Rich and Bossy (Rich Boys)

31. Paxton

CHAPTER 31

Paxton

“I’ll have another.” I hold up my empty glass, jiggling it back and forth while nearly leaning against the bar for support. It’s not like me to drink during the day, and even more unlike me to drink this much at once. I haven’t really done it since college, but here we are.

“Wow.” John walks up beside me. He’s still nursing his first beer, while I believe this would be number three for me. Or four. Who’s counting?

I’m definitely a lightweight these days, because I can feel it. Absolutely can feel it.

“Wow what, bitch?” I’m already slurring. I start to sling the beer across the bar, then I stop. Because someone would have to clean it up, and I’ve caused enough work for too many people today.

“There was nothing we could fucking do, man. The second you toss the three consultant cunt wipes out of the building, the board replaces us. It’s that simple.”

“I was there. I don’t need the reminder.” I stare down into the beer mug, watching it swirl when I move the glass in circles.

“What else were we supposed to do?”

“Just stop, okay? I’m aware we couldn’t do anything. I’m pissed there’s nothing I could do. Talking about it is not fucking helping.” I take another drink, grateful for the way the cold beer tastes, knowing I should stop. At least it numbs shit for a minute. “I need to stop. Take this fucking thing.” I hand him the glass. “Before I go break it over Hank’s head.”

“We knew what we were getting into when we wanted to expand and go public. We knew this was a possibility, losing control. We knew that, bro.”

“You really aren’t helping.”

He sighs heavily, then props his face on his palm. “I know it doesn’t help. But it’s literally all I have to hold onto. You’re not the only one who feels like a piece of shit over this, okay?

“No, but I’m the one who promised things wouldn’t go this way. I said I’d do everything I could to stop it.”

“Well, you kept your fucking promise, whether she believes it or not. And no offense, but maybe that was a stupid fucking promise to make. I could’ve told you that was going to fucking happen. It’s why I went so fucking hard on people from day one, so you wouldn’t have to, and it’d look like we were doing shit.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m just saying. We both know it’s true. It wasn’t fair for you to tell her we wouldn’t get in the way. It wasn’t up to us. It never was.”

I wish I could make him understand. There has to be something more we could do. It doesn’t feel right. It just fucking doesn’t. That they marched all those people out and we’re still sitting here, with our job titles and our bonuses and stock rewards and shit. It’s not right.

“What’s the fucking point if we don’t run the company?” I turn to John, knowing he can’t give me an answer but wishing he would, anyway. “If we don’t have any say at the end of the day, what’s the motherfucking point?”

“You know the point.”

“What is it?”

“What do you want to do? Turn back time? Decide not to go ahead with the IPO?” He snickers, shaking his head. “We both know you’re too intelligent to believe a bunch of fairytale bullshit. This is life. Sometimes you have to pick a road.”

“There’s tough decisions, and there’s having a room of old fucks neuter me.” I’m halfway off my stool, ready to start a fight with anyone.

He places a hand on my shoulder and shoves me down. The fact that he could do so that easily says I’ve had way too much to drink, way too fast. He’s not a small guy, but he’s not nearly as strong as I am.

He checks his phone, his expression grim as he picks up his glass. “It’s done. Nothing we can do now. Legal said it’s all tied down, good enough to hold up. And if they take it to court, they can string the shit out for at least twelve months with paperwork, maybe more.” He looks over at me. “I tried to get them paid and to be able to keep their benefits during any appeal process, but the three consultant fucknuts shot that down in a hurry. Wouldn’t look good if we fire them, then keep paying them. Had to look like it was all or nothing.”

I can only imagine what she must be feeling. How much she must hate me. How she has to hurt. She’s worked so hard, and she has so much hope. I told her from the beginning. I warned her. It’s out of my hands, they’re going to crush your ass. There’s nothing I can do.

Yeah, that’s the exact opposite of what you told her at the condo, because you were willing to say anything to make her happy right then.

But it was a lie, and you knew it.

He stares over at me. “We could have warned her, you know. We could’ve told her this was coming, somehow. We could’ve found a way and she could’ve been prepared.”

“You know it was impossible.”

For the first time, it’s him who looks pissed off now. He slams his phone on the bar. Pretty sure the screen cracks when he does it. “I know. I just… We could’ve morse coded something.”

“Hank has us surveilled twenty-four seven. He knows we’re drinking here right now. You can bet your fucking ass they’ve found a way to monitor every last thing she’s doing. It’s way too risky to try to make contact.”

John sighs. “I know. He’s a fat fuck of a man.”

