Sweet, poetic justice. It’s so satisfying to witness it unfold that I decide not to complain about how long it took to get here.
Simon infuses a playful note to his tone, but the unyielding steel beneath his words are unmistakable. “You lost. Didn’t you say you were going to strip down and streak across this party naked if you lost? No time like the present-looks like your time is up.”
Several people erupt in laughter, delightedly scooting closer and lifting themselves higher on their chairs as they rubberneck their heads to watch the show.
Turns out, even the wealthiest elites are entertained by Carl’s public humiliation. Just think how they’d feel if they knew how horrible he truly is.
His face turns a purplish red. His mouth opens and closes, a fish without water.
Unlike in the past, I’m not providing him with a single drop.
“Shut up! Everyone shut up,” Carl shouts, but the majority of the audience laughs harder. Although clusters here and there grow bored, a few of them return to their conversations with their table companions.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t quell Carl’s tantrum. “Do you even know who I am? As the branch manager of Jones Corp, I’m worth millions.”
Jade clings to Carl’s arm, encouraging him to keep going. Shoving him to the wolves while she bares her teeth.
Simon walks us closer to the duo, not giving them space to flee. He tilts his head, a calculated smile on his face that causes a whirl low in my belly. “Hmm. So, as the esteemed branch manager of the company, are you publicly admitting you don’t keep your bargains or promises?”
Carl’s beady eyes dart between Simon and the other guests. Sweat beads his temple. Even Jade’s having her doubts about coming out on top this time, I can see it in the way she shrinks away.
“That’s what I thought,” Simon says, and Fiona’s walked over to hand him the microphone so everybody can hear.
I’m about to tell her “No, thank you,” but Simon willingly grabs, gripping it in his fist.
“Then I suppose now is a good time for you to step down,” says Simon, not an ounce of humor in his tone. Nope, this is more of a reckoning.
“You can’t…” Carl’s brashness slips, giving away to blustering panic. “What do you mean? That part about the job… You’re not the person who…”
“Trust me, I’m not only capable of firing you, I’m doing it right now.” Simon gestures toward the table next to us, and every seated member nods in confirmation.
Shit, now I’m getting confused again. Simon can fire Carl? And the people at the table next to us are giving him the green light? Why? What am I missing?
“As you all know, Jones Corp’s CEO has a zero-tolerance policy,” Simon continues, tickling a corner of my brain that insists it’d rather cling to denial. “Please inform human resources and the rest of the staff that we’ll need a new branch manager. I’ll also be sitting in on those interviews.”
The rest of the staff. Why is he speaking as if he’s well acquainted with them already?
At the lift of his finger, a hulking dude in a black suit walks out of the shadows. Luis. How did I not see him there earlier?
Through the din, pieces of the Simon puzzle start clicking into place, forming a fuller picture. How other people have treated him. That exchange in the airport. The purchase of the Velvet Lariat nightclub and bar, and the luxury Rose Hotel. The freaking helicopter.
My ring. This necklace looped around my throat.
Things he’s said about money, and that question he asked me the night of my high school reunion.
What if I told you I was a billionaire?
I told him I’d run.
Does this mean he’s the
Simon Jones?
Part of me is tempted to gather up my skirts and do that fleeing I mentioned-mostly because everything feels so surreal. None of this makes sense, and yet it also fits. And while it has nothing to do with money, the only running I want to do is into his arms.
Still, beneath it all, I’m growing more and more upset.
He lied to me. He’s been lying to me and my family for so long.
Carl was a liar, too.
As Luis weaves through tables and chairs, Simon turns to address my ex again. “Carl, I’m terminating your employment, effective immediately. Nobody messes with me, but more importantly, nobody messes with my soon-to-be wife. You’re fired.”
The words “soon-to-be wife” echo through my head. Each time stirs up more toxic anger and mistrust, decaying everything we built together.
At the devastating, sinking realization, my heart ceases its beats.
How can I possibly marry a man who started off our relationship by not telling the truth?
Simon
The room falls silent, save the whining of Carl and Jade, annoying to the bitter end. Awkwardness hangs heavy in the air, but victory sings through my veins as well.
Within the span of two or three minutes, Luis has the pair of villains in hand. As soon as I see he’s following through on my instructions to kick them out of the event, my next priority is to check on Victoria.
As anxious as I am to see how she’s handling the news, I didn’t expect exposing the truth to leave a hollow pit in my chest. A looming question in the air, her undisclosed answer about whether it matters who I am gnawing at me without delay.
I’m exposed. Not only the fact that I’m very much alive, but now she also knows exactly who I am.
She’s everything, and I can’t lose her. I won’t, I refuse.
“Surprise,” I say to Victoria, having to work to steady my voice under the weight of the moment. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I assure you, I had my reasons.”
Uh-oh, she frowns, and panic spikes.
This wasn’t what I’d envisioned this moment of truth to be like. I expected shock, sure, but where was the excitement?
There was an assertion that my money and status didn’t matter…
Perhaps I didn’t do a proper job making it clear enough.
“I’m Simon Jones, CEO of Jones Group. I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I could never seem to find the right time. It’s a relief to have it out there at long last. I don’t want to hold anything back from you anymore.”
She parts plump, pillowy lips done up in pearly pink, but no words come out. I can see the wariness in her eyes, the struggle to reconcile the man she fell for with the comprehensive truth I’ve just laid before her.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.