I thought having Iris along would solve my problems, except it doesn’t. If anything, it only adds an extra complication to my already failing plan.
Her idea to bring Mrs. Yakura along? Great in theory, but she is just another pain in my ass. She stops every twenty feet to stare at something, which only slows us down. And by slowing us down, it gives my father more opportunities to lead the discussion. Iris tries to move her forward, but she becomes immersed in every damn flower, child, and sign in our path.
Herding Mrs. Yakura is about as successful as gathering a bunch of stray cats. It doesn’t help that her husband seems to encourage her, with his attention span split between my father, me, and his wife.
I take another deep breath as Mr. Yakura pulls to the side with Iris and his wife to check out another topiary. They act as if they have never seen a shrub before.
“Doing okay, son?”
I swear I’m about one comment away from grabbing him by his tie and choking him with it.
Breathe.
I try to use my usual phrases to calm myself down, but each time I try, it only seems to make matters worse.
“I’m fine.”
He chuckles underneath his breath. “You can give up at any time and I’ll take over to secure the deal. I’m even willing to give you credit and put in a good word for you during our next board meeting.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m trying to help you. While I’d be happy to finish this off and secure us a new park, all it would take is one misstep from me and the deal is good as dead.”
My teeth grind together. “You shouldn’t even be here.”
“You should have mentioned that to your wife then before she set up an automatic email letting everyone know where you were this week.”
“You’re lying.”
He smirks. “Go ahead and check your phone. I’ll wait.”
I pull it out but stop myself. His tricks aren’t going to work on me.
“I don’t believe you.” Even if she did send out an email like that, it doesn’t mean my father could connect me all the way back to Dreamland.
“I take it you don’t want to accept my offer to help finish this once and for all?”
“Over my dead body.”
“No parent wants to bury their child, but I suppose I’m willing to make an exception.”
“I don’t have time for this shit.” I push past him and walk toward Iris and the Yakuras.
“I was telling them all about the greenhouses we have on the company property a few miles away from here.” Iris smiles up at me.
“Great. I doubt they’re interested in going there though,” I speak between gritted teeth.
Her smile drops before she recovers. “So, I was wondering what you both would like to see next?”
“Roller coasters,” Mrs. Yakura says at the same time as her husband replies, “Nothing that causes back pain.”
Great. I have to choose between giving Mr. Yakura permanent nerve damage and pleasing his wife.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
My father and I spend the afternoon battling for Mr. Yakura’s attention. He consistently interjects himself as if to remind us that he is still a part of the group, and Yakura falls for it. He wants to know about our family, our history with the park, and what it was like growing up with a grandfather who created the biggest fairy-tale empire in the world.
I jump in and respond to some questions before my father has a chance, although his years of experience give him an advantage. Yakura seems pleased with my responses. But then again, he seems equally interested in what my father has to say. Maybe even more so.
This wouldn’t be a problem if he wasn’t even here to begin with. A problem my assistant caused by creating a damning automatic message insinuating I was at Dreamland. My father is no idiot. He knows exactly what a trip to Dreamland means, and it has nothing to do with visiting Rowan.
Since I didn’t believe him, I check my email. There are multiple ones from employees where I automatically replied back saying I would be out of town for business at Dreamland.
My father wasn’t lying after all. Iris fucked up astronomically, and now I’m stuck trying to fix the mess she made.
As if she senses my darkening mood, she tugs on my sleeve. “I need to use the restroom.”
I’m hesitant to leave my father alone with the Yakuras, but it seems like I don’t have much of a choice as Iris drags me away. She leads us toward the nearby restroom area, out of sight from the others.
“This isn’t going well.”
“Really? What gave it away?” I ask with a dry voice.
“This doesn’t feel right. I think we need to step back and regroup before it explodes in our faces.”
“I’m not about to run away from something difficult because it doesn’t feel right.” My voice carries a bit more bite than intended.
Her brows pull together. “Your father is up to something.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I didn’t ask you to come here so you could waste your time analyzing my father, seeing as he wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you.”
“What?” She rears back.
“He told me about the automatic email replies you set up for me.”
“So what? I always do those. It’s company policy—”
I cut her off. “What good is company policy if I might not have a damn company to run in a year because of this?”
She winces.
Calm down before you say something you’ll really regret.
I take a deep breath and try to recalibrate, but with how everything is going today, I feel beyond flustered. All because my father found out about my trip from the one person I trusted to handle all this.
Now isn’t the time to get into it with her.
I shut my eyes to avoid looking at her face. “I think you should go.” It was a mistake to drag her into this.
“You’re joking.”
“It’s for the best. You’re nothing but a distraction that I don’t have time for right now.”
Her mouth drops open. “A distraction? All I’ve done is try to help you.”
“Your job description says you’re supposed to alleviate problems, not cause them.”
She takes a step back like I physically slapped her. “That isn’t fair.”
“Neither is life. Get over it.”
Her eyes have a sheen to them that wasn’t present a minute ago. “I think you’re making a mistake if you keep going today. If I were you, I would end it, circle back tomorrow, and see if you can meet with Yakura privately. He is more observant than you give him credit for.”
“As much as I have appreciated your input up until this point, I’m the boss. I can determine whether or not I should continue.”
“We’re supposed to be a team.”
“We are, but every team has a leader, and it’s not you.”
She sucks in a breath. The noise acts like a needle against the pressure building inside my chest. I’m hit with a strong wave of guilt.
Be better than him.
I reach out to cup her cheek, but she steps back.
“No. You don’t get to touch me right now.”
