Page 8 of Once Upon a Beast

Seeing him also reminded me of all the things that I didn’t know. All the things that he didn’t allow me to know. He had cruelly pushed me out of his life. I wasn’t ready to forgive him nor was I ready to believe that he wanted me back. I wasn’t going to let myself be fooled into thinking he did, only to have him ghost me again.

Turning to my father, I put my back to Nic. It was both to give myself time to recover and to show him that he didn’t matter to me. “Why don’t you just tell me why you asked me to come here so we can get this over with?” I asked my father.

“Layla, why don’t you sit down,” my father suggested again and moved to sit on the couch.

I had hoped this was a simple matter but by my father’s insistence to sit, I knew it wasn’t. I did as he asked and moved to a couch. He followed and sat across from me, Nic right next to him. I didn’t look at Nic but I could feel his eyes on me. I sat a little taller and looked at my father, waiting for him to speak.

“Thank you for coming today. I know it wasn’t what you were expecting or even what you wanted to do, but I appreciate it, we appreciate it,” my father began.

“Dad, stop trying to butter me up and just get to the point.” I didn’t normally snap at my father but my nerves were on edge and the sooner I knew why I was there, the sooner I could leave.

My father gave me a pained smile and said, “As you know the latest project in Darna Cothrum Brokers is about to close a lucrative deal. It will not only make us a significant amount of money; it’s going to help a lot of people in the community.”

My father paused for dramatic effect and I just tilted my head, telling him to continue. I knew all of this. He had told me about their latest deal months ago. He normally didn’t loop me in. There had always been an unsaid separation. I hadn’t known why he had then and it had sent my mind reeling. I wondered if my father knew this situation was going to come up and he had been preparing me.

“The project is very important to me, to Nic, on many different levels. It needs to happen; it needs to succeed,” my father said.

“Okay. So, what does that have to do with me?”

“Steve, Nic’s assistant, got wind that there’s a story about to be published. In it, it alleges that Nic took the money from his father’s embezzlement.”

“That’s ridiculous. Nic wouldn’t have done that,” I said. I didn’t need to look over at Nic to see that he was shocked by my statement. It was out of my mouth before I even realized it, much less thought it. It was the truth. Nic wouldn’t have done that, it wasn’t in him.

“Exactly, which is why we need to get in front of the story. If there was even a hint that the money that Nic used to make his fortune was from his father or his father’s dealing, it would be confiscated by the government. All the projects he has done would be under investigation—”

“And the current project would never get off the ground as the investigation happened,” I completed for my father.

“Exactly.”

“Okay, so what does that have to do with me? How am I going to be able to stop the story from coming out or dispelling it?” I asked.

“There’s more. The information is coming from a woman who has gotten close to Nic’s father in the last few years. She’s claiming that she was put there by Nic to pretend to be interested in his father so they could write a book about him. She’s stating that she and Nic have been having a secret affair for years and it was Nic who came up with this plan. She’s going to sue Nic for services rendered as he was supposed to pay her for working with him.”

“This sounds so ridiculous and far-fetched, no one will believe it. Nic would never have taken the money; he would have turned it in if he knew where it was. Also, Nic doesn’t need the attention by writing a book on his father. It’s counterintuitive to his need to stay as far away from his father and anyone associated with him. You should just let this story come out and run its course. It will be disproven in no time,” I said.

“We could but the timing couldn’t be worse. If this story comes out in the next few days, then the rest of the investors will back out. The project will be dead before it even has a chance. We’ve worked too hard to let that happen. I won’t let it,” my father stated.

“Okay, I get that you need to get in front of the story or at least kill it if you can. But why, and how does this involve me? You’ve told me what the problem is, but you haven’t told me how I’m going to fix it.”

“That’s the trickier part. You aren’t going to like what I have to say but you have to trust me when I say this is the only way that we can get past this quickly.”

My father leaned forward and gave me an earnest look. The look made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He was a shrewd businessman. He didn’t do anything unless he knew what the outcome would be. If he was calling me in to help and was so insistent, this had to be big. I was starting to see that whatever my father wanted me to do, it involved me and Nic and I wasn’t going to like it.

“I trust you, Dad, but you’re starting to worry me. Tell me what you want me to do.”

“It’s what you and Nic are going to need to do. I want you to announce your engagement before this story has a chance to break.”

Chapter 5

Nicodemus

I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes off Layla from the moment she walked into my apartment. She looked just as beautiful as ever. She wore her hair up in a clip that pulled the hair away from her face. Her brown eyes were as big as saucers as she took in my penthouse. I looked around as she did, trying to see what she saw in my place.

Would she notice the random bits of home and mementos of our childhood that I had put out? Would she see how I had picked a location where she had always imagined living? One that was close to the Cloisters, one that was still a part of the city but a little removed? I wanted her to go out and look onto the balcony and see the expansive view of the river and park across the way. Would she see how I picked the place with her in mind?

I had wanted to go up to her, I wanted to pull her into my arms, and tell her how good it was to see her. I wanted to feel her in my arms as I told her how much I had missed her. I was a long way from doing that and had stood back and let her get used to being in my place. She wasn’t one who did well with change and I knew it was going to be a bit of a shock. I didn’t want to overwhelm her with my presence as soon as she walked in the door.

She had the same mannerisms that I remembered and there was a comfort in seeing them. I saw her approving look as she took in my place. I saw her slight smile as she saw the view. I noticed how tense her shoulders were at the situation I had put her in and I longed to take it away.