Bryce: Ex-Business: An Ex-Club Romance

by Camilla Stevens

  “I’ve got it, guys,” he says.

  They cast a wary look at us, not moving.

  “I said, I have it,” Pierce threatens, sounding almost like Dad at his worst. It’s enough to have them frowning, as though we’ve all wasted their precious time, before they head out. The four women stare at me with similar scowls of disapproval.

  Instead of following the guards to the elevators, Pierce guides me to a different door on this floor and opens it. It’s another, more intimate conference room with a small round table for four and two armchairs next to the window. We each take a seat in one of the armchairs.

  “He’s rubbing off on you, the way you sounded out there just now. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re turning into a clone of him.”

  “Only when the need arises. You’d be surprised how far intimidation goes.”

  “You’d be surprised how far charm and a sense of humor goes.”

  “We use the talents we’re blessed with,” he says dryly.

  I return an equally dry smile.

  “Impressive show. I hope it was worth the bridge you officially burned,” he continues.

  “Don’t act like you don’t wish you could have done the same thing.”

  “I have far, far more to lose,” he replies, giving me a sly smile.

  “Well, when the Wilmington business is handed down to you and you alone, I’ll be sure to come to your coronation and kiss the fucking ring.”

  He chuckles. “I look forward to that.”

  “Speaking of which, I suppose I should get to my real reason for being here.”

  “This proposition of yours.”

  I consider him. “Back when we had lunch a few weeks ago, you mentioned I should have come to you for financing.”

  “If I did, it was a joke,” he says incredulously.

  “What if it didn’t have to be?”

  He gives me a skeptical look.

  “I’m starting something new. Something like Ideal Gentlemen but potentially bigger, more streamlined, and more importantly, more profitable. An online magazine.”

  He rolls his tongue around in his cheek as he studies me.

  “Beyond just pissing off the old man, it would be worth—”

  “I get a fifty percent stake in the company. I’ll even remain perfectly silent as a partner.”

  I start in surprise, partially at the fact that it was this easy to sell him on the idea. And partially at his fucking gall.

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “Or you could try your luck with the banks—after Dad has tainted your name with all of them, of course.”

  He has a point. Still, I’m not so far removed from business school that I’m willing to cave without a bit of negotiation. “Thirty percent.”

  “Fifty.”

  “Thirty-five.”

  “Sixty.” He gives me a sardonic smile. “I could go all day, Bryce. Or you could try weaseling your way back into Dad’s good graces so he’ll get you a foot in the door here and you can spend the next ten years working your way up to my pay grade and finance the damn thing yourself.”

  I grimace, feeling my anger set in. But I know when my back is against a wall. I should be grateful. It’s more generous than I’d get from a bank. If he’s asking for a stake, I don’t even have to pay him back should the whole idea blow up in my face.

  “Fine. Asshole.”

  “Rich asshole.”

  “I guess that’s why you didn’t bother asking how much I want.”

  “Whatever it is, I can most definitely cover it.”

  “I guess the swindling—I’m sorry securities business must be booming.”

  “And how,” he replies with a smirk.

  “Why did you want me to interrupt this meeting?” I ask, shifting gears.

  The glare that he meets me with tells me more than his words. “I have my reasons.”

  “A billion dollars worth of reasons?”

  “What’s this about you getting married?” he asks, not so subtly changing the topic. But I know a dead end when I see one.

  “Yeah,” I say with a proud smile. “She’s the one, Pierce. You should try it sometime. Before you find yourself married to the job.”

  Something in his gaze darkens, but he quickly masks it before he thinks I catch on. “You got your financing. Was there anything else?”

  “I guess that’s my cue to take my perp walk out of here.”

  “What did you do with the website, the one in dad’s name?” he asks before I can rise.

  Despite my irritation with him, I grin. “I’m surprised it didn’t occur to you to take it while you were covering your own ass by buying the domain in your name.”

