Page 205 of Drown My Sorrow

I stand in the foyer of my house and watch as the staff I hired put sheets on all the furniture. With every piece that is covered, I feel the chains of memory dropping away from me. Freeing me.

“You all right, Ezy?”

I put an arm around Aspyn. “You know, I thought when I left here that I would never see it again. I expected them to cut me off, to give the money to someone else. I don’t know why they left it to me.”

“Maybe they loved you. They just sucked at showing it.”

“Perhaps. Mostly likely, though, it’s about blood lines. My dad and mum were all about that. It would have hurt them to leave it to anyone else.”

Gael hangs up the phone and tilts his head back, closes his eyes, and lets out a deep, sexy growl.

“You finally got through to them?”

“Oh, yes. We’re done. Conversation is over. They are going to send ’s belongings I’ve requested to Auggie since she’s the only person that she can tolerate.”

“Your mother is a very unpleasant woman,” Aspyn grumbles.

Gael nods. “Yes, she is.”

Kelly, Shale, Keagan, and Beau approach us and draw to a halt. The front door is open, everything is under white sheets. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this house, but I feel like donating it as a hospital or museum would make my parents roll in their graves and would be a fantastic idea.

“Are we ready?”

Aspyn’s eyes glimmer happily. “Let’s do it, then.”

The drive takes us less time than one might think. We stand in the lift while it takes us to the top floor and the conference room of the board of Alpha Labels. The door opens again, and Kelly’s father walks in with his dark-haired nephew.

We stand there and then, with a nod from Charlie, the assistant Bailey hired, we turn and file through the conference room and head downstairs. We walk into the huge cafeteria where most of the staff are standing, waiting to find out what has been happening.

Kelly, Charles, and Bailey step up in front of the employees. The board stands behind them, well, what’s left of it. One group, a united front.

Kelly is dressed like them. He looks good and strangely weird.

“Good morning. I’m glad you could all make it.”

“What’s this about, Raines?” someone shouts from the back of the room.

“Daane,” Kelly says coolly.

“What?”

“It’s not Raines. It’s Daane.”

The crowd shift uncomfortably.

“I don’t want this company. To be perfectly honest, I hate it. I always have. In saying that, I’m not prepared to let my family’s business and name go down the drain because you all can’t control yourselves. Basically, I’ve decided that this company, that you people who love this company, deserve the best, and I’m not the best. Alpha Labels is about to undergo a drastic change, and leading you through and into the new order is Bailey, my very talented cousin.”

They rip their shocked eyes off Kelly and look at Bailey.

“You can’t give up Alpha Labels, we don’t know him!” someone from the crowd shouts.

“No, but you know me,” Charles says, “and I will help guide Bailey until you all feel confident. My son has done enough. He doesn’t have to stay here and sort out this company after everything he sacrificed. Bailey is looking forward to the challenge.”

I grin widely. This is the final nail in the coffin of our future in the city. With Bailey taking over, we have the ability to go anywhere we want and do anything we want.

Bailey steps up to the microphone. “From today, we’re starting with a new era, a new slate. A fresh start. I’m going to lead you firmly but fairly. I know the value of hard work and rewarding those who earned it. Welcome to the new era where Alpha Labels is being left in the dust and Raines Entertainment is rising from the ashes!”

The crowd roars, excited and happier than we could have hoped.

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