I laugh a little at that. He’s not wrong. “She’s probably home by now. I have to see her.”

John’s eyes pop out. “No, that’s a horrific idea. If you wanted to risk that, you should’ve done it before this, to warn her. You don’t even make logical sense right now. Pretty sure you’re hammered and will fuck it up, even if you do see her. No, you need to wait, and think.”

“I have to.”

“You’re drunk, and she’s no doubt at the pinnacle of being furious right now. Listen to me. Do not do this.” He grips me by the collar to make his point even more clearly.

“I have to see her. I don’t expect you to understand. I have to, man.”

All he does is sigh, but he does let go of me. “I know what you’re doing.”

“What’s that?”

“Trying to punish yourself, for what happened. It’s fucking stupid.”

“I have to do it.”

He sighs again. “Just promise me you won’t drive.” He picks up his glass and drains the rest of it. “We don’t need any extra fucking disasters right now.”

Her car is in the driveway, and I take that as a good sign. Maybe she’s had a little time to think things through. Maybe her mom has comforted her a little. She needs that right now. I want to be the shoulder for her.

It’s fucking torture, knowing she’s probably hurting.

“You want me to wait?” The cab driver turns in his seat, eyeing me warily. “You staying here?”

I’m not sure what’s about to happen, but I do not want to get caught out here in this cold weather, and that’s a real possibility. At least the cold-ass air seems to sober me up a little when I step out into it.

“Stick around.” I get all the way out the door and start toward her house.

The cold air braces me a little, makes my brain feel a little sharper than before, so that’s good. Only now do I remember that I haven’t eaten all day, either. No wonder the booze slammed into me.

Why is it so hard to knock on the door?

Probably because I know I’m more than likely being watched. What was I supposed to do? Tell the cab driver to drive a circuitous route all over town and watch for any headlights following?

I know she’s going to be pissed. I know this. I just need to let her take it out on me a little, then we’ll figure this out. I have to tell her it wasn’t my fault.

You could’ve texted or called.

No, it needs to be in person. No kind of data records can happen with something like that. She might not respond to them anyway. I ring the doorbell.

The speaker on it immediately yells at me. “Get away from my house.”

“Hazel, please. Just come out here.”

“Go!” There’s venom in her voice.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard her sound this pissed off.

“I’m not leaving until I see you.”

When the door flies open, my heart sinks.

Her gold-flecked eyes glare right at me. “Go.” She points to the road.

Definitely pissed off, if that wasn’t obvious from her yelling at me through the speaker.

“I need to talk to you.” I get she’s mad, but we can figure this out. I know we can.

Rather than put on a coat, she steps outside and slams the door behind her. “Where was the warning, Paxton? You said this wouldn’t happen. Why didn’t you want to talk before it happened?”

“I couldn’t. Legally. I told you I’d do all I could.”

“Oh, for what? A whole week? That’s the longest you could keep things fair?” She points at the ground. “This had to be planned. It had to be. I saw all the legal documents, each one specifically crafted for each person who got fired. Those took a team of attorneys working around the clock. So I don’t want to hear this you had no idea and stalled as long as you could. You didn’t stall at all. You lied to me. Held me in your arms and lied to my face.”

“That’s not t-true.”

“Are you drunk?” She sniffs the air, then backs up another step. “You kidding me right now? Go home. Go away.”

She starts to open the door, and I grab her by the wrist. “I can’t. I need you to believe me.”

“I did believe you. That day in that apartment, Paxton. I did. And you didn’t do what you promised. You lied to me. Why? So you could get back at me for not telling you about the union drive?”

“I did do what I could. It wasn’t a lie.” Real great comeback, man. God, why is she so frustrating? I’m supposed to believe her every time, but she can’t believe me?

“Sure, slept with me, then went back to work and you didn’t do a thing. No warning. No nothing, while I had to watch my best friends humiliated and marched out of your warehouse. People with families who are scared out of their minds, and it looks like I did that to them. And you went to the bar and got drunk while it was happening!” She’s yelling now.

“Oh please, you did do the same shit to me. Or do you not remember? I got blindsided too, and I fucking forgave you for it. Trusted and believed you, tried to understand it from your point of view.”

“That was different. This is different, Paxton.”

