I look over my shoulder. Lingering by the chocolate fountain, Lily snacks on cheese cubes with a toothpick. I’d feel guiltier by leaving her alone if she didn’t have this silly grin on her face. She’s absorbed in her new smart phone—social media, I’m pretty damn sure.
I’m happy that it’s making her happy and not the inverse for once.
I try to let out a breath. She’s out of the running. She won’t go out of her way to try either. It’s less pressure on me. It makes this easier.
I swallow hard and continue reading.
Loren Hale: everyone is overall impressed (as they should be). They find you charming, likeable and tough. The few that had problems with me are still hesitant on committing to you. 11 out of 14 love you. – Dad
How do I even convince these last three to like me? I’m so much like my dad. I internally grimace as I contemplate different avenues. I try to block them out before I read on.
Ryke Meadows: you’ve vastly improved. You’re approachable and show willingness to change. The majority believe you’d be a strong leader for the company. 11 out of 14 love you. – Dad
My stomach sinks and cold bites my neck. I’d counted my brother out for the past month. I go rigid, not able to say anything. My eyes hit the screen again.
Daisy Calloway: you’ve shown maturity and seem genuinely interested in the company. You’re also beyond personable with great energy and enthusiasm. 13 of the 14 love you. Irene hesitates to have you as CEO. She thinks you’re too wild and young. Find a way to please her, and the company is yours. Congratulations. – Dad
Now I understand why Ryke rushed over to me. A worse outcome than Ryke taking over the company would be Daisy. My brother’s features are hard as rock.
“This can’t f**king happen.” He points at my phone.
I pocket my cell. “What you’re feeling now is self-inflicted,” I shoot back. “You can end this—”
“Fucking stop,” he growls lowly.
I shake my head. “All you have to do is tell her. Just say it, bro. You’d rather the position go to me than her.” He thinks he’s subjecting me to hell, but he’s not. It’s not unbearable. This is where I was always supposed to be.
“I can’t f**king choose her over you, or vice versa.” Darkness sweeps over his face like a passing storm.
It’s like this is a sin he refuses to commit. “It’s not a sin,” I tell him outright. “I’m not going to hate you for choosing a better life for the girl you love. I’m not that f**king guy.” Not anymore.
He stays silent, his muscles constricted.
So I lick my lips and add, “Let’s do this together. You and me, like we were supposed to do from the beginning. It’ll be a fair fight. We’re even right now. Just get Daisy the hell out of this.” And then I’ll find a way to win. There is no way that I’ll let my brother live this kind of life. It’s not even remotely something he’d want.
He’s just too selfless to let me have it without a fight.
Ryke opens and closes his fists. Even when he’s in deep contemplation, he looks aggressive. After a long moment, he says, “Fuck.” He lets out a pained laugh. “She’s not even a Hale.”
“Neither are you.”
His face contorts in a cringe. “Don’t justify what you’re doing, Lo.”
I grit my teeth. “I’m just stating a goddamn fact. Another fact—she’s beating our asses. So unless she self-sabotages, she’s going to be handed the company. You and I both know that’s a darker f**king world for her than it would be for us.”
Ryke rests his hands on his head for a second and then drops them. He just shakes his head, over and over.
“This isn’t going to break me,” I tell him. “But it’ll ruin her. Do you want to live with that?”
He looks sick to his stomach. “No…but—”
“There is no but,” I force, setting a hand on his shoulder so his gaze lifts to mine. “This is it.”
A full minute of pure silence passes between us, the type that vacuums the air. And then he says, “I need you to come with me.”
I frown. “Why?”
“If I’m going to convince Daisy to self-sabotage, we need to gang up on her.”
50
LOREN HALE
I just barely wrap my head around this plan before Ryke adds something else.
“Don’t expect me to f**king lie down and give this to you,” he says quickly. “If you really f**king want this, Lo, you have to beat me for it.”
He doesn’t think I can. At the start of this, I would’ve agreed. Years ago, I wouldn’t have even tried, knowing the end result would be the same.
Fuck that guy.
There is nothing that says I can’t measure up to my older brother.
I may be a bastard, a failure, a natural-born loser, but I can win in the end. For once in my goddamn life, I’m going to do it.
* * *
“Hey, guys…” Daisy says hesitantly. We’ve dragged her away from Irene to the lobby outside of the hotel’s ballroom. It’s quiet, except for the occasional server that passes through with empty trays of food.
Ryke and I have our arms crossed, towering over her. Even so, she stands straight, unflinching. “Let’s try this again,” Ryke tells her. “I don’t f**king want you taking this position.”
She sighs. “Ryke—”
“I’ve thought about it,” he cuts her off, “and I’ve decided that I’d rather Lo become CEO than you. So you can stop fighting for this and start cheering on my brother.”
Daisy laughs like he’s joking, but our no-nonsense postures never change. Her laughter dies. “I don’t want you to choose me over him.”
My ribs constrict, and I expect this to pain Ryke enough to retract his statement.
Instead, he says, “Too f**king bad, Calloway. I chose you.”
She hesitates, and so I interject. “Come on, Daisy. You’re not a Hale. It’s weird if you steal this position from me. It’s mine.”
Her shoulders drop and begin to curve inward. She meets my edged features still. Not scared off by them. “I worry about you and…” She can’t finish that statement. But I get it.
My lips lift in an agitated smile. “You think this’ll push me to drink?” It sucks that Lily’s little sister sees me like a breakable doll. I have been put together too many times to let Hale Co. pull me under.
“We all do…” she replies, looking to Ryke for affirmation. Stay f**king strong, I glare at him.
He does well, not once shifting towards me or wavering with an unsure glance. He just focuses on his girlfriend. “Lo can handle it.”
The foreign words ring in my ear. Even if it’s constructed for Daisy, I like hearing that phrase from my brother.
“See,” I add to her with the tilt of my head. “I haven’t self-destructed yet.”
“This is between Lo and me,” Ryke layers it on, not letting up. “This isn’t about you, Dais.”
The guilt-trip actually works this time. She can’t meet our eyes anymore. She concentrates on the carpet like the ugly f**king gold pattern is suddenly more interesting than this conversation.
“Come here,” Ryke breathes as he seizes her hand and tugs her to his chest. She hides her face in a hug, and he places a consoling hand on her head. “We’re not trying to beat you down, Dais. We’re just trying to make you understand.”