Ryke rests his hands on his head for a second and then drops them. He just shakes his head, over and over.
“This isn’t going to break me,” I tell him. “But it’ll ruin her. Do you want to live with that?”
He looks sick to his stomach. “No…but—”
“There is no but,” I force, setting a hand on his shoulder so his gaze lifts to mine. “This is it.”
A full minute of pure silence passes between us, the type that vacuums the air. And then he says, “I need you to come with me.”
I frown. “Why?”
“If I’m going to convince Daisy to self-sabotage, we need to gang up on her.”
{ 50 }
LOREN HALE
I just barely wrap my head around this plan before Ryke adds something else.
“Don’t expect me to fucking lie down and give this to you,” he says quickly. “If you really fucking want this, Lo, you have to beat me for it.”
He doesn’t think I can. At the start of this, I would’ve agreed. Years ago, I wouldn’t have even tried, knowing the end result would be the same.
Fuck that guy.
There is nothing that says I can’t measure up to my older brother.
I may be a bastard, a failure, a natural-born loser, but I can win in the end. For once in my goddamn life, I’m going to do it.
*
“Hey, guys…” Daisy says hesitantly. We’ve dragged her away from Irene to the lobby outside of the hotel’s ballroom. It’s quiet, except for the occasional server that passes through with empty trays of food.
Ryke and I have our arms crossed, towering over her. Even so, she stands straight, unflinching. “Let’s try this again,” Ryke tells her. “I don’t fucking want you taking this position.”
She sighs. “Ryke—”
“I’ve thought about it,” he cuts her off, “and I’ve decided that I’d rather Lo become CEO than you. So you can stop fighting for this and start cheering on my brother.”
Daisy laughs like he’s joking, but our no-nonsense postures never change. Her laughter dies. “I don’t want you to choose me over him.”
My ribs constrict, and I expect this to pain Ryke enough to retract his statement.
Instead, he says, “Too fucking bad, Calloway. I chose you.”
She hesitates, and so I interject. “Come on, Daisy. You’re not a Hale. It’s weird if you steal this position from me. It’s mine.”
Her shoulders drop and begin to curve inward. She meets my edged features still. Not scared off by them. “I worry about you and…” She can’t finish that statement. But I get it.
My lips lift in an agitated smile. “You think this’ll push me to drink?” It sucks that Lily’s little sister sees me like a breakable doll. I have been put together too many times to let Hale Co. pull me under.
“We all do…” she replies, looking to Ryke for affirmation. Stay fucking strong, I glare at him.
He does well, not once shifting towards me or wavering with an unsure glance. He just focuses on his girlfriend. “Lo can handle it.”
The foreign words ring in my ear. Even if it’s constructed for Daisy, I like hearing that phrase from my brother.
“See,” I add to her with the tilt of my head. “I haven’t self-destructed yet.”
“This is between Lo and me,” Ryke layers it on, not letting up. “This isn’t about you, Dais.”
The guilt-trip actually works this time. She can’t meet our eyes anymore. She concentrates on the carpet like the ugly fucking gold pattern is suddenly more interesting than this conversation.
“Come here,” Ryke breathes as he seizes her hand and tugs her to his chest. She hides her face in a hug, and he places a consoling hand on her head. “We’re not trying to beat you down, Dais. We’re just trying to make you understand.”
“Okay,” she suddenly murmurs.
Ryke and I exchange surprise. “Okay what?” I ask.
She takes a single step back with a heavy exhale. “Okay, I’ll self-sabotage.” Her green eyes flit to ours. “If that’s what you both want…”
“It is,” we say in unison.
She twists the bottom of her white blouse, untucked from her green skirt. “So next week, I can—”
“No, tonight,” Ryke almost growls out the word. He’s nervous about her winning before then. I am too, but he cares more deeply for Daisy. His concern is a higher wattage than mine.