Protecting Her(56)

I really don’t like that man. I don’t think I ever will.





CHAPTER THIRTEEN


13


PEARCE

Monday morning, I storm into my father’s office and slam the door.

“Good morning, Pearce,” my father says, sipping his coffee from behind his desk.

“You will NOT threaten her! Do you understand me?”

“I will do whatever I have to do to protect this company. And if putting a scare in the girl is the only way to get her to convince you to come back to work, then so be it.”

“I have already told you that it was MY idea to stop working so much. Not hers. And even after cutting back my hours, I am still working more than a forty hour week.” I slam my palms down on his desk and lean toward him. “I do not want you at my house again, unless you are invited and I am home. You are not to speak with Rachel unless I am present.”

“I will do as I please. And if you truly believe that she is part of this family, then there should be no restrictions on when I see her or talk to her.” He smirks. “That’s not how families act, now is it?”

“We are not a normal family. And that is all thanks to you. Mother is trying to make an effort to make this family work, but you keep going behind her back, trying to tear this family apart again.”

“I have done no such thing. If you want to blame someone for tearing this family apart, blame your wife. Ever since she came into our lives, there has been nothing but conflict and chaos.”

I take my hands off his desk and stand up straight. “Did you have her followed?”

“Perhaps,” he says, unable to hide his grin.

“Why the hell would you do that?”

“I wanted to know what she did all day. Where she went. What it is she’s doing that makes her unable to care for your son.”

“I never said she was unable to care for Garret.”

“You said she needs you to be home with him, taking care of him.”

“I WANT to be home with him! He’s my son. My only child. I don’t want to miss his childhood, sitting here in this office.”

My father pounds his fist on the desk and shoves himself up from his chair, nearly knocking it over. “How the hell do you expect to run this company someday if you are ill-prepared to do so?”

“I AM prepared. I proved it when you were out sick. I ran this company without you for months, and I did a better job than you.”

He lets out a single harsh laugh. “If you really think that, Pearce, then you are delusional and think far too highly of yourself. Fucking up orders? Missing deliveries? You call that running a company?”

“It was one order. One delivery. And it is not the CEO’s job to monitor orders.” I take a breath. “I am not going to waste time going over all that I accomplished while you were gone, because you already know. The fact that you refuse to admit it just shows that you’re threatened by my success. You don’t want your peers in the business world seeing what I’ve done and comparing us, because you know that I would come out ahead.”

“Get out of my office!” he yells. “Now!”

“Tell me you will not threaten her again. Or have her followed.”

“I will do as I please. Now get out of my office.”

I remain where I am. “If you harm her in any way, I promise you I will do all I can to destroy this company. It is the one and only thing you love, and I will take it down, piece by piece, until there is nothing left.”

“And if you did, the organization would punish you. This is as much their company as ours, and if you destroy it, they will destroy you.”

I go to the door, swinging it open so hard it hits the wall, then I storm down the hall to my office.

“Mr. Kensington?” My secretary is standing at my door.

“Not now, Candace.” I shoo her away and slam the door shut. I return to my desk and call Rachel. “It was my father,” I say when she answers.

“What?”

“My father was the one having you followed.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because he’s crazy, that’s why. He said he wanted to know where you go during the day.”

“Why would he care where I go?”

“He doesn’t. He was only doing it to get back at me for cutting my hours. He wanted to scare you because he knew how much it would anger me.”