“Fine,” Greg grumbled. “Go play Boss Boy. See you at the ridge.”
“Yeah.” Braxton quickly clicked off and pressed the receiver to his forehead. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
She loved her job. And Greg liked her.
Braxton barely made it to the bathroom before the bottle of booze came up, and he vomited for a solid five minutes.
Face stiff from the smile he forced, Braxton watched his employees file into the conference room. And, yes, they were still his employees for the next few days.
“I apologize for calling everyone in for another spur of the moment meeting. But I actually have positive news today.”
He waited for a few good-natured chuckles to die down, taking a deep breath as they did.
“I’m sure most of you are aware my sister, Savannah, was in a bad car accident last year. She was in a comma for nine weeks. But what few of you—actually, I’m sure none of you—realize is that when she woke, she wasn’t...”
Braxton broke off, realizing this was going to be a lot harder to announce than he’d originally thought.
Clearing his throat, he tried to speak again.
“She thought she was someone named Clara. For three weeks, she had no idea who Savannah was, insisting we call her Clara. We weren’t sure what to do. But then, one morning,
Savannah
woke up.”
Braxton filled his cheeks with air so he could blow out a long breath. He glanced around, noticing everyone was silent and transfixed—if not perplexed—by his every word. Lowering his eyes, he continued.
“She became her old self again but had no memory of ever being Clara. It was like she had just then come out of the coma.”
Getting to the most painful part of his story, Braxton lowered his eyes and played with a pen on the desk as he spoke, focusing on the cap wobbling loose. “The doctors diagnosed her with Dissociative Identity Disorder.” He lifted his face and took in the myriad of shocked expressions. “Savannah has a split personality.”
A few people gasped; others covered their mouths with their hands.
Braxton lowered his face again. “I know a lot of you were concerned when she had her accident; you wanted to help. But this was something we couldn’t really talk about. It was just too...painful. Savannah didn’t want anyone to know about it either. So, on behalf of my family, I would like to apologize for not disclosing her condition earlier. But it has been a really hard year to get through, and we just couldn’t handle...” He shook his head.
“Anyway, my mother spent so much time with her she almost ended up in the hospital herself from panic attacks. It affected
her
enough to worry Dad. And that’s why he felt he had to leave the company for a while. He considered it his duty to be with Savannah and Mom during this time. Ergo, that’s why I ended up here to fill his place.”
He cleared his throat again, thinking he definitely should’ve brought in a glass of water with him for this little speech. “So, anyway. I’m finally getting to the good part of my story.”
He clasped his hands together and was able to give his first genuine smile of the day. “After months of experimenting with treatment after treatment on Savannah, about six weeks ago, she started seeing a new doctor, and she hasn’t been Clara once since she’s been visiting him.”
“Oh, thank God,” Tasha gasped. “So, she’s cured?”
Braxton sent his secretary a sad smile. “No. She’s not cured yet, but this new treatment is successfully keeping her other personality in regression. And as long as she continues her psychotherapy and everything progresses as it has been, she’ll be okay in a few years.”
Smiling around the room, he said, “Which brings me to the point of why I’ve called this meeting. Since my sister is doing so much better, my father’s been growing antsy with nothing to do. Therefore, come Monday morning, he will return to Farris Industries in full capacity as president of the company.”
Braxton had to admit, he thought his employees would show a little more enthusiasm over that announcement than they did. He’d expected some kind of reaction. Instead, utter silence met him.
Finally, Ben Hendricks asked, “But what about you?”
Braxton blinked. “Uh, well, I’ll be around for a few weeks, of course, to help Dad catch up with all the changes, but then I’ll be...you know, I’ll be gone.”
Charlie Fairbanks gasped. “You’re
leaving
?” The funny part was he didn’t sound thrilled by the news. “You’re leaving the entire company?”
“I, uh, yeah. I’m leaving the entire company.”
Bowled over to discover they all appeared disheartened about his departure, Braxton experienced a flash of accomplishment. Despite the handicap of youth he’d had when he’d arrived, he’d triumphed and managed to somehow gain the respect of his reluctant employees. Ninety percent of them, anyway.
