Honey Do Me, page 20
part #4 of Nights In New York Series
“We can’t do that,” I yell at him. “Didn’t you hear what she said?”
“They’re vulnerable!” he snarls. “They put this on themselves. It’s up to us to capitalize!”
“No!” I shout and swipe the phone out of his hands.
“Carter, what the fuck?” He lunges forward, extending his arm out to retrieve his phone.
I shove him away, and he stumbles back on his heels, letting out a loud sigh when he does. Once he finds his balance, he crosses his arms and sulks, like a whiny child. As usual.
“I will not have Becca…or anyone for that matter arrested. Not on my watch,” I say, staring at him.
“She needs to be arrested!” He shouts, his anger spilling out from him.
“No, Jeremy. There’s no need for that.” I remind him, more sternly this time. “Didn’t you hear? She stood up for this company.”
“If we arrest her now, we break the movement in half,” he spits back. “They’re in chaos. Don’t let this moment go to waste!”
“We’re not going to play this for our advantage!” I yell at him.
“We have to,” he insists. “This is a fucking war.”
“The war stops here then,” I say to him.
“I don’t know who you are anymore,” he snarls out. “So, what are you doing to do now? Just sit on your hands like a pussy-whipped asshole?”
“Don’t,” I jerk my head up and glare at him.
Motherfucker.
Everything I said about owing him an apology?
Maybe I was wrong about it.
Just like I may have been wrong about Becca.
The words she spoke to the crowd play on a loop in my head. I can’t believe she did that, without even the bet to motivate her.
She committed political, and probably career suicide, denouncing the sole purpose of her movement and stating her support for me.
For a fucking billionaire.
For the Carter Kane, who people in the crowd have explicitly called for my demise.
Literally, I’ve caught a glimpse of a few signs saying: OFF WITH CARTER’S HEAD. It’s fucking brutal.
And she’s standing there on a van.
With a crowd that looks like it’s getting agitated.
To the point of revolution.
“Johnny, what are you seeing?” I call my security guy whose outside on the ground.
“It’s pretty ugly here, boss,” he tells me over the phone. “The cops are getting skittish. If it doesn’t quiet down soon, it’s going to blow.”
Fuck.
This is insane. Becca is standing out there on a van in the middle of a crazy mob of angry, disaffected people.
I need to fucking do something.
I can’t just leave her to that mob. Not after what she's done.
I need to make this right.
“We need to make a statement,” I turn my head towards Jeremy. His brows shoot up in surprise, and he tilts his head in curiosity.
“Shaming her? And those fucking dumbass hippies?” he asks, rolling his eyes as he mentions the protestors.
“No. We’re going to issue a statement announcing that all of our independent contractors will now be employees,” I state, pulling out my phone to start drafting it.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jeremy shouts. “You’re giving into them?”
“I’m not giving into anyone. It is the right thing to do. I should’ve realized that earlier, but I didn’t, so now, I have to clean up my mess and take responsibility for it.”
“Do you not understand how much money you’re saving with independent contractors?”
He steps closer to me, wailing his arms like some car dealership inflatable man thing or some shit. He looks exactly like that though, it’s almost comical.
“I understand. But, that’s not the point,” I tell him. “The law has been rescinded. We don’t need to keep our workers as independent contractors anymore.”
“Yes, we fucking do, Carter!” Jeremy yells, red in the face. “Not having to pay for benefits and all the bullshit that comes with full-time employees is saving you so much money. Within a year, Kane & Co’s revenue will be more than this company has ever seen…fuck, in its whole lifetime. When the fuck did you forget about making money?
I shrug my shoulders, continuing to look down at my phone while I type out the statement.
He nudges my shoulder to get my attention, and I look up, shooting daggers into him. “Don’t push me.”
“You’re not listening to me. You can’t just revoke the conversion plan like that, on a fucking whim. Things don’t happen like that.”
“Well, now they do. Watch me,” I test him, straightening my shoulders while tensing my jaw.
I want to fucking punch him so badly right now.
But I won’t, I’ll refrain.
“You’re willing to give up all that, all that money, for a fucking bitch?” He mocks me, getting inches away from my face.
“Jeremy, like I said before, this is not for her or the movement or fucking anyone,” my voice booms through the lobby. “This is the right thing to do. People need to be treated right and taken care of, especially if they’re working for you.”
“They are still getting wages, it’s not like you’re not taking care of them,” he shakes his head in disbelief.
“I’m not going to dignify that statement with a response,” I say evenly, blood pounding in my temples. “You know damn well that’s not the same thing.”
“You’re a fool, Carter. Whatever that fucking woman did to you or is doing to you, I hope it’s worth losing your livelihood over,” he grinds his teeth, fuming from the inside out.
“If you say another word about Becca, I will punch you,” I save my note, tucking my phone back away.
I’m afraid that I’m going to crush it with my hands if I keep holding onto it.
