In one accord, Nick and I lifted our heads to stare over Mitchell’s shoulder.
James was now leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, still hatefully glaring at the back of Mitchell’s head. He clearly despised being aligned with the man, regardless of the circumstances, but in that particular situation, he could see no way around it.
“The two of you were already at the height of public popularity. It was the only time you could have gott
en away with such a bald-faced deception.” He spoke quickly and quietly, his English accent coming through strongly, as it always did in tense conversations. “It was also the only way the merger would go off without a hitch,” he said, smiling broadly.
James gave Nick a helpless shrug, as if to say, “Hey, sorry I told the world you got married in Peru, pal, but it was for your own good.”
Oddly, considering the fact that his best friend had publically changed his marital status, Nick didn’t seem remotely upset. In fact, it seemed he exhaled for the first time since stepping inside his not-so-secret hideaway and finding unexpected guests. “But, uh, what now? What does this mean...for us?” he asked carefully, turning his attention back to his father.
Mitchell held Nick’s gaze for a moment before turning abruptly back to his drink. “You were supposed to meet the board at the merger. Since you failed to do so, other arrangements have been made.” He downed the rest of his glass of scotch in a single swig. “I’m having dinner with them at the Hamptons estate Friday. You will be there with your new...bride. And don’t forget to update your status on Facebook and all other social media.”
Nick couldn’t nod fast enough. “Friday? Absolutely,” he agreed.
“You will come up Monday and stay through the week,” Mitchell replied, briskly moving to his feet.
Monday? That’s the day after tomorrow. Why the hell does he need us to be there that soon?
“May I ask why?” Nick dared, obviously wondering the same thing.
Mitchell glanced at him for only a moment before looking strategically away. “To meet Claudia, of course.”
Claudia?
Acting on instinct, Nick shot Harold a questioning glance, only to receive a rather pained look in return. To most people, it would have only muddled things further, but after over two decades, Nick was completely aware of what his father meant. “No way! You didn’t.”
I was surprised by his boldness and his tone. We had just been granted a get-out-of-jail free card, and I didn’t feel it was the best time to sound like a rebellious teenager. The only thing that would have made it worse is a roll of his eyes, which I feared he might do any minute.
Mitchell didn’t seem surprised by his son’s reaction, nor did he seem combative. If anything, he looked almost embarrassed, but I was sure that couldn’t be the case. “Nicholas,” he said calmly, you will come, and you will behave yourself.”
“Why?” Nick repeated, sharper this time, almost petulant. “I mean, seriously, Dad.”
Mitchell sighed. “Nick, don’t start.”
Nick?! I thought, shocked to hear his father call him that. I gawked at them both in awe; I was witnessing what had to be the first and only genuine father-son moment I’d ever seen. In the next second, a pair of cool hands closed over the tops of my arms. With a silent shriek, I was gracefully extracted from the room, pulled effortlessly over the top of the sofa and led away to the kitchen, and the arguing men didn’t even seem to notice. It happened so fast that I didn’t realize what was happening myself, until I turned around to see James’s gentle smile.
“Trust me, you don’t wanna get in the middle of that,” he said softly. “I think it’s gonna get ugly in there.”
My jaw fell to the floor as I whirled back around to look at them. “Why?” I whispered, incredulous. “What’s going on?”
James’s eyes flitted over to the quickly escalating argument with casual interest before returning to mine. “Mitchell proposed to his flavor-of-the-month. I guess he intends to stroll down the aisle again.”
Suddenly, the hot tempers made sense. The emboldened son and the abashed father sounded human, for once, because they’d slipped into something they always claimed to be on paper but had never actually managed in practice: family.
“Remarried?” My eyes flickered back to the living room, where Nick was scathingly expounding upon the last six or seven times he had been forced to endure such awkward introductions. “I can’t believe he’d do it again,” I said, even though I absolutely could believe it. “Who is she, this Claudia?” I paused, then asked the far more pertinent question: “How old is she?”
James shrugged. “I don’t know. Our age, most likely.” He glanced over again before settling on the floor and popping open a Snapple. “His last wife was a little younger than me.”
I settled down beside him, and he offered me the bottle.
It never ceased to amaze me how fast things changed in their world, how turbulent and volatile their lives were. One minute, Nick and Mitchell were like frozen statues in the living room, locked in a breathless, high-stakes negotiation in which the father viewed the son as nothing more than a professional asset, a valuable pawn to be moved strategically across the board. In the next, the impossible trust funds fell away, and they were just a normal family with all those normal family dysfunctions, including the son chiding the father about his failed, embarrassing attempts at married life.
“I don’t see why you can’t just date them!” Nick argued, sounding more frustrated than I’d ever heard before. “Why do you have to marry them all?”
“Quite ironic,” Mitchell fired back, “coming from a man who just got married himself.”
Nick threw up his hands, exasperated beyond belief. “You did that! It’s not even real! It’s just a press strategy, a little good PR conjured up by James.”