Page 79 of Designed for Disaster

“Look,” Jimmy started. “It’s a lot, the crap Trent and I have been through with our parents. It was bad enough for me, but he got it way worse than I ever did. I was the ‘good’ kid—which meant, at least, that when my parents weren’t ripping into each other and into Trent, they mostly left me alone. But I still got a front-row seat. And I know from the outside looking in, everything feels fixable. Nobody wants to believe that a family’s really broken. But that doesn’t stop it from being true.”

“Whathappened?” I asked. “I mean, I know they got a divorce, and I hear it was pretty messy, but just how bad did it get?”

“Very bad,” Jimmy said with a shrug. “But the divorce wasn’t actually when things got screwed up. Truth be told, I think things might have been pretty awful all along. From what I’ve heard, Dad was always a serial cheater. Mom knew about it, and I guess it pissed her off, but instead of, you know, getting counseling or trying to fix things or even just dumping his ass and getting on with her life, she threw herself into work. She and Dad were running Saunders Furniture together, and the company was all that mattered to her.”

“What about being a mom?” I asked softly.

Jimmy snorted. “Yeah, that wasn’t on her priority list at all. Not after having me, anyway. I was the ‘oops’ baby after they went on a second honeymoon to try to save their relationship. But Dad went right back to cheating, and Mom gave up on him after that. She cared about her work, about her position of power, andabout keeping up appearances. Nothing else. As long as Trent and I got good grades and didn’t get into trouble, she didn’t give a damn what happened to us. Problem was, by the time he was a teenager, Trentwasn’tstaying out of trouble anymore. He started acting out. At first, I think he thought it would get him attention. But all that happened was them raking him over the coals. Telling him he’d never amount to anything. That he was an embarrassment to the Saunders name. Kicking him out of the house when he rebelled. Threatening to cut him off. They washed their hands of him—and in turn, he washed his hands of them. He stopped acting out on purpose, but he made it clear he wasn’t interested in playing into their idea of the perfect son. He didn’t want any part of their games.”

“But you did?” I suggested. Jimmy had said he had been the good kid—it wasn’t hard to imagine what that meant.

“Yeah,” he agreed, sounding embarrassed. “I saw how they yelled at each other, how they yelled at Trent—I just didn’t want to be the focus of that, you know? And it wasn’t that hard to be quiet, polite. Get good grades. It made them their version of proud of me—which meant they’d brag about me to their friends but never actually make any time for me when there wasn’t anyone around to see it. Though I suppose the bragging’s probably stopped by now, since things aren’t going great at Princeton.” He gave me a strained smile. “Guess I’m not the good son anymore, either.”

Sheesh. Talk about screwing your kids up. But I didn’t want to give him a reason to focus on more self-blame over his school woes, so I tried to redirect. “What changed? What triggered the divorce?”

Jimmy grimaced. “One of Dad’s girlfriends had a pregnancy scare. It turned out to be a false alarm, but obviously they didn’tknow that at the time. Mom realized she wouldn’t be able to keep up appearances anymore, pretending to be the perfect power couple with Dad, so she decided to call it quits with him once and for all. Trouble was, she thought she could cut him loose personallyandprofessionally while she kept the company. But Dad definitely wasn’t on board with that, and he fought back. That’s when things got messy at the office instead of just at home.”

“That part I know about,” I said. Jimmy nodded.

“After they’d nearly driven Saunders Furniture into the ground, Nana Dee and the board begged Trent to step in. Mom and Dad were stripped of all control over the company, and Trent was put in charge. I think that was the hardest part for my mom to swallow. Here was the kid she’d had no use for, the one she’d treated like garbage for years—and now, he was the guy in charge. And herockedit. He saved the company after she’d tanked it. Her whole self-image was wrapped up in being powerful, running the company, and now all that power had transferred into the hands of someone who wouldn’t even take her phone calls. Not that that’s stopped her from trying.”

“So all those times when she’d call…” I said.

“It was her trying to worm her way back in. She’d claw back the CEO title for herself if she could—as you found out today—but I think she’d settle for being able to say that Trent comes to her for advice, or that she has some influence over him and the decisions he makes. Anything that would make her think she still has some power, you know? But he has zero interest in any of that, and who can blame him?”

“Fair point. And your dad?” I couldn’t help but think back to the conversation I’d half overheard back in the coffee shop on theday Trent and I first met. I’d been so furious with him for the way he’d talked to his dad…but maybe I’d jumped to conclusions a little too quickly.

“He misses being important too,” Jimmy said. “Maybe not as much as Mom…but still a lot. It always seemed to me like the company itself didn’t mean that much to him, but he likes being a bigshot. It annoys him to be in any room where he’s not the biggest deal there. My psych professor would probably say he has a complex because his parents did such amazing things, and he never felt like he could measure up. But on the other hand, I’m flunking psych, so what do I know?”

I squeezed the steering wheel. I couldn’t believe how wrong I’d been about Trent’s parents. I’d actually felt sorry for Lara. And I’d bought her spiel about caring about Trent hook, line, and sinker. “I’m such an idiot,” I said. “I never realized…Your brother never said. I thought maybe it was something they could get past, you know? That I could help bridge that gap somehow.”

“I get it,” Jimmy said. “My mother’s great at getting sympathy when she wants it. She played you. But it’s not a bad thing to want to believe the best of people. Or to try to bring a family together. You had good intentions because you’re a good person. And that’s what matters.”

“I don’t know about that,” I muttered. What a damn mess I’d walked into.

“Case in point,” Jimmy said. “You schlepped all the way out here to pick up a guy you’ve only met once, who’s the little brother of the guy who broke your heart. That sort of kindness is rare. And it deserves better than being yelled at by Trent.”

“I thought you’d be on his side,” I said.

“Iamon his side,” Jimmy explained. “This is me being on his side by realizing what a fool he’s been and hopefully getting him to see sense before it’s too late. I’m on the side that wants him to be happy in the end.With you.”

I smiled softly at him. “You’re a good brother, Jimmy.”

He shot me a grin. “I know, right?”

Ten minutes later, we pulled into the hospital parking lot. I drove into an empty space, climbing out of the car as Jimmy jumped out. “You’ll text me and let me know how things are going?”

Jimmy nodded. “You could just come up, you know.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t think Trent wants me there.”

“Iwant you there.” I smiled at him, but Jimmy didn’t see it because someone caught his eye over my shoulder. His face fell. “Uh oh.”

Uh oh? I whirled around, spotting Trent. He stormed toward the car, furious.

24

TRENT

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