Page 56 of My Ex-Fiance's Best Men
“It’s early afternoon,” I mutter, watching Helen as she gets in the back of a town car. The driver pulls away and slides into traffic, leaving the giant steel-and-glass Baldwin building behind. “I figured as the CEO, she’d be working late hours.”
“Helen never struck me as the hard-working type.”
“Crystal, even less,” I agree with my brother.
“Crystal didn’t even come into the office today,” Dominic says. “They had a shareholder meeting just before noon, yet she couldn’t be bothered to attend. According to her Twitter account, she was shopping on Broadway for, quote-unquote, the perfect cocktail dress.”
I can’t help but groan as I pull out and follow her, keeping two cars between us, my eyes constantly scanning the area.
“Phoebe must be going out of her mind, not able to go to work,” I say.
“It’s not like she loved the marketing department, but it did give her structure,” my brother replies. “Last I checked, she was working with Penny, helping with her charity’s accounting. Apparently, there were some irregularities found.”
“That should keep our girl busy for a while.”
Dominic’s phone rings. He puts the camera down and checks the screen. We’re stuck in traffic, moving from one red light to another.
“Crap. It’s Dad,” he says.
A shiver shoots down my spine. I told Phoebe we don’t have the best relationship with our family and I wasn’t lying. But I didn’t exactly explain the depth of our strife nor the cause of our resentment.
“Might as well see what he wants and get it out of the way,” I grumble.
As soon as Dominic answers, my grip tightens on the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white.
Dominic sets the phone on Bluetooth so we can both engage. “How’s the weather in Florida?” I ask. “Not too hot, I hope.”
“What the hell have the two of you been up to?” the old man’s voice booms through the car like a whiplash from hell.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Dominic calmly replies.
“Don’t give me that bullshit! I’m in Florida, not space. I still get the news and the gossip out of New York. And Lord knows there’s been plenty of it coming in about you two and Theo. What are you trying to do? Completely tarnish my name?”
“And here I thought you were calling because you missed us,” I reply, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
“What are you doing, boning that Baldwin girl? All three of you? Seriously? I haven’t even properly vetted her.”
“Vetted her?” I laugh. “Dad, I think you’re forgetting an important chapter of our lives. Specifically, the one where we built our own business and reputation, our privacy and independence as far away from you as possible.”
“You both still bear my name!”
“And?” Dominic cuts in. “Who we spend our lives with is our business and ours alone.”
“On top of that shameful nonsense, now you’re picking a fight with Baldwin Enterprises. Have you lost your goddamn minds?”
I need a deep breath before speaking again. “Dominic just signed a 3.4-billion-dollar contract with GeoStone,” I reply. “It’ll bring in twice as much in revenue, and it drove our share price up by eight percent. We don’t need Baldwin Enterprises.”
“You’re still ruining my good name.”
“So, you just called to berate us over a non-existent problem,” Dominic sighs.
“Non-existent? I’m getting calls from the Baldwin family lawyers telling me they’re considering a lawsuit against you!”
“They can consider it all they want,” I answer swiftly. “It’s nothing more than an empty threat. They have nothing to sue over. They’re just muddying the waters and trying to stir shit up. You should know, you’ve engaged in similar tactics back when you were running your company.”
“We both know he’s still running his company. Dwight is just a puppet,” Dominic mutters.
“Your cousin stepped up because you refused to take your seats at the table when it was your turn. Don’t be bitter about himwhen you’re the ones who chose to walk away,” Dad says. “You wanted out. Besides, Dwight has been doing a great job.”
