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Oh.
Thank fuck.
Ohhhhhh. I get it now. The company needs to show they have done their due diligence to get the right person in the role.
Which is obviously me.
I understood now.
I grin.
“But I’ll be honest. I don’t know if you’re ready for the job,” Ward said, and my grin vanished. “Yet.”
I swallowed, and I was sure I could feel a stomach ulcer manifesting deep in my gut as I keep listening.
“Son, I’ve always been clear that business is business,” Dad continued. “I’m ready to retire and the timing is off.”
Anger began brewing inside me.
“So, you’re giving the job to someone else because I’m only twenty-four?” I asked, rubbing my jaw.
Ward stood and walked over to the window and stared out while I rubbed my forehead. What the hell did I say to change his mind? I want to understand, as nothing makes sense.
My entire life felt like it’s balancing on a moving plate.
“Your performance has been outstanding in the few years you’ve been in your role,” my father said, turning. “Hence your very healthy bonus each year.”
Fuck the money. I had shit tons of it already. It was my job to lead my family’s empire. No one except a Montgomery should be sitting in his seat.
My seat.
“Let me prove myself,” I insisted, finally finding my voice.
He watched me, and I couldn’t read him.
“Dad. Come on. What would Mom say if she was here?” Yup, I was playing fucking dirty. “This is everything I have wanted my whole life.”
“You have not shown me you fully understand what it takes to do this job,” he said, and it hurt.
Deeply.
“In what way?” I asked, but I knew the answer.
“Sleeping with women inside the industry is earning you a reputation I’ve not been able to protect you from. All it takes is one thing to go wrong. And you don’t seem to be taking what I’ve said seriously.”
“Oh, come on. Look at Jacob’s cousins, Daniel and Fletcher,” I said, referring to the Dufort family in New York. “The Manhattan Playboy, wasn’t it? He was shagging one of his employees.”
“And married her,” Ward replied.
“You want me to get married?” My eyes flew open.
He had got to be joking.
“No, Knox. I want you to stop fucking the women we do business with,” he growled and walked back to his desk.
I could tell he was done. Though I wanted to argue that it’s not public knowledge, I knew that’s not completely true.
Women talk.