How bizarre...and flattering.
“So, what are you going to do?” Tasha asked as she chewed on a fingernail.
Braxton shrugged. Then he forced a grin. “Anybody heard of a good job opening around?” When no one laughed, his forced smile fell. “No, actually there are a few different options I’m considering,” he assured, still dazed they seemed to care about his future. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan.”
And yes, he surely did. He planned to go home, get drunk, and wait to die.
By pure accident, Braxton’s gaze landed on Tom. He froze, unable to read the solemn expression in the older man’s face. But merely looking at Lenna’s father caused him to choke.
He glanced away and cleared his throat.
“That’s all I have to say.” Grabbing the pen and tablet he’d brought in with him, he marched from the room.
* * * *
The top employees of Farris Industries gawked at each other as Braxton fled.
For a moment, no one spoke and then Pat Foley said, “Damn. I was just starting to like the kid, too.”
“That poor child,” Beth Harders cooed. “A broken engagement and lost job all in one month? Breaks my heart just to think about how miserable he must be.”
Tom leaned against the wall where he’d been standing and jammed his hands into his pockets.
When he caught Ben glancing at him, he jerked his gaze away.
“He did a good job while he was here,” Charlie lamented. “It surprised the hell out of me. But the boy stepped up and filled Spencer’s shoes like nobody’s business.”
“I think he was lying,” Tasha said. “I don’t think he has any plans at all. He looked too beaten to have any idea what he was going to do next.”
A hard ball of—what was that, guilt?—formed in Tom’s chest. It swelled and started to block his airway until he found it difficult to breathe.
Tugging at his tie, he coughed, but the ball remained lodged.
He told himself he wasn’t accountable. None of this was his fault. But shame plagued him anyway.
Everyone was right. Braxton Farris had been a decent employer. For as young as he was, he’d done a spectacular job, and he’d made some big, spot-on decisions, despite the obstacles Tom knew he’d put in the kid’s path by being so obstinate.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about Braxton over much,” Pat said. “After all the work he put into that one company, ProTech, when he worked there, I bet they’ll name him the Messiah if he goes back.”
Tom jerked his head up. “Did you say
ProTech
?”
“Yeah, haven’t you heard of it? It’s one of the fastest growing online businesses these days. I hear it might be the next Microsoft or Google.”
“And our Braxton worked there before coming here?” Tasha asked, clearly skeptical.
“Hell, he damn near built the place from the ground up. He and one of his friends, Scandy or something or other, thought up the idea. They started it together, and from what Spencer told me, Braxton even invested a ton of money to get it off to a running start. To be honest with you, I’m not sure why his friend didn’t make him a partner, but Braxton let his buddy take all the glory.” Pat shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe he knew he’d be coming to Farris someday.”
“Good.” Tasha sighed. “At least he has somewhere to go now.”
Except he didn’t, and Tom knew why Braxton wouldn’t return to ProTech.
Damn it all to hell.
This piece of information was more than he could take. He needed to talk to the kid. Now. Letting out a frustrated breath, he stalked from the conference room, leaving his co-workers to gape after him. He went straight to the president’s office. When he found the door partially open, he pushed inside.
Braxton stood at his window with his back to the door, holding his hands laced together behind his head.
Tom cringed. “Did you know this was going to happen all along?”
Braxton whirled around. “Tom,” he gasped and pressed his hand to his heart, waiting a moment before blowing out a long breath. “Did I know
what
was going to happen?”
“That your father was going to return? Did you realize your presidency over this company was only temporary?”
“No,” Braxton answered. He shrugged. “I mean, as far as we were concerned, Savannah was never going to recover. I came here on the contingency I might stay forever.”
“But you knew if your sister did get better, Spencer would come back?”
Braxton gave a slight nod. “Yeah, I knew,” he admitted. “That’s why he wanted it to be me who took over. Before I started at Farris, we made a deal. I would run the company as I saw fit, like it was going to be mine permanently. But if he ever had the opportunity to return, he would.”
