Page 52 of Sins & Secrets

I swallow hard, hating that I owe Liam anything. I know I do. At the very least I owe him an explanation, but what can I tell him? My jaw clenches and I look down at my desk as I pick at my hands where a small cut mars my knuckles. I can’t turn in my father. I don’t have any hard evidence of his misdeeds but more than that, I can’t bring myself to do it to my own father. That last part causes me more shame than I’m willing to admit.

I clear my throat and lean forward to face Liam.

“We have to back down or find new investors.”

“Back down?” His wide eyes stare at me as though I’m the insane one here. Maybe I am. “We can’t fucking back down. We’ve sunk millions into this!” I can practically see his heart racing out of his chest.

“I’m sorry, but?—”

“What the fuck happened?” he shouts as he stands up, throwing the papers on the desk behind him. My blood heats as I glare at Liam.

“Sit down.” The words come out harsh and as a demand. It gets his attention, like a child who’s been scolded. I’ll own up to failing him but I have my limits, and when it comes to business, I demand respect. He’s still, almost frozen for a long moment and then he places both his hands flat on the desk and leans over, getting closer to my face. He’s still a foot away, but it’s too fucking close for my liking.

“Don’t tell me what to do, Thatcher,” he says low in his throat. “This is going to ruin us. Ruinme,” he hisses.

“We’ll recover.” I don’t have the confidence my voice reflects. But I’ll do whatever I have to in order to make this work. I have no intention of going anywhere. If I have to start from the bottom again and claw my way back up to the top, so be it.

“You need to get over whatever it is that’s going on between you and your father. Whatever the fuck it is, just let it go.”

He glares at me long and hard. Waiting for me to comply, but it’s not going to happen. I may not be sending my father away to prison for life, but I’m through with him for good. I’m sure as fuck not going to take his money.

“I have a few meetings tomorrow with Marcus Jennings and Austin Hook.” I lean back in my seat, daring him to come closer. His body tenses as he turns his head in disbelief, still leaning over my desk.

He shakes his head, looking bewildered. “How could you do this to me?” He barely gets out the words. He pushes off thedesk, shaking his head again and walking a few feet away before looking back at me.

I can see each emotion as they flow through him and finally he settles on anger. “Is it because of Anderson?” he asks and my heart stops in my chest.

I stand up straight out of instinct. Out of the need to figure out how much he knows.

“What the fuck does he have to do with this?” My voice is deathly low as my eyes narrow; my muscles are coiled and ready for a fight.What does he know?

He gives me a confused look in return. “‘He?’” Liam tilts his head and it’s then that I realize he was talking about Jules and using her married name. My heart sinks lower and a cold sweat breaks out over my body.Fuck!

“I’m talking about the bitch you’ve been fucking.” My body turns to stone, stuck in place by an anger I can’t control. Everything goes red as he keeps talking, oblivious to my reaction. “Everything’s changed since she’s come around.”

I crack my neck to the side, deciding to ignore it. To give him one chance. That’s all he’ll get. “It has nothing to do with her.”

“Oh yeah? She didn’t convince you not to make amends with your father? Or fuck him over or fuck me over?” With each question, his voice gets louder and louder.

“She doesn’t know shit about my father and she has no place here or in any of this.”

He flashes me a cocky grin. “Really gets you worked up, doesn’t it?” He rounds the desk as he talks. “Is it because she dumped your ass on Madison Avenue?” The question comes with a laugh and he closes the space between us. I already know this is going to end badly; I’m only waiting for the right moment to strike at this point. “What’d you do that had her running out of that car, Mason? You fuck her over too? Just like you fucked?—”

I can’t stop what’s started. He shouldn’t have brought up Jules. I can’t control myself when it comes to her.

My fist comes out of nowhere, hitting him square on the jaw and sending him flying backward. Twice in one week I’ve hit a man. And for the second time, I don’t give a shit.

My knuckle flares where the cut from the last punch is still healing and my shoulder screams with pain from the impact. My vision clouds, anger making it redder by the second. Everything rages inside. The anger of her leaving me, the disappointment of my father, the regret of what I’ve done all mix into a deadly concoction. I take two steps forward with my hands up, ready to beat the piss out of him, ready for the fight he obviously wants, but he’s limp on the floor, blood leaking from his nose.

Crouching down, I grip the lapels of his jacket, pulling harder than I should but I can’t stop myself, panic warring against everything else. He’s motionless and unresponsive. I fist his jacket in my hands, shaking him. “Liam!” Dread courses through me. What the hell did I do? I slap him lightly across the face, but he doesn’t respond.

I hold a hand over his nose just to make sure he’s breathing. The warm air confirms that he is.Thank fuck.My body aches as I stand, running my hands through my hair and then down my face as I pace the floor.

I look up to the clock and I only have five, maybe ten minutes before everyone arrives at the office. I lean my forearm against the wall of windows, feeling defeated and like a fucking idiot. This isn’t who I am now. This isn’t the man I wanted to be. I lean all of my weight into the glass. I’m spiraling, all from the mention of her name.

The realization that I just knocked out Liam weighs heavily on my shoulders. The one man I could occasionally refer to as a friend.

I stare at my own reflection as I realize how badly I’ve fucked up.

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