Page 39 of Her Exception 3

Jeremy took hold of my hand, giving me a quick yet tender kiss before we followed behind.

“Wassup?” he asked again, once we were all seated comfortably.

Amelia looked at me to take the lead. I took his hand into mine and shifted slightly so we were face to face. “We’re concerned about you. You haven’t been yourself for the last couple of days. Ever since that meeting with Paris, you’ve been… detached. What’s wrong, babe?”

“Is it Violet?” Amelia checked, to which he shook his head.

“I am a little concerned about Violet, but that’s not what’s been weighing heavily on me. She’s not going to fire me until she has proof I plan to leave. Everyone else is unsafe. But that’s not the biggest issue.”

“Then what’s the biggest issue?” I asked.

“My father,” he admitted. “Talking with Paris made me realize how much of my life has been spent doing what he and my mother wanted.” His eyes shifted toward his sister. “How much the both of us have fought to have things he should have given organically—love, acceptance, respect, support.”

Amelia chuckled softly, nodding her head in agreement. “Yeah, you don’t realize how much of your days, your life, are spent obsessing over him until you start to slowly not need that validation anymore.”

“Was that abuse?” he asked. “Or just control?”

She thought it over for a while before saying, “I was abused, emotionally and mentally, but I don’t think you were. You were controlled. Nothing I ever did was good enough for him or worth his time and attention. Even me going to law school. He always told me I would fail at being a lawyer because I was weak. Eventually, I stopped telling him about my successes because he used his and yours to show me how it was supposed to be done.” The scoff she released as her eyes watered made my heart hurt. I wanted to hug both of them and never let them go. “But you… you were definitely controlled. You’ve always been, for lack of a better phrase, his puppet. Daddy did a lot of dirty work through you.”

“I’m starting to realize that now,” he muttered. “I don’t want that to continue at the new firm. I don’t want him to think he can use me to do his bidding the entire time I’m managing partner. I don’t want this to be a setup. A way for him to continue to run things after he officially retires.”

“This is what you’ve been worrying about?” I asked.

“Yeah, and it’s been fucking with my mind. My confidence. I’ve been thinking about if he truly believes I deserve this and can run things, or if he’s just positioning me for his use. Even with how I get the job, I’m under their thumb.” He chuckled and hung his head, and I wanted to go and fight both of his parents for making him feel like this.

“Hey,” I called softly, lifting his head by his chin. “You more than deserve this position, and I don’t give a fuck what Violet, your father, or anyone else says about it. You are one of the most lethal litigators I’ve seen behind a tableandin a courtroom, but your abilities when it comes to the day-to-day operations and policies of a law firm are unmatched. I know I haven’t been at HGP2long, but even before I came, you were used as an example of what to do and not to do at my previous firms. The profitability and business plan you gave Violet to present to Sakura and me was the biggest reason we agreed to join. You might not have wanted to do this from the beginning, but you were made for this.”

“I agree,” Amelia said. “I hated the way you operated for the longest time because it wasn’t the soft partnership I was used to with Violet. I can honestly say, though, I always grow more and come up with solutions on my own when I’m working with you. Daddy may have turned you into a beast, but he turned you into a beast of a businessman that I would follow anywhere if I hadn’t already promised my loyalty to Mecca.”

We continued to pour into Jeremy for a few minutes more before he started to look and sound more like himself. Amelia stayed for another hour or so before she gave us both hugs and left.

Once we were alone, I asked Jeremy, “Are you sure about this, baby?” as we chopped veggies for chicken and steak fajitas.

“You got a taste for something else?”

Chuckling, I shook my head and took a sip of my wine. “I mean taking over at your father’s firm.”

His head shook as he set his knife down and washed his hands. “I can’t think about me right now. Too many people are relying on this move. You, Kura, Ru, Parker, Carina. I finally found my family law attorney. I can’t let y’all down.”

“I don’t want you to accept this position because you think it’ll finally gain you your father’s approval and acceptance.” He looked at me. “And I don’t want you to do it because you’re so used to being under his control.” I took a step in his direction. “I don’t even want you to do it for me or any of the other people you named.” I closed the space between us. “If you do it, I want you to do it because it’s whatyouwant to do. No other reason means more than that.”

With a nod, Jeremy gave me a soft kiss before returning his attention to the food.

Now that I’d had a bit more insight into his and Amelia’s upbringing, something was telling me Jeremy was going to sacrifice himself for us all.

Twenty-Seven

Jeremy

End of February

If women couldn’t bond over anything else, they could bond over being pampered and shopping. Maritza and Mom had been doing that a lot lately. When I went to pick her up from their home, Pops asked me to come to his study for a while. I was surprised Maritza even asked me to drop her off, but I shouldn’t have been, because she could handle herself and my father.

The closer it got to time for me to leave HGP2the less sure I was about taking over for my father. I was going to do it regardless, but the time I stayed at his firm was up in the air. Amelia and Maritza had given me a lot to think about, and in the process, they confirmed what I’d been thinking. I still hadn’t worked up the courage to ask my father straight up. It wasn’t because I was scared; it was because I already knew the answer and hearing those words would destroy the illusion I was currently getting high from.

Instead of sitting, I hung back by the door like I always did when he requested my presence in there. Because usually, he wanted to discuss something he wanted no one else to hear. And that usually meant he was about to say or ask for something that was going to piss me off.

“When are you getting married, son?” he asked, sitting at his desk.

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