Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
I tighten my jaw and say nothing. We won’t ever be married. “I’m thinking about it. Isn’t that enough?”
“Yes and no. If you’re going to really understand your decision then you need to see how your choice affects the people around you. Which means you need to see every single person at Rowe Oil to fully grasp the scope of all this. Do you think I’m pushing you to marry that man for my own selfish gratification? I’m doing it for them.” He gestures at the parking lot.
“I’m doing my best, Grandpa. I really am.”
Grandpa pushes back from the desk suddenly and stands. He grips his cane, and I swear he’s limping even more than he was on the walk inside. “Come with me.”
I follow him out into the hallway. It’s quieter now that he isn’t being assaulted by scared employees. We’re on the executive level, which means there are lots of offices everywhere, and most of them are occupied by men and women diligently staring at computer screens or typing away or looking at their phones like they might be able to warp time and space if only they scroll hard enough.
“This is the brain of Rowe Oil,” Grandpa says quietly as we limp along. He gestures at offices as we pass them. “Mike has been here for twenty years. Cathy’s been here for longer, twenty-five, I believe. That’s Norman, he’s been here for six, and that’s Ernesto, he’s been here for twelve. Each of them has a story, Brice. Each of them has a life, and a family, and a future. Assuming Rowe Oil doesn’t implode.”
“You’re laying it on thick, Grandpa,” I say, trying to smile, trying to pretend like this isn’t affecting me.
But it’s already beginning to work.
He stops at the elevators and faces me. “Down below us, on the second floor and on the first floor, there are more people, hundreds of them. If we’re the brain then they’re the heart and the lungs and the muscles. We think, they do, and by doing, we run the company. We bring oil from the ground, turn it into something usable, and sell it to people that need it. We generate power, Brice, and power runs the world. If Rowe Oil goes under, I can’t guarantee everyone down below us will land on their feet, and what have I taught you about our responsibilities?”
“Rowes do what’s right.” The words come out automatically. I’ve been hearing that phrase, over and over again, my entire life. Rowes do what’s right. Even when it’s hard and even when it hurts. Rowes do what’s right.
And in this case, according to my Grandpa, marrying Carmine is the right thing to do, because it means saving the jobs of all these people.
I want to be sick.
“I told you I wouldn’t force you into this deal, and I won’t,” Grandpa says, leaning against me for support. He seems so thin and frail all of a sudden, like his age is finally catching up to him after all this time. “But you have to understand why I’d even consider something like this.”
“I understand what it means, Grandpa. But that man—”
“I know, sweetie.” He sounds so tired and his smile is laced with exhaustion. “He’s not our kind.”
“No, he’s not.” Which is putting it mildly. “And you still want me to do it?”
“Yes, Brice. Yes, I do.”
The elevator doors ding, but Grandpa doesn’t move. They slide open and it feels like my world is being dragged into that elevator shaft, dragged into the darkness and thrown onto the concrete below.
Carmine stands in the car with his lawyer. Both men look at us and neither seem surprised to see me and Grandpa waiting in the executive lobby right in front of them. Almost like they were expecting it.
“Hello, Carmine,” Grandpa says, moving away from me and shaking the gangster’s hand. I note that he’s not limping as much now. “Gareth. How are you?”
“Thank you for letting us visit the offices,” Gareth says, glancing at me with a sly smile. Carmine’s staring, not moving, holding himself stiffly like something offends him about the very air he’s breathing.
Typical arrogant bastard. He doesn’t know a thing about service and doing what’s right. This whole deal is a game for him, from getting his stake in the company to forcing me to be his wife, it’s all just another conquest. Even though it’s my life, and all the lives of the people that work here.
Gareth and Grandpa begin walking back to Grandpa’s office, but Carmine doesn’t move, and I feel like he’s holding me down in the dirt again, pinning me there beneath him. How is this happening? What is this man doing here? I want to turn and run away but I can’t embarrass myself like that, and I’m sure Grandpa would never forgive me. I hate this so much and I feel like everyone’s staring at me and waiting for me to crack.