Rich and Bossy (Rich Boys)

16. Hazel

CHAPTER 16

Hazel

Dang it.

I knew he’d try to burn this down before it started, but I didn’t think he’d have the nerve to come watch the fire he set, like some sicko arsonist.

It hasn’t even begun and he’s already acting like a sociopath over his precious company.

I should’ve known better. In the end, he was only ever going to care about himself. His company, his investors. He doesn’t give a damn about workers, they’re replaceable. It’d be nothing but robots in this warehouse if he had his way.

When push comes to shove, he showed what matters. He’s trying to scare the crap out of everyone who works here, and it looks like he’s succeeding.

That’s what always matters to people like him. He can pretend to be a regular, down-to-earth uncle of twins kind of good guy all he wants. He’s full of it though.

I have to get out of here.

I don’t care if I get in trouble for not sitting through that trash meeting another minute. Honestly, I dare Paul to say anything to me. He thinks I’ve been trouble before now? He has no idea. Now, the lines are drawn, and I’m damn sure going to be a headache until the day they march me and my stuff out the front door. That’s the kind of rage spreading through me as I scramble around, trying to find a way to make sure I get out of here before he tries to catch up to me.

Can’t believe I slept with that douchebag.

“Hazel, wait!”

I start to panic. I don’t want to hear his lies.

I should’ve known he would follow me, too. He’s so damn predictable.

Why didn’t I see this coming? I knew it would, but we have been lying low, making plans. Making sure they think my first little conversations were just some venting, and letting things die back down.

It was Campbell’s idea. Make them think I was just blowing off some steam, then dropped it, so we could regroup in secret for a real, major push.

It’s like I have a blind spot when it comes to Paxton, though. I can’t find a way to tell Campbell about it either. I feel awful about that, considering she was adamant about us facing reality, but how do I explain that to her?

There’s a door at the end of the hall, a set of back stairs. One thing I can be sure of is that I know this building way better than the man who owns it. That’s for damn sure.

It’s a quicker getaway than waiting for the elevator, plus more discreet, so I launch myself through the door and fly down the stairs the way a person does when they’re not thinking. If I start thinking about the way my feet hardly touch a step before bouncing off again, I’ll get tangled up and break my neck. I feel like I’m in one of those parkour videos on YouTube and they almost always bite the dust. At least I’m sure they do twenty times, before they get the good shot on camera.

It’s the only way to get away from him, though. He’s a world class athlete, and I’m barely over five feet tall.

Of course, I hear the door bang shut, and he’s hot on my heels, because he can’t take a hint.

His voice is almost deafening, echoing off the cement steps and cinder block walls providing perfect acoustics. “Just wait a second.”

“Leave me alone!” I snap before throwing myself out through a metal door leading to the pitiful little arrangement of picnic tables and benches which is supposed to be our outdoor break area during nice weather. This is supposed to be a perk for all of a couple months out of the year because it’s so damn cold.

I can barely pull enough air into my lungs to stay upright. It’s like there’s an elephant sitting on my chest. How fast did I get down those stairs? Had to be a record.

I bend at the waist, hands on my knees, staring at the ground and wondering if I’m about to throw up all over it. Wouldn’t that be something? Maybe I’ll wait until Paxton joins me so I can projectile vomit all over his expensive suit.

He bursts out through the door. “Congratulations. You made me chase you out here.”

When I glance up, I find him hobbling a little and wincing. It must be his injured knee. Maybe it still bothers him from time to time. Like when he chases a woman down three flights of stairs at top speed.

“Get. Lost.” I can barely pull in enough air to get those words out. Hating him is better than feeling sorry about his knee, which for some perverse reason I still do. I want to ask him if he’s okay, but no, I’m not doing that. No way.

“You finished?” He demands in a sharp, tight voice. “Or do you want to discuss this like adults?”

“What makes you think I want to have a discussion with you?” I look up toward the third floor and can’t help but grit my teeth. “The message was loud and clear.”

“You can’t think I approved that.” He stares at me blankly, like I’m the crazy one here.

“You can’t be serious? You can’t seriously think I believe that.” My surprise that he would even try to lie his way out of this is insane. I’m not upset anymore. My face is literally on fire. “You really do believe everything you said about me being na?ve, don’t you?”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

“Sure.” I give him a thumbs up, smirking. “One of us believes it.”

