“It’s fine. It needed to happen.” He stares at me expectantly. “I’m okay, Ryan. Come on. I’ll drive.”
He follows me to where I parked my Audi and climbs in the passenger seat before glancing out the window at the bustling square.
“This town is…charming. You grew up here?”
“Yes and no.”
“Jesus,” he grumbles, “It’s like you’re trained to be evasive.”
If he only knew. I turn to him. “I came here for a year when I was nineteen. I never really lived here.”
“A full answer. I’m impressed.”
“I wasn’t that bad.” I turn the engine over and glance his way to see a face filled with skepticism. “I wasn’t.”
“You vetoed Valentine’s day and told me to start sleeping with other women the night I told you I was in love with you.”
I pull away from Main Street and take the few turns leading us away from the square toward the plant. “I wasn’t ready for all that. And I didn’t want to lose you as a friend.”
“You were already the one that got away by the end of our first date.”
Though he’s being playful, maybe I wounded him more deeply than I originally thought. But he was supposed to be the party guy, capable of showing a girl a good time, and I was in desperate need of that.
“I never expected us to get serious,” I say honestly.
“Then you should have dumbed yourself down and worn frumpy sweaters.”
We share a grin at a stoplight. “I’m glad we stayed friends.”
“Yeah, well, now that your gold standard and disgustingly charming English gentleman is finally out of my way, we can negotiate adding benefits.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m not a complete animal. I’ll give you time to mourn,” he says matter of fact, scrolling through his phone, “how about a week from Tuesday?”
“Shut it. We need to get our heads in the game. Tell me about the offer.”
“The terms are simple. The offer is killer, despite the recent drop in share price. It’s pretty open and shut. We’re meeting their lawyer at two.”
“That was fast.”
“The majority shareholders have already signed off on it.”
“The offer is that good?”
“That good. If you use the money the way I think you’re going to, we’ll be able to do a lot more. But are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes. Why do you keep asking me?”
“Why now?”
“Because I’ve avoided it long enough.” I take a turn onto the familiar road and a smile graces my face as it stretches out before us.
I can feel Ryan pause next to me. “What’s that smile?”
Rolling the windows down, the wind whips through the car along with the whisper of a memory, of a voice.
Eggs—runny, coffee—black.
“Music,” I say softly, turning up the radio, “loud.”
“What’s that?” Ryan says, flipping through his cell.
“Cars,” I finish glancing his way before flooring the gas, “fast.” Ryan’s eyes bulge, his jaw going slack before I turn my attention back to the road and open it up. Racing down the straightaway, I feed on the exhilaration as the hairs on my arm start to rise.
“Cecelia?” Ryan’s voice rattles with anxiety.
“Yeah?” I manage through a laugh.
“What are you doing?”
The lyrics of “The Pretender” by the Foo Fighters blasts through the car. I shake my head ironically and shift. If it’s memories I’m unearthing, then I plan on doing it right. I’ve faced the boogeyman, hell, I fell in love with him and survived. I survived a lot more than that.
It’s time to unpack.
I glance over and answer him honestly.
“We’re blowing the dust off.” We shoot forward, and Ryan lets out a ladylike shriek.
“Cecelia, slow down before you make me a praying Christian!”
A laugh bursts from my lips. “Hang on.”
“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,” Ryan mumbles in pure fear next to me just before we skid around a curve on all fours. I correct the wheel, downshift, and stomp on it, plastering him back in his seat.
Ryan slaps one hand to the dash while gripping the oh-shit handle with the other. “Yep, I just tasted the omelet I ate this morning.”
I can feel his stare on me as I let loose, soaking up the adrenaline, feeling anything but numb. I take another turn that has us edging the shoulder briefly before I find purchase on the cement.
“Cee, what is happening right now? Is this some sort of cry for help?”
I grin, shaking my head like a lunatic, letting the music fuel me. “We’re waking up ghosts, Rye, and it’s way too late for help.”
“Waking up ghosts, huh? Well, I’ll be honest, I’m not interested in becoming one of them, and I’m too fucking pretty to die so young. Slow the fuck down!”
My answering laugh is maniacal, and I can feel the fear rolling off him. “Relax.”
“Not fucking likely.” He cranes his neck to look behind us. “Are we running from someone?”
“Not this time.” I take one last turn, and we fishtail into the entrance of the plant. With ease, I whip us into a parking spot and glance at Ryan, who’s varying shades of white. Grinning, I glance up at the building and feel no apprehension. I can do this. I can free myself. I’ve got the strength to try. And if the stars are kind enough to align for me, maybe I can forgive myself, forgive them, and finally move on. “I think I’m ready.”
Ryan dry heaves next to me. “I’m going to need a minute.”
I sit at one of the conference tables adjacent to the lobby as Ryan guides me through the proposal page by page. Once he’s satisfied, he takes the seat next to me and hands me a pen. “Initial here, and here.”
He flips another as I scan the lines. “We discussed these articles earlier in detail. By signing this, you agree to the terms of sale.”
I’m about to gain a fortune, and nothing about it excites me, aside from the good the money can do. I’ve done well enough on my own, but this move will make me a ridiculously wealthy woman. Along with the stock inherited on my twentieth birthday and because of Roman’s untimely death, I became the majority shareholder of Horner Technologies. His colon cancer diagnosis was swift, as was his death, leading to what I imagine was an undignified end. All the money in the world couldn’t help him as he withered away, overlooking his kingdom. I don’t know the details, and I didn’t bother taking part in a last-minute attempt to try and mend our relationship.
I didn’t shed a tear the day I got the phone call from his hospice nurse, nor did I attend his funeral. I keep expecting that guilt to kick in, so far, it hasn’t.
Now I just want to be free of my obligation to him and his distorted idea of a legacy along with a name that stands for everything that broke us—power, money, and greed.
Sometimes I wish I would have remained asleep, blind to his evil deeds, and those of others like him. But I made the most of my knowledge using it to start a campaign against CEOs with the same delusion of legacy. With Collin, I started a nonprofit with an emphasis on social welfare and employee association programs. A direct opposition to Roman’s career path. Not only that, I also used his riches to fund the startup. And under the umbrella of the foundation we’ve got a vast number of lawyers, Ryan included, who’ve made it their life’s mission to expose and seek justice on corporations, just like Horner Technologies, and bring them to their knees for shitty business practices.