Page 476 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
The whole room chuckled.
“She would also be proud,” Alastair said confidently. “She would be proud that I’m finally stepping down, and prouder still that her only son is taking over the family business.” Alastair draped an arm over Chadwick’s shoulder and pulled him close. Chadwick stood almost half a head taller than his father, and he smiled down at the older man so genuinely that the corners of his eyes wrinkled.
Without realizing it, I’d clasped my hands together under my chin as I watched him.
Armie was wrong.
Chadwick didn’t have an entitled bone in his body. Just because he came from wealth didn’t automatically mean he thought he was owed everything his father had worked for.
“I feel confident leaving my company in the hands of my capable son. I want to extend my thanks to all of you who helped me build my empire and stood by me when things were tough. It’s not easy to step into the shoes of the man who came before you. My father and his father before him made Bamford’s the business it is today, but it is ready for fresh blood. Chadwick, you motivated me to be a better man and to run a better business for our employees. You showed me how to make a company a family. I can’t think of a better man to pass the family legacy down to. Bamford’s is in good hands with its new CEO. My friends, my family, even though we are celebrating my retirement this evening, we are also celebrating my son’s succession. I’m proud of you, son.”
Chadwick’s eyes never left his father as the room erupted in applause. The two men leaned their heads together. Quiet words were exchanged, and the sheer joy in Chadwick’s eyes made me realize that I needed to get the hell out of there.
Tonight was not the night to tell him that everyone at the office knew about us and that I was spooked.
He deserved a drama-free evening with his father.
So I turned and made for the door. I slipped between whispering women. Chadwick’s name was on every pair of lips as I wove through the crowd. Nobody had a bad thing to say.
Outside, under the warm glow of white Christmas lights clinging to the roof trim of the massive mansion, I fished my phone out of my clutch to call a cab. I started shivering before I even got the number up on my screen.
“Do you need a ride?” a familiar voice came from behind me.
I looked over my shoulder. Armie stood there with one hand in his pocket, and in his other hand, he held up a set of car keys. “I’m heading out, too. I have an early call in the morning. I can drive you home, if you like.”
I knew the right answer would be to tell him no. He’d said things about Chadwick that I didn’t respect, and he hadn’t really accepted my answer when I told him I wasn’t interested in going out with him. But if I turned him down, I’d have to wait out here in the cold for at least twenty minutes before a cab showed up, and in that time, Chadwick might wander outside and find me.
“Are you sure it’s not too much trouble?” I asked.
Armie shook his head. “Not at all. Come on, let’s get you out of this cold.”
CHAPTER 28
CHADWICK
Son of a bitch.
Tinsely had given me the slip again.
My father’s speech had been the perfect distraction for her to slip away. I’d searched the house high and low and received more than one eye roll for knocking on bathroom doors while women were powdering their noses. After offering apologies, I’d gone around and asked if anyone saw the girl in the dark blue dress with the red lipstick.
My father’s old receptionist, a woman named Isla, pointed me toward the front door and told me Tinsely had left fifteen minutes ago.
I returned to the bar to brood.
Before my father’s speech, she’d been about to tell me what was going on. It was right there on the tip of her tongue.
I resented how powerless I felt and ordered an Old Fashioned. As I lifted it to my lips to take my first sip, my phone rang.
I pulled it out of my pocket and found Tinsely’s name flashing across the screen. I answered immediately and brought the phone to my ear.
“Tinsely? Where are you? I thought we were going to talk.”
She didn’t say anything.
I frowned and let the silent stretch. “Hey… what’s going on? Are you okay?”
“Um.” Her voice quivered. “No. I’m not.”
