His Town

by Ellie Danes

  I pulled my clothes on and dashed toward the kitchen where Kate was already dressed and thundering through the door.

  “You little devil!” I yelled, chasing after her giggling form.

  She was wearing my shirt under her coat, so clearly she’d already had a head start. Besides, I knew I’d spent a lot of time becoming lost in my own closet. Lost inside my thoughts.

  I chased her down to the lobby, where we greeted the morning doorman. She’d tried to trip me a good three or four times before we actually got outside, and by the time I’d reached the sidewalk, I was already out of breath with a piercing pain in my side.

  “Damn,” I groaned, panting. “I really need to start working out again.”

  She laughed. Not just a chuckle. She laughed hard.

  “Wow, you’re so beautiful I just assumed you were in shape!” She stuck her tongue out. “I guess that sedentary CEO job isn’t agreeing with you!”

  My mouth fell open. “Are you taunting me?”

  “Well, clearly!” she laughed, grabbing ahold of my hand. “But you can make me hush if you take me somewhere classy for breakfast!”

  “Classy?” I said. “You got it!”

  Of course, Starbucks wasn’t exactly what I would call classy, but I knew we both loved it. And I knew that anything more than that, and we’d stand out like a sore thumb. Neither of us really looked all that grand that morning, having barely gotten ready.

  Kate’s hair was frizzy and pulled up in a ponytail, and mine was standing up in every direction imaginable. But neither of us cared. We were together, and to me, that was all that mattered.

  I didn’t even mind the line this time. At least, not until the lady in front of us started to annoy the shit out of me.

  She was on — who I assumed to be her daughter — pretty much constantly, not really losing any opportunity to say something mean to her.

  “Why did you do your hair like that?”

  “God, you’ve gained so much weight this winter.”

  “This place is ridiculous. I told you we should have gone to Cafe Lux.”

  The negativity was constant, and I could tell the girl was basically about to lose her mind. It sort of reminded me of the way my dad used to treat me.

  Sometimes I felt like nothing I did was good enough.

  “Are you really going to have sweets and coffee?” the woman shrieked when the daughter mentioned a something from the bakery.

  I suppressed every urge in my body to groan aloud as I rolled my eyes at the woman. Not that I cared if she got pissed, but because I didn’t want to embarrass the daughter. I didn’t want her to know that people could actually hear how terrible her mom was being to her.

  “You need to count your calories better!”

  “Mom, I’m just hungry,” she said. I looked the young girl up and down. She was thin. Not stick thin, but thin.

  She clicked her tongue in disapproval. I could tell she wanted to say something else.

  Unfortunately, some people never knew when to stop. “You better watch what you eat, Britney, or you'll end up like that fat kid over there.” She gestured towards a small table in the back of the room, no more than thirty feet from where we were all standing. I cringed at her crudeness, but was unable to stop myself from following both of their gazes.

  The guy she was referring to looked to be about sixteen, give or take a year or so. He had unruly reddish brown-colored hair, and large glasses. He was slightly overweight, not obese by any means. Just a little hefty. The woman clearly had a delusional outlook on what was “big” or “fat” so I just rolled my eyes.

  I turned to look away, but before I did I noticed his eyes dart over to the woman.

  I cringed.

  I was pretty sure he’d heard her.

  Both he and the young, and actually quite pretty, teenage girl he was with. I wondered if they were classmates and grabbing a quick cup of joe before class; because by the way he had been looking at her told me he had a crush.

  I didn’t have any part of it, and wasn’t one to get embarrassed and even I felt mortified when I turned my body to face the front. I could only imagine what the girl in front of me, with the bitchy mom, felt.

  I found myself reaching for Kate’s hand, hoping that it might ease my embarrassment for the girl in front of us and the young man at the table thirty feet away trying to impress a girl even after a terrible woman just brought attention to the fact that he was overweight.

  “I can't believe you,” the young girl hissed, as she glared at the woman I assumed to be her mom. “Do you ever stop putting people down?”

  From what I could tell from her profile, the mom’s face was the picture of pure shock. “Britney!” she shrieked, actually having the nerve to look hurt.

  I let out a snort, and received a fiery over-the-shoulder-glance from the woman.

  “First of all, mind your own business, sir!” the woman shrieked before turning back to face her daughter.

  At least she had the decency to look a little ashamed. “I didn't mean to embarrass you,” she said. “I didn’t intend for anyone to hear me.”

  And when the daughter shrugged and replied with an “it’s fine,” like I used to do each and every time my old man criticized me, I couldn’t help but hold on to the scene.

  It wasn't until I was sitting in a cab, a coffee in one hand, and Kate’s hand in the other, that I used those words to realize what I had been trying to talk myself into all morning.

  I knew at that point exactly what it was that I wanted to do about everything.

  I knew, deep down, that it was the right thing to do.

  I only hoped that Kate would feel the same way when I went over my thoughts with her.

  I didn’t really know exactly what was going to happen, and I didn't like that thought at all.

  I wasn’t prepared for it.

  But maybe that was a good thing. Maybe I needed something new and unknown.

  Chapter 25

  Kate

  We were hand in hand, walking up the stairs of BioResearch.