I know you thought I was this gigantic asshole at the beginning of the book. But I want you to realize that I’ve fucking held off on beating the shit out of Jeremy for a while now as he was going off on me.
I’m not some trigger-happy motherfucker.
But talk about Becca, and all bets are fucking off.
“What…am I offending you? That’s what is going to set you off? Not this fucking protest?” He pushes my shoulders, and it forces me to lean back, placing my weight on my heels. “She must have a fucking magical pussy. She sure turned you into one.”
Oh, that’s it.
I wind my arm up, and my fist meets his cheekbone, punching him square in his fucking cartoon-esque face. I pull back, shaking my hand out from the bone on bone contact.
“I warned you,” I seethe as he gasps and falls to the ground.
He’s bleeding profusely and clutching onto his face.
“You fucking punched me!” He screams, horrified.
“And, I’ll do it again, asshole,” I snarl. “Don’t talk about her. And, you know what, don’t talk to me either. You’re fucking fired, Jeremy,” I shout.
“What the fuck?”
“It’s become abundantly clear that we see things very differently,” I lean down, forcing his eyes to meet mine.
“You can’t fire me!” He stands up with a stumble and with his hand still covering his face.
“I find it so funny how you think I can’t make these decisions,” I step closer to him, glowering down at him now. “I am the fucking CEO of Kane & Company. I can make any decision I want. And, I will do that for the betterment of my company, which includes firing your fucking ass.”
His body deflates, and he goes still, unable to move. After slapping him with a fucking reality check, he doesn’t know what to say or do. Looks like there’s a first time for everything.
“Leave,” I stand, my muscles tense from the anger and adrenaline coursing through me. “Get out of my fucking building.”
Looking up at me, his face fades into a grayish white color, the expression on his face emitting desperation.
“Suit yourself, Carter. But, you will regret this,” he stammers out and drags his feet to the front door, waving over a security guard to let him out.
I don’t respond because I don’t need to. I should’ve cleaned house before it got this far, when he started questioning my decisions and pushing back on my plans more and more. I saw this fucking coming, but maybe, I held on because he’s been my advisor and right-hand man for so long.
But, fuck that. Now you know, or at least this reminds you that when something gets in my way, I’ll do whatever the fuck I need to tear it down, leaving it for dead.
And, anyone who talks about my girl like that should expect a deserved beating.
Fuck. I just said that, didn’t I?
Becca’s my girl.
Still.
Which means I need to go save her.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Becca
It may be that you find it hard to have any sympathy for me.
I understand that. I really do.
Poor little rich girl who got caught lying to her beau…This was all a game, until it wasn’t. And now I’m crying.
“You’re a traitorous bitch!” someone yells at me. They’re rocking the van, jeering at me.
I know what you were thinking the whole time. You thought that my grand gesture would make me get back together with Carter, didn’t you?
I know. For a moment, that’s what I wanted to do too.
But I decided to do what’s right instead of simply looking after myself. None of what I’ve said was meant to make Carter forgive me. I doubt that he’ll ever forgive me for lying to him, but I had to do the right thing.
I really believe the causes I defend, but Carter made me realize that shouting out slogans isn’t how you change the world. If you want to fix the world, you better start by fixing yourself. And I think that telling the truth and being honest with the world is a good start.
Carter’s not the bad man everyone thought he was, and I couldn’t allow the #TooManyBillionaires movement to crush him under their heel, when he’s one of the few men who truly cares for the people working under him. If the movement I started had its way, Carter’s company would fold, and thousands of people would become unemployed.
I still believe that you should protest and fight for something you believe in when you see something wrong, but Carter isn’t a problem afflicting this city. He isn’t part of all the millions of things wrong with it. In fact, he’s just the opposite.
Carter is the solution.
If only these people understood that.
“My crew and I got no jobs,” a dangerously looking man, with by two of his friends, yells at me. “Why don’t we just hold you down and fuck you instead all day, bitch?”
I can’t find Paul anywhere.
The man who threatened me with rape moves closer to the van. “What’d you say, you traitor? You think it’s fair that you sold us out? Maybe you’ll like it when we punish you.”
I should be scared, but let’s face it.
I’ve lost the love of my life. I’m not really scared of much else right now. I’ll kick this fucker in the balls if he tries anything, then I’ll mace his friends. And fuck whatever happens to me.
Life without Carter is just—
“You’re not going to do anything like that.” I hear a familiar voice say, and I turn to see Carter, surrounded by a phalanx of his private security personnel.
“Says who, bitch?” the man challenges.
Carter doesn’t say anything. He just grabs the man by the shirt and throws him against the van.
His friends rush to his assistance, but Carter is a whirlwind. He roundhouse kicks one of the men and knocks him to the ground. Then, he grabs the other friend by the neck and rushes his head onto the side of the van.
The ringleader of the group gets up and tries to run away, but Carter grabs him and punches him in the stomach. There’s a noticeable “oof” from the man.
“Get her out of here!” Carter yells to his security personnel.
