folder. “And what does she have on you?”
Tony flashes a smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes as he picks up a pen and taps it on the palm of his other hand. “Believe it or not, it was just the sex.”
I blow out a breath and sink back into the chair. “Jesus, Tony. That’s—I can’t believe this.” I drop my head into my hand and rub my eyes.
“Eden, I’m... truly sorry. I’ve been a lonely man for many years, although it’s no excuse. I should have known she was just using me.”
I huff out a laugh. “Join the club.” Opening the folder for a second time, I run my eyes over the contract. “Why now? And why this?” I hold the paperwork up. “We never had a formal agreement before.”
Tony licks his lips and leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “Your father would be turning in his grave if he saw me today.” A soft smile transforms his face. “God, he’d have my balls. Believe it or not, I wasn’t always this much of an arsehole.”
Well, I didn’t expect this amount of truth telling.
“I always wondered what my father saw in you,” I say matter-of-factly. “Is that why you gave everyone a pay rise?”
“I wanted to prove to you that even though I’ve been an arsehole all these years, I’m not actually a bad man. After I saw the lengths your mother would go to, I knew I couldn’t be part of that. Your dad would be so disappointed in what I’ve become.”
Wow. It takes me a moment to process what is happening. This man sitting before me isn’t the one I’ve come to know over the last few years. But maybe it’s the one my dad knew, and I have to trust him because he never steered me wrong when he was alive.
I hold up the folder. “Well, thank you. It means more than you know. Dad would be proud you’ve come to your senses.”
Tony huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, he was a great man. Much better than me.”
“I think he was better than most people...” I shrug. “Except for the gambling.”
Tony nods, pinching his bottom lip between his fingers, his focus on the worn carpet in front of him. “Yeah, that didn’t do him any good.”
“Well, there’s something I want to add in.” I nod to the contract.
“I guess I’m not really in a position to disagree,” he says, a small smile on his lips.
“Not really. You kind of owe me.”
