by Carter Blake
Everything going on here, this is all my fault.
Before I can bear to glance into the safe, I click onto the security camera’s feature on my computer, but what I see is nothing more than a blank screen.
“Oliver…he’s not here, definitely, and I saw him earlier today.”
Shit, Oliver is in on this too. I mean I have only kept him on staff because he was a good friend to my Dad, and now he’s betrayed that too?
What the hell is wrong with people? Why can’t they just be trustworthy?
It has to be him, he’s the one person who isn’t here who could actually pull this off.
My heart sinks in my chest. I feel so despondent and hollow, that I know it won’t take much more from me to look inside the safe and to see everything else gone.
Of course, it’s empty, just as I knew it would be apart from a large wad of cash, which proves everything that everyone else thought. This was about revenge, nothing else, and I fell for it all.
I’m clearly a fucking idiot.
My Dad should never have entrusted his business to me.
As my eyes fall to the ground in disappointment, I spot a gleaming white envelope with my name scrawled across it, in a handwriting I know very well. I don’t want to pick it up, I don’t want to read it because I don’t want to hear what she has to say, but I’m aware that I’m going to have to provide some sort of explanation to everyone else. I might not want to know why I’ve been betrayed by someone I opened up to, but this isn’t just about me. There are jobs on the line here, people that need to know what’s going on so that they can make an honest decision about their future, and I owe it to them.
I grab it, sighing deeply, allowing a sickness to swirl around in my stomach and I tear it open to read it.
‘Dear Wesley…’
Oh God, did she really have to begin such a life destroying letter so formally?
‘I know that you must hate me for what I’ve done to you. I betrayed you. I sacrificed the feelings that we had between us…’
That almost has me laughing aloud.
What fucking feelings? If there was really anything between us, she would never have done this. If she felt as strongly for me as I did her, she couldn’t have acted so coldly.
‘…and I’m sure that you don’t know why. Well, maybe you can guess. You know who my Dad is now after all. I guess that I’ve just spent my entire life seeing my Dad struggle, seeing him grow increasingly miserable because his life hasn’t gone the way that he planned. At first I assumed that it was because he loved my Mom, and it killed him to lose her, which of course I felt responsible for. Then, as I grew, I started to realize that it was because he lost his place in the business. He made sure I knew about it, he used to moan about it all the time.’
I couldn’t ever remember my Dad mentioning Michael, but maybe that was because he came out of it a winner. He got what he wanted, and despite everything that went down, I assumed that it would probably still hurt Michael… not that it excused any of this.
‘I decided to get revenge early on, and I spent all my time working towards that. I felt like my Dad had given up everything for me, so I wanted to do the same for me. I wanted to make him happy all over again. I scarified having friends, having any long-term relationships, having any kind of life, all for this.
But then I got the job with you, and everything became a little too real.
I know that you might not believe me now, but my feelings for you were real. Everything I ever said to do, did to you, that was because I liked you so much. I liked you so much that I almost changed my mind more than once. But I can’t…in the end I can’t, because I don’t have anything else. My Dad is depending on me, needing me to get this done, and that’s really everything I have left.
I’m sorry, so sorry, I wish things could have been different. I wish that neither of us were born with this burden, I wish that we could just be other people, and that we could just be together. But as things stand, you will never see me again.
Naomi.’
The temptation to tear this piece of shit up races through me, but of course, I need it as evidence first. I need to contact the police, to tell them what has happened…a thought that becomes even more apparent when I check the computer files to see that all the backups of the information she stole are gone too.
“Fucking hell, fuck, fuck, fuck!”
***
“So moving forwards, we need to come up with some new strategies…” Shit, I’m really falling apart now. After contacting the police, and speaking to them, I have called a team meeting to talk everything through my staff, with the one thought of moving forwards. I’m emotionally exhausted and could really use a sleep, but I have to do what needs to be done first, that’s the main role of being the boss. “Maybe we could have a brainstorming…”
But as I glance around the room, I can see that everyone looks about as despondent as I feel. No one looks ready for action, willing to move forwards, but we just don’t have any choice. I cannot let Naomi, Michael Norton, and Oliver win.
“I am going to begin with calling a press conference.” However much that idea fills me with dread, I know I need to do it, just to get things moving in the right direction.
The public will find out what’s happened soon enough anyway, so I might as well get in there first and acknowledge all of our problems.
I could really use a good PR manager right about now, to help me tackle what’s going to be such a difficult topic, but of course she’s off God knows where, doing God knows what with my company’s information.
“I want the information to come from us, not anyone else.”
“Why did she do it?” someone asks. “I mean, I know why Oliver would be involved, he was always moaning that he wasn’t paid what he assumed he was worth, but Naomi? She seemed to like it here…she seemed to like…everyone.”
