Boss (30 page)

He couldn’t imagine Ezra had ever been close enough to her to get her pregnant.

“What you queers talkin’ ‘bout anyhow?” she stumbled between them with a bottle of cooking wine in her hands, “tell me some gossip.”

“Why are you here?” Ezra jumped down from the counter, snatching the wine out of her grasp, “you weren’t invited.”

“How do you know?” she tossed her arms out so violently, a pin in the messy, ratty bun on her head toppled to the side, “I’m family.”

“What?” Ezra laughed, “Get out of here. You’re embarrassing.”

Ezra grabbed her arms and tried to push her back out into the corridor but he didn’t get far. She let out a violent shriek and tore free of him. Stumbling backwards, she fell into the counter.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” she screamed, “Don’t ever touch me.”

With a heavy sigh, Ezra rubbed in-between his eyes.

“Just go,” Ezra cried even louder.

“He hit me,” she nodded at Joshua, “gave me a black eye.”

Joshua looked to Ezra for an explanation but he was practically laughing as he choked on his words.

“She missed out the part where she was drunk, trying to hit our two year old baby so I pushed her away. The back of my hand hit her around the face.”

“Don’t talk about my little girl,” with a screech, she ran over to him and Joshua thought she was going to punch him but she stopped at his face, squaring up to him like a boxer in a ring, “don’t ever talk about her. You don’t even know what day it is, do you?”

“Of course I do,” his voice trembled, “and it’s tomorrow, not today.”

“I know that,” her finger poked into the side of Ezra’s head, “don’t fucking talk about her.”

She jabbed him a couple of times before he gripped her wrist, dragging it down to her side. Joshua had never seen somebody get to Ezra this much but Jade was pushing every button Joshua had been trying to push. She wasn’t just pushing them, she was stamping on them and it was pathetic to watch.

“He killed his daughter,” she turned around to Joshua, “he told you that, right?”

“Yeah, he told me,” Joshua suddenly felt defensive, “I know you were married too.”

She tossed her head back and let out a hoarse cry of laughter. When she wobbled back into place, she turned back to Ezra but he was too busy staring at Joshua. He mouthed something that looked like ‘
how did you know that?
’ but no sound came out.

“You’re filling your bitch’s heads with shit, Ezra,” she traced her finger across his lapel, “you always were a good liar. Can you believe I didn’t know he was sleeping with guys behind my back the whole time?”

She spun back around to Joshua, stepping toward him. Her hand reached out to touch Joshua’s suit but his reactions stopped her. With his fingers around her wrist, he wasn’t as kind as Ezra. He tossed her arm away, not caring if he hurt her. There was venom in her eyes but she didn’t look like she was going to lash out at Joshua the same way she did to her ex-husband.

“What’s going on?” Violet appeared in the kitchen doorway, her dress glowing against the backdrop of stainless steel.

She still looked every inch the angel and he felt so much guilt for doing this on her wedding day.

“We can hear the screams in there,” she pointed back to the ballroom, “over the music.”

Her eyes landed on Jade and after a quick once over, the disgust was loud in her judgemental stare. Violet didn’t invite her. Christopher quickly appeared behind Violet’s shoulder and they both walked into the kitchen.

“Jade?” Christopher cried, “I should have known it’d be you.”

“Thanks for the invite, cousin,” she held both of her middle fingers up, “didn’t think we’d find you out here in the sticks, did you? Your stupid wife put the invite on Facebook and made it public.”

Violet looked to Christopher apologetically with a shrug.

“Wait, cousin?” Ezra laughed, “That’s where I know you from.”

He clicked his fingers, pleased with himself that he had figured things out. Joshua wished he knew what the hell was going on.

“How do you all know each other?” Christopher crossed his arms and smiled curiously at the unlikely trio.

“You remember my husband, don’t you cousin? I know he’s had a bit of a make over, but it’s still him. Strange what money does to some folks and what they’ll do to cling onto it.”

“Ezra?” the smile turned to a scowl, “If I’d have known -,”

“Ex-husband,” Violet jumped in, “that’s what you said Joshua? Ex-husband?”

“Ex?” she howled again, “Ezra, you dickhead.”

Joshua shook his head to the ground, his blonde hair covering his face. Leaning back on his hips, he looked up at the strip lighting, hoping for an answer.

“Will somebody explain what is going on?” Joshua cried out.

“We’re still married, darlin’,” Jade’s smirk was stained with arrogance, “never divorced.”

Joshua looked to Ezra and the look on his face said it all. It was true. The next thing Joshua knew, he could feel Violet’s wedding dress on his skin as he left the kitchen. He could hear Ezra calling to him to offer an explanation but he didn’t want to hear it.

I don’t want to hear any of it.

Before Joshua knew what he was doing, he was standing in the grounds with a cigarette shakily balancing in between his lips. Looking up at the sky as the smoke left his mouth, he wondered how he could be in this situation.
Have I really had my eyes closed this entire time?