He jammed his hands into his pockets and stared down at his feet. “He had to leave. My mom couldn’t stay with Savannah by herself anymore. Dad wanted to be with them, but he couldn’t give up all hope of losing Farris Industries either. He wanted to come back if he ever could.”
Braxton shrugged. “It wouldn’t have been so easy for him, at his age, to return to the work force and try to start fresh somewhere else. He needed this position held for him.” Looking almost bashful, he added, “Since I’m young...well, it’ll be easy for me to find work somewhere else. And it’s not like Dad wouldn’t let me stay here if I needed a job.”
Tom studied the man who had secretly dated his daughter for months. A strange tightness bound his chest.
It was pride.
“Plus you knew you had a secure position waiting for you at ProTech,” he said.
When Braxton froze, Tom sighed. “I didn’t realize you’d worked there before you came here. But Pat just explained how you’d helped your friend start that company.”
Silence was the only answer Braxton gave.
“You got Lenna her job,” Tom murmured as it really struck him. “Her dream job.”
Braxton met his gaze dead on. “No.” He shook his head. “I only mentioned her name for an interview. She got her own job.”
Tom swallowed. “Are you going to have her fired so you can go back there? You could, couldn’t you?”
Braxton eyes frosted. “Jesus, Tom, you really think I’m
that asshole
, don’t you? No, I’m not going to have your daughter fired. I can find somewhere else to work.”
Tom swallowed. He sent Braxton a nod full of approval and apology. “I’m sorry, I just...I can’t...You...”
“God, will you just spit it out so you can leave?”
“It was all just...” Tom coughed. He couldn’t look the kid in the eye. “Everything you did was so altruistic and...and generous. The fact that you would sacrifice so much for your family...and then for my daughter—”
Braxton lifted a hand. “You know, I don’t want you to suddenly start liking me.” He blinked rapidly as if he had something in his eye. “For you to approve of me
now
would be the ultimate insult.”
“Braxton,” Tom said, apology thick in his voice.
But Braxton bulldozed over him before Tom could continue. “I’m sure Dad will want to see the progress you’ve made on the Trevis account. You might want to get a report together for him to read once he gets here on Monday.”
With that, he brushed past Tom but stopped in the doorway. When he spun back around, Tom knew he was going to let it all out now.
“When I was younger, I came here one day with Dad, but he was too busy to let me play in his office. You let me come into yours, though, while you talked on the phone. I sat on your desk, which my dad never let me do, and I swung my legs back and forth as I ate from a mini bag of potato chips you’d found for me in your desk.”
Braxton shook his head slowly. “I remember thinking I wanted to be cool, just like you.” Lifting his face, he met Tom’s gaze. “I don’t want to be like you anymore.”
Tom fell into the visitor’s chair, defeated. “I don’t blame you any,” he rumbled out humbly.
“Jesus, Tom.” Braxton’s voice cracked. “What did I do to make you hate me so much? I was just trying to be a good son.”
“I know.” Hell, now Tom’s voice was breaking up too. “I know that now. But I didn’t—”
“And you didn’t think to give me the benefit of the doubt?” Braxton demanded.
“I’m sorry.”
“And Lenna?” the kid pressed, his devastated pleading blue eyes demanding answers. “I know we shouldn’t have kept it a secret. That was probably the biggest mistake I ever made, but
damn it
. That didn’t make it any less real. It didn’t mean that I didn’t care—”
He turned so Tom couldn’t see his face. “Why did you take her away from me?”
Tom didn’t think his answer through. He just said, “Because she’s mine.”
Braxton spun back, his gaze flashing with fury. “No. She belongs to no one, and she didn’t deserve what you did to her.” He balled his hand into a fist. But instead of saying anything or acting, he rushed from the room.
Tom blew out a guilty breath.
How ironically everything had ended. He finally approved of Braxton Farris...after he’d already destroyed the man’s life and ripped him away from the girl he loved.
In Tom’s opinion, the only thing a man could do to redeem himself from becoming a complete ass was fix his mistake when he knew he was wrong.
Sure, he’d always known butting into Lenna and Farris’s affair wasn’t right and honorable. But after learning what he’d learned today, the wrongness of his actions felt iniquitous...even from his protective-father perspective.