Corrupt

“Mr. Crist,” Stella greeted as I strolled into my father’s office on the top floor of his building.

I nodded, offering her a half-smile as I walked past. She never tried to stop me, no matter if he was in a meeting or on a call. My brother and I rarely came down here, but the truth was, I think she was just as afraid of us as she was of my father. She didn’t interfere with family.

Even if my father didn’t like us here.

My mother, Trevor, and I learned early on that his life in the city, with us tucked away in Thunder Bay, was just how he wanted things. Family hanging around his work was a nuisance. He kept the two lives separate and didn’t involve us.

And as much as I fucking adored my mother, I respected her less and less for staying married to such a prick.

To them, though, they had a good arrangement, I guess. He gave her the money to buy anything, have the home she wanted, and secure the place in society she enjoyed. In return, she stayed respectable and gave him two sons.

They were both liars and cowards. My mother wasn’t brave enough to demand the life she deserved, and my father would never open up himself to anyone. Not his wife or his sons. And he didn’t have any friends. Not really, anyway.

In the spider’s web of Thunder Bay, with its endless lies and secrets, its fake smiles and bullshit, I thought I’d found one person who was different. Who saw everything I wanted and craved it with me.

My brother was right. I’d seen that look in her eyes long before I even noticed her face or her body. That look of something being contained and wanting to claw its way out.

Rika and I had always circled each other, even before either of us was aware of it. And her betrayal was as close as I’d ever come being gutted.

I walked straight for the door, and opened it without knocking.

My father was seated behind his desk, the furniture polish of the dark mahogany tables and bookshelves hitting my nose and reminding me of a museum.

His lawyer, Monroe Wynn, sat across from him with his back to me.

“Michael.” My father looked up, tapping his finger on his desk with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “What a rare surprise.”

I shut the door behind me, already feeling the air filter into my lungs like oil. He wasn’t happy to see me, and I hated being in his presence. Our relationship died long ago when I started standing up for myself, so his mock pleasure at the sight of me was merely for his lawyer’s benefit.

“Monroe, you know my son,” he offered, waving his hand between us.

Monroe rose from his chair and held out his hand. “Hi, Michael.”

I took it and nodded once. “Sir.”

I released his hand and crossed my arms over my chest.

“We’re expecting great things from you this year,” Monroe said. “Wife was mad enough I bought box seats for the season, so it better be worth it. Don’t let us down.”

“No, sir.”

“He’ll do his job,” my father assured. As if he had an ounce of fucking control. He hated my career and never supported it.

Monroe nodded, and I turned my eyes on my father.

Sensing the uncomfortable silence, Monroe finally grabbed his files and briefcase, his arms full as he turned to leave.

“We’ll talk soon,” he told my father.

He left the room, and my father leaned back up in his seat, looking at me through annoyed blue eyes. He and my brother looked alike with dark blond hair, pale skin, and narrow jaws. Both of them stood at least three inches shorter than me. I inherited my height from my mother’s side of the family.

“I’m surprised you even remembered where the building was,” he sneered.

“Fair’s fair,” I retorted, leaning my shoulder against the bookshelf. “I’m here as much as you’re home.”

He leveled his gaze on me, looking unamused. “Have you talked to your mother?”

I nodded. “Yesterday. She’s spending a few days shopping in Paris before heading to Spain. You’re meeting her this week, correct?”

“As usual,” he replied. “Why do you ask?”

I shrugged, shaking my head. “No reason.”

Actually, there was a very good reason. I wanted to make sure he was leaving. And soon. Rika believed her mother was with mine on board Pithom off the coast of southern Europe.

No. Pithom was still docked in Thunder Bay, and my mother hadn’t seen Ms. Fane since before she left for Europe, by plane, over a week ago.

Rika didn’t know where her mother really was. I did.

And when my father joined my mother, Rika would have zero support around her.

My parents always left in the fall for several weeks to visit various friends and business partners out of the country. And while my father traveled extensively throughout the year, their annual excursion was always together. My mother was useful with her charm, wit, and beauty, so he insisted she accompany him when he made the rounds in Europe every autumn. It was the one thing I knew I could count on.

The house in Thunder Bay was currently empty, with my mother having already left and my father staying here in the city, at the private fuckpad he kept on the other side of town.

At the very least he had the decency not to keep an apartment at Delcour and flaunt his sluts in a building he owned.

“Have you spoken to Trevor?” he asked.

But I just stared.

He breathed out a laugh, realizing that was a stupid question.

A young woman came into the office with an armful of file folders. She smiled at me, looking sexy in her bright blue dress and perfect blonde hair.

Walking behind my father’s desk, she placed the folders on top and reached over it, taking a post-it and writing a quick note for him.