He turns around and yanks at his hair, like he wants to pull it out. “I keep forgetting how childish you are.”

“You’re a…” I stop myself before I curse him up and down. The nerve of him, making himself out to be a victim, attacking my age again because he knows how bad it’ll get to me. “You’re the one who looks like he’s about to squeeze out some Oscar-worthy tears. I said leave me alone.” I go to walk past him.

He steps right in my path, blocking my way.

“Move.”

He smirks. “What are you gonna do? Run me over?”

“I might, just like Jackson in the Rose Bowl.” That was a low blow. He probably didn’t think I knew about it. Dad and I watched the game together, how he tried to run for the game-winning touchdown and got tackled, his leg bent back at an angle it’s not supposed to bend, shattering his NFL career and all his dreams along with it. I shouldn’t have said it. It was wrong and I stooped to his level.

His eyes narrow, nostrils flared. At least now he’s as angry as I am.

He glares for a long time, breathing heavily, then takes one deep breath. “Feel better now?”

I shake my head. “No. Not even close.”

“I came here to see you. I accidentally walked in on that.”

“Whatever. I don’t believe you. Get that through your thick skull, Paxton. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind.” I want out of here. I don’t want to see him. I don’t want to hear him. If I do, I know he’ll change my mind.

I already know I’m going to get hurt, no matter what happens. Because I do like him. I like him way more than I should, and it makes this hurt twice as bad as it should.

He takes a step toward me and shrugs. “It’s true.”

This time, I’m the one who takes a deep breath. “Please, get out of my way.”

“No, not until you believe me.”

“It’s bad enough you force us all into that meeting. Now you’re forcing me here against my will. Typical. You and your company are both bullies. You bully people into submission, and if one little person steps out of line you crush them until you get your way.”

“Is that what you really think of me?”

I nod, furiously. “Absolutely.”

“I’m sorry about the presentation. I’ll look into it.”

He still doesn’t get it. “Paxton, I don’t give a damn about that presentation. I expected that. It’s the bare minimum I expected.”

“But I didn’t. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

I throw my arms up. “Why do you even care what I think? Why does it matter whether or not I believe you?” With my hands on my hips, I glare at him. “Maybe if you didn’t do that you should be more worried about who did.”

“Can you just listen to me? Jesus, you’re so high strung.”

“No, you can say that because you sit there all comfortable! Get out of my way.”

He steps right in my path when I try to charge past him again, and this time I run right into his chest, then immediately back up before he can grab me or something.

I shake my head, still trembling with anger and hurt, but the worst of it is happening inside. My stomach is in knots, every nerve in my body sizzling. I want to run. I have to get away from him. I can’t stand being this angry with him while he’s standing there, staring at me. I want to believe he cares, and that’s stupid. It’s just stupid.

Which is exactly why I need to hate him now. I’ve got to get him out of my heart. He had no business being there in the first place.

He’s still pretending to be surprised, piecing together what I have to say. “Why won’t you believe me?”

“You’re the big shot. Why don’t you tell me? You’re supposed to be smart. Figure it out, idiot. I don’t know what’s worse, if you did do this or you didn’t know about it.”

When he winces, I know I’ve struck a nerve.

“You care so much about the things I told you were happening, that you didn’t know this was going on?”

“I said I’m sorry. What more do you want from me? I said I’d look into it. You sit there pouting like a kid not getting their way. Like I can snap my fingers and make it all better.”

“I’m sorry.” I widen my eyes, hands clasped over my chest. My parents have always hated it when I go over the top with my sarcasm, but now I see it was all in preparation for this situation. This man. “Did I hurt your feelings by telling you the truth? Which is it, Briggs? Did you know, or do you just not have a damn clue someone else is running your business for you?” I look away. “Straight into the ground.”

“I would hardly call this being run into the ground.”

“Wake up.” I fire back, dropping the act. “This is your business. The people who work for you are what comprise your business. You sit back and count your money. Someone’s going to get hurt in there. It’s insane.” I point a finger. “And it’ll be on you, whatever happens to them. Because you don’t give a damn.” I thrust a finger upward, toward the windows of the conference room where that embarrassment of a meeting is still taking place. “You’re not the one sitting up there right now, having your livelihood threatened. What the hell kind of thing is that to say to somebody? That if they join a union fifteen percent of the people are going to be put on the street without a job.”