  “My imagination isn’t as vivid as yours. I figured if Dad was dumb enough to let someone squat on it, he deserved what he got. I’m just happy it was you. So what is it?”

  “And ruin the surprise?” I say with a grin. “check it out when you get back to your office. Preferably on your work computer.”

  He glares at me, no doubt knowing what stupid move that would be, but mostly at not having his curiosity immediately satisfied. I let it simmer for a bit, but don’t push it, being that he is the key to the future of Ideal Media. Besides, I’m too proud of myself not to show off.

  “You ever heard of Bronies? Guys who have this obsessive fixation on My Little Pony.”

  A slow grin spreads his face, eventually ending in a hearty laugh. “You didn’t.”

  “Dad’s name is now the official site for the New York chapter of the Brony My Little Pony Appreciation Society. It cost me five-thousand dollars from whoever was squatting on the URL. A fair price as far as I’m concerned.”

  Another loud laugh escapes Pierce’s mouth, forcing a grin to mine.

  “Glad I could make your morning,” I say, rising from my seat to head out. “Enjoy the spanking from Dad.”

  I leave before he can get one last dig in, or even shoot me an evil glare. I get my fair share from the women at the desks in the main area of this floor. Each of them is studying me like a security team memorizing the face of a known threat. I doubt I’ll ever step foot in these offices, let alone this floor, ever again.

  Fine by me.

  I give them my most gracious smile. “Goodbye ladies, thank you for being so accommodating.”

  Their glares deepen before they return to their regular duties.

  I whistle “Copacabana” as I wait for the elevators, feeling particularly optimistic. Pissing off Dad always puts me in a good mood. Even the fallout with my staff at Ideal Gentlemen should be a minor blip. It will take a while for Dad to dissolve it, if he even follows through with the threat. In the meantime, I can get started with a bare-bones staff, then gradually pull in the rest of my former team as Ideal Media gets going. None of them should lose more than a few paychecks if that.

  The elevator arrives and I step in, still whistling. When I get to the ground floor, I see the same team from security idling near the front desks. They immediately perk up when I arrive, walking over with a look of determination.

  I put my hands up in mock surrender. “Don’t worry, I’m no longer a threat. You’ll never see me again, I promise.”

  They make sure of that by remaining two steps behind me as I pass through the revolving door, serious frowns on their faces.

  I laugh to myself as I continue on my way. I think maybe I’ll check out that Mexican restaurant Pierce introduced me to somewhere around here. The food was pretty good.

  That’s when the phone in my pocket rings.

  I pull it out and immediately answer when I see it’s Edie.

  “Hey, is everything okay?” I ask in alarm.

  “It’s fine,” she says in a reassuring tone. “But…your mother is here. At my place. I think you should come back for lunch.”

  I ponder all the possibilities of that one, but none of them make any damn sense.

  “I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

  Chapter Fift
y-One

  Edie

  When Bryce arrives, his eyes are wild, probably from all the reasons why his mother might be in my apartment. Before I can explain a thing, she walks over to pull him into a hug.

  “I just found out, Bryce. Congratulations.”

  He gives me a quizzical look over her shoulder. I shrug apologetically. “She found the pregnancy test.”

  Alice pulls away to stare up at him, one hand on his cheek. “My boy.”

  I’m sure Bryce feels as awkward as I feel at this moment. I have a feeling it’s about to get even worse. I insisted Alice wait until Bryce got here to tell me everything, even though curiosity has been eating me up. I also want to know how it went with his brother and father, but that can certainly wait.

  “Why don’t we sit down?” I suggest.

  “You two take the couch,” Alice says, sitting in the armchair situated within view of it. She sits upright, perfectly poised, no doubt from years of charm school or whatever.

  I see the look in her eyes, filled with anxiety and hesitation.

  “Whatever it is, we won’t judge,” I encourage, looking to Bryce for confirmation.

