Stay The Night

by Parker, Ali

  “Leaving him behind was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” I admitted. I didn’t know why I was telling her all this, but it was like the words were begging to be said. “My only consolation is that I didn’t leave him behind for good. The doctors have to be right, he’ll be fine.”

  Talking about that morning, the woman I’d seen exiting the cab flashed in my mind. I had a gnawing feeling about her, something I couldn’t shake. “When I was leaving, I saw this woman entering the hospital. I didn’t get a good look at her face, but there was something so familiar about her.”

  Aston frowned, looking up at me. “Do you think she was there to visit your dad?”

  “No,” I replied quickly, but then I realized I didn’t know. Maybe that was it, maybe I recognized her without realizing it at the time. “My dad hasn’t really dated anyone seriously since mom, but I guess she could be a friend of his or something. Maybe I’ve met her somewhere in passing. It’s not impossible, I’ve met so many people with him.”

  “Do you think she could be related to you? If she was familiar, maybe she’s an aunt or someone you haven’t seen since you were little.” It made sense. My dad was an only child, but he did have cousins we hadn’t seen for years.

  “It could be, I don’t know.” The more I talked about it though, the more I thought Aston could be right. At the time, I thought she was there because someone she knew was—gone. But if she was an estranged family member, learning about my dad being in a coma after having a stroke would’ve been a good reason to look like you were in mourning.

  We stopped walking when we reached a point, both lost in our own thoughts. Aston withdrew her arm slowly from my waist, turning to face me. “Earlier when you said the company needed you—it was to make the cuts at some of the branches, wasn’t it?”

  Damn it. I knew this was going to come up, I was just hoping for some more time with her before it did.

  Chapter 33

  Aston

  I could only just make out Blake’s eyes beneath the aviator sunglasses he had on. They widened slightly when I asked him about the cuts. So it was true then, I could tell from just that one slight movement that it was.

  While I waited for him to answer, I tried to brace myself for the inevitable news. Blake lifted a hand to his hair, running it through until it came to a rest at the nape of his neck. He lowered his eyes to mine, then gave his head a small nod.

  “Yeah, it was. I’ve been going around this week to the branches that haven’t been cutting it these last few months. It was brutal, but I would rather have it be me than anyone else who had to do it.”

  He didn’t say it out right, but he didn’t have to. What he meant was that he would rather be the person to go out and make the cuts than have it be his brother. I didn’t know his brother from a bar of soap, but from what little I had heard about him and had seen of him on the news, I understood why Blake felt the way he did.

  Blake had been going around making cuts all week and now he was here. “So, what about this branch, is that why you’ve come back?”

  Dragging his hand from his neck through his hair again, he lifted his shoulders. “I can’t give you an answer to that yet.”

  “What do you mean?” Hope rushed through me. It was faint, since I would have preferred to hear him say with certainty that no cuts would be made, but at least he didn’t break the news right here.

  “I’m still waiting for the latest numbers for this branch. I can’t tell you yes or no before I’ve seen them.” My heart leapt. If he was waiting on the latest numbers, we still had a chance.

  “I understand.” It hadn’t escaped my notice that he was the one who warned me about the numbers in the first place. Without him, we would undoubtedly have been given our marching papers right away.

  It still didn’t mean we were definitely safe though, which reminded me of the vow I’d made to myself about my team. “The people who work here aren’t only employees to me. They are my friends. I know every single one and they’ve all done a great job, especially these last few weeks. Everyone is a team player, and no one is expendable.”

  Blake nodded, taking my hand and winding my fingers through his. “I know, trust me. I am and will keep doing everything I can to avoid any cuts being made here. I've minimized the cuts everywhere else as much as I possibly could. I have no doubt my brother isn’t going to be happy when he sees the numbers, but I’ve made sure to retain as many people as I could.”

  If any other person in Blake’s position had said that to me, I wouldn’t have believed them. Coming from Blake though, it was different. I could see in his eyes how much it hurt him to have done this. “What about here? What are you feeling about the numbers?”

  Blake shrugged, shaking his head. “I can’t say anything for sure, but with the numbers you’ve been putting up and how much they’ve increased, you shouldn’t be in trouble. I’ve insisted on the very latest numbers before any decisions are made.”

  Gratitude for his early warning flooded me. He was right. Our numbers had increased drastically with the new measures we’d put in place, which would give us a fighting chance.

  Or more accurately, give Blake a chance to fight for us. Without the increases, he wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on. But I knew he would take care of me and my people as best he could. I knew that now that he had the chance to help, he was going to take it.

  Blake turned in the direction of the hotel and extended his hand to me. “We should probably be getting back. I need to check my emails to see if there’s anything from Danny yet. We can also grab something to eat once we get back.”

  “I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep anything down.” I touched my hand to my stomach. All this talk about cuts made me feel queasy.