He found himself at the archway where he had been with Ezra less than an hour ago. He had seemed on edge then but Joshua had ignored it. Maybe he knew the cat was about to crawl out of the bag?

Under the arch, he saw a shadow and he almost headed back but it was only his Auntie Jackie, so he joined her under the archway.

“You know trees are flammable,” she jumped when Joshua ducked in, dropping her cigarette to the ground to stomp on it.

“I thought you were Violet,” she slapped him on the arm as he passed her a fresh cigarette, “she thinks I quit a year ago but all of this wedding stress, it’s getting to me.”

Joshua decided to humour her so he nodded. She hadn’t been near the house since he had been there, so he guessed she was somehow sympathetically feeling her daughter’s pain.

“I won’t tell if you don’t,” he lit her cigarette for her and she puffed out that initial cloud of smoke into the thick leaves above.

“I must say, I never expected to see you with Ezra,” her laugh was a little twisted, “your father would die if he was – bad choice of words. You know what I mean. He was a traditional man. I would have loved to have seen his face when you were taking pictures outside the church. Don’t worry about me though, all of my friends are gay.”

A quick wink and a soft pat on the arm told him that he didn’t have to worry about explaining himself to her. It only made him feel worse. He had thrown all of his own rules out of the window for Ezra and he no longer knew where he stood.

“What if I told you I’ve just been made a fool of?”

She turned to him and waited for him to speak, letting him know it was okay to spill the beans to Auntie Jackie. In a way, she was just like her daughter. Growing up as a teenager, he always knew he had a listening ear or two at Jackie’s house.

“Have you met Tobias before?”

“Bald guy? Tight suits?” she squinted, “Went to see him after your father died to find out I wasn’t left a penny in the will.”

Joshua knew that feeling all too well.

“He just gave me a letter from my father, written to the lawyer who signed everything over to Ezra. My dad didn’t trust Ezra and he wanted information about him.”

“I don’t trust him either!” she pointed her cigarette at him between two fingers, “Not one little bit! He was creeping around your dad’s place when I went to see him.”

“You went to see him?”

He didn’t know why this surprised him. They were siblings but they weren’t close. Had they really swallowed their pride and got over their lifelong feud before he died? He hoped so.
I just wish I could have done the same.

“’Course I did,” she nodded, “all he could talk about was you.”

“Me?”

“You,” she nodded so low, her greying blonde hair sprung out from behind her ears, “he was convinced you were going to take over the company. He thought this was your time to step up and be the man he knew you could be. That Ezra was hanging around outside. I wouldn’t be surprised if he heard every word and threatened your old man with something. I bet that he had something on your father!”

It wasn’t the first time he had heard that and he was starting to believe it. What he couldn’t believe was his father wanting him to step up and take control, despite him leaving the country when he was eighteen. It had ended on such a sour note, so what changed in those seven years? Did death soften him, once and for all?

Part of him still didn’t want to believe that Ezra would be that guy. There was cold, hard proof that Tobias’ suspicions of Ezra Steele were right all along. The second will, the letter and now his auntie retelling his exact words were the final nail in the coffin Joshua needed.

“I really have been made a fool of,” Joshua stomped on the cigarette as he blew out the last of the smoke, “I let myself get sucked into Ezra’s world. I ignored my judgement. I thought my father did this to spite me as a final ‘
fuck you
’.”

“No!” she cried, “When I left him, he was full of regret but he was also full of hope for the future. He wanted you to be the boss of
Silverton Industries
, not that imposter. I told him that he should let you find your own way, but he was so sure that this is what you needed.”

Was it what Joshua needed? The more he heard about his father on his deathbed, the more he thought it was exactly what he needed. As a teenager, he had been nothing but a disappointment but there was still time to put things right.

“This is what I thought at first, but Ezra is so -,”

“Charismatic?” Jackie rolled her eyes, “Isn’t that always the way? How do you think your Uncle Ralf knocked me up? Complete waste of space but he could charm the skin off a snake. I knew that lowlife wouldn’t turn up today. I bet Violet is heartbroken.”

Had Ezra really been charming him this whole time, just to get what he wanted? The more subdued Joshua was, the less chance there was that he would challenge Ezra.

“I might have still believed him, even after reading my dad’s letter,” he leaned against the branches of the archway and looked up to the moon as it poked through the natural slats, “I found out he’s married.”

“Married?” she cried, “To a woman?”

“They’re not together. I don’t think they’ve been together for years, but that’s not the point. He didn’t tell me and things were starting to get pretty serious. It just makes me wonder what else he’s lying to me about.”

“Men lie,” she said matter-of-factly, “not to be rude or anything, but they do. It’s in their makeup. It goes back to the caveman times. Survival! Some men, like you, are better at being honest but some men can’t help it.”

She was painting every man with the same brush but he knew what she was trying to say. Maybe Ezra was the liar and Joshua had been too gullible?

Violet appeared in the archway, her wedding dress glowing ethereally under the moon’s light.

“Have you been smoking?” she looked to the ground at the three stamped out cigarettes.