  “It can’t be any worse than what Dad’s done,” he says in a dark voice.

  “One thing I won’t allow is for you to judge your father over this,” she insists, focusing mostly on Bryce. He returns a noncommittal look.

  Alice stares at him for a beat, then sighs when she realizes he won’t budge. “I suppose that’s fair. He hasn’t been very generous with you in all of this.”

  “There’s an understatement.”

  She nods in understanding. “Which is why I should finally tell you everything that happened.”

  Alice looks down and to the side in contemplation. “I suppose I should start with my horse. That’s really where…where it all began of course.” Her eyes come back to us and there’s a sentimental smile on her face. “I went to riding school like most girls my age did.”

  If you say so, I think to myself.

  In my periphery, I see a subtle smile touch Bryce’s lips as he reads my mind. With his eyes trained on his mother, he reaches out to take my hand and squeeze it.

  Alice catches the act, and a brief bout of pain reflects on her face, which I find odd. She masks it with that fake enthusiasm again.

  “I could have had a personal riding instructor of course, but I wanted to go to the school. All my friends were going, including the one I was closest to, Cynthia.

  “My family was very proper and conservative. Everything was about appearances, which meant I was never really allowed to do anything fun. That school was the one bit of light in my life, growing up. Lickety Split was the only reason I even visited home again after going away to college and moving to New York.

  “When Lickety Split died, right around the time I became engaged of all things, Pierce could see how devastated I was. I know he meant well when he had the painting of her done but all it ever did was taunt me with the memory of happier times. Then, when he brought that damn horse to our anniversary party.”

  Alice pauses, a bitter twist coming to her lips. I still have no idea where this is going, and looking at Bryce, neither does he.

  She inhales and exhales with determination. “Back then, Pierce and I were a bit more…liberated than we are now. Both of us had come from strict upbringings and we naturally acted out. A lot of people our age did back then. That party was just one example. Lots of drinking and yes, drug use.” Alice purses her lips as though just uttering the words is now distasteful to her. “I’d like to say that was the reason everything happened but….”

  This time when she pauses I’m surprised to see a smile of amusement on her face. She looks at me and her eyes seem to gleam with wicked delight.

  “Your mother was something else. So uninhibited and free. I was incredibly envious. Even back then, as unconstrained as Pierce and I were, we never did anything that daring. Taking off all her clothing and then getting two men to lift her up to ride it? Pierce was livid, of course.” Alice laughs lightly. “I was…in love. Or just lust, perhaps.”

  Oh…

  It begins to sink in now and I turn to Bryce to see if he’s caught on. Perhaps it’s some mental barrier that keeps a look of realization from coming to his face, indicating the truth has also dawned on him.

  Alice gives both of us a sardonic look that puts a nice crack in that patrician façade of hers. “Perhaps the name Lickety Split makes sense now. It was a well-kept secret that the particular riding school I went to was popular for a certain type of…experimentation. Something that I revisited the night of the party. Cassandra was more than happy to accommodate, being as open-minded as she was. It got a bit crazy and…there may have been some polaroids taken. Which was my stupid idea.”

  “Holy shit!” Bryce says, shooting up. He runs a hand through his hair, grabbing as he goes. He stares down at his mother with such an incredulous look I can’t tell if he’s pissed off or thrilled at this news.

  When a laugh erupts, I know which camp he falls into.

  “Please Bryce, it isn’t funny,” his mother scolds. “Pierce was understandably upset.”

  This only makes him laugh even harder, and much more cynically.

  “Bryce,” I say in a gently admonishing tone.

  He exhales one final breath, then stands there, his arms crossed as he analyzes his mother.

  “So, now we know why and how Cassandra got the funding for Contempo Woman. More importantly why Dad was so eager to get rid of the magazine.”

  Alice simply lowers her eyelids in acknowledgment.