“I told you I’d look into it. We’re going in circles here.” He says the words through his teeth.

It’s a damn good thing everybody is upstairs. We’re not exactly using inside voices.

“And I’m telling you, take responsibility for that garbage. It’s your building, and your company.”

His head snaps back. “You’re not in a position to demand anything of me.”

“You followed me out here to hear what I have to say. Sit there and listen or get out of my way like I’ve asked numerous times.”

Now, he’s seething. He does the hair pull thing again.

He doesn’t see anyone up there as a person, just assets. Investments.

“I’m not even real to you, am I? None of us are.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means if you can win me over, you’re a good guy. You don’t really care, you just want to ease your conscience. If you can convince me you’re not some heartless bastard who runs people into the ground for profit. If I can like you, you’re not doing such a bad job at pretending to be human.”

“That’s ridiculous.” He laughs at the notion. “You’re wrong about me. I do care about people.”

“I don’t think I am. You wouldn’t beg me to talk to you, then act like a complete jerk when you hear what you don’t want to hear.”

This is not a man accustomed to being put on the spot. He sputters, red-faced. “We’re fighting. That’s the kind of shit you do when you argue. Sorry if I’m not kinder or gentler, but you’re not exactly being gentle, either. You’re not exactly humanizing me either.”

“More than I should. You have no idea.” I know it’s dangerous, being this close, but I step up to him. If I were taller, it might have more of an effect. As it stands, I’m like a little child having to tilt her head way back to look up at an adult. “You’re trying to bully your way out of this. You understand what I’m saying?”

“I don’t even think you understand what you’re saying.”

“Talking down to me. You’re determined to prove my point, aren’t you?”

“What is your point? That you’re determined to hate me no matter what?”

“No. That deep down inside, you’ll never see me as an equal. Not me, not any of us. And you can tell me all you want how sorry you are, how bad you feel for us, but it doesn’t mean a damn thing unless you’re willing to risk something to change that. Don’t pretend your hands are tied. You could do the right thing if you wanted to, but you don’t have the courage to do it. We are all expendable to you. You’re a coward .” I glare back at him.

For the first time, he reveals a new aspect of his personality to me: his ability to be nasty. A wicked grin touches his lips. “You can sit in your classrooms all day long, soaking up all kinds of knowledge from professors who never did shit in their life, who never built shit in their lives, but you don’t have the first clue of the complications and pressures that come with running a public company. But you sit there and pat yourself on the back and call yourself a hero, then stomp your feet and whine when stuff doesn’t happen as fast as you want it to.” Now, he takes a step toward me and his eyes narrow. “You wouldn’t know real risk if it bit you in the fucking ass, Hazel. This is my life’s work. For you, it’s a goddamn stepping stone.”

“Avoid tough decisions all you want. Talk your way around this all you want. You’re an asshole.” Is there too much desperation leaking into my voice? Probably, and I’m sure it’s written all over my face, too. I see myself reflected in his eyes, and the way they crinkle at the corners like he’s in pain tells me somewhere deep inside, he sees me. He recognizes me, recognizes the truth of what I’m saying. “You can’t play both sides of this.”

His expression hardens again. “If you think you can destroy my company, think again, sweetheart. You haven’t seen a fucking thing I’m capable of yet.”

“Thank God, the real you finally came out. I really mean that.” I shoulder past him. What a condescending jerk, but at least I finally got the real him to come out.

“Hazel. Fuck…”

I keep going. I don’t care how remorseful he tries to sound. It’s all an act with him. “Go celebrate. You just won. I’m done.”

Is it horrible that I feel bad for lying to him just now? He has no idea I’m working with Campbell. That element of surprise is one of our biggest assets. I’m not a liar, but he makes me so mad. The worst part is, I don’t want to hurt him, still. Even after everything he’s said. But I care more about the people inside than I do about some potential thing between me and Paxton.

Something that cannot happen now, after the way he just behaved.

He makes me stupid. He turns me into someone I’m not.

“Wait, you’re done?”

“Yep. Hope you’re happy.” I bust through the door and head toward my car.

You did nothing wrong.

He deserves what’s coming.

I wish I could make myself believe that.

I really do.