Three of his men grab me from the top of the van. They rush me to the Kane & Company offices.
I turn around, trying to get a glimpse of Carter, but he’s lost in the sea of people.
Chapter Forty
Becca
“With the rescinding of the tax on import-export companies that have a threshold of employees, Kane & Company is proud to reinstate all independent contractors as full-time employees,” Carter says from the podium.
I’m watching him on my phone as a Kane & Company car drives me from the hospital.
That’s right.
The hospital. Carter’s private security guards were very insistent.
First, they put me in a private company car. Then they got me out of Midtown and to New York Presbyterian Hospital.
There, after three hours, I was finally cleared to leave, pronounced in good health.
I don’t know how Carter got out of the crowd. But I do know that when he went on camera for his press conference two hours ago, he was wearing the same clothes, and he had two scratches on his face.
His hair was tousled. His tie was off. He looked like he had just come back from a major fistfight.
Which he probably had, knowing Carter, you know?
“It’s my hope that Kane & Company continues to be an engine of growth in this city, and that we can pay our employees a fair wage that will allow them to live the lives that we all want to,” Carter continues. “At the end of the day, all we want to do is take care of our kids. Fuck our significant others. And have a nice dinner.”
I roll my eyes as I hear reporters laugh on television. The press conference was several hours ago, but social media is still having a field day.
He's an overnight sensation. From conglomerate to Savior of the City.
They’re having a great time over there. Carter was once part of the problem. He’s now part of the solution.
“And you’re no longer part of the solution,” I whisper to myself, pushing open the door to our old apartment on the Lower East Side.
Yeah, I didn’t go back to the protest. Between being booed and having to be protected by the private security, I figured I should retreat to a place where I could lick my wounds. And what better place than the apartment where I became the happiest woman on Earth?
Closing the door behind me, I press my back against it and let myself slide down to the floor. The moment I stepped inside the apartment, it felt as if all the sadness inside my body transformed into tiredness, my body growing weary from one second to the other.
Sighing heavily, I let my gaze sweep across the small room. The curtains are drawn, and long shadows cover everything in sight.
I can hear the traffic outside, but at the same time, there’s a deep silence to the apartment. It hurts to think that I will never be as happy as I was in here.
Who would have thought that I’d fall in love in a crappy apartment like this? It’s funny, in a sense. I always fought against the elite, but at the same time, I always cared a lot about the things I owned.
When Carter and I moved here, I was terrified about the fact that I’d have to survive without all my comforts.
But it didn’t take long before I realized that happiness isn’t about the things I own, but rather about the people that are part of my life. And with Carter in my life, I was as happy as I’d ever been.
Too bad I screwed up the whole thing.
Forcing myself to go up to my feet, I make my way toward the bedroom. Maybe if I sleep it off for a few hours, I’ll feel better. I’m about to jump on top of the bed when I notice something under it—one of Carter’s shirts.
Taking it in my hands, I sit on the bed and bring the shirt up against my face, the scent of Carter’s body making me feel as if a brick has just crashed against my chest, caving it in. I purse my lips tightly, trying to stop myself from sobbing as tears well up in my eyes.
God, I miss him so goddamn much.
How will I ever get over him?
“I made such a mistake,” I sob, holding Carter’s shirt tight against my chest. “I’m such an idiot.”
“At times, yeah.”
Wait.
What?
Did I just hear what I thought I heard?
That’s the voice of…
No.
My heart stops inside my chest as I look up. There, leaning against the doorway, is Carter Kane.
“Carter?”
“Last time I checked, yeah,” he smiles, stepping inside the bedroom and walking toward me.
He sits on the edge of the bed, right next to me, and then drapes one arm over my shoulders and pulls me close.
“I don’t want to see you cry.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I lied,” I start, the tears flowing free.
I don’t know if this is a hidden secret of the female psychological makeup, but it seems every time someone tells me not to cry that’s exactly the one thing I can’t stop myself from doing.
“Hey, that’s in the past, Becca,” he whispers, running one hand through my hair. “I don’t care about any of that. I know you didn’t do it so that you could pull one over me. I know that you were just afraid.” Holding me tight, he lays his lips on my forehead. “And that’s okay.”
“You’ll never trust me again…”
“Yes, I will,” he whispers softly, resting his index finger over my lips so that I can’t interrupt him. “I already do. What you did today, Becca, it was…it was amazing. You faced all those people, fully knowing that they’d turn against you, just because you wanted to do the right thing.”
I nod.
“I tried to, at least,” I say into his shoulder.
“And you did it,” he nods. “You’re a brave woman, and you fight for what you believe in. You fight for what’s right.”
I look into his eyes as he continues.
“I can trust someone like that. I can respect someone like that. So, do me a favor, Becca…” He makes a slight pause and, with one finger under my chin, makes me look up and into his eyes. “I want you to fight for what’s right one more time. Because you know it as well as I do…what we have, it’s right.”
