Chapter 43
JEREMIAH
Ifelt sick by what my father said about Stephanie. My stomach turned, and my throat burned from the bile that kept rising. I swallowed it back, focusing my attention where it was needed. And that was on Stephanie, not me.
My heart was racing from the altercation with my father. There were so many things I said today that I almost couldn’t believe I’d finally said out loud. Things that had been festering for years.
I had suppressed it all and never said a word about it, never wanting to push my dad that far. Never believing he was ready to hear it and always questioning whether he had recovered enough yet to be able to set the record straight.
The truth was I knew in my heart of hearts it needed to be said, he was right about that much. I tried not to think of the ramifications of it being said here at the office. We probably could’ve chosen a better location.
A lot of tongues were going to be wagging about everything they heard for a long time, but it was too late to change anything now. I could only manage the fall-out, not take it back.
Stephanie’s hands shook when I took them, pulling them away from her face. They were ice cold and didn’t close around mine.
I dropped to my knees in front of her, but she still refused to look at me. Hooking my finger under her chin, I tried to reassure her that the coworkers who were going to be talking about what went down in here for months to come couldn’t see her anymore.
“There. Now there are no more prying eyes.”
She lifted her wet eyes to mine. Tears clung to her long eyelashes and sat in the corners of her glassy eyes. “I’m sorry. You should be the one having a breakdown. Not me. That was intense.”
“It was,” I said. “For both of us. All three of us, probably. You have nothing to be sorry for though. He should never have said what he did. You have every right to be upset.”
Stephanie nodded and pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. She choked back a sob, shaking her head. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, reaching up to cup her cheeks in my palms. I rubbed my thumbs over her cheekbones, trying to soothe her. “It’s you I’m worried about. You didn’t deserve that, especially not on top of everything else you’re already dealing with because of me.”
“You sure are interesting to be around, I’ll give you that.” She smiled through the last remaining tears, lightening the mood. God, she was something else. I didn’t know who I had to thank for sending her across my path, but I was serious when I told my dad how lucky I was she wanted to spend time with me.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my chest. “I know, and I’m so sorry about that. I wish I could take it all back so you didn’t have to hear any of it.”
“Not hearing it wouldn’t have changed what he thought about me.” She released a shuddering breath. “At least now I know where I stand.”
“It doesn’t matter to me what he thinks,” I told her honestly, pressing kisses to her soft hair. It smelled like soap and sweet shampoo. I buried my face in it, taking breaths to soothe myself while I tried to be there for her. “All I care about is what you think. If you don’t want to work here anymore, I’ll understand.”
It killed me to think of her leaving, of not driving to work with her every morning and seeing her smile whenever I walked into my office. If it was best for her though, I would let her go. Help her get the best damn job I could not working for a tyrant.
Bart, Shawn, Tanner, and Neil would all help. Between us, we could probably get her any job she wanted. “I’ll help you find somewhere else if that’s what you want. You shouldn’t feel forced to stay here if you don’t want to after everything he said. And Jannie. Just all of it.”
She stayed quiet for a moment. My heart beat like a bass drum in my chest waiting for an answer. Selfishly, I hoped she would stay. For me. But if she didn’t want to…
Finally, she reached up and took my hands again, this time closing her fingers around mine like little vice grips. “I don’t want to leave Williams Inc.”
“You don’t?” Hope sprang into my chest. “You’ll stay?”
“I’ll stay.” Some of her usual warmth lit up her eyes as the girl I knew slowly came back to me. “I’m just starting to settle in. I don’t want to have to start over somewhere else. Plus, I’m kind of fond of my boss.”
A smile tipped my lips upward. “He’s kind of fond of you too.”
“Just one thing.” The light in her eyes dimmed again, and I could tell she was about to say something serious. Maybe even something that would change her mind about staying if I couldn’t make it happen. “I don’t want to have to be around your father. I just don’t think I can face him for a while.”
“I’ll see what I can do about that.” The man was already pissed as hell with me, but I felt like I had more control over the situation with him than I ever had before. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to him if I asked him to stay the fuck away from my office for at least a couple of weeks.
It was probably better if we met on more neutral ground, and away from the office workers who already witnessed showdown number one. No need to give them any more of our family drama to talk about. “I can’t make any promises since he owns the building and all, but I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all I can ask for.” She squeezed my hands in hers. They were warming again, small but so strong. “I’m not going to run off if I see his face or anything, but I would prefer if I could come to work knowing I wasn’t going to run into someone who thinks you’re an obnoxious, immature idiot for spending time with me.”
“If spending time with you makes me an obnoxious, immature idiot, I’ll happily be one.” It wasn’t the kind of thing I usually said, or even thought, but in this case, it was true. “I understand why you feel that way. I promise you I’ll keep him as far away from you as I can.”