Addicted After All (13 page)

“Wait,” I frown. “You know these people, personally?” For some reason, I thought they were a random test group. Like someone asked pedestrians on the street their opinions about us.

“Of course I do,” he says. “All fourteen make up the Board of Directors for Hale Co.”

I stare off, suddenly realizing what this may be about.
No, it can’t…

He continues while my head rolls, “Loren Hale is not as big of a hothead as Ryke Meadows…They were really going easy on you at first.” He skims the paper. “The majority found you to be ‘angry-looking’ which is a stupid little adjective. The women thought you came across thoughtful and caring towards your girlfriend, but they were worried if you were a team player. You are generally sympathetic in the media, being my bastard child, though you appear standoffish when it concerns Hale Co.—which worries all of them. It’s why I’m here.”

His eyes flit up to mine again.

And the answer that we’ve all wanted is about to finally come.

“I’m socially and corporately
tainted
since the…rumors about you and me.”

He can’t say it.

The
molestation
rumors. False accusations about my dad touching me when I was a kid. There will always be skeptics believing they were true, no matter how much evidence crops up advocating against it. No matter how hard we scream, people still won’t believe us. It’s what makes me sick most of the time.

“Stocks have dropped. Hale Co. isn’t looking good, and the board is pressuring me to not only name an heir but to hand the company off. I can’t represent it anymore. But I refuse to pass Hale Co. to some random, white-collared little shit. It’s going to one of you four
beautiful
little shits and staying in the family.”

He’s been sitting on this for weeks, months maybe. The board is forcing him to step down, and I can’t even wrap my head around stepping up. I have a comic book business. I’m about to have a baby. Lily is hormonal and starting to regress. I’ve been sober for only
four
months since the last time I relapsed.

Hale Co. is a multi-billion dollar company. And I still feel like a little kid playing grown-up.

“If no one is going to say anything,” my dad starts again, “then I’ll go on. You need to impress the board, not me. They can vote you out at any time, so you have to earn their respect. But they will accept one of you, guide you, train you. This, I know. Hale Co. is a family company, something my father passed to me, and they appreciate that. It’s a goddamn good marketing tool.”

Ryke points at Daisy on the loveseat. “She’s not my fucking wife, so keep her out of this.”

“I needed to give the board some options. She was one of the names brought up due to her affiliation with Fizzle. And if she means something to you, then she means something to me and the Hale legacy. If you don’t fucking marry her, then she’s still a goddamn Calloway.”

A rock is in my throat, but I somehow clear it to ask, “Is the board choosing who takes over or are we?”

“The board will decide. You’ll attend functions with them, meetings, and when they choose, you have to be willing to sign the papers and commit. If you don’t, the company is no longer in our family’s control, and we’ll lose a
substantial
number of shares.”

I didn’t think that my dad would turn my world upside down again. Not like this. It’s a life change for one of us.

Ryke just keeps shaking his head over and over.

“Ryke, I’ll be fine,” Daisy tells him. “It could be fun.”

He towers above her while she’s on the loveseat. “You spent years doing things for your fucking mom. I’m not letting you do the same for my dad.” He turns back to Jonathan. “I’ll go through with the meetings, whatever. Just leave Daisy alone.”

“That’s not how it works,” he says. “She can sabotage herself so they won’t pick her, but she’s still required to attend the meetings.”

Ryke’s eyes flash hot. “You can’t just
promise
people things without asking us if it’s fucking okay.”

“Do you ever look at the name beside all the deposits in your checking account, Ryke? It’s Hale Co.—every penny in your trust fund is from that company, and so I don’t believe I should have to ask for your permission.”

Ryke sets his hands on top of his head. “This is fucking unbelievable.”

“I’m losing my goddamn company, and
you’re
throwing a hissy fit. You’ve never even had real job. You’re
all
privileged and lucky. Every day
you
take it for granted.”

Shit.

It’s like he busted something in Ryke. My brother charges forward, and I shoot to my feet and grab his shoulder.

“Come on,” I whisper to him, trying to force him backwards, but he’s like a brick wall and his target is on Jonathan.