“Her Dad was one of the founding members of this company,” I admit, deciding to tell the truth now because there isn’t any point of holding it back for any longer. “And because of an argument with my Dad, about the pricing of the pills, he was forced out. I don’t know too much about it, it was before I was born, and before Naomi was born too, but it seems to have festered much deeper than I ever assumed that it would.”
A thick silence fills the air as everyone tries to digest this.
“Did… did you know?” Chris pipes up, his intense glare staring right through me.
“No, I didn’t.” I don’t want people to lose faith in me, I don’t want them to know that I could have prevented this because I need them to be on my side, I need them all to work with me. “But honestly, I don’t think that’s worth focusing on now. I think that we need to concentrate on moving forwards, on making the best of what I know is a horrible situation.”
“Will it affect the launch? That’s supposed to be happening soon.”
“I hope not,” I reply, maybe a little too honestly. “It won’t if we play it in the right way. It just depends on what we do over the next few days.”
A low murmur breaks out, which means people are finally starting to come up with ideas, allowing me to breathe for just a second.
Of course I’m aware that the press conference will be a million times more brutal, but that was really challenging. The questions that need answers really suck, and they are really testing my patience. I don’t know why certain people have acted the way that they have, I can’t understand their motivations at all, but I’m going to have to try. I’m going to have to explain that away, tell them what our future plans are, and try and maintain trust in our company too.
I’m not qualified for this, this is something that my Dad would have been much better at. It’s a shame that he isn’t here. Then again, my Dad would never have allow things to get this messy, he would have out a stop to it before it got out of control.
Chapter 19
Naomi
It isn’t until we get inside my father’s home, that the truth of what my D
ad actually intends to do starts coming out. I begin by only half listening to what him and Oliver are discussing, because I’m trying to come to terms with what I need to do next, but as soon as I hear the words ‘sell the formula’ and ‘restructuring the company’ my interest is well and truly piqued.
“Wait, what?” I ask, frowning.
“Now that I have to formula, I’m going to sell it to Elite Meds,” he starts, stunning me to my core.
“Elite Meds? Aren’t they known for ripping off customers? Aren’t they hated for screwing over people that are dying?”
Why would my Dad get on board with those guys? They are everything that’s wrong with the medical industry.
“Why aren’t you going to use it? I thought that was the whole point of this? I thought it was your formula and that you were actually going to create some drugs and start your own pharmaceutical career. I thought that you wanted out of teaching?”
“I do,” he growls a little aggressively. “And it is my formula, so I can do whatever I want with it. I want to sell it to Elite Meds, then when the stocks of Future Pharmaceuticals fall dramatically, which they will because Elite will release this before Future can. However far along they are, they’re much bigger, much better, with much quicker systems.”
He sits back in his seat, smirking at me as I pace the room in distress.
It’s as if he can’t see any of my emotion, either that or he really doesn’t care.
“Then when Future is worth nothing, I will buy it, fire everyone that’s there and me and Oliver will build it from the ground up into something entirely new. The profit machine that I always wanted it to be. Hell, you’ve done a good job here. You can come along too if you want?”
Come along?
Can he not hear himself? He wants a medicinal company for profit? He wants to make money out of the chronically ill, the sick, the dying. How messed up is that? If he had this attitude before, I’m starting to see why John wanted him out.
For the first time in my entire life, I can see through the façade, and I’m starting to realize that maybe my Dad isn’t a hero after all. Maybe him being forced out of the business was the right decision.
And I just inflicted revenge, I just supported the wrong side.
Oh my God, I could be sick.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I insist, hoping that with one last ditch effort I might be able to actually do some good and change all of this around. “Wouldn’t it be better for you to just do something with the formula? Or maybe…if you have to sell it, then do that, but don’t bother with Future Pharmaceutical’s. You might not like the Montgomery family, but there are some good people who work there, decent people with families and lives of their own–”
“They chose to work for the devil, they should live with that decision,” he interrupts sharply.
“And what are you on about,” Oliver interjects, smilingly. “They’re all assholes there, the lot of them. The scientists are stuck up pricks, the receptionists think they rule the fucking world, the accountants are boring as shit, Amber stalks about the place like she’s some sort of fucking goddess, someone much more special than she actually is.”
Oh, okay, maybe money isn’t the only motivator. Maybe Oliver has picked up some grudges along the way too.
“Fuck the lot of them, they don’t deserve anything,” Oliver sneers.
I can’t reason with a man like that, and I have no desire to do so. He’s an idiot, and my Dad has more control anyway, so I shake my head and turn back towards the man who is supposed to have loved me my entire life.
“Look Dad, I will help you with this. Just create the drug yourself, make your own money. Leave everyone else out of it.” I’m growing desperate now, and I know that I actually will stay if needs be, just to ensure that no more damage is done to Wesley or Future Pharmaceuticals.
“The deal is done,” Dad shakes his head at me. “I’ve spoken to Elite, it’s already sorted. There isn’t anything you can do now to change the plan, and you shouldn’t want to. This is what you’ve worked your whole life towards. Your bit is done now, you can relax. Just enjoy this part.”
