"Ah, so you didn't know him at all," I said flippantly. Leah tipped her head and frowned.
"Do you have a problem, Mr. Yates?" she asked. "Because it seems to me that you just might. No offense or anything."
"None taken, Miss Walsh," I said grinning. "My only questions are if you've met my mother, Elizabeth Yates, and whether you'd have dinner with me sometime?"
Leah blushed slightly at my questions. She nodded as she repeated her condolences to my mother, who smiled graciously, thanked her, and moved her on down the line. I watched her as she greeted my brother and wondered what job she held at the company and whether I would be able to convince her to have dinner with me sometime. She was a pretty, young girl—just the kind to take my mind off things.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Jack Yates back from his globetrotting adventures," a familiar voice said. I turned and found myself standing face to face with Sloan Morgan.
"Good God, Sloan? Sloan Morgan?" I asked as I stood staring at the gorgeous blonde in front of me. She was tall and lithe, but she filled out her dress like a pro.
"Entirely too long, my friend," she said as she stepped forward and ran her fingers through my hair before leaning in and pressing her lips against my cheek. "I've missed you."
"Have you really?" I asked, eyeing her suspiciously. She was a stunning woman who embodied all of the characteristics of a typical WASP, and my father had been after me to marry her since I was sixteen-years-old. We had history, but I preferred not to let myself think about it. "You look as beautiful as ever."
"Why thank you, Jack," she smiled, and I felt the blood begin pumping through my veins. She knew she looked good in her black, cashmere wrap dress and stiletto pumps. Always fashionable and always properly attired were two of her mottos. She had been educated at Stanford and Princeton but had found it nearly impossible to get a foothold in the male-dominated business world. Rumors abounded about her sexuality and her involvement with the men she worked with. With Sloan, one never quite knew what the truth was. Despite the rumors, Sloan held her head high and kept working.
"What are you up to these days?" I asked as she moved past me toward my mother.
"We should get a drink and talk," she said as she gave me a pointed look.
"Let's do it, then" I nodded. "Let me finish up here, and we'll go find somewhere to talk. Wait for me?"
Sloan nodded as she moved down the line toward my father's casket. I watched her and wondered why I had put up such a huge resistance to marrying her. As I was thinking, I caught a glimpse of my father lying in the casket and felt the familiar rush of shame, followed by anger. I remembered why.
As the last of the mourners moved past my family and paid their respects to my father, I followed them. I stood over his casket and looked at his face. He look
ed like he was at peace with his eyes closed and his hands folded across his chest, holding a copy of the King James Bible in repose.
"Listen, you old bastard," I whispered as I leaned in close enough so that only he would be able to hear me. "I don't care what these people have said about you. You were a rotten son-of-a-bitch, and I hope you rot in hell for all eternity."
I winced as I half expected him to rise up out of the casket and call down the heavens upon me, but when nothing happened, I breathed a sigh of relief, stood up straight, nodded once, and walked away. As I did, I saw the blue-eyed brunette staring intently at me. I returned her gaze and nodded as I moved toward the back of the room where Sloan stood waiting for me.
For the rest of the night, I felt those blue eyes solemnly watching me as I tried my best to drink my father's memory out of my mind.
CHAPTER SIX
Leah
Once I'd offered my condolences to the Yates family, I joined Norma off to one side and listened to her sob about the loss of one of the greatest men she'd ever known. I looked across the room at the Yates family and wondered how a man who was so great could have raised two entirely unpleasant sons.
"Mr. Yates always said good morning and stopped in to ask about my grandchildren," Norma said as she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. Norma had been Mr. Yates's secretary for almost twenty years, and she knew him better than most people in the company. Norma was also a Southern belle who thrived on the dramatic potential of every situation, and we loved her because of her willingness to fully embrace drama. "It's like we're losing not just a CEO, but a strong guiding light!"
"Ease up on the sainthood bullshit, Norma," Burt scoffed as he and Kevin offered us a shot from their flasks. "He was a good guy, but he could also be a real bastard."
"Don’t piss on my leg, and tell me it’s raining, Burt," Norma warned, wiping her eyes. "He was a man who sunk everything he had into the business to make it run successfully."
"And those are the guys who are usually running from something at home," Kevin said before drinking deeply. "I would know."
"He was always kind to me," I said, looking back and forth between the two men. "I'm not sure what you guys are talking about."
"Look, he was a good man," Burt sighed. "He worked hard and ran a successful company, but those sons of his are two of the biggest pains in the ass I've ever met. I don't think they raised themselves, if you know what I mean."
"Kiss my ass and go-to-hell!” Norma gasped. "Those boys have done incredibly well for themselves! The oldest one is a lawyer, and the younger one made a fortune in computers. I'd call that successful."
"Yeah, but they both hated their old man," Kevin said grimly. "I'm not sure how you missed the forced smiles and the hateful looks. Besides, Mrs. Yates had to reprimand them both in order to get them to shake hands with the folks coming to the wake. Did you miss all of this, Norma?"
"It's the grief," Norma insisted. "They're just sad that their father died."