Ryke glowers. “I grew up
pretending
to have no real fucking parents. I’m an alcoholic.
Both
of your sons are alcoholics. There is no amount of privilege and wealth worth what’s been fucking done to us and said about the people we love.” And he ends it with, “I’m lucky to be alive, but I am not lucky to be your son.”

My ribs bind around my lungs. The fact that they’re on speaking terms, after years of silence, is progress enough.

“Please, tell me what you really feel,” my dad says dryly.

Daisy jumps to her feet and stands between Ryke and my dad. She places her hands on my brother’s chest. “Ryke, it’s okay.”

I glance back at Lily. She’s staring off in a daze, but her palms are flat on top of the blanket. She’s not touching herself. That eases some of my worry.

“Stay
the fuck
out of this,” Ryke tells her. “I don’t want you in it.”

“I’d rather be picked to run Hale Co. than watch you take it over,” she says honestly. “You’ve told me a million times how you’ve never wanted to be a part of it. And you always say to never do things that you hate, do the things you love. So don’t change now.”

His nose flares. “
You’ll
fucking hate this job too. You’ll be inside a building, in a cubicle, all fucking day, Dais.”

“It’s an office,” our dad interjects, “with one of the best views of Philly. There are plenty of windows for her to jump out of.”

Ryke looks like he could strangle him.

I grimace because it’s a bad comment—one that I could’ve easily made instead.

“Ryke.” Daisy clasps his arm, drawing his attention to her. “How about you let me decide what I hate and what I love, okay?” Her voice is sweet, but her words pack a punch.

He relents, right there. “I fucking hate this,” he says lowly.

And I realize that she’s not going to sabotage her chances. Because she doesn’t want Ryke to be chosen. Ryke is probably going to try harder—because he doesn’t want Daisy to live this kind of life. I think we all know there’s a two-percent chance she’ll enjoy it.

As much as I would like to get off free, damage my own chances, and leave Ryke or Daisy to follow my father’s dreams and not their own—I’m not that guy anymore. The hard things are usually the right things.

I know that now.

“I’ll do it,” I say.
I have
to do it, but I’m telling the whole room that I’m going to try. My chest constricts with the weight and pressure of this statement. Of the things and responsibilities that will become mine. It all rests right on top of Halway Comics, Superheroes & Scones, my child, and our addictions.

“No,” Connor and Rose say in unison, both of them
glaring
at me for even offering.

But my dad is on cloud nine. I’ve never seen him smile like that, his pride overwhelming, and the foreign sentiment sits strangely inside me. He’s always wanted me to take over Hale Co. Not Ryke. I may be the bastard and the second-born son, but I’m the one he raised.

I understand. This is my legacy—what I was always supposed to do in the end. Everything has led here.

Lily suddenly chimes in, “He has a business already. He doesn’t have time for anything else.”

It’s true.

“Managers,
staff
,” my father emphasizes. “He can leave Halway Comics in good hands, and Superheroes & Scones is practically running itself.”

I shoot him a sharp look. “Lily does a lot—”

He cuts me off, “I expect Lily to put her best effort in the running too.”

He can’t be serious. “She’s
pregnant
,” I say with edge.

He outstretches his arms. “It’s a
baby product
company. There is no better time for her to be involved than now. And when she gives birth, she can bring Maxof to some product testing.”

“Maximoff,” everyone corrects him.

“Get used to that.” He scowls and searches the living room with his daggered gaze. Still no liquor cart.
Sorry, Dad
. “Not everyone will understand the things that you do.”

Lily sits straighter. “I’ll do it.”

“Lily.” I shake my head. “
No.
” The last thing that she needs is more anxiety.

She says, “Better me than you.”

“No,” I cringe, realizing exactly how Ryke just felt. I clench my teeth harder than before, more pissed now. I don’t want the girls at Hale Co. I don’t want this life for them.

They were free.

Weren’t they?

“Both of you are self-sabotaging,” I snap at Daisy and Lily.

“No,” they reply adamantly.