He stands up and walks slowly towards me, before resting his hand on my arm and looking lovingly at me, but I shake him off quickly.
“No, Dad, that isn’t good enough. I didn’t think you even had a plan when I first started this. I naively assumed that it was all me. I thought that I would infiltrate Future Pharmaceuticals, and I would get your formula back, then I would help you to make something better of your life, to finally make you happy. Now I can see that you had a game plan all along and that I was just a puzzle piece in that.”
“It isn’t like that,” he tries, but I have no intention of allowing him to get a word in edgeways.
“You need to make a decision. You need to decide to go along with my plan, and do things in the right way, or I’m done.” I purse my lips together in temper, trembling all over, willing him to see that I’m right. “I will leave here, move away, and you will never see me again.”
“Don’t be so fucking ridiculous,” he mocks. “What is this? Is this because of your little love affair with Wesley? Oh don’t you worry, Oliver has kept me fully up to date with that. I thought you wouldn’t fall for him, that’s what you told me isn’t it? I thought that you were mentally stronger than that? Better than your emotions. You’re just as fucking weak as your mother–”
“Don’t you ever speak about Mom like that,” I yell, everything boiling over now. “How dare you?”
“What the fuck do you care?” he laughs nastily. “You didn’t ever know her.” He doesn’t tell me that’s because I killed her, but the implication is there. “You might look like me, and once I thought that you were a lot like me, but now all I can see is her. She was weak too, a slave to her feelings, nothing like…” Madeline…of course, it’s always been Madeline. “Look, I’ve already made the deal, I cannot back out now.”
“So, you choose money over your own daughter?” When he doesn’t respond, I finally allow the tears to fall down my cheek. “Really? Are you serious?”
But still he says nothing, so I turn around and I walk away without giving him a second glance. The tears are streaming now, I’m verging on sobs, and I don’t want him to see them.
I slam the door hard behind me, gulping in as much air as I can manage while the emotion overcomes me. I walk slowly away from my Dad’s home, feeling emptier than ever before.
Now I really don’t have anything. I was forced to make a snap judgment and I chose poorly, I chose the man who’s always been in my life, the one I really thought that I knew, and now I have to live with that.
This is all my fault, even if I didn’t actually start it, I made it happen. Now, I feel like it’s up to me to fix it, but I don’t know what to do. There isn’t anyone left on this whole planet that gets me, that’s on my side, so what can I do? How can I stop the deal with Elite Meds going through before it’s too late? There’s only one person I can think of that would know what to do, but I don’t imagine that he ever wants to talk to me again.
Without any other option, I put in a call
“Hello, Elite Meds, how may I help you?” My heart pounds, I feel sick, I don’t know what to do with myself, but I’m going to have to at least try. If I ever want to make this up to Wesley, this is the one place I can start.
“Hello, my name is…well, that isn’t important. I want to talk to someone…your boss, about the deal made with Michael Norton.”
“A deal? Michael Norton?” she sounds a little confused about that, which has me baffled. I would assume that Elite Meds would be over the moon about sticking it to Future Pharmaceuticals, and that they would all be talking about it. “No, there’s no deal.”
“Yes, yes there is. It’s for the–”
“No, there is no deal,” she continues firmly. “He came in here with a proposal, but it was turned down. We have our morals here, and what he was offering wasn’t for us
.”
I hang up the phone before I can hear anymore, nausea swirling though me.
My Dad lied to me – again.
He didn’t trust me enough to even tell me the truth on that one, so now I have no information whatsoever. My heart pounds, my mind raced, trying to come up with a new solution to work with. Whatever is going on now, it could be dangerous, so it’s more pertinent than ever that I take the right steps.
Okay, I think to myself, determination running right through me. Okay, I need to speak to Wesley now. I might not like it, and neither will he, especially when I promised him that he wouldn’t ever have to see me again, but I don’t have any choice. We need to help each other out, we need to put an end to it before many lives are destroyed.
It’s going to be so damn difficult to get him to trust me again after what I’ve done, but surely it’ll help that I’m trying? Surely, it will make a difference that I’ve come back to him with my tail between my legs?
I glance my watch, noticing that there’s about an hour of business left, so I might still be able to catch him. I just hope and pray that he lets me in, that he will hear me out, that he will let me explain. I probably wouldn’t if I were him, but he’s a nicer person that I am, he always has been.
Why did I betray the one person who has truly cared about me? The only one who’s shown me any love, and I threw it all back in his face. As I race to the office, all I can think about is his hands in mine, his lips against mine, his body making mine feel incredible, and I feel gutted that I tossed that all away. We really could have been something, we could have truly been in love, and now we will never be anything. Not only will I never be able to forgive myself for this, I’ll never be able to forgive my Dad either –him and his terrible morals.