Her rejection slices against my thinning resolve. “So, is this how it’s going to be? You’re going to punish me whenever you don’t get your way? What’s next, withholding sex because I did something stupid like comment on your job performance?”
Her eyes narrow. “That’s not my issue with you and you know it.”
“Then what is your problem?”
“You don’t trust me—not entirely that is. If you did, then you would listen to me because I’ve spent two years helping you build this project from the ground up. I don’t want you to ruin it because you’re not thinking rationally. Today isn’t about beating your father or trying to talk over him. It’s about showing Yakura that you will put family first, regardless of your personal feelings because it’s in the best interest of the company.”
“I trusted your shitty plan and you failed, so don’t lecture me on trust when you’re the one to blame for my father being here in the first place. If you were as good at your job as you say you are, none of this would have ever happened.”
Her eyes widen and she takes a step back but stumbles. When my arm shoots out to help her, she flinches.
Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
The regret is instant like a bullet to the heart. It’s one thing to lash out at my brother because I’m pissed, but it’s another to talk to Iris this way.
Say something.
I wish I could go back in time and make better choices because the look on her face guts me. Absolutely makes a wreck of my insides to the point of physical pain. “Iris, I shouldn’t—”
She laughs. It elicits the same reaction as nails running down a chalkboard. I reach for her again, and I think she must be in shock because she lets me hold her.
“I never thought I would be on the receiving end of your temper, but I should have known that being your wife wouldn’t save me from that kind of treatment. If anything, it makes it ten times worse.”
“I didn’t mean it. I was angry about the situation with my father and took it out on you.”
She stays silent, so I kiss her. Her arms hang by her sides which only increases my desperation. I want her to do something—anything really, so long as it takes away this feeling growing in my gut.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble against her lips. Something wet and salty hits my lips, and I break away from our kiss to find a few tears streaming down her face. I brush them away, trying to erase the evidence of my words, only to find more in their wake. It’s like trying to fix a leak with duct tape. Nothing works to stop the tears from breaking free, and they only make me more frustrated.
“Please don’t cry.”
Her brows tug together as she looks up at me with glistening eyes. “You’re not laughing.”
“What?”
“You told me you laugh when you make people cry.” Her voice cracks.
I’m a mess inside. She doesn’t even seem to be looking at me but rather through me. Her glistening eyes serve as a window to her soul, and what I find is devastating. A beautifully broken soul who happens to be a mirror of mine.
You hurt her.
I feel no better than my father, wielding words like knives out of anger. While it might not leave the same kind of wounds as fists, words can do more damage than anything.
To think you’ve tried so hard to prevent yourself from becoming like him, only to realize you’re an exact copy.
She doesn’t meet my eyes as she sniffles.
Maybe even worse.
Based on the way I feel, it sure seems that way.
I pull her against me, this time kissing the top of her head. Except her usual sigh is absent. She doesn’t melt into me the way she always does, and my worry only intensifies.
“Let go of me,” she rasps as she pushes against my chest.
I release her like she might catch on fire if I hold on to her for a second longer. The way she looks at me…it feels like she took her nails and sunk them straight into my chest.
“We can talk this out.”
She takes a large step back as she wraps her arms around her like a hug. I want to be the one to console her, but how do I make her feel better when I’m the one that hurt her in the first place?
“I’ve been called a failure by many people in my life, including my own father, yet none of them seemed to have made it hurt quite like you just did. I trusted you.”
My stomach rolls as I am unable to escape the sick feeling plaguing me.
“I’m sorr—”
She cuts me off. “The last thing I want to hear right now is how sorry you are. I can’t believe I came here thinking you needed my help, only to end up being blamed for all of this. What a joke. The only two people to blame here are you and your father. Him for being an absolute dick and you for following in his footsteps, lashing out at me instead of taking personal responsibility.”
I take a step forward, only for her to take a big step backward.
My hand drops back to my side. “Don’t go.”
She shakes her head as she takes another step away from me.
“We’re supposed to be a team.”
“I don’t want to be on your team. Not anymore.”
A punch to the face might have hurt less than the way she looks at me like I’m below her.
“I’ll be better.”
“Funny. That’s what my father always told my mom too, right before he hurt her all over again.”
Her final blow lands exactly like it was meant to. I try to take a few deep breaths as I think of something to say, but I struggle to come up with anything worthy.
She takes advantage of my stunned state and retreats to a hidden exit out of the park without sparing me another glance. I’m torn between chasing after her and going back to the group. Leaving Iris alone after knowing how upset she is seems unconscionable, yet I can’t exactly leave the Yakuras in my father’s hands. Not after how hard Iris and I have worked to make this happen.
You can deal with Iris later once all of this is done.
It seems like the best idea, yet I struggle to make my way back to everyone. Each step away from Iris feels like I’m trudging through quicksand.
You did not spend two years of your life working on this deal to lose it now. Pull yourself together.
I return to the group, ignoring the weight pressing against my chest with each step away from Iris. For the sake of my future, I need to shelve my emotions and push through. It seems simple in theory until Mrs. Yakura asks where Iris is.
“She wasn’t feeling very well.”
My father’s eyes gleam, and I can’t stomach looking at him without feeling an urge to shove him away from me.
“Oh no. Does she need help getting back to your hotel?” Mr. Yakura offers.
I shake my head. “She didn’t want us to stop our tour for her.”
“Are you sure? We could—”
I cut him off. “I’m sure.”
“Hopefully she feels better.” Mrs. Yakura smiles.
If the look on Iris’s face is a small inkling of the pain she feels, I doubt she will for a long time.
I made sure of that.
