Page 76 of Ugly Truths
“He made a fool of himself long before I spoke. Even if the idea were solid, he thought that a half-assed speech was going to be enough to convince a room of experts of an operational overhaul. You know this. And instead of guiding him, you’re here to reprimand me for doing my job.”
William's eyes darken. “It's what we do for family,” he says through his teeth.
“Is that right?” I meet his gaze. “Where's this mindset when I make proposals? Or when Natalie showed an interest in human resources?”
Nat was interested in far more than that, but it was the one thing she thought our father might entertain. It was never exactly clear what disqualified her, but he never gave her ideas the time of day, no matter who vouched for them. Eventually, she grew tired of trying and gave up, which is a damn shame becauseshe’sthe one who would make a great COO.
Though the ice in his gaze remains, William dismisses the questions with the same annoyance he might a bug. “Clearly, you’re tooemotional to have a productive conversation about this,” he says. “But maybe you can hold it together long enough to discuss our audits.”
I rub my eyes under my glasses, the headache already blooming. “What about them?” I ask.
“Almost all have been completed besides IT,” he says, “I want to know why.”
I shrug. “From the updates I’ve received from Davey, there’s a lot to work through.”
“Whatexactlyis there to work through?”
I keep my expression neutral. “I’m relying on Davey to tell me that. He’s the expert.” Brenden has been unusually quiet this past week. I’ll have to have Davey keep a close eye on him.
My father shakes his head, running a hand through his peppered hair. “A waste of time and money,” he mutters.
I fix my cufflinks. “I want to follow standard procedures. They should be wrapping up soon,” I say, but haven't a clue when Davey and Elena's friends will be done decrypting those files. “Then we can hash out the details of the transition.”
My father rolls his eyes, looking briefly up at the ceiling. “You and those damn details.”
The details we need to make this successful and seamless for everyone. Why would he care, at the end of the day, when it will only reflect poorly on me and my leadership?
My tongue runs over my teeth as I lean on a cigar chair. “I’d be happy to refine those details on my own, if that doesn’t interest you.”
Disbelief flashes across his face. “So I can be blocked out completely by the end of this? I don’t think so.”
The accusation hits me hard enough that it takes a moment for my thoughts to catch up with the rest of me.
“Is that what you think I’m trying to do?”
I’ve kept him involved at every step, even in areas I didn’t have to, and somehow, he believes I’m trying to cut him out?
He ignores my question, resting his elbows on the desk, steepling his fingers as his eyes bore into mine.
“If I’d known this was the kind of leadership you’d bring to the table…” He trails off, letting the thought hang for a moment before continuing, “The secrecy around the audits. The reckless personal choices. And now, leaving your brother out to dry?” He shakes his head, disappointment bleeding into every word. “I trusted you to be a team player, but now I’m starting to wonder if I made the wrong choice.”
I blink, head whirling, but that’s the most I’m willing to show.
“Well, just like Jeremy’s nomination, you can try to reverse the executive transition if you think I’m wrong for the job.”
His lips press into a thin line. “Do you think I won’t?” he asks.
My chest burns. Slow and deep at first, then hotter, brighter, sharper with every second he holds my gaze.
He thinks he can threaten me with the one thing I’ve been groomed for since I could walk the halls of this building? The title he drilled into me like gospel? The job he swore he was proud to hand over at the beginning of the year, when we signed the papers and the board stamped their approval?
Something inside of me threatens to crack open.
For years, I swallowed my pride, kept my head down, made compromises to become the man he said he wanted me to be, and now he’s pretending he can take it all back with a single sentence.
Over my dead fucking body.
“I think you can try,” I reply, keeping my voice deceptively even. “If you really believe you can convince them otherwise, by all means.”
