Caught Up In You

His father’s skin went ruddy, his hold on his anger obviously dwindling. “Ignoring this part of the business is not going to work anymore, son. Merrill and Mead are giving that level of personal service to their clients. They’re stealing them away from us with good ol’ boy wining and dining. Or golfing and hunting as the case may be. Those imbeciles don’t have anything on you when it comes to the financials, but if you don’t learn how to play the nicey-nice game, we’re going to keep losing big fish. You want that jerk you graduated with to woo away all of our clients?”

Wyatt’s jaw clenched at that thought. Tony Merrill had been an arrogant prick in graduate school, and time had only seemed to enhance those attributes. Wyatt had received a jovial email a few months earlier from Tony thanking him for sending over one of his best clients. Jerkoff. “When their net worth starts going down because Tony doesn’t know his ass from an alligator, they’ll return.”

“They’re not coming back, Wyatt,” his father said quietly. Too quietly. Wyatt had feared that lethal tone when he was a kid. It usually meant fire and brimstone were coming.

“Don’t panic, Dad.” Wyatt turned back to his computer to click open the next page in the report. “You’ve got the Carmichael retreat at the end of the month. And you always come back with new clients from that. You handle the ass kissing and spouse charming, and I’ll keep their business here with the results I can get them.”

His father shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. “I’m not going to be able to attend the retreat this year.”

Wyatt’s hand stilled against his mouse, and he spun his chair back toward his father. That retreat was a must. Business leaders killed to get invitations to the exclusive trip put on each year by real estate tycoon Edward Carmichael. On the surface, it was billed as a relax and unwind trip for executives and their spouses. But that casual, guards-down atmosphere was where deals were made and partnerships were formed. “What are you talking about? That retreat was responsible for three of our biggest new clients last year.”

“Your mother has threatened divorce. So we’re going to a thing,” he said, giving a near imperceptible shrug.

Wyatt stared at him, the words not quite making sense at first. Divorce? His parents had never had what anyone would call a loving relationship. His dad wasn’t an easy man to live with and had cheated more than once. But he and his mom had always seemed to have a mutual agreement to stay together—like a polite business arrangement. “A thing?”

“Some counseling vacation.” He scoffed and tightened his tie again. “As if that could be called a vacation. All that touchy-feely hippie bullshit. But she’s going to leave me if I don’t go with her.”

“Jesus, Dad.”

His father waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t start the pity party. It’ll be fine. I think your mother just had some white light moment when she had that heart attack and is getting loopy on me. We’ll do this, I’ll buy her something nice, and we’ll move on. We always do.”

Not with that attitude. But Wyatt kept the comment to himself. If his mom wanted to make a run at a happier life, he wasn’t going to begrudge her that.

“Which is why I’m going to need you to handle the retreat and not fuck it up.”

Wyatt was still reeling from the previous news, but of course his father wasn’t going to linger on anything non-business related for long. “Me? I can’t go on the retreat. Who’s going to handle things here why you’re out? I’ll just cancel it this year. Carmichael will understand.”

A muscle twitched in his father’s jowl. “No. He won’t. We’ll be cut right off the guest list for the future. I’ve been working on getting that family’s accounts for years and I’m this close. One rebuff and it’s gone. Plus, Tony Merrill will be there. If we cancel, we may as well hand our clients over to him with a bow around their necks.”

Wyatt leaned back in his chair, rubbing his head, the thought of attending a Carmichael retreat curling dread in his stomach. Wyatt had never been, but he knew it wasn’t anything like the business conferences he attended. This was a schmoozing trip. No workshops, no meetings, it was all about rubbing elbows and kissing ass.

And Wyatt didn’t kiss ass.

“I’m not going on some trip to tell people how fucking fantastic they are. I’m not a salesman.”

“You will, and you better become one fast.” His dad pinned Wyatt with a hard look. “You are supposed to step into my shoes when I retire. But if I dropped dead tomorrow, you’d be woefully unequipped.”

Wyatt could only stare back at him. “Unequipped? What with the doctorate, the decade of experience, and a record that could lap anyone else here?”

“If this business was one hundred percent numbers, no one could even attempt to challenge you. Not even me. You’re brilliant, Wyatt. But half the job of being a CEO is selling yourself, the image of the company, and generating new business. It’s politics. For people to trust you with their money, they have to want to work with you, to like you.”

Wyatt clenched his teeth, having flashbacks from his high school years. He’d won a lot of awards, but the popularity contest was one he’d never had a shot in.

“You need to show me you’re capable with this part of the business. Otherwise, you’re starting to make me wonder if you’re the right person to take over the top spot when I step down.”

Wyatt’s fingers dug into the arms of his chair, cool steel in his voice. “Excuse me?”

That position had been decided since Wyatt’s first IQ test in grade school. Like an Olympic athlete, his whole life had centered around getting groomed and trained for this role, especially after his father had realized that his other son, Jace, had absolutely no interest in taking over the family business.

