Page 73 of Mine to Promise
“I’d watch what you say.” I look into his eyes. “You’re talking about my fiancée and my daughter. So if you don’t want to eat from a straw for the rest of your life, I would watch the next words that come out of your mouth.”
“Are you threatening me?” He puffs out his chest.
“Nope, threat means I won’t do it.” I smirk. “This is me telling you that I’ll make you eat from a straw for the rest of your life.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Mr. Laurier says.
“What is going on, old man, is”—I look at him—“this is your last day working for this company.” I look at Casey, who nods at me and gets up. “As much fun as this was.” I take the other paper in the folder and hand it to them. “You will see, Casey bought two shares of the company.” I smile big at them. “While I bought the other sixty shares. Which means…” I hold up a hand. “Which means I move to have you removed from the company,” I declare. “All in favor, say aye.”
“Aye,” Casey says, then looks over at the four of them. “I guess you guys are opposed.”
“Doesn’t fucking matter.” I clap my hands. “My shares are going to my future wife and my daughter. It’s in her hands. But for now, for me, I want you out of your office tonight.” Then I look over at her mother. “You turned your back on your daughter and tossed her out like garbage. She struggled to pay her medical bills while you spent forty-seven thousand dollars in the Bahamas in a weekend.”
“She made her bed,” her father retorts, “she had to lie in it.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” the woman says. “You can’t speak to me like that.”
“Trust me, lady, the last thing I want to do is speak to you.” I shake my head. “I thank fuck she didn’t turn out like you.” Then I look at her sister. “You should go to rehab.” Then I look over at her brother. “You should also tell your fiancée she’s not your type.”
“Fuck this, I quit!” Gerald yells. “I won’t stand here.”
“You haven’t worked a day in your life.” I laugh. “You don’t even know how to do your job. We’ve already hired your secretary to take your place since she has been doing your job since you started.
“You have until the end of the day to pack up your shit.” I look at Casey. “You were right, this was fun, but I’m done.” He nods at me, and I start to make my way out. “You fucked up, old man. Trying to do things like you were still in the fifties, thinking no one would know the difference,” I inform him. “You fucked up even bigger when you turned your back on your daughter. You will never see the woman she has become, and you will never see the goodness that is our daughter.” Then I look at her mother. “You were supposed to fight for her. You were supposed to be her strength and guide her, and instead, you chose to stand behind your husband.”
“Don’t speak to me that way,” her mother seethes. “You don’t know us.”
“Thank fuck,” I reply, “wouldn’t even want to walk on the same street as you.”
With that, I take one look at them and then walk out with Casey at my back. “How you feeling?” he asks me and I just look down. “I’m going to say that I’m happy as a pig in shit right now.” I look over at him. “Do you know how pissed Matthew is going to be that we did this without him?”
I chuckle and shake my head. “Who do you think gave me the money to do this?” I look over at him. “He knew exactly what I was doing.”
We walk out of the door and there standing by the truck is Uncle Matthew, Uncle Max, and my father side by side, all of them arms crossed over their chests. “Fucking hell,” Casey greets, “you’re a sight for sore eyes.”
“Missed you, too, Casey. Or should I say, partner?” Matthew says.
“Why are you everywhere?” Casey asks him, chuckling.
“He’s like those fruit flies,” Max goads, “you think you killed him and then you look around and he’s still there.”
“It’s my charm.” He shrugs, then looks at me. “We good?”
I look back over at the company. “We’re good.”
“It was touch and go in there,” Casey shares. “Thought for sure he would do something that I would have to end up cleaning but”—Casey slaps my shoulder—“he did good.”
“Time to go home,” I decide, taking a deep inhale, “and tell Addison.”
Casey leaves us at the plane and we get in, and in twenty-five minutes I’m in the car on my way home while everyone else goes back to New York.
I pull into the driveway, looking up at the house I bought hoping I would be able to convince her to move in with me. The house I wanted to make a home in. A house that is now our home. She moved in the weekend after I asked her to. Our clothes now hang in the same closet. Picture frames are all over the house of our amazing life together. I can’t help but smile while I look over and see Addison is already home. I grab the envelope on the passenger seat, putting it in my inside pocket. When I open the driver’s door to step out, at the same time a yellow school bus pulls up in front of the house.
I walk toward the bus just in time to see Avery jump off the last step, her princess backpack bigger than her, but she insists on wearing it. She also insists on taking the bus. I’m not going to lie, I hate every single second of it, but Addison said we had to let her try it. I’m hoping that eventually she’ll get tired of it so I can drive her to school and pick her up.
“Daddy!” she shouts, running to me and jumping in my arms, knowing I’m going to catch her.
“How was your day?” I ask her, kissing her neck, and she giggles. Turning, I see Addison coming out of the front door.