Chapter 42
STEPHANIE
Each word out of Jance’s mouth cut into my soul like a Japanese sushi knife. Tiana once told me the sharpest knives in the world were made by the Japanese. I hated that what he said had the power to hurt me so badly, but it did.
When he was ignoring me or making comments about me before, I could handle it and lie low. With him attacking me verbally and belittling me to Jeremiah right in front of me at every turn, I couldn’t ignore him anymore.
What he was saying was true. A girl who looked like me didn’t belong on Jeremiah’s arm by any rational standard, but somehow it didn’t seem to matter to him. He’d proven to me that he thought I was sexy and beautiful, and I was just starting to see myself that way in his eyes. Until his father came and tore it all down.
I wasn’t a hag, but the way the man was carrying on anyone listening in might’ve guessed Jeremiah showed up to the fundraiser with Fiona the ogre on his arm. The fundraiser, the memories so precious to me because Jeremiah made me feel like absolute royalty, were being ruined.
I’d never felt more beautiful than I had on Friday. If he didn’t think I was good enough for Jeremiah when I looked like that, he was never going to give me his blessing. Which shouldn’t have bothered me. None of this should’ve.
I was a strong, independent girl, and fuck what any man with one foot hovering above the grave thought about me. But I couldn’t just shrug it off. I was mortified hearing what Jance said about me, and every word lodged itself in my heart. It hurt like a bitch, and it wasn’t going to stop hurting when I walked out of here.
Jeremiah’s outer office door burst open, and Neil stormed inside. “What on earth is going on in here? I was called out of my office because of the commotion. People can hear you. You both need to calm down.”
“Need?” Jance roared, not hearing any of it. “I’ll tell you what I need, and it’s not to calm down. This is my company, and I’ll say what needs to be said.”
Jeremiah’s demeanor changed, as I’d noticed it doing the last few minutes. Heat crept up from below his shirt’s neckline and was bleeding slowly onto his face. His muscles tightened, and his spine straightened.
“Say it then, father. What is it that needs to be said? Might as well get it all out now.” His voice was cold as ice and laced with poison and fury all at the same time. It kind of made me want to take cover for the inferno I knew instinctively was coming even though I’d never seen him like this.
Jance didn’t seem to notice the change in him, or if he did, he chose to ignore it. His face was so red it was turning purple, and his eyes seemed to be on the verge of popping out. “You arrogant son of a—”
“Be careful father, don’t make this any worse than it has to be,” Jeremiah snapped. The changes in him made him seem even more in control, more confident and commanding than usual.
It was intimidating but unbelievably soothing. Jance was on the verge of pushing his son over the edge, and I for one couldn’t wait to see someone putting the arrogant beast in his place. “Get your head out of your ass, Jeremiah! I understand you’ve always been the young, irresponsible one. But it’s time for you to realize you need to grow a pair and let go of your naive, youthful ideas. Start acting more like your brother. Now there was a man I could respect.”
I saw Neil wince and the last remnants of Jeremiah’s self-control snap. He exploded like fireworks lighting up the night sky. “I’m not my goddamn brother.”
All the pressure that kept building up starting from Jack’s death was unleashed in one long, but powerful stream. He spoke with the passion and conviction of a man possessed, surprisingly eloquent given the charged and heated atmosphere in the office.
“It’s time you realized that I’m not Jack, father. I’m my own person, and I’m proud of who I am. When you and Jack were looking the other way, I grew up. I did my own thing, and I was good at it. I came back here because you needed me to, not the other way around. I sure didn’t come back here to suffer through your infernal rants every other day or to continually hear I’m not good enough to fill Jack’s shoes. I’m here because he’s not. End of story.”
He took a deep breath and carried on, sadness mingling with anger in his words. “Jack’s gone, Dad. No amount of yelling at me or wishing I was him is going to make him come back, and it’s time you realized it. I can do the best I can do here, but I can’t do what Jack did because I am not now, and I never will be, him. If you can’t accept that, or if you keep waiting for him to walk into the room wearing my body, I think it’s time you go see a therapist. I can’t replace him, and I’m done trying to do it for you.”
He was breathing hard. Instead of being wild as I thought they might’ve been, his eyes were clear. Focused. A lot of stuff was coming out that probably should’ve been talked about a long time ago. I thought he forgot I was in the room until he turned his head to look at me.
“As for Stephanie, she’s intelligent, funny and brilliant at her job. I don’t think it’s necessary to give you a rundown of her admirable qualities, but this company would be lucky to have her publicly associated with us. We’re lucky she chose to come work for us, and I’m lucky if she chooses to spend a minute of her free time with me, let alone an evening.”
Taking a beat to let his eyes slide to mine, his shoulders squared. “For the record, not that I can honestly say I care about your opinion, she also happens to be the most beautiful woman in this building.”
One of the tears welling in my eye broke free and leaked down my cheek. No one had ever stood up for me the way he was, least of all to a veritable powerhouse in the city. Emotion flooded me, and I wanted to fling myself into his arms and never let go.
Jeremiah flashed me a smile, but his features turned hard again when he looked back at his father. He seemed to be running out of steam, but he wasn’t done yet.
“To be frank, I’m twenty-six years old and who I date is none of your damn business. If it’s going to be this big of an issue for you going forward, you should just cut your losses now and fire me.”
Jance turned a scary shade I could only describe as puce, sputtering as veins became prominent in his forehead. He looked at Jeremiah like he’d never seen him before, then snapped his eyes to Neil’s.
Neil shrugged and backed out of the office with his hands in the air. Probably a smart move. He closed the door behind him with a soft click, leaving Jance, Jeremiah and I locked in a silence so heavy it made my ears ring.
Finally, Jance turned on his heel and stormed off, stopping in Jeremiah’s door to narrow his eyes at his only son. “This discussion isn’t over, Jeremiah. Think about what you said here today. I’m not leaving it at this.”
The door slammed behind him, so hard I could’ve sworn I saw the windows in Jer’s office shake. My knees buckled under the weight of relief that he was gone. I didn’t think I could’ve stood another uncalled-for insult hurled my way or another insinuation I could personally be responsible for the downfall of the entire company if Jer was ever seen with me again.
He was by my side in the next instant, wrapping his arm around me to steady me. I looked up to see a small crowd had gathered outside my door, looking right into Jer’s office. Horrified they were all witnessing my breakdown and heard Jeremiah confronting his father, I turned my face into his shoulder.
His shirt felt wet against my face. It took me a beat to realize it was from my tears. I fought so hard to keep them in check while Jance was here that they were flowing freely now that he was gone.
Jeremiah kept one arm around me while using his free hand to wipe my tears.
“I’m sorry you had to hear all that, Steph. I’m so damn sorry.” He repeated it over and over again as he kept stroking my hair and wiping under my eyes with his thumbs.
Someone made a noise in my office, drawing his eyes to our audience for the first time. His jaw twitched, and I heard people scurry away when Jeremiah looked over at them.
He kept his arm around me but started walking me toward the couch. When I sat down and buried my face in my hand, he strode over to the door connecting our offices and closed it purposely.
“There,” he said, sinking to his knees in front of me. He pulled my hands away from my face and placed a finger under my chin, urging me to look at him. “Now there are no more prying eyes.”