  Blake squeezed my hand gently and paused to turn and cup my cheek. Sincerity burned in his eyes when they met mine. “Listen to me, you are a fantastic manager. I’ve seen a lot of managers this week and I spend a lot of time travelling between the branches. There is not a doubt in my mind that you are one of the very best we have. You have the ability to make this the number one branch, regardless of what happens in this round of cuts. I know you will turn this branch into one of our greatest success stories.”

  His confidence in me made my heart swell. “Well, not to sound arrogant or anything, but I do believe I am damn good at my job.”

  For the first time since we started talking about his Dad, a grin spread across Blake’s gorgeous face. “Yeah, you are.”

  “But I would feel responsible if people got cut here. It’s impossible not to. If our numbers weren’t good enough to keep everyone on, that’s on me. I should have made changes sooner.” The truth hurt, but it didn’t make it any less true.

  This branch was my responsibility and if we ended up having to make cuts, it was because I hadn’t put two and two about our numbers together soon enough.

  I checked the reports religiously, but it turned out I’d been doing it with blinders on. “Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.”

  Blake looked surprised when I used the Latin phrase. I read it in a book once, and it just sort of stuck with me. But then he shook his head. “It’s not your fault. Really. You’ve only been the manager here for a couple of months. There was nothing you could have done before you were made the manager, and even after, your numbers were growing. They just didn’t grow fast enough through the reporting period. Again, not your fault.”

  “I should have seen it earlier.” I could kick my own ass up and down this beach all day long for missing it. “If I’d had more experience, I would’ve figured it out before you had to show me.”

  “But remember, the branches don’t get sent the same numbers I do,” he reminded me. “Trust me, Aston. You’ve done everything right. There are people at fault here, but you’re not one of them.”

  “Even so. It’s my branch, my people, my responsibility. Promise me that if the cuts have to made, you’ll let me tell them and do it my way.” Most people probably w
ould’ve begged to let Blake or someone else from corporate deliver the news or have asked for corporate protocol so they could try to absolve themselves from any blame.

  But that wasn’t me. If it came down to cuts being made, it was up to me to make them. The least I could do was to try and soften the blow. Whether it was policy or not to do it, I intended on promising anyone affected that I would hire them back as soon as I turned the branch around.

  And I would turn it around. There was no doubt about it. I would take whoever remained and work tirelessly until we got the go-ahead to increase our staff component again.

  I promised myself I would set this right if the worst did end up happening. It didn’t matter whether it was my fault or not. Ultimately, assigning blame wouldn’t do anyone any good.

  The only thing that would help was to boost our numbers so much that Danny or whoever else at corporate calling these shots would have no choice but to agree to let us hire people back. In the meantime, I would give them the best references I could and give glowing recommendations to anyone applying for a new job.

  Blake seemed to sense where my mind had gone. “Of course you can do things your way. I’ll be there to support you if that’s what it comes down to. If you want me there.”

  I shook my head, taking a deep breath to strengthen my resolve. “No, I’ll do it alone. It will make it worse for them if you’re there.”

  He nodded. “Okay, but let’s cross that bridge when we get there, shall we? No matter what happens, I know you’re going to persevere and show the company and everyone in it that California is a force to be reckoned with. You’re going to make this the best branch we’ve got.”

  “I won’t rest until it is.” If not for my sake, then for everyone else who already had lost their jobs at the company and everyone who might. The waiting was going to kill me. “When do you think we’ll know?”

  Blake stopped walking when we reached the promenade. Clearly, he wanted to wrap up our conversation before we got back to the hotel. It was looming just ahead of us, filled with people who had no idea of the secret that would weigh me down until I knew once and for all whether their livelihoods would be safe.

  “I expected to have gotten the numbers from Danny by now,” he said, staring thoughtfully in the direction of the hotel. I could see the wait was bothering him, too. He really wasn’t some kind of soulless corporate warrior like the people on the news were making the McAllen family out to be at the moment.

  His eyes drifted up and down the white and glass facade of the hotel before sliding back to mine. “There’s more going on back at the head office than I can tell you. If Danny doesn’t send me those reports by tomorrow, I’m going to have to go back to Florida. So you’ll either have your answer tomorrow, or I’ll go get it for us.”

  The force with which he answered the question surprised me. It was so easy for me to be with him that it was hard to remember who he was sometimes. At moments like these though, it was impossible to mistake him for anything but a powerful, formidable businessman.

  The way that his shoulders squared and his chest became somehow broader, the steel in his tone and the fire in his eyes. He transformed from the easygoing guy he was with me into the authoritative man I knew he was raised to be.

  It was quite something to behold. He turned his gaze to me, eyes narrowing in thought. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

  I lifted an eyebrow. “Same thing I do every day, Pinky. I’m working.”

  A smile quickly crossed his lips and disappeared just as fast. “I’m pretty sure I would be the Brain, not Pinky. Either way, if I have to go to Florida tomorrow, would you come with me?”

  My head snapped back in surprise, both my brows jumping to my hairline. “You want me to come to Florida with you?”

