Eastern Lights (Compass 2)

“The contract only stays solid if Jason remains in the position for a year,” I told him.

“Yes, and he will. I have a fat check waiting for him after he completes his year working there, and then he will sign his shares over to me. Making me majority owner of the company. Plus, Jason will now definitely stay at the position knowing you were fucking his girl. He’s petty that way. He’ll hit you where it hurts—in his wallet. So, let’s have you stay in your lane. I don’t want to end up firing you, son, but don’t think that I won’t.”

“This was your plan the whole time, wasn’t it? You planned to take over my business all those years ago. You were using me.”

“Now you’re catching on. You didn’t truly think that I believed in your little dreams, did you? You had a charming face and personality that I knew people would eat up. You were the puppet and thank you for making it so easy to pull your strings. Come on, Connor. You didn’t truly think that low income luxury properties would be a thing did you? That’s a joke of a concept. No one would touch that with an eight-foot pole.”

“I looked up to you. You were like a father figure to me,” I confessed, feeling idiotic.

“Ding, ding, ding! There is it, folks! The secret to this whole game. The moment you told me about how your father walked out on you, I knew that was my way in. Sorry if you took it personal, kid. It’s just business.”

Every part of me felt defeated.

Everything that man had done for me in the past was simply to stuff his own pockets. I felt abused, used, and he had no problem destroying my life.

Everything I’d built, everything I’d hoped to build, was coming crashing down around me. And there was nothing I could do about it because I signed my soul away to the devil who appeared as my guardian angel.

“He can’t legally do that, right? There’s no way that’s legal,” Aaliyah said as we sat on her couch. I went straight to her place after my conversation with Walter. I felt like a damn idiot. How had I been so blind to the truth that was right in front of me? I spent so much time thinking Walter was a saint, someone who saw a young kid and believed in them and their stupid dreams. In reality, all he saw was a way for him to make profit.

“Even if it wasn’t legal, I have a feeling he’d get away with it. This is what he does—he gets away with shit and profits from it. I doubt I’m the first person he’d done that with, and I doubt I’d be the last.”

“I hate him,” she sighed, moving in closer to me. She rested her head on my shoulder.

“Me too,” I replied. “I can’t believe he tricked me for this long. If only I would’ve had Damian look into him sooner…”

“This isn’t your fault, Connor. Walter Rollsfield is pathological liar. There is no way you could’ve known. I didn’t know about Marie, either. They both presented themselves as something they weren’t to get what they wanted. Honestly, I think their whole relationship is built on lies. They can’t be honest with each other, because they are far from honest with themselves. It’s actually sad the lives they live. We should count our blessings that we found out at all. I’m sure there are still people who think very highly of the assholes.”

I sighed and rested my head on top of hers. “What am I going to do now? I can’t with good conscious stay in business with him. I’ll have to hand Roe Real Estate over to him.”

“Well.” She laced her fingers with mine and held me close. “If it comes down to starting over, we’ll start over together. You’re not in this alone, Connor. You built yourself a name over the past year from the ground up. We’ll do it again. But no matter what, I’m here to build with you.”

“Thank you, Red,” I whispered, moving to brush my lips against hers.

“Always, Cap.”

Later on, we moved to the bedroom, and she fell asleep before me. I rested my head against her chest, listening to her heartbeats. My favorite song, my favorite lullaby. I had no clue how everything was going to be okay, but as long her heart kept beating, I knew no matter what, we’d figure out how to face the world together.

46

Aaliyah

“Aaliyah, what are you doing here?” Marie asked as I stood on her front steps. “Are you okay? Is it your heart…?”

I hadn’t seen her since I confronted her about her being my biological mother. I haven’t digested that information completely, but I wasn’t standing in front of her for me. I was standing there for Connor.