My neck cracked as I twisted my head to the left and then the right. Nikita’s voice skated across my mind, telling me not to crack my bones, but what else was I supposed to do if I was stressed and felt tight?
“Listen,” I started. “I get that my dad isn’t a very trusting guy, and believe me when I say I am aware of the fact that he forced all channels through him because he’s paranoid, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t at least one person there who was listening when he talked.”
“N-no, there are, of course, many of us who know your father’s plans for the company well, but what of the open contracts? Many of the emails you received contained contracts that need approval.”
With that, I pulled my computer onto my lap and started to sift through for anything with an attachment. “Okay, this QILR contract looks good. I know my dad has a signature stamp, so tell his assistant to use it to sign the contract and return it. If it’s an e-signature, she has my permission to sign his name.” I flipped to the next one. “Hertfeld County is trying to low-ball us, so I’m sending this one back. Please have Caitlyn call their purchasing manager—I believe his name is Doug—and tell him that for a county supply, the complete package that they’re looking for runs a two million minimum. Our machines don’t even fire up for less than one and a half, but I want five.”
“Yes, sir,” Arden replied.
Clicking through the rest of the contracts, they all seemed pretty reasonable. “The rest of these look good and can be signed. Please ensure they’re added to the quarterly numbers and review them at the February board meeting. As long as we’re trending up or maintaining, I’m fine.”
“Well, sir, with all due respect, I really do think you should be at the meeting,” Arden said. “Our board is desperate to get some face time with the next person in line.”
I rubbed my temples. “I’m not the next in line. Connor will be back soon. It’s just a matter of holding until he returns. Do you think you can manage that?”
Arden was silent for a long time and then sighed. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch, but for now, please have people route their concerns and questions through the CFO. I still want signing power, but he should have the prowess to handle anything else.”
“Oh,” Arden said, and there was a heightened relief in his voice. “I can do that. Thank you, sir.”
“Yeah. Bye.”
“Bye.”
The line went dead, but no longer being on the phone didn’t help ease any stress I had. For as long as I had no idea where my dad was, I could continue to lie and say that he’d be returning, but the truth was, my half-brother Deon was searching for him, and we were both hoping to end his life. It was either him or the people we loved, and we’d fight to protect them, regardless. It probably made sense that Deon was doing the dirty work while I was attempting to keep the company afloat, but I still wished I knew more.
I lifted my phone again and navigated to Deon’s phone number. We finally exchanged phone numbers when everything went wrong in the fall, but I hadn’t used it once. Deon would definitely contact me if there was a development in his hunt, but I often found myself wanting to talk to him, hopefully, in a way that wasn’t nasty or aggressive. Our father-induced differences aside, I always cared about my brother. When I first learned that I had a brother, I was over the moon, and that year he lived with us was one of the best of my life. After everything that happened, would we be able to salvage our relationship now?
Maybe I should call?
My phone rang in my hand before I could make a decision. I fumbled around and nearly dropped it from shock, but I caught it and answered without checking who it was.
“Hello?”
“Hey, man,” Kyle’s deep, bass-filled voice responded. “I was kind of hoping you were still asleep.”
I snapped my laptop shut and tossed it over to the couch cushion next to me. “Nah, still waking up around four these days.”
“Well, let’s make the most of it, then. Want to meet me for breakfast? I know this awesome diner. I always wanted to take you, but I don’t know, it felt like it might be below you.”
A different person might have been offended, but I just laughed. “Yeah, I get that. Sure. Text me the address.”
“Cool. See ya soon.”
“Bye.”
I ended the call, then stood up, collected all of my things, and made my way toward the door. I grabbed the keys and was just about to head out when I remembered something and turned around. Taking the steps two at a time, I made my way back upstairs, went into my closet, pushed aside some of my piled clothes, and grabbed the box of Cherri’s things that I’d been hiding from Nikita.
Cherri was a bit of a sore subject between us.
My hope was that I could get the box back to Cherri without causing too many issues with either woman. With the box in my hand and nervousness sizzling through me at the thought of returning to school after everything that happened, I left.
2
Nikita
My breath billowed around my mouth in a cloud of opaque smoke. As my feet crunched through the snow, there was an ever-present chill on the tip of my nose and ears. At least, that would be my cover story for why they were glowing bright red in the wake of a “Good morning, my life” text from Nathan. He was headed to breakfast with Kyle, which was good. My face was the only one he’d seen for the past two weeks, and on top of that, I still hadn’t sorted myself out enough yet. I loved Nathan so much more than I thought possible, but there were more than a few reasons why I was struggling with that. It was good for him to see someone else and, hopefully, work his way back toward normalcy.
“Hey,” a dusky voice called out to me.
I looked up and rolled my eyes at the scene. Jaxon was there, but he was wearing his typical skinny jeans and black boots. He’d also donned a red flannel, half-buttoned, and a sleeveless, acid-wash jean jacket that certainly wasn’t enough to protect him from the cold of the snow all around him. At least he had a black beanie pulled down, hiding his black hair and covering his ears. He was sitting on top of a picnic table at a park not far from Postings Proper High. It was our favorite place to go when we ditched or just needed to meet up, and he had a lit cigarette balanced perfectly between his lips.
“You’re gonna freeze to death like that,” I called out.
He shrugged, and I laughed. If there was anything I’d learned about my best friend in the time since Nathan brought him into The Royal Court, it was that it took more than a few trivial discomforts to rattle him. His naturally tanned skin from his Filipino heritage was covered in scars and scrapes, which he considered trophies. He was the kind of guy who could easily survive if the world went ass up and we had to revert to caveman tactics.
I kicked my legs over the bench of the picnic table and climbed in to sit, ignoring the frigid feeling on my butt and legs as I did so. I laid my head down on Jaxon’s knee next to me. He bent over at the waist and gave me a gentle headbutt, and I snickered.
“By the way, I don’t like not seeing you for two weeks, so let’s not do that shit again, okay?” he huffed.