  “That’s what I said,” he grinned. “Come on, you’ll get to meet my fantastic brother. And better yet, you’ll get my company for another day.”

  I laughed when he waggled his eyebrows as he said it. “As much as I would love to meet your douche—I mean charming brother, I’d better not go anywhere right now.”

  He sighed, playful again. “You sure? It would be a lot more fun for me if you came along.”

  “Sorry, but you’re going to have to entertain yourself,” I told him ruefully. I was flattered that he asked, and I would have loved a tour of our head office from him, but there were too many things keeping me here for now. “There’s too much to be done here. I better take care of the branch while I still have it.”

  He sighed but nodded resignedly. “I understand—next time?”

  “For sure.” I only hoped I would still have a job when that next time rolled around.

  Chapter 34

  Blake

  It was cloudy when I woke up the next morning. Cloudy with a chance of kicking my brother’s ass if he hadn’t sent those numbers yet. Rolling out of bed, I headed straight for my laptop.

  I was done waiting for him. The email would either be there or it wouldn’t, but I wasn’t waiting for Danny to call the shots anymore.

  He and I were going to have a serious talk today. Sighing, I rubbed my eyes and stretched my arms above my head while I waited for my computer to fire up.

  Danny had another thing coming if he thought I was making any further cuts without a fight. While some cuts had been justified, I was becoming more convinced than ever that what Danny ordered had been excessive.

  It no longer felt like Danny wasn’t sending me the numbers because he forgot or was busy. It felt like he was keeping them from me on purpose. I thought it was just about New York, but I was starting to suspect it was more than that.

  It was taking too long for it to only be about New York. Danny thought he had the run of the place now that he was ostensibly in charge, but this was too much. I was the finance guy. Danny holding back the numbers was either about hiding something or it was a power play. Today would be the day I found out which one it was.

  I opened my emails, scrolling through hundreds of unread messages. But none of them were from Danny. “Fuck.”

  My blood was threatening to boil. My brother had reached my last nerve. I was tired of the game he was playing. Tired of him fucking me around. I couldn’t sit still, couldn’t just wait around anymore. Jumping up from my chair, I strode over to the window and pulled both my hands through my hair before scrubbing them over my jaw.

  The sun broke through the clouds, sending shards of light skittering over the gray ocean. There were people walking along the beach and a couple of braver ones out on the water kiteboarding. I hardly saw any of it as I stared out of my window. The world around me barely registered.

  I needed to talk to my brother, and it wasn’t going to be a fun conversation. With Dad in the hospital and still unconscious, we couldn’t really afford any more strife or upset in the family. If Danny and I had a huge blow out, it could make things very difficult until Dad woke up.

  The last thing the company needed was turmoil or uncertainty, such as two of the highest-ranking members not speaking to one another. But it couldn’t afford any more bad press or unnecessary cuts either.

  I was stuck between a rock and hard place. A very hard place. I had to choose whether I was going to crash into the rock today or stay put in the hard place. There wasn’t really a choice though, I had to speak to my brother.

  Sighing, I walked over to the nightstand and grabbed my phone. Deciding to make the call on the balcony, I strode out just as the call connected. “There’s no news on Dad yet.”

  “Good morning to you, too.” I said it sarcastically, taking a deep breath of fresh air in an attempt to quell my irritation. I had to at least try to keep the conversation civil.

  “I’m busy, Blake.” He replied on a heavy exhale, clearly impatient. “What do you want if it’s not news on Dad’s condition?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the numbers you promised me days ago. Or about a hundred other work-related things I could need from the Acting CEO of the company I
work for.” I flexed the fingers on my free hand, afraid that if I squeezed my phone any harder, I was going to crush the thing.

  “Smartass.” A crinkling sound came over the line before Danny’s muffled voice shouted to someone in the background before he came back on the line. “In case you haven’t noticed, I really don’t have time for chit chat, and I don’t have time to get those numbers to you.”

  “Danny—”

  “Listen to me, I’m running the whole damn company right now. All you have to do is to just let the manager know to make the cuts. Got it?” I bristled at his tone, hating how he spoke to me. We used to be close once, but the older we got, the more Danny started getting high on publicity and power.

  It made us grow apart, though God only knew when we got to the point where he thought he could order me around like he owned the damn place. Not even Dad spoke to our employees that way.

  “I got it, all right,” I fired back. “But I’m not doing it.”

  “It’s your job, Blake. It’s not that hard. March your lazy ass over to the manager’s office and tell them they’ve bombed their numbers and we have to make the cuts as a result. I already did half your damn job by doing that press conference. They should already know, so just go tell them they’re on the list.”

  I leaned against the railing, gripping it hard. There was rain coming in over the ocean. The air smelled of it, the storm being carried to land on a light breeze. I watched it approach, feeling my mood darken as fast as the sky was.

  “There’s only one problem with your suggestion,” I told him, getting more aggravated by the minute. “They haven’t bombed their numbers. This hotel is overflowing with guests. Without seeing them, I can’t say if the numbers are up or down.”