Chapter 72
The Man Who Followed
Ithought having Amara 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. Nakamura 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. Amara tries to move her forward, but she becomes immersed in every damn flower, child, and sign in our path.
Herding Mrs. Nakamura 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. Nakamura pulls to the side with Amara 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 Everland.
“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 Amara and the Nakamuras.
“I was telling them all about the greenhouses we have on the company property a few miles away from here.” Amara 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. Nakamura says at the same time as her husband replies, “Nothing that causes back pain.”
Great. I have to choose between giving Mr. Nakamura permanent nerve damage and pleasing his wife.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
My father and I spend the afternoon battling for Mr. Nakamura’s attention. He consistently interjects himself as if to remind us that he is still a part of the group, and Nakamura 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. Nakamura 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 Everland. My father is no idiot. He knows exactly what a trip to Everland means, and it has nothing to do with visiting Theo.
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 Everland.
My father wasn’t lying after all. Amara 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 Nakamuras, but it seems like I don’t have much of a choice as Amara 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 Nakamura 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.”