  I remembered walking down the stairs not-that-long-ago and running into Ian. I remembered our encounter on these exact steps very well. Too well, actually. Just like everything else to do with Ian.

  We were there for a meeting that Ian had requested as soon as he told me he had a plan. I agreed to it because he seemed excited about it. Fueled, even. Like he knew what he was doing.

  I didn’t know exactly what he had up his sleeve, but I knew whatever it was, it was big.

  He had called my dad from the cab, outside Starbucks, and requested a meeting with him for later in the day. We basically only had time to go back to our apartments, shower, re-dress, meet in the lobby, then grab the Bentley and get through traffic before the meeting.

  I sighed as a bout of nervous jitters started fluttering in my stomach. I gulped. To say that I was scared was probably an understatement. Not of my dad, really, but of the reaction. I just wanted everyone to be happy.

  I knew that Ian had a deal in mind that he felt would make everyone happy, but I still wasn’t so sure.

  Partially because I didn’t know what his entire plan was.

  I knew that he finally knew what he wanted to do about the lawsuit and the technology, but I didn’t really know much else.

  “You okay?” Ian asked, as soon as we reached the top of the stairs and hit the “UP” button of the elevator.

  I nodded quickly, my breath almost completely gone, as I tried to take another deep one to calm myself. I wasn’t really fooling anyone, though.

  The elevator dinged and we both stepped in.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, cautiously.

  “Yeah,” I panted, as soon as the elevator doors closed. I started to wave my hands in front of my face, fanning myself. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Well, we’re our way to see your dad…and you’re fanning yourself like you might pass out. But, no reason.”

  I took another deep bre
ath, and examined myself and Ian in the reflective metal of the elevator door. “I’ll be fine,” I said, truthfully.

  I usually felt nervous before talking to my dad about something big.

  This time just took the cake. Especially because I was in the dark about this plan of Ian’s. And because I knew, this time, I was definitely about to piss Dad off.

  We rode the elevator all the way up to the top floor: the executive suite.

  It felt like the longest elevator ride ever.

  It felt like it had been several minutes before the doors opened and I saw the executive suite open up in front of me.

  I wasn’t up there often, and I had never really taken it in until now. It really was a lovely layout. I knew it hadn’t been upgraded in a while, since they’d had a bit of a rough patch, but it still looked crisp and elegant inside.

  I missed the coziness of Melinda’s small office. It was crazy to think her office existed in the same building as such a large, and spacious suite. She was in a closet compared to everything else. Not that she was the only one.

  I stepped up to the counter and my face brightened a bit — and a few of the nerves even subsided — when I saw Melinda’s voluptuous body appear from basically nowhere.

  “Hey, Honey!” she squealed in delight, but only for a moment.

  It was like someone had hit her in the face after she’d squealed, because all of a sudden she cleared her throat and looked me up and down, and then looked at Ian. It was weird how her demeanor had changed almost instantly.

  “Mr. Cross. Ms. Murphy.” She spoke clearly and professionally, but it was obvious that she was straining to refer to me as “Ms. Murphy”.

  “This way,” she said.

  I looked around, as nonchalantly as I could, as I tried to cover the nerves, which were increasing by the second, erupting inside my gut.

  “It’ll be just a moment. He’s in another meeting,” she said, gesturing for us to follow her.

  We did, through a slim hallway just around the corner from the boardroom.

  The hallway had nothing — only two small empty leather chairs which she pointed towards, holding a professional smile that almost felt cold, given how long I had known her personally, and how close we were.

  The only reason it didn’t hurt me, was because I could tell that she hadn’t meant anything by it. I could tell that she was nervous because of who I was with, and probably because Dad had likely already been bitching before we got there.

  “So he made the appointment for this time, but he’s not prepared to be ready at this time?” Ian grumbled, not even under his breath.

  My eyes shot to look at him. I didn’t want him to be rude to Melinda. It wasn’t her fault.

  “He had a really short meeting just before you; but he should be wrapping up any moment.” Her voice was sweet, but I could tell by the shooting glance of her eyes that she was irritated, too.

  Dad was a dick sometimes. And I knew it wasn’t just the fact that he had another meeting. I knew he was purposely putting Ian off.

  “That’s not really an excuse,” he mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

  I swatted his forearm. “Calm down,” I said. “It’s fine.”

  Melinda nodded and walked away, her heels clanking against the tile. She had hardly been gone three minutes when she returned.

  “He can see you now,” she said as she whipped back around the corner and showed us to the boardroom. “Well, shall we?” Ian asked, as Melinda directed us towards the boardroom’s large glass double doors. He was smirking at me, like he was in his zone — like he was comfortable and completely collected about what it was that he was about to do.

  I couldn’t believe he wasn’t shaken at all until I remembered this is what he did for a living.

  He made deals.

  He talked to intimidating men all day every day.

  He was a business shark.

  And those sort of men were cut from a very unique cloth; a cloth that I personally would never understand, given how incredibly knotted up my stomach was at even so much the thought of seeing my dad’s face.

  And I wish I had gone inside and immediately felt silly for my nerves, but that wasn’t what happened.

