Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 42185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 211(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 211(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Except it’s completely wrong.
“What the fuck are you laughing at?” he snaps. “I’ve been courting the board for years while you never bothered to speak with them. They’re on my side, completely.”
“Declan, you’re fired.”
He frowns a little. “You’re joking, right? The board is voting to fire you, Mason. They wouldn’t sign off on that.”
“They already did.” I pick up a piece of paper from my desk and hand it to Hazel. “Take that over to him, Hazel.”
“Yes, Daddy,” she says with a sly little smile. A thrill runs through me.
Declan looks horrified. “What the fuck?”
Hazel walks over and hands him the paper. He snaps it from her hand and reads it as she returns to her position behind me.
His eyes stare into mine. “This has to be fake.”
“It’s not fake, Declan. You realize that the board was hand-picked by me years ago, right? I chose them for one single trait: undying loyalty to me, no matter what.”
“Why would they lie to me?” he asks softly.
“Because you’re a stupid piece of shit and I told them to.” I grin wickedly. “I wanted this to be a surprise. It’s better this way.”
He stares at me, hands trembling. I can tell he’s trying to make a choice. He knows he’s through, but he can do one more thing. He’s thinking about attacking me, coming at me, trying to kill me.
I welcome it. I really, really do.
Instead, he turns away. “You bastard. You fucking piece of shit.”
“Get out of here, Declan. Consider yourself lucky.”
“Lucky?” He shakes his head. “Fuck you.”
“I’m not pressing charges, but if I hear anything about you ever again, I will. I have plenty of evidence to make sure you rot in prison for a long, long time.”
He glances at me and sighs. “Go to hell, Mason.” Without another word, he leaves my office.
Silence descends on the office. Hazel comes around to the front of my desk and sits down.
“He’s gone,” she says.
I nod. “He’s gone.”
“And now you have full control again.”
“Some people loyal to him may leave, but yes, I have full control again.”
She smiles huge. “I’m so happy for you.”
I take a deep breath and let it out. “There’s one more thing I need to do.” I stand and come around the desk, kneeling down in front of her. I take her hands in mine and look into her eyes. “Five years ago, my pregnant wife died in a plane crash.”
She doesn’t react. That’s public knowledge. I’m sure she did a cursory Google search for me, and found that little tidbit out.
“After she died, I couldn’t face the world,” I say softly. “The truth is, I blamed myself.”
“Why?” she asks. “It was an accident.”
“I was supposed to be on that flight.”
She looks confused. “You were? I mean, I didn’t know that.”
“Nobody does,” I whisper, barely able to choke it out. “We were going to Ibiza for vacation. A last hurrah, I guess, before the baby. But something at work came up, and I told her to get on the plane, don’t wait for me, I’d meet her there the following evening. She said she didn’t feel like flying alone, but I convinced her to go anyway.” My voice is choked in my throat as the words spill out.
“She got on the plane. She never wanted to. She wanted to wait, to be with me, but work was more important to me back then. I pushed her away… to her death. She died, along with the baby she was carrying. After that, I came here, and I haven’t left since.”
Hazel stares at me. I can’t read her expression. I don’t want to read it. I’m a horrible man for what I did to Marla and my baby. I’m a horrible man for what I did to my brother. I’ve broken everything in my life. I’m a cancer, and Hazel should run away.
Instead, she cradles my head and pulls me against her. She hugs me tight. “It wasn’t your fault,” she says softly. “You poor, poor man.”
I hug her, and part of me thinks I should be crying, but I don’t have any more tears for the past. I feel light as she hugs me close and I realize that I’ve been holding on to that story for a long time now.
It’s been keeping me down, locked in this place. It’s the reason I can’t see the world beyond my own desk, my own bed. I can’t see the world past my own nose, because I’m too afraid I’ll kill someone else.
“It’s not your fault, Daddy,” she whispers. “I promise, it’s not your fault.”
I take a deep breath. I pull back and kiss her.
She kisses me back. It’s a sweet moment, nearly a perfect one. I feel all of my energy, my dismay, my horror, my fear, all of it evaporate into the air. It floats away, leaving me lighter, leaving me free.