I’m lying on the tracks of a train—letting it speed over me and just hoping that I’m not swept up in the momentum. It’s now that I recognize what will happen.

We’re all agreeing to my father’s proposition
for
each other. No one will back down anymore.

I was indebted to my dad the moment he chose to let me live and enter this world. I thought I proved myself to him, but this future has been here all along, a path that I knew I’d meet at some point. The suit and tie, the briefcase with the Hale Co. logo.

It’s mine to take.

No one else should.

But everyone will fight for it. I can already see the wheels spinning in my brother’s mind. His constricted muscles and the shake of his head that says
back down, let me have it.

Ryke would endure hell for eternity if it meant that I could go to heaven.

Once upon a time, I think I would’ve let him. Not anymore.

He deserves his paradise. So I’ll fight against my brother. I’ll fight against Lily and Daisy for this position. The winner is the loser.

And this cage has my name on it.

{ 13 }

LOREN HALE

“This is it?” I ask Ryke as he carries down Daisy’s duffel bag. Rose has a five-piece suitcase stacked by the door along with the rest of our luggage for the yacht trip.

“That’s it.” He tosses the duffel on the pile. The girls are eating breakfast while we haul everything to the car. “How’s Lily?” Ryke asks me in the foyer.

Connor abruptly finishes texting and straightens up off the wall.

“She’s fine,” I say vaguely. It’s been a couple days since my dad unleashed the news about Hale Co., and afterwards, I held Lily in my arms all night and tried to distract her with a Harry Potter marathon—something that wouldn’t arouse her.

I think I said
no
only two times before she rolled away from me and tried to fight her compulsions. I have my fair share of ups and downs, but it’ll always be harder watching Lily hit a low than going through my own. Watching someone you love in pain—and not being able to fix it—it’s agony that I don’t wish on anyone.

“Have you had sex?” Connor asks while Ryke slips on his shoes, about to go for a short run with me. He bends down to tie the laces.

“Have you?” I retort. Connor knows the rules now. I’m not sharing details about my sex life without something in return.

Connor cups a mug of coffee. “She woke up to me thrusting inside of her. So I’d say yes.”

My brows rise at
that
image. Jesus.

Still crouched, Ryke gapes at Connor. “You didn’t really fuck her while she was asleep.”

“She woke up a couple seconds after I pushed into her, which is the point.” He sips his coffee and watches Ryke’s expression darken. “Heel, boy,” Connor banters.

I smile wide, even as Ryke stands an inch taller than me. Now he’s closer to Connor’s height than before. “Fucking hilarious.”

“I thought so,” Connor grins and sets his mug on an end table by the door. “I just know what my wife loves. If Daisy was into it, you’d do it too.” I’ve never had sex with Lily like that—and honestly, I don’t want to put the idea in her head. It’s better if she doesn’t expect it.

We’ve taken small steps throughout the years, like public sex. Her therapist actually approved of it—though she scolded us for lying in the first place and not admitting that we’d been doing it long before.

We were in the wrong for the lies. I think we both recognized that.

Now we’re free of them again.

Ryke stretches his arm over his shoulder and lowers his voice. “Daisy would freak out if I fucked her while she was half asleep,” he tells us. “She’d think I was someone who broke into the house…” He can’t finish the rest, but his face twists. She’d think he was raping her.

I cringe. “She has some issues.”

Ryke glares at me.

I raise my hands. “I meant that in a
nice
way.” Though my sharp tone didn’t help.

“Did you have sex last night?” Connor asks again, reverting back to the original topic. Me. Lily. Her addiction. It’s an every-week conversation. It doesn’t aggravate me as much as it used to—not when they share too.

“Yeah,” I say. “We waited twenty-four hours after she was really bad.” She only came once and then she stopped herself, a level of control that I worried she’d never reach.

“You’re smiling,” Connor notes.

“Must have been good,” Ryke says, dropping his arm.

“It was.” But for a different reason than they might think. “Ready?” I ask Ryke, opening the door. He nods and as the February cold blows through, I pull my jacket hood over my head, snow lightly falling from the sky.