“Really, you’re playing the victim now. Why did you do that?”
He sighs and looks around me, “Can someone take over this? I need to talk to her.”
“You can talk to her. We’re listening,” Beacon states.
Pierce rolls his eyes and walks toward us, but he stops in front of me and says, “I wish I had been there to see you pull up all this shit.”
“Did you know about it?” I question, wondering why they are here waiting for a show.
He gives me that Aldridge smirk that says, of course, I know everything. That’s when it hits me. These men know what I’m talking about. When did they become…brothers? I liked them more when they were at each other’s throats all the time.
“Fucking Aldridges,” I mumble as Henry and I march outside the gym and toward the main house, but instead of entering he opens the door of his car and drives us to my house.
I don’t mention that I don’t have the key with me but notice that Beacon actually left it on the dashboard. Again, what is with their solidarity?
When we settle inside his office I finally speak, “Why did you do it?”
“Because you needed the money,” he answers without hesitation.
“Excuse me? I needed to have my salary paid and therefore you did it from your own pocket? I don’t understand any of it. The insurance my parents have is paid through your personal account. Is any of what the company offered real?”
“Everything is real,” he answers. “What’s the problem if I pay you through Merkel or through my own accounts? I’m the sole owner of that place. There are no investors, boards or…it’s mine to do as I please.”
“Why did you lie to me? None of those raises were real, or the penthouse or… You were just supporting me because… Why?” I ask angrily.
“Can I ask you what upsets you the most?”
“Don’t be condescending!” I order.
“It’s a valid question. I want to know what upsets you because maybe we can tackle that before we discuss the rest,” he explains so calmly I even take a deep breath and try to reason with myself.
If he can handle this like an adult, I should be able to do the same. It doesn’t make this entire issue less infuriating though.
“Because if you just made up all that shit, then I haven’t done anything in my life,” I conclude. “You handed me all this because—”
“I handled it wrong, everything,” he admits, and I’m a thousand times more confused. “From the very beginning, I should’ve explained to you how I wanted your career to go. Maybe I should’ve left you to work for the marketing department longer instead of pulling you too soon to work directly with me. Nothing I say is going to fix this precise moment when I say, I fucked up for not doing it right. There’s no right way to explain to someone that I had a hunch. From the moment I read your application, studied your scores, and was hit by your essay, I knew I needed you to work for me. Not only that, I knew you’re made for greatness.”
“It doesn’t explain the nonsense. I feel as if you’ve been playing with my career and my future.”
“I did it to make your dreams come true,” he confesses.
“My dream isn’t being your assistant, Henry. Stop playing fucking God,” I declare.
“You are more than my assistant, Sophia. Yes, by title you are that, but really you’re my partner. We make decisions together. You and I have been running Merkel for the past year,” he continues. “Not that I think it’ll continue that way because, in less than two years, I doubt you’ll want to work for me.”
He opens his private drawer and pulls out a folder, handing it to me. It has three contracts. The first one is the purchase of an investment company which I remember he was trying to buy a couple of weeks ago. I don’t understand what that has to do with the next contract where the brothers and Blaire gift me the company on the exact date that they receive William’s assets. The last one, the termination of my current contract with Merkel and Aldry’s, dated the day after I become the sole owner of Aldry’s.
“What is this?” I ask confused.
“Your own company, and in case we do something stupid, I bought the investment company that gets to buy Aldry’s,” he explains. “Aldry’s is yours because you always work your ass off for everything. All those promotions you wanted weren’t the right fit for you because you were already in the right position—the place where you could learn how to be the CEO of a company.”
“My dream was never to feel like a failure for these past years because I couldn’t be more than your assistant,” I say, bewildered by this conversation.
He’s right. I don’t need him to run Merkel. I could do it on my own, and I haven’t needed him to run Aldry’s either.
“It wasn’t my intention,” he states. “I was raised to do what I thought was best not only for myself but for everyone. I liked taking care of you and making sure you had everything you needed. The reason I never fired you is that you don’t take my shit. You make me think, you… I just want to make sure you’re cared for the rest of your life, Soph. I know you could do it on your own, but is it so bad that I want to be a part of your success and therefore made a lot of mistakes along the way?”
“You’re fucking infuriating, Henry Aldridge,” I state and set the folder on the desk. “That’s not normal. You can’t just buy a girl a company and say, hey, I just thought of you. Same with the penthouse. I…why? I mean, is that stupid dress policy even real?”
He smirks. “I heard you complaining about your outfits, how everyone was dressed in the latest, and you couldn’t afford to buy anything from the second-hand store. Maybe I’ve been in love with you since I learned of your existence.”
“Money is not the way to tell me you love me,” I argue. “I don’t know how to feel about all this. It is overwhelming.”
“I did it with the best of intentions and just to push you to the top,” he insists. “My therapist and I are working on learning how to show people I love them without the exchange of material things. You know, our kids might benefit from it.”
“Stop saying our children,” I warn him. “It’d be best if you leave. We can hash this out later. Just remember, I’m being lenient with this.”
He narrows his gaze and says, “Am I going to hate it?”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” I say innocently.
“Babe, we know each other too well,” he states, his upper body leaning closer to me. Those green eyes studying me. “You’ve been too quiet. Something is coming, and I want to be ready.”
“We’ll see,” I say, opening the main door. “Close it on your way out. I’m heading to visit my parents. I’m not in the mood to deal with any Aldridge.”
Henry
It’s Friday, right after our couple’s therapy session, and Martina asks, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“About?” I ask puzzled by the question, more like the lack of context.