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Chapter Twenty-Nine

Theodore

If ever there were a piece of shit that was the worst piece of shit, I’m worse than that. What the fuck am I doing with my life? Other than weaving a disaster of epic proportions, that is.

I’m over here mixing chemicals together, hoping nothing is going to kill me, all the while I’m making a scentless, deadly gas that’s about to explode in my face.

Fuck.

I yank open the door of the building my father owns.

We do business on the top floor, while the others are rented to other companies.

Most of our employees work remotely, so they don’t take up floor space.

It’s a smart way to make profit. Of course, our company’s logo is front and center when you walk in.

Celesti is in big bubbly sky-blue letters on the wall across from the main doors.

A creative name that my father came up with well before he had any idea how to start his cloud-based storage company, but with a name and an infinite amount of money, thanks to his parents being rich as hell, he had the means to get what he wanted.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Beaumont,” Tom, the security guard, says.

“Afternoon.”

Once on the elevator, stuffed shoulder-to-shoulder with people I don’t know, I swipe my card and hit the button for the top.

I feel the stares, and bet they’re all wondering who I am.

Only a select few have key cards that go up to the top.

The car is empty when I reach the office, and I step off, more annoyed with myself than ever.

I can’t even be excited about the good news my father has for me.

Good news is always, well, good , but I don’t deserve to be happy, not with what I’m doing to Tobias.

And Marianne.

I had a whole plan that was perfect, until it wasn’t.

Tobias opening himself up to me and sharing something he feels so strongly about was a moving point for us.

A big step. One that could potentially lead to more than what we are, I think.

This is exactly what I wanted, right? An olive branch that could extend into an actual relationship?

Him trying a relationship so I could see if I can make that work?

I don’t want to be the guy who sleeps around for the rest of his life, but I also don’t want to be the guy who builds his life on lies.

I’m doing that now, in too many ways. I’m lying to Tobias.

I’m lying to Marianne. I’m lying to my family.

Hell, I’m lying to myself. It seems the only person I’m being truthful to is Biscuit, that sweet girl.

The top floor is so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

It’s large but not many people spend time up here.

Those who do have their own offices and the doors are always closed.

There is no reception because there are no visitors.

If there are meetings, they use the bottom floor conference rooms. Truly, this floor is one step down from a ghost town at all times.

Before walking down the hall to my father’s office, I stop at the corner of the building, the one made of all glass with a breathtaking view of the city.

You can see just about everything from here, but I prefer it at night when it looks like a sea of sparkling lights.

It’s the perfect place to sit and think, and if there was no chance of my father catching me, I’d do it.

It’s not that he’d be mad, but he’d ask too many questions that I won’t want to answer.

Though I came here because he invited me to hear his good news, I also came to tell him the truth.

I can’t keep burying myself deeper. This whole thing starts with him.

He’s the one I need to tell first. Yes, this will hurt Marianne the most, but telling my father is going to hurt me the most. I need to rip the band-aid off and deal with the repercussions.

As long as I come out on the other end alive, I’ll be happy.

Giving the skyline my back, I head down the hall to my father’s office and knock.

“Come in!” I find my father sitting at his desk when I push open the door, reading glasses perched on the end of his nose as he looks over a ledger. He glances up. “Glad you could make it. Have a seat.”

My palms get sweaty as I sit in the grey armchair in front of his desk.

I was on a mission as I got here, certain my conscience couldn’t take the guilt of what I am doing to Tobias.

Telling my father would be easy because it's more about business. That’s what I’d thought, but now that I’m here, in front of the man who could ruin my life, I’m worried…

Not necessarily having second thoughts, because I am going to do this, but the fear hit me all of a sudden. Meaning, I better hurry up and get this over with.

“I’m glad you invited me. I need to talk to you about something too.”

I smile to myself, proud of starting the conversation. There. Now he knows I want to talk to him about something, so I can’t get out of it later.

“Well, that worked out perfectly, didn’t it?” He chuckles, then shuffles the papers on his desk into a neat pile and places them on top of the ledger he was looking over. Pushing it to the side, he folds his hands, resting them on the desk in front of him.

“Your marriage to Marianne had been discussed between her father and me for years. We knew our families wanted to be joined, and it made perfect sense. You’re both the same age and got along well enough. You like her, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” I say with a smile. “We've been friends for as long as I can remember. ”

“Good. That’s important these days, right?

Liking the person you marry?” I frown. “All I mean is, when your mother and I married, things were different. It didn’t matter if we liked each other.

Plenty of people our age are married and can’t stand one another.

Thankfully, after some time, your mother and I realized we were fond of each other, but the beginning wasn’t all that easy. ”

I’m growing concerned over what he’s saying. Why is he talking about this?

“Is this the good news?” I ask carefully. “That you like Mom?”

He huffs out a laugh. “You’re funny, Theodore.”

I smile, genuinely. I don’t think my father has ever told me I’m funny before.

My father doesn’t act this relaxed with me, and I’m not sure why he is now, but I like it.

This is who he is with my brothers, the ones who don’t have responsibilities.

This is what I’ve always wanted from him—to act as a father and not as a business partner.

“The good news is that our company, Celesti, is partnering with Shadownet, all thanks to you, son.”

“Thanks to me?” I ask, my face screwing up into confusion. I didn’t do a damn thing to make that happen. Marianne’s father is the CEO of Shadownet, a cyber security system.

“Vern trusts our family, Theodore. Apparently, he had a conversation with Marianne, who expressed her true adoration for you and excitement over this wedding. Because of that, he wants to partner. ”

My stomach drops at least twenty floors. “Partner?”

“We will provide our clients with one year of free Shadownet protection, starting on your wedding date.” He taps his desk with his palm on the last word, grinning from ear to ear. “Additionally, all Shadownet customers will receive complimentary cloud storage as part of this offer.”

“Shadownet and Celesti?” I mutter, my brain not caught up with what’s going on. I hear his words, but I’m not sure I understand what’s happening.

“Do you understand what this means, Theodore? Do you see what you’ve done for the company? This calls for a celebration and certainly a bonus.” He grins, leaning back in his chair.

“A bonus?”

“That’s right, son. A bonus.”

I don’t care about money; I have plenty of it.

But I’ve never gotten a bonus a day in my life.

For all the years I’ve worked for my father, I got my salary and an annual increase based off that year’s sales.

Not once has he ever offered me a bonus.

It’s not that I even need it, but… I did something worthy of a bonus in his eyes.

“Wow, I… don’t know what to say.”

Hope you didn’t send it yet, I have something to tell you?

That would be a good place to start.

“Just say thank you.”

“Thank you. ”

The phone on his desk rings, and he holds up a finger as he reaches for it.

“Channing Beaumont. Yes, Remi! Of course. No, no, now’s a perfect time.” He makes the shooing motion for me to get out of his office, and I guess this conversation is done.

He didn’t even give me the chance to say what I needed to say. I use that as an excuse for why I don't tell him about my concerns all the way to my car. And then I push it from my mind completely. How the hell can I call off my wedding now?