Page 126 of The Last Goodbye

“This is why I didn’t bring you into it, Briar,” my father said, completely unfazed that we were upset. “We don’t owe them an explanation. We bought the land, and it’s ours now. You are far too emotional to be objective.”

“‘Far too emotional’? I gave them my word. I spent time with these people.”

“You spent time with your boyfriend, or whatever the hell he is, and now you’re just worried that he’s going to be upset.” He shrugged. “He’ll get over it. He got a much better deal than I would have given him.”

Denton glanced over at me, then back at him. “And you chose not to tell me, either, because…?”

“Because I knew you’d run to her.” My father chuckled, and it was laced with sarcasm and anger. “And that’s exactly what you fucking did when you figured out who I was meeting with yesterday. Your loyalty is questionable, Denton.”

“My loyalty? Glass fucking houses, Dad. I don’t know that you’re loyal to anybody,” Denton hissed, anger radiating from him. I’d never been able to figure out their relationship, since they didn’t appear to be close, but they’d never fought in front of me, either. This was new. “I’ve watched her kill herself over this project. One that you promised to make her partner for, yet you blew the plan to shit when someone waved the almighty dollar in front of you.”

My father’s fist came down on the table, and I jumped the slightest bit in my chair. “This is a goddamn business, not a charity case. I don’t owe either of you anything, yet I keep giving it to you anyway.”

“Giving it to us?” Denton shook his head with disgust. “I work twelve-hour days. I have brought more revenue to this company than anybody has since I’ve come on board. So don’t pretend you’re doing me any favors.”

“I made a business decision,” our father said, tossing his arms in the air, as if to say, “It is what it is.”

“We had a plan. It was a good plan. Steven already completed the drawings. We’re supposed to be breaking ground in a few weeks,” I said, my voice breaking on the last word.

I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.

“John Palluso is an old friend and business associate. He heard that we bought the land in Blue Sky Bay, and he told me about the idea he had for a large hotel he was looking to build. The land he originally had for it fell through. It was much larger than what we’d planned, and it turns out that Bay Avenue falls in a strange zoning area, and they can pull it off. And that means he offered me an obscene amount of money to consider it. So, I’m considering it.”

“You’re considering it?” I asked, and it came out harsher than I planned, but I didn’t care at this point. “The architect is there today coming up with a plan. It sounds like you’ve all but signed on the dotted line.”

“Contracts are being drawn up today, and if all goes well, we’ll sign in a few days. This is business, Briar. If you can’t handle it, then you should reconsider what you do for a living.” He turned to look at Denton. “Same goes for you.”

“Same goes for me? How about calling you out for making shitty choices? This is a family business. I understand wanting to make money, but you proposed a plan to the people we bought from, and to your daughter, who happens to be living in that small town right now while she oversees the renovation, and how do you think they’re going to treat her now?”

“The renovation is nearly done. We can take it from here, and she can return home now. I did her a favor by agreeing to that renovation, against my better judgment,” my father said, his lip curling with disgust.

I was so stunned by the conversation that I just sat there staring at him.

My brother then jumped to his feet.

Denton paced in front of me before turning to look at our father and pointing his finger at him.

“Holy shit. You had this in the works months ago, didn’t you?” A maniacal laugh escaped him. “You only agreed to those renovations because you needed Briar to get Bass to agree to the deal. You’d already been making a side deal with K&R, and you just didn’t bring us into it.”

“Nor do I have to!” Dad stood up, his voice booming. “I’m the president of this fucking company, so let me tell you how this is going to play out.”

“I can’t wait to hear this.” My brother crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the man standing in front of him.

“I’m going to make this deal, because I don’t give a shit about Blue Sky Bay, and neither should you.” His eyes moved to me. “Briar, you’re going to tell the contractor to finish up the renovation and be back in the city on Monday. You’ll be named partner, and we’ll all move forward.”

“What? I can’t do that. This is Bass’s restaurant. And everyone in town is going to be devastated by this. I can’t just walk away without trying to make things right.”

Denton shrugged. “It’s what he’s always done. He doesn’t give a shit about doing the right thing.”

“And that has put a lot of money in your pockets, son. So be careful how you speak to me.”

My heart pounded in my chest.

Bass was going to think I’d known about this the whole time.

He was going to hate me.

A tear broke free and rolled down my cheek, and I swiped it away, and then another one followed.