Wyatt thought of all the things he’d turned down, walked away from, or not tried because he was on this path. Because he was the “good” son, the heir apparent. All the hours and blood and sweat he put into this company. Now that role was up the air?

“My first responsibility is to this company,” his father said curtly. “You know I’ve never given you anything simply because we share DNA. You’ve earned everything you’ve gotten so far. But now you need to earn this. If I don’t think you’re the best candidate, I won’t hesitate to give it to someone else. Eric has been in line for it for years and has as much experience as you do.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Look at my face,” his dad said, using the same words he used to say to Wyatt when he was a child. “Does this look like my kidding face?”

Wyatt made a sound of disgust. “You’re a cold-hearted sonofabitch sometimes.”

“I am. That’s what gives me my edge, son. If I made decisions based on emotions, you’d have grown up in some shithole in the suburbs. This is a weakness of yours, and my future CEO can’t afford weaknesses.”

“I got it,” he snapped, bitterness leaking into his words.

“Good.” His father pulled a paper from the inner pocket of his jacket and laid it on Wyatt’s desk. “That’s a list of people going whose business we want to acquire. Do whatever it takes to get them.”

Wyatt unfolded the paper and scanned the neat list of typed names. Some of the biggest players out there were listed of course. His father always aimed for the outfield. But Wyatt’s gaze snagged on the name at the bottom of the page. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Andrew Carmichael? If you think I’m going to go kiss Andrew’s ass, you have an—”

“He’s the biggest fish on that list now. Ed’s health has been in the shitter lately, and he’s handed over lots of responsibility to Andrew, including this year’s retreat. Retirement is probably inevitable within the year. So you need to work the son. And you two used to be friends. Use that.” His father straightened his coat.

“Friends? That’s quite a revisionist history there, Dad.” The guy had made grade school painful and high school a fucking nightmare.

“Come on. You can’t still be hung up on stuff that happened so long ago. So he liked to pick on you. He was just threatened because you were smarter than him and got more attention.”

Wyatt gritted his teeth. Childhood teasing he could’ve forgiven, but Andrew had upped the ante when they hit high school. When Wyatt had been chosen for a prestigious scholarship over Andrew, the bastard had retaliated by getting Wyatt’s longtime girlfriend tipsy at an after-prom party and then fucking away her virginity on Wyatt’s bed, making sure Wyatt walked in at just the right moment. Wyatt’s one and only fist fight had ended with a naked Andrew knocked out in the middle of the hallway.

“I want him on our roster.”

“There are other big players we can go after. We don’t need him.”

“We do and you’re going to get him.” His father stood and pulled out an envelope. He dropped it onto the desk. “Nancy in travel has already changed mine and your mother’s reservations into your name. You need to let Nancy know who you’re bringing with you.”

Wyatt picked up the envelope and looked at his father. “Who I’m bringing?”

“This is a plus-one trip. Most of the events are for couples, so don’t be the asshole who shows up solo. And for God’s sake, don’t bring that woman you brought to the charity ball. She had about as much personality as a shoehorn. You need someone who isn’t going to be afraid to mingle and flirt. The prettier your date, the more the other guys will be interested in hanging around you two.”

Oh, this was getting better and better. What was he supposed to do, call up the rent-a-girlfriend-for-a-week service? He worked fifteen-hour days and most weekends. Like he’d told Kelsey, dating didn’t exactly fit into that schedule. He’d had a colleagues-with-benefits thing going for a while with a woman who worked in the building next door, but they’d stopped their Saturday night meet-ups a while back when she’d decided she needed more and had laid out an ultimatum for him. He didn’t do ultimatums.

But regardless of his father’s opinion, he would’ve been faced with the issue anyway. Because there was no way he was going to show up to this thing and face Andrew withoutsome knockout on his arm. It was petty, but he didn’t fucking care. “I’ll figure it out.”

“That’s what I want to hear. Get to planning, son. You leave in a week.” And with that, his father headed out of Wyatt’s office, riding that high horse he so loved to be on.

Wyatt leaned his head back on his chair, tipped his glasses up, and ran a hand over his face. Part of him wondered what would happen if he stood up and walked out. Quit. The fact that his father would even consider giving someone else the CEO position was enough to tempt him to do so. He had enough money to live whatever the hell kind of life he wanted. He didn’t need to be here.

But even the thought sent a gash of loss through him. He loved his job and fed on the play of numbers, on the win of making the right decisions, on the high of knowing he had the answers where others couldn’t see them. This was his life.

If he walked away, what would be left? He didn’t even know who he was outside of this place.

No, he needed to figure this shit out. The socializing aspect of business had always been his Achilles’ heel, but it wasn’t an unlearnable skill. At least he hoped it wasn’t. He could figure out how to play the game. And if he had a beautiful woman with him who did have some social finesse, all the better.