Page 16 of One Last Time?
On this occasion, however, I just had to bring out the asshole in me because it would make the job tons easier.
Better to be that way and not likeable in Miss Taylor Cartwright’s eyes than any other way. That was the decision I’d come to on that first meeting in her father’s office, just after she arrived six minutes late—which I didn’t give a rat’s ass about. I was just being anasson purpose when I’d brought it up.
It was the decision I had to come to because as I’d looked at her, all I could see in front of me was her naked.
She could have been clothed from head to toe, but when I looked at her, all I could see was her beautiful naked body. Her with her perfect body begging me to touch her. And I’d walked away.
The woman was temptation. Temptation I couldn’t afford, because look…
Here was my old man sitting next to me, actually looking proud of something I had done.
Dad laughed. “You have worked some serious magic. Dylan, that’s more money than I can count. It’s more than impressive, son. You really turned things around.” He nodded.
It was a nice compliment. It just reminded me of the big changes I had to make and what made me make those changes. It was one thing to want to change for yourself, but when you knew you were constantly being compared to someone else and the person you were being compared to was dead, it was something else. And, not a nice something else.
“Thank you. I’m just glad I did something good.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said it like that. I was the one who gave myself a bad reputation, not him.
“Dylan…” Dad gave me a pointed stare. “You must understand my concerns. I couldn’t just allow you to keep going on like that. It’s bad taste, son.”
“I know. I know, and I can’t apologize enough.” I was still apologizing for the last time I’d embarrassed Dad. That was close to two years ago. He’d found me in bed with his client’s daughter. Days later, when I told her I couldn’t see her anymore, the client – who also happened to be a major investor – pulled everything and terminated all projects. The company lost a lot of money. More than a million in earning potential for the projects, and the loss of such a big investor crippled us. It was the first time I took things seriously, but not enough to stop what I was doing. Dad knew too that I was still getting up to all kinds of shit behind his back; he just never said anything because he had Tommy. He had Tommy and thought we would always have him. I thought that too. I never knew life could happen and take him from us. From me.
“It’s really nothing against your expertise as I see from what you’ve done with Cartwright PR; it’s just me showing more wisdom and tact. I want to be sure you’re ready to take the company in the direction I want it to go.”
It was amazing how much Taylor and I clashed, but really, we had this interdependent relationship. I had to help her so her father would allow her to run the PR company, and working with her got me what I wanted too. Working with her was my ticket to some form of achievement, and redemption.
“I’m ready, Dad. I’m ready, and don’t worry, I won’t embarrass you.” I thought I should throw that in so he wouldn’t have to worry. It would have been disastrous if I fucked this up in any way with all the business prospects that lay before us. This whole venture could be what we’d been looking for, and it was just one thing.
“I trust that you won’t. That’s why I gave you a chance.” He pulled in a deep breath. “Dylan, I never wanted to be a prick, but I had to be harsh and lay down the law. It wasn’t the first time you promised me you’d change. This just feels like the first time it mattered. It’s the first time since… Tommy’s death.”
I brought my hands together to stop them from shaking.
“Yeah, it’s the first time since. I had big shoes to fill.” That’s why Dad hadn’t replaced him as business partner. Tommy’s place hadn’t been filled at the company, and realistically, the only person who could take over from him was me.
Me, the black sheep of the family. Me, the wild, reckless son who was more of an embarrassment to my old man than anything else.
Tommy’s shoes were hard to fill, and I missed him.
I probably made it look like I was jealous. Like I was a jealous prick. The truth was, sometimes I was. Sometimes I actually was jealous, but I missed him like crazy. I missed him every day. He was that guy you couldn’t be jealous of because he always had your back. Too good to feel any sort of bad feelings toward.
Definitely a better man than me.
It was just over a year ago now. Fifteen months, to be exact.
Fifteen months ago since I was forced to change my ways
I’d just gotten back from a wild trip in Aspen, and I’d landed drunk off my face. He was the first person I called, and he came to pick me up. We must have just pulled out onto the country roads when a drunk driver drove right into us. Tommy died instantly. I was in a coma for three weeks, and it took me an additional three weeks to recover enough to leave the hospital.
It was a horrific time, and worst of all, I blamed myself. I blamed myself even if no one else did because if I’d just been sober, I would have driven my car, or fuck, gotten a taxi.
In that state of mind, I’d called him. So, yes, I blamed myself, and the guilt was always worse whenever I saw the look of loss in my parents’ eyes.
It was perhaps evil of me to think they wished it was me who’d died instead of Tommy. Still, I couldn’t help my thoughts. It was what I’d thought throughout that whole time and even now.
Maybe deep down it was me who wished that. I certainly would have chosen it if given the choice because it was him who’d had the family. He’d been the guy with the wife and a child, who was two at the time. It was unfair that he was the one to go and not me. Tommy had been the one who did so much good in his life. He’d impressed people, and he’d never had a bad reputation to live down.
Dad had made him business partner straight out of college, and he was always going to be that until, I guess, Dad would have handed the business over to him.
Tommy would have deserved it, and I would have been happy for him. I would have been damn proud to work for him, like I’d always been.
