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"I'm going to do this because we're fucking here and the opportunity's in front of us. But for the record, this is stupid, risky, and it’s going to hurt her.”
It was going to hurt her. But she would understand. This was the darkest moment of my life. I refused to risk her again. If I could keep her safe, I was always going to take that route.
There was a knock at the door. I’d bribed one of the waiters to let me know when Tatum was there.
My gaze swung to Pierce, who merely shrugged at me, then Gavin, who looked irritated but would always follow my lead, then Micah, who grumbled the whole goddamn time, and finally at my reluctant ally, Lakewood, who was shooting daggers at me. “It’s showtime, boys.”
We left the private room and marched to their table. Tatum’s back was to us, so my father saw us first. His evil little smirk was plastered on his face, and all I wanted to do was punch him.
I cocked my head at my father. "Ah, they'll let just anyone in here, I see."
Calvin Tatum whipped around. "Ah, Atticus, Micah, I didn't know you two were here." He exchanged pleasantries with Micah, but I had my gaze on my father.
Lakewood was coming up from the side with a little device in his hand.
My father sat back watching me. "Atticus. You would think that with a vote of no confidence coming up at the next board meeting, you'd be doing your level best to prove to everyone that you are the best man for the job instead of whiling away your afternoons."
I watched Lakewood say something to a waiter.
I knew what he was doing. "Even if there's a vote of no confidence on me, the board will hire an interim CEO. You are never coming back to Pendragon."
"That's where you're wrong, for reasons you already know."
"No one in their right mind is going to let you return."
"We'll see about that."
Tatum’s eyes went back and forth between us like he was watching a match at Wimbledon. "I understand this is a spirited conversation, but perhaps not the right place for it, gentlemen."
The waiter came bustling over with glasses of water. And then I watched as he deliberately tipped his hand carrying the tray, crashing water over everything.
For several milliseconds, everything slowed down. I watched as the glasses tumbled down and the water spilled out. The waiter fumbled and tried to reach for everything, sweeping the phone down to the floor with his hand as if to protect it from getting wet.
And Lakewood was right fucking there. The commotion should have had my father distracted, but his hawk-eyed gaze was on me.
Micah tried to continue the pandemonium. "I told you not to fucking approach him here. He's just an arsehole. You always think you know best." My brother shoved me.
My father watched the exchange between us, his lips curving up into an evil smile. And then as Lakewood came over, presumably to help, He kicked my father’s phone out of the way, hiding the device behind his back.
I righted myself and glowered at my father as Micah made a piss poor attempt at pulling me away. Only then did the passing waiter see the phone on the ground and put it back on the table.
My stomach sank as I watched the old man tuck it into his lapel. Had that been enough time? Had we gotten what we needed? Had the risk been worth it?
Chapter 39
ATTICUS
“Can’t you make this go any faster,” I asked as I paced my office?
Lakewood looked at me and glowered. “I’m moving as fast as I can. But I will say, if we had Gwen here, this would go faster. It’s her algorithm. She knows how to parse out some of this data. It will always take me longer.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. From the corner of my office I could feel my brother glaring at me as he poured himself a scotch. “Do you have something to say, Micah?”
“You mean other than we took a risk today?”
“You think I don’t know that?” I glanced around at my friends. “We knew what going after him would entail.”
Micah shook his head. “We got lucky. You are too impulsive when it comes to her. You used to be cold and calculated. No moves until you’d seen three steps ahead. When it comes to her, you can’t think straight. And I care about Gwen and Morgan too, but you need to figure your shit out. it’s like you’ve finally found feelings and you don’t know how to act.”
