“And where are you going to get the money for this apartment?” Lucah couldn’t resist asking. Ryder’s eyes narrowed a fraction, and I wanted to sit back so I could avoid the explosion that it looked like was about to happen. But then he shifted, and took another sip of his beer and set it down, tracing his finger around the lip of the bottle.
“I have some money set aside. An emergency fund, if you will. I have enough for first month’s rent and the security deposit. But after that, I’ve got nothing. So maybe, you could, uh . . . “ The table started moving because his knee was jiggling up and down and kept knocking into the underside of the table. I’d never seen Ryder so nervous.
“A loan? Do you need a loan?” Lucah said, finishing Ryder’s sentence so he didn’t have to keep floundering.
“A loan,” Ryder said, nodding. “I’ll pay you back, with interest. You know I will.” As far as I knew, this was the first time Ryder had asked Lucah for money. Lucah had offered it before, but Ryder had always turned it down.
“You don’t have to pay me interest. You’re my brother. How much do you need?” Though the light was dim, Ryder’s pink ears were noticeable.
“Maybe this isn’t something we should discuss right now. Money seems to be a touchy subject,” Ryder said with a tiny smile. You could say that again.
“Sure. Just let me know. I’m always here for you, no matter what.” Lucah clasped Ryder’s shoulder and my eyes got misty, but I ducked my head to wipe them so no one would see.
We moved to talk about other things, and Ryder started telling stories about shenanigans he and Lucah used to get into. I knew it was hard for Lucah to hear about those things, but I held his hand under the table and he started laughing, and interrupting Ryder when he felt he wasn’t telling the story right, or adding his own comments. They both had Sloane and me in stiches. So much so that it felt like I’d done hundreds of crunches. Between the sex and the laughter, I never needed to go to the gym. Best workout ever.
We were all a little loose from the alcohol as we took a cab back to our respective apartments.
“I think I’m going to give you some privacy. I’ll just be using Sloane’s computer to fill out job applications,” Ryder said as I unlocked the door.
“Job applications?” Lucah said, one eyebrow raised. This was quite a change from just a few days ago.
“Okay, so I might screw around a little bit and then fill out some job applications.”
“That’s more like it,” Lucah said as Ryder and Sloane walked back to her place.
Sloane’s giggle echoed down the hallway. Lucah turned to me and put his arms around my waist.
“We have the place to ourselves, Miss Clarke.”
I snaked my arms around his neck. “It seems that we do, Mr. Blythe. Whatever shall we do with our entirely empty apartment?” His answer was to lean down and kiss me.
23
Monday morning I was exhausted from the excitement of the day before, but then I had to deal with my work problems instead of my home problems. It was back to worrying about the Board and what other slimy things they were up to next. The only way to put this to rest was to call a vote, have Dad win that vote, and impeach Hal as Head of the Board. That would require us to have a majority of the stockholders and Board members on our side. It only needed to be 51 percent, and that would do it.
That was the easy part. The hard part was convincing 51 percent of those people that we were in the right. When Dad said that he was handling things that was probably what he meant. At least I hoped so. My father wasn’t the kind of man who would get involved in something illegal to save his position.
Still, I needed to talk to him and see what his plan was. He’d told me numerous times that he didn’t want me involved and so on and so forth, but I was part of this company. A Vice President. In this instance, he couldn’t treat me like his daughter. He had to treat me like one of his colleagues. I wasn’t taking no for an answer this time.
So I marched myself right toward his office and asked Mrs. Andrews if he was in. I was hoping to catch him before he got fully immersed in work mode.
Mrs. Andrews could tell I was on a mission, so she told me to go right in. I did knock first, and wait for him to tell me I could enter. He was in the midst of hanging up the phone, but he smiled when he saw me.
“Rory, I’m surprised to see you today. It’s a rare treat for me to see you two days in a row.” He chuckled and I sat down, trying to keep my stern face on. That was hard to do with your father, no matter how old you were.
“Dad, I’m here to ask if you know anything more about what I told you on Friday. About the Board asking Violet to spy for them.” He sat back and shook his head.
“No, no, I don’t. But it’s only Monday morning. I haven’t really had time to deal with that yet.” That made sense.
“Okay, well, what else are you doing about the Board and their effort to take over? I want to know. I need to know.” I was not above begging.
He waited for a moment and then sighed deeply like he would when I’d ask for a pony for Christmas every year before I hit puberty. But this wasn’t a pony.
“Rory . . . “ he said in a tone that I didn’t like. “It’s complicated.”
“Not really. They want to vote you out. They need a majority of stockholders to do that. But if you can get the majority on your side, then you can force the vote and take the rug out from under them. Plus, I think we need to get rid of Hal. I have the sneaking suspicion that he’s behind all this.” He was at least behind the attempted bribery of Violet.
“Whoa, Rory, I think we need to take a step back.”
“This is not the time to be cautious, Walter. We have to fight for this company. They’re trying to take it away from us.” I couldn’t sit anymore, so I sprung to my feet, and so did he.
“Don’t you think I know what I’m fighting for? I know, Rory. I’ve built this company from the ground up. Other than you or your mother, I don’t love anything more. I have given my life to this, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let someone try to take that away.” His face was red and his eyes seared into mine. I hadn’t seen this side of him in a long time, and then only when we were in the boardroom.
I opened my mouth to say something, but he stopped me.
“But you have to let me do this my way. I know I’m treating you unfairly, and I’m sorry. You might be my coworker, but you are also my daughter and I can’t separate that. That’s probably why children shouldn’t work for their parents, but there you are. My need to protect you outweighs my need to inform you. Now you can be mad at me, but that’s the way things are, and I’m sorry.” He sat down in his chair. Or more like he flopped down into his chair, as if the stress and pressure had become too much.