Page 74 of Ruined
CHAPTER 20
Lucas
I stared at the computer monitors. The phone rang for the fifth time that morning. I declined the call. My assistant could take care of it.
Most of the calls were congratulatory in nature, on gaining Aldrich Inspired Investments as a new subsidiary of Conway Capital. What a great acquisition! How long would the transfer process take? What did the future look like for Aldrich Inspired Investments?
It should have taken those calls. Stroked my ego. A way to enjoy my revenge after years of waiting for the right moment. I should have been celebrating, indulging in the best pleasures. Hookups. Extravagant meals. A trip to a new location.
But none of it was appealing.
If I was honest with myself, what I wanted, more than anything, was to rewind time. To erase the bet with Aldrich. To convince Haley that she was worthy of love, and that if she let me, I would give her all of mine, without any lies.
I should have never brought her into the bet. I shouldn’t have brought anyone into it. At the end of the day, I was still no better than Aldrich.
A knock clattered on the door. My assistant appeared in the crack.
“I brought you some lunch, sir. And there are—” she gestured behind her, “—alotof whiskey bottles here from your clients. Gifts for the acquisition.”
“Thank you,” I said. I went back to the computer, staring at it as if I was actually doing work.
“Do you want the whiskey in your office, or…?”
“Just the lunch, please,” I said. “Thanks. Let the senior investment advisors take their pick of the bottles. You too.”
She left a brown paper bag on a table near the door. I grabbed the bag and looked inside: broccoli cheddar soup and an Asian salad from the upscale restaurant across the street. Yesterday, it was sushi. I forgot what lunch was the day before that.
My assistant didn’t usually get my lunch, but whenever I didn’t leave the office, she took it upon herself to make sure I was fed. I took the soup and set the container on my desk. I opened the lid, placing the spoon inside, but I didn’t have an appetite. It was kind of her to get lunch for me.
Just like Haley was kind without a thought of return. She had given me her virginity because she wanted to. Not because I was buying it.
I didn’t need Aldrich’s company. But if I sold it for cheap—a decent amount, but nothing compared to what the company was worth—I would rid myself of the bellyache of dealing with Aldrich. It would be a humiliating blow to him. Even if he tried to buy it back from the new owners, they would never let it go for a price he would be able to pay. Not when I had taken control of everything that he prized.
Aldrich had a few side projects to keep up with his bills for a while, but he would have to make some lifestyle modifications. Like canceling his membership at the Dahlia District.
None of this would make it right with Haley. But I had to do something.
After eating a spoonful of soup, I told my assistant I was heading out for the day. The drive seemed longer than usual, because I knew that once I was in Cresting Heights, the only person I wanted to visit, wouldn’t see me.
I called Dahlia’s personal number, and she agreed to a meeting. As soon as she approached, I started talking. I wanted none of the bullshit like before. “You said for the right price Haley would be free?”
“Yes,” Dahlia said. “Good memory.” She winked.
But I had to do it the right way. “I want to adjust my payments since my membership began so that the total represents twice the amount she owes.”
“Twice?” Dahlia asked, tilting her head.
“She has another debt to pay.”
The purpose of this circumvention was so that Haley was never indebted to me. She had simply done her work, and her debts had been paid in return. It was nothing more than that.
“Now,” I turned towards Dahlia. There were other parts of this arrangement that I didn’t have to do the right way. Parts that required more aggression. Parts I would keep to myself. “I’m giving you a million as a private, conditional donation. All you have to do is make sure that you never put Haley, or any future Ramseys, into a binding contract ever again.”
“All of my servers are under contract, Mr. Conway.”
“Two million.”
“I can’t make those kinds of promises. You know—”