“They’re all his,” Auntie Jackie pointed straight to Joshua, “poor thing is stressed.”

Violet clearly didn’t believe her but she gave her mother a ‘
we’ll talk about this later
’ look. Turning to Joshua, her expression softened and her hand quickly wrapped around his shoulder. The tight squeeze was meant to be a comfort but it only made him feel worse.
I’m ruining her wedding
.

“He’s searching the house for you,” her voice was soft, “he just wants to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to talk to him,” and he meant it.

She squeezed again but with a shrug, he tucked his hair behind his ears and strengthened his pose.

“I think he just wants to explain,”
whose side is she on?

“No, he wants to manipulate me. You don’t know what I know, Vi.”

She instantly shot to her mother and said, “What have you been telling him?”

“The truth!” Jackie fired back, “Bill wanted Joshua to have it all. Ezra did something, Violet. We all know it and it’s better that Joshua knows now, rather than later. Did you want him to fall in love with that slime ball and then find out?”

Love.

Joshua’s insides performed a painful dance. His heart rate increased and he felt sick to his stomach.

“Sometimes things aren’t always as they seem,” she was trying to sound as calming as possible, but it was coming across as irritating, “C’mon, let’s go up to the house and I’ll get somebody to make you some tea and -,”

“I don’t need tea,” he said firmly, “I know what I need to do. Where’s Levi?”

“I saw him going off with two of my bridesmaids,” she rolled her eyes.

“He’ll be fine,” he kissed them both on the cheek, “I’m sorry this had to be tonight, Vi. I’ll make it up to you. Promise.”

She called after him but he couldn’t listen because he would want to listen to her. He couldn’t have anybody trying to distract him because he knew exactly who he needed to see.

Jumping out of the taxi, he ran straight up to Violet’s bathroom and dug around in the laundry basket. He searched through every jacket pocket until he found the creased business card he was looking for. On one side, the ‘
Silverton Industries
’ logo glittered in the light and on the other side, it read ‘
Graham Rodgers. Shareholder/Director
’ followed by a phone number.

Wasting no time, he dialled the number and Graham answered straight away. Ditching the card, he headed straight back to the taxi and headed into London city centre.

Joshua walked along the River Thames path, the city lights and Tower Bridge acting as his backdrop. As he narrowed on the man sat on the bench in the distance, he knew it was who he was there to see.

“I must say, I was glad to hear from you,” Graham stood up and shook Joshua’s hand, “although I wasn’t expecting it so late at night.”

Joshua didn’t know what time it was but he knew it couldn’t have been past ten. Graham was wearing a long sand-coloured trench coat buttoned up to his chin. He was wearing a pair of suit trousers but no socks and a pair of old trainers.

Sitting next to Graham, he looked across the water at the city he had once called home. Staring at the skyline, he couldn’t help but notice the different buildings that had popped up over the years. Everything had moved on without him but it was time for him to catch up.

“Ezra Steele,” Joshua lit up a cigarette, offering one to Graham, “what do you know?”

Graham turned down the cigarette with a dry smirk on his face. After a moment of careful consideration, he rested his chin against his chest, the skin on his neck creasing multiple times.

“I know that he’s running the company into the ground,” he spoke carefully and concisely, “I would have brought the proof, but I didn’t know -,”

“I believe you,” Joshua tapped the ash to the ground, “how’s he doing that?”

Graham smirked again and Joshua knew he was playing into his hands, but he didn’t care. Graham had worked with his father a lot longer than Ezra had and even if his father secretly never liked Graham, it didn’t mean he didn’t know the company.

“Risky investments. It looks like things are holding steady but profit margins are slowly dropping. If he carries on like he is, in ten years, it won’t be your name on that tower.”

Trying to imagine a London without
Silverton Tower
felt strange. Joshua had been trying to ignore it for most of his life but as he looked out at the skyline, it was the first building his eye went to. It wasn’t the tallest or the biggest but it had a power that people respected.

“What do we need to do?” Joshua looked up to the stars, trying to imagine what his father would do in his situation.

“Some of the board is meeting on Wednesday,” Graham leaned forwards and rested his forearms on his thighs, “come along and bring your lawyer. We can back him into a corner. Shake the truth out of him. Tobias Cole, isn’t it?”

Joshua nodded and tossed the cigarette in the direction of the water. It missed, so he watched the amber light slowly die out.

“I’ll call him and see what he knows,” Graham stood up, “but everybody thinks the same. It should be you on the top floor of that tower. I know it’s not what you want, but it’s what’s best -,”

“I want it,” Joshua stood up, “I just never realised how much.”

“Good man,” Graham shook his hand firmly as he slapped his shoulder, “it’s what your dad would want.”

He watched Graham disappear into the night. Walking over to the edge of the water, he leaned over the railing and looked down into the lights reflecting on the calm surface of the murky river.

‘
It’s what your dad would want.
’

He knew it was too late to truly know but it somehow felt right. Blinking hard, he tried to forget every memory of Ezra Steele. A stranger in a suit would be easier to fight.