Beg For Me: Chapter 38

I spend the rest of the evening alternating between hurt, anger, and disbelief.

Worst is the disappointment.

I thought we were a team, or at least getting to the point where we could call each other one. But that phone conversation proved I was mistaken.

If Carter can decide to cut me off so quickly over something we could’ve found a solution to together, we were never really standing on solid ground.

And he made it clear he isn’t interested in hearing my opinion about it, because he’s not answering my calls.

I’ve been shut out.

Stonewalling was one of Nick’s favorite tricks. Refusing to communicate to avoid conflict is all about control, and I’ve been on the receiving end of controlling behavior far too long to mistake it for anything else. When someone shuts down a conversation, they’re not preserving peace. They’re asserting dominance.

He’s basically saying my voice doesn’t count.

Yes, I know the why behind his behavior. I know about his problems with self-esteem stemming from his childhood trauma. I know he’s internalized his father’s coldness as proof he’s unworthy of love. But at a bare minimum, a relationship needs open communication to survive.

Carter chose silence.

Understanding the reasons behind his actions doesn’t make it easier to swallow, it makes it worse. Because he knows better.

He knows what shutting someone out can do to them, and he did it anyway.

After insisting I share all my thoughts with him so he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable or insecure.

The more I think about it, the angrier I get, so I go to bed early and stare up at the dark ceiling until I finally drift into a fitful sleep.

I wake early, bone tired and dreading the day ahead. I make Harlow breakfast and drop her off at school, then drive to work, composing my resignation letter in my head.

I’m only seated at my desk for ten minutes before I get the phone call that changes everything.

“This is Sophia.”

“I suppose I have you to thank for this nonsense.”

The voice is male, clipped, and unfamiliar. Frowning, I say, “Excuse me?”

“Was this stunt your idea? Or did he come up with it on his own out of some kind of misguided attempt at chivalry?”

Irritated by the stranger’s rude tone, I say, “Who is this, and what the hell are you talking about?”

“This is Konrad McCord.”

Holy shit. Carter’s father.

My first response is panic. I jolt to my feet, gripping the receiver of my desk phone as adrenaline surges through my body. “Is Carter all right? Has something happened to him?”

“No, he’s not all right,” comes the irritated response. “He’s lost his damn mind, thanks to you. We always knew he was capricious, but this. This is pure lunacy. Our stock will take a beating!”

Panic gives way to confusion. “Your company isn’t publicly traded. And you still haven’t told me what’s happened. How is Carter?”

He snips, “I meant our reputational stock, of course. I was being colloquial.”

I assume that Carter isn’t maimed—or worse—because Konrad sounds only aggravated, not anguished. Then again, this is the man who refused to pay kidnappers for his own child’s safe return, so I’m dealing with a cold-blooded bastard.

As everyone who comes up against him in business already knows.

I make my tone steely. “Mr. McCord, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but if you don’t get to the point in the next five seconds, I’ll drive over to your office and make you tell me to my face. And please believe me when I say you don’t want that to happen.”

After a short pause, he says, “Carter quit.”

It takes a few seconds to sink through my muddled brain, then I gasp in disbelief.

“He resigned as COO?”

“Yes. Last night. He said he couldn’t let them use him to destroy you.”

“Oh my God.”

“You can imagine my shock.”

My head is spinning. The room is spinning. A roar like thunder echoes in my ears. “That’s…that’s so…”

“Foolish.”

“Or maybe selfless.”

“Bah. If you mattered that much to him, he should’ve made you switch sides. This is just another of his impulsive choices. What I want to know is if you put him up to it, because if you did—”

“Then what?” I interrupt sharply, anger flaring inside me. “You’ll file a lawsuit? Drag my name through the mud? I can assure you, Mr. McCord, threats don’t intimidate me.”

“I can see that,” he says, his tone surprisingly mild. “What I was going to say is that if you did convince that boy to quit his position, I’m impressed. He’s had his share of girls, of course, but nobody’s ever really turned his head. You must be special.” He chuckles. “Or at least convincing, which is actually much more useful to me.”

I frown in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“I’m always looking for talent, Ms. Bianco. How would you feel about joining McCord Media as our new COO?”

Stunned, I drop into my chair and stare blankly at the wall. “You can’t be serious. You’re offering me his job?”

“It would be poetic, wouldn’t it? Stepping into the role your boyfriend abandoned for you. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the logical move for us both.”

“No, it wouldn’t be poetic. It would be cruel!”

His tone turns dismissive. “I know you didn’t get where you are by being sentimental. You’re surrounded by people who sold you out. I’m offering you a lifeboat. Why don’t you come by my office today, and we’ll discuss employment terms? I’m open at four o’clock. I assume you know where our building is located.”

Infuriated, I leap to my feet and start pacing, the receiver gripped so tightly in my hand, my knuckles ache. “You think I’d betray the man who just set fire to his career to protect me by taking his job?”

“Sacrifice is only noble if it accomplishes something. Otherwise, it’s just theatre. He walked away from power. You and I never would. That’s the difference between us. He’ll always choose the coward’s way out.”

I’d like to rip this asshole’s intestines out through his nostrils.

“Okay, first of all? Don’t act like you know me. You don’t. Secondly, the difference between you and your son is that he has a soul. He knows that loyalty isn’t a weakness and love isn’t a liability. They’re the only things that really matter when all is said and done.”

Rage makes my voice shake. I draw a deep breath, trying to control my anger.

“Finally, don’t you dare talk that way about the man I love. He’s the kindest, most thoughtful, most intelligent man I’ve ever met. I can only assume your wife had something to do with that, because he certainly doesn’t get his character from you. And let me just add that as a parent myself, I think what you did to your son was reprehensible. You had the means to rescue him from hell, but you let him rot there instead, a ten-year-old child in the hands of kidnapping mercenaries. You don’t deserve to call yourself his father.”

Konrad pauses before responding. When he does, his voice is ice cold.

“You’d rather go down with him, then?”

I sense a threat in his tone, a promise of retaliation to come if I don’t give him what he wants, but I don’t care. I’d eat a box of nails before giving this horrible person anything.

“I’d rather burn down this entire industry than let you pit us against each other. Have yourself the day you deserve, Mr. McCord. And God help you if our paths ever cross. I love harder than you can fathom, and even if your son and I aren’t together, I’ll protect him with a fury you won’t believe.”

“Careful, Sophia,” he warns.

“I’m not afraid of you. And don’t call Carter a boy again. He’s a man. Ten times the man you’ll ever be, that’s for damn sure!”

His only response is a soft chuckle, then he disconnects, leaving me listening to dead air.

I swear on all that’s holy, if I ever get on another phone call with anyone in the McCord clan, I’ll be the one hanging up first.