Page 14 of Cade

“It’s my money now. You are no longer a part of the company.”

“Semantics. I made that money. You wouldn’t be where you are if it weren’t for me,” his father chuckled. “I bet it eats you up, knowing that you are living off of my hard work.”

“What do you want?” Cade said through gritted teeth.

“I want you to get serious. You need to get married and make sure this company stays in the family. It’s past time for you to start training a son of your own.”

“What year do you think it is? I don’t need an heir and a spare. We aren’t royalty.” He’d roll his eyes if he wasn’t so confused by all of this.

“Might as well be royalty when it comes to business. Your time is running short to make an advantageous marriage, Cade. Move the company forward and do what you know needs to be done.”

“I have no desire to make an advantageous marriage and you have no right to tell me what to do.” His jaw ticked as he tried to keep his anger under control.

“Quit playing your games because you’re made at me and do what you know is the right thing here.”

“The right thing for me to do would be to end the call and not have to deal with your shit any longer. However, I’m still here for now.”

“Bad things happen to people that don’t follow the rules, Cade,” he threatened.

Oh, that got his attention more than anything else.

“Like fights on the street? Vandalism? Anything else?” Cade tipped his hand.

There was a pause as Cade imagined his father sorting out the facts that Cade must already know.

“I know about Lauren’s mother. If you think of trying anything like that again, I promise you I won’t bother trying to hide anything from anyone, and I’ll let you go down for your crimes like anyone else would.” Cade felt empowered for the first time in weeks when it came to his father.

“I dare you to try it. You have no proof of anything, and there’s nothing connecting me to whatever you’re talking about.”

Cade smiled. “That’s where you’re wrong. I know all about Lauren’s mother and the deals you made with her. She’s keeping her mouth shut for now, but I can only imagine how a little money might tip things in my favor. Or I could do one better and release the emails you sent her, complete with IP addresses. Here’s a tip for you. Next time, don’t use your fucking home computer to set up crimes,” Cade snapped.

Not waiting for a response, Cade ended the call and gripped his phone, barely holding back from tossing it across the yard, maybe into the in-ground pool.

The man had lost his mind. There was no other excuse for what was happening. A wife? An heir? Who the fuck demands their kid get married to carry on the legacy of their business anymore? He had so many questions.

With no one to vent to about it, Cade set his phone on the pool chair and went inside. He wasn’t answering it again this week, and he needed a fight.

Pausing for only a moment as he entered his home gym, Cade took a steadying breath and let loose on the heavy bag in front of him.

Chapter Seven

April

It was Monday night, and April was still at work, well past dinnertime. She hadn’t realized it until someone pointed it out, as usual. It wasn’t even that she enjoyed this job. She was just hyper-focused on everything she did. It was a bad habit when you didn’t have someone reminding you to take a break.

It was almost easier for her to work a dead-end job because people told her to take breaks. Here, they encouraged you not to. Wanted to eat? Then you should be taking a client out for dinner.

She arched her back again. The standard end of the day, work out the kinks she’d put there during the day movement that had become her routine.

A buzzing called her attention and April shuffled around the piles of paper on her desk, looking for her phone. It was on vibrate and loud enough to have other people looking over at her as it continued to rattle on the desk.

“How’s it going, April?” Mark, her boss, stopped by her desk.

“Just looking for my phone,” she told him, still trying to find the source of the noise.

He laughed, his too loud, annoying as anything laugh, and reached down on her desk, picking up her phone. “You’ll be partner before too long with this kind of dedication. No one wants to separate themselves from their phones anymore and you can never find yours.” He laughed again, his toupee in danger of falling off if he threw his head back any further at his own joke.

She took her phone and seriously considered looking for a cleaning wipe before using it. “Thanks. I’m about to head out for the night,” she told him.

---