  Not even close.

  Ben and Dad were both there. Not surprising. But it was surprising when I walked in and saw Ben looking angry. I cringed.

  Dad just looked resigned, almost completely steeled and emotionless.

  It made me think of the time I told him I was moving across the country to take on a teaching job.

  His hawkish eyes had stared me down until I wondered if I should even tell him what I needed to. I felt nervous and guilty all at the same time; but the way he leaned forward, sitting across from me, made me feel sort of obligated to tell him.

  And when I did finally tell him, he scoffed loudly. As soon as I told him. So much as the possibility seemed to irritate him and seem ridiculous to him. I knew he thought the decision to go into education at all was ridiculous; let alone special needs education — in California.

  I felt liquid heat as I watched Ian’s tongue slip out to moisten his lips before he spoke. My chest heaved as I tried to gain control of myself. I was stressed. I needed to get a grip.

  “I will say, that I don’t appreciate being left waiting,” Ian made sure he said first and foremost.

  I cringed, my heart basically knotted up inside my throat. I tried to swallow, but I couldn’t. I felt parched all of a sudden.

  “So your meeting’s time wasn’t met at the exact on the dot time — give me a break,” Ben scoffed. It was unlike him, to be so outspoken, but I assumed it was because he was pissed. I was with Ian. That was clearly a bad sign to him. “You know in our business you make meetings and you don’t always start them on time. Cry me a river.”

  “Ben,” Dad warned. “Let’s just get on to business.”

  He shifted on his elbow and leaned against them, looking Ian squarely in the face. His voice had been calm. Almost chillingly calm. The only thing I felt was really strange, though, was the fact that he didn’t look at me.

  “Mr. Cross,” he said, seriously, before Ian held his hand up to stop him.

  “Call me Ian today,” he corrected.

  Dad studied him for a minute. He looked him up and down and then finally over to me — but only for a second before nodding and clearing his throat.

  “Ian,” he said, sternly. “What can I do for you? I’m sure you’re here for more than just to show off my daughter to me.”

  He glanced over to me, and as soon as he did, I found that it was difficult to control my smile.

  “Well,” Ian said. “I guess I’d like to start off by saying that I am seeing Kate again, and I know it goes against the agreement I had with Ben,” he announced, never wavering his focus on my dad until he mentioned Ben’s name. At that point, and that point alone, he glanced over to my red-faced brother and narrowed his eyes at him. “The agreement was underhanded and dirty, but I still hate going back on a deal.”

  Ben shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I have to admit, I am really impressed with just how snaky you were.”

  My eyes widened at the tones he was using. I wanted to cheer Ian for how collected he was; how incredibly un-intimidated he was; but I knew it’d be best if I just kept my mouth shut.

  I honestly didn’t even know why I was there. I was terrible in situations like this.

  I immediately started to fidget under my brother’s gaze, which I felt burn into me like a fucking laser.

  I loved my brother, but I would have given anything in the world to punch him in the face at that moment. He was so snarky — so uncharacteristically so — that it was starting to frustrate me.

  Chapter 26

  Ian

  I tried to give Kate a reassuring glance before I continued. But she looked as nervous as she probably should have been considering.

  “Seriously, Ben…Congrats,” I said, trying my damnedest to let it be known tha
t he was a son of a bitch without actually calling him a son of a bitch. “You had me fooled. I really thought you were a decent man.”

  Michael held his hand up again, like he was God controlling the earth. “Can we get on with it?” he asked, calmly. “We already know you went against Ben’s deal.”

  I cleared my throat. “None of it matters now. I’m done. Done with all of this.”

  Both of them set their attention on me fully at this point.

  “I’m prepared to hand over the technology to Bio-Research.”

  Both of their eyes widened, and I could tell that they were both completely stunned. I turned my focus back to Michael.

  “I did some investigating of my own, and I know that you and my father both were working on the technology when he worked at Bio-Research. That means, even if a patent wasn’t filed that it should probably go to the company in which it was first introduced. Even if he did develop it into something better, and more competitive, it was still wrong. It was also wrong to sue you over it, knowing that it wasn’t solely his technology to begin with. Whether he did it because he was afraid you’d sue him first, and tarnish his good name, or if he just wanted to be a petty asshole, I’ll never know. I just want to make this right.”

  The look on Michael Murphy’s face was priceless. He never saw it coming. And Ben, he leaned forward and tilted his head like he was waiting for some kind of demand to be added.

  I took a deep breath. I had said it all in pretty much one single breath. “So to make it right, to show that MTS isn’t under-handed and isn’t dirty, I want to do what’s best and give it back to you, Michael,” I continued. “It is rightfully yours.”

  “Just like that?” Michael asked. “No negotiations?”

  “The only stipulation is that BioResearch employs the technicians and marketing people that have been working on this for years. They don’t deserve to lose their jobs because of a decision my dad made.”

  “How did you find all of this out?” Michael asked after I paused, but I held my hand up to stop him.

  “Doesn’t matter. I know the truth. How I know it is irrelevant.” And that really was all I was prepared to say. I wasn’t about to pull Kate into the battle. It was bad enough that she was in there in the first place.