  “And why he’s been blackmailing me to stay away from Cassandra’s daughter.” He tilts his head to the side and glares at her. “Despite Edie having nothing to do with any of this.”

  “Your father is a prideful man. The lengths he went to silence people about that party only prove that.”

  Bryce coughs out a sarcastic laugh. “I know to what lengths the great Pierce Wilmington III will go to get what he wants. Hell, I learned everything I did from the old man himself, which he got a nice little taste of today.”

  “He was protecting his image—our image,” Alice insists. “Back then, that kind of thing just wasn’t done, not in decent society. Especially for women. We didn’t have the same support system that gay men had. If word had spread…” Alice grabs her throat as though imagining the noose that would have around it back then. She swallows and gives him a hard look. “He refused to divorce me, despite what he’d learned that night. It worked for me because I did want children. Besides, and I had an obligation to your father after that humiliation. I may not have loved him the way he loved me, but I was at least fond of him.

  “And while he has certainly…” She stops, looking away with consternation, as though she regrets what she was about to say. She clears her throat and continues. “I never cheated on him again. It was my form of penance. That’s why I kept the picture in our bedroom in the Hamptons. Cynthia summers there as well and didn’t want—”

  “Wait, that Cynthia? Cynthia Olson?” Bryce interrupts, looking incredulous once again. “That’s your Cynthia from the ‘experimental’ riding school?” He utters the final words with sardonic humor.

  His mother gives him a reproachful look. “Don’t be vulgar, Bryce.”

  “That’s a good one, Mom,” he retorts.

  “Nothing has ever happened between Cynthia and me. As far as everyone knows, she’s nothing more than a summer acquaintance. Even Pierce doesn’t know about my history with her. If he did, he’d…” Her mouth thins with apprehension as she considers the possibilities.

  “Well, I do have to say, mother. When you spring a family secret on me, you know how to make it a doozy.” Bryce paces back and forth, his eyes wide and a hint of a smile on his lips.

  The fact that I’m not even surprised at my own mother’s involvement speaks volumes about both Cassandra and my relationship with her. No doozies there. I’m sure the only reason I
didn’t hear about it straight from her lips was the NDA Pierce forced her to sign before helping to finance her magazine.

  “So now you both know the truth,” Alice says, grabbing her purse and rising from her chair.

  “You’re leaving? After dropping that bomb on us?” Bryce asks.

  “I have to tell Pierce that you now know everything.” She gives Bryce a warning look. “Preferably before you let it slip to him. I owe him that much.”

  “My lips are sealed.”

  “Thank you.” Her eyes fall to me and soften. “When you’re finally ready to officially announce, I’d very much like to be a part of things.”

  “Of course,” I say as though she didn’t even need to ask.

  She turns back to her son and studies him. “How are you, really?”

  “Really?” He exhales an amused laugh. “Me? I’m fine. I’m more concerned about Dad’s fragile ego.”

  She narrows her eyes. “Try not to rub it in too hard, Bryce. He is still your father.”

  “Something you might want to remind him of when you talk to him,” Bryce says, all hints of humor gone.

  She stares at him a moment longer. “I will.”

  Alice turns back to me and I see that bit of joy creep into her gaze, then she gives a satisfied sigh and heads toward the door. She sees the black envelope and she walks over to take hold of it, turning back to us.

  “I suppose I should take this. Your invitation was the first to be delivered.” She slides a finger across the edge in a worried manner. “I have a feeling the holiday party won’t be happening this year.”

  “That’s a shame. I was looking forward to wishing Dad Merry Christmas,” Bryce says in a droll tone.

  Alice exhales with impatience. “One of these days you and your father are going to have to make amends.” She turns to give me a meaningful look before addressing him again. “Now more than ever.”

  “It won’t be me making the first move,” he replies in a sharp voice.

  She stares for a moment, lowers her eyes in acknowledgment, then heads out.

  After she leaves, Bryce walks back over to sit next to me, falling back and staring at the wall ahead.