“Oh bullshit, you just don’t want to admit it. Everything always has to happen your way, and everyone else is an asshole if it doesn’t work out for precious Hazel.” I’ve never been so damn frustrated in my life. Now, it’s turning to rage, because that’s what she does to me. She makes me so damn mad when she won’t listen to reason. “You slept with me knowing damn well what was happening the next day.” I glance around at her house and try to lower my voice for that part, in case anyone is listening. I point at her. “You did that to me, and I let it go.” I take a step toward her, my teeth clenched. “That bothered me, really bad, and I calmed down, and I listened to reason. You need to do the same thing for me right now.” My voice rises at the end.

“You’re scaring me. Please back up.”

My eyes widen and I realize I’m right in her face. I back up a step or two and hold my hands up. “Sorry, this better? More comfortable to hear the truth from here?”

“No, actually I told you to leave.”

Finally, the pressure building in my head is too much and I have to vent it before I explode. “You need to…”

“I don’t need to do anything you tell me to do. What you did was unacceptable.”

“Fucking grow up, Hazel! Jesus Christ.” I yank at my hair. “I had no choice and you’re acting like a toddler throwing a tantrum right now.”

Her head snaps back, eyes wide. She didn’t expect that. She wants me to grovel. Guess what? That’s not what I’m going to do right now. Fuck that. I’m right on this. I didn’t have a choice.

“What did you just say to me?” Now, there’s rage in her voice.

I know how much she hates when I mention her age and reference it, and good. I’ll keep fucking doing it if she’s going to prove me right.

I steamroll right past her question. “You don’t have the first fucking clue what it’s like on my side of things. Sit over there with your morals and ideals and principles. I had no choice. I told you from the start it would happen. I told you they’d come to fucking crush you and I’d try, and I did that, and it’s not good enough for you because you don’t like the outcome. You were warned. That’s on you. I get it, you’re the good guy, the champion. Give me a fucking break. Did you warn those people? Did you tell them they might get fired? Or did you fill them full of rainbows and false hopes? You set them up for that, not me. That shit is on you.”

She sneers right at me. “Don’t try to pin this on anyone but you. You run the company, not me. I’m not a manager. I can’t fire people. That was on you and nobody else.”

I can tell I’m getting to her. She’s on the verge of exploding at me, and I think that’s exactly what I want to happen. I know it is. All the frustration from this ordeal has boiled to this one point, and I’m dumping all of it on her. She fucking started this. She’s the one who’s being unforgiving right now, so she gets what’s coming to her. “You can sit there and blame the big corporate villains all you want. You were warned. It happened. Sounds pretty stupid.” I lean in a little. “They’re all going to hate you now. All of them are sitting at home and they’re not blaming me. They’re blaming you. And all those people at the warehouse will be glad you got fired. Because they all hate you now too. Because of what you did. You didn’t warn them and prepare them for what would happen.”

She takes two big steps toward me. “I told you to get off my porch. We’re done here, and we’re done for good. I hope you feel like more of a man, getting drunk and picking a fight with me to ease your conscience. What a perfect example you’re setting for young men around the world. Your two nephews would be so proud of Uncle Pax.”

I didn’t know she had that one in her, but the rage starts boiling and it’s not going back in the bottle. It was even lower than her attacking me about my football injury. I lean right down in her face. “Fuck you.”

I turn and start back for the cab, fists clenched. I want to knock down every one of these giant fucking trees in my path. I know things were heated, but that was worse than anything she’s ever said to me.

“Go to hell, Paxton!” she whisper-screams at me when I’m about a step or two away.

I spin around. “I told you to fuck off. Go inside and cry and pretend you know a damn thing about living in the real world, about real sacrifice. Today was a life lesson. You’re a child. You live with your parents.” I bark out a laugh at their house. “Anything you’ve learned about the world, you learned from books, or from Campbell Page who you snuck in under my nose. You have zero real experience with a fucking thing. Let me believe she was just a friend that night when I came to get perfect little Hazel to forgive me again. All you do is lie.”

“Is that why you’re acting like a coward right now? Trying to be as mean as possible to me, to absolve yourself of all the guilt?”

I reach up for my hair one more time because how can she be this obtuse? “It was about making a choice, and doing what I can to protect what’s mine. I’m sorry you’re too immature to handle that.”

“I don’t want to hear any more excuses about the mistake you made. I’ve heard enough.”

“Oh, believe me.” I bark out a disgusted laugh and storm over to her one more time. “I know exactly what a mistake looks like. I’m staring right at it.” I lean down to where I’m almost nose to nose with her. “Fuck you and your little union. Keep it up and I’ll bury everyone in that goddamn warehouse.”

The entire, freezing cold walk to the cab, I’m shaking with rage. My face feels like it’s on fire, even though it has to be under twenty degrees out here.

Fuck!

What did I just do?