Chapter 244

“Let me guess,” Logan said. “Grandfather sent you.”

Logan’s father sighed. “Just hear out what he wants me to tell you. I don’t think you’ll be unhappy about it.”

“Doubtful,” Logan replied.

Logan’s father glanced at the room behind us. “Can I come in?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Logan said.

“It’s okay,” Tammy said from the living room. “Don’t let that man stand out there on the stoop. I can at least heat up some waffles for him.”

“Tammy,” Frank scolded.

“I may dislike the man, but that’s no reason not to be hospitable,” Tammy replied. Standing from the couch, she walked into the kitchen and tended to the waffles.

Logan shook his head, but guiding me back along with him, stepped away from the door, allowing his father to enter.

Frank and Dylan both stood.

“Michael,” Frank said, addressing Logan’s father with a heavy set frown.

“Frank,” Michael said, his own expression matching Frank’s. “I didn’t realize you would be here.”

“Of course we’d come to support our son,” Frank said firmly.

Dylan crossed his arms. “Why don’t you just say whatever it is you have to say, then we can all go our separate ways and be happy.”

Logan stood tensely, his shoulders ramrod straight, his spine without any curve. Gently, I touched the small of his back, offering him what little comfort I could in this difficult situation.

Michael, Logan’s father, looked at his son. “Your grandfather believes that an understanding can be reached that would benefit both parties. And that both parties would be agreeable to.”

Logan narrowed his eyes.

I certainly didn’t believe Michael’s words. I doubted anyone else would either.

“Does he have an offer?” Logan asked.

“I wouldn’t come here without one,” Michael said.

“Let’s hear it then.”

Michael would only stall like he was if he knew we wouldn’t like this offer, or if it was something that hurt him personally. I wondered which it was, just as I wondered what Senior had to offer Michael to get him to come here and offer it to begin with.

Money? Alcohol? Continued treatment for his wife?

I didn’t want to think the worst, but Senior had already shown his true colors many, many times. He was a ruthless, heartless individual who would stoop to any low to get what he wanted.

“Your grandfather wants you back at the company. The current CEO, while agreeable, has not done well overall and many of the clients are unsatisfied,” Michael said.

Logan was good at his job. Well trained and experienced, he also really cared about his employees and the company itself. There were some hard times, of course, but he found a way to juggle everyone’s needs while still bringing in record profits.

That Senior would replace him so callously was short-sighted from a business standpoint, to say nothing of the actual malice behind the firing.

“You will have to work hard to prove yourself, in order for him to write you back into his will,” Michael continued, “But this would give you a pathway back into his good graces.”

As if Logan had any cause to need to do that. He’d already proven himself with years of hard work and loyalty. The only thing he had ever done that his grandfather disliked was marry me.

Frank and Dylan’s faces matched my own glower, but Logan’s face was neutral, even though his eyes were cold. I’d seen him give this look before in the boardroom. This was his all-business face.

“And what would my grandfather want in return?” Logan asked.

Michael’s gaze slid to me.

“Absolutely not,” Logan said at once.

“You didn’t even hear the offer,” Michael said.

“If it has anything to do with breaking up with Hazel, I don’t want to hear it.”

“You wouldn’t have to break up,” Michael said quickly. “Just get divorced and marry someone more fitting. You can keep Hazel. Your wife would only be for show –”

“No,” Logan snapped.

Frank took a steady step forward. “Hazel is like a daughter to us, and you come into this house ready to insult her like she is some kind of lesser being. I have a mind to put right out that door and onto your ass –”

“Waffles are ready!” Tammy said, returning from the kitchen. She placed the place of waffles down on the table, along with a set of silverware and a napkin. “Come. Sit.”

Michael looked around. With everyone glaring at him, he must have been uncomfortable, but Tammy was insistent. Speaking from experience, those waffles were hard to resist.

“Everyone can be mad at everyone else after you eat,” Tammy said. Approaching Michael, she patted him gently on the shoulder, leading him to the table. He didn’t fight when she coaxed him into a chair.

“Now,” she said as she took the seat near him. “We can talk about this like civilized folks.”

She waited for Logan to lift his fork, cut into a piece of waffle, and then put it into his mouth.

Then she said, “You had to know that bringing that proposal to this group was not going to end well. What does he have on you that would make you even consider this?”

Michael swallowed down the lump of food in his mouth.

Tammy’s expression wasn’t one of aggression or anger. Instead, she seemed kind and motherly. How many custody fights they must have had over the years. For her to still be able to look at him like he was a human worthy of kindness spoke volumes to the type of forgiving, generous person she was.

“He stopped paying for my wife’s treatment,” Michael said. “I had to… beg…”

“You are a victim in this,” Tammy said. “You father has never once treated you with kindness.”

“My father is a great man.”

“He’s great at business,” Tammy said. “But I suspect he wasn’t so great in the father department…” She placed her hand on Michael’s wrist. To my surprise, Michael didn’t pull away. “Don’t you think it’s time to end this cycle?”

Michael inhaled and exhaled slowly. Then, staring down at his food, he said, “Logan.”

Logan turned to him but didn’t move an inch closer. I stepped closer to Logan’s side, letting our hands brush together.

Michael turned on his chair to look back at Logan. Then, with a sigh, he said, “I’m sorry, son.”

Immediately, he started to cry. Gently, Tammy patted his shoulder.

“There, there.”

“I was such a terrible father to you,” Michael continued. “I still am, aren’t I? Showing up here, trying to get you to do this thing. Your mother wouldn’t want this for you.”

Logan took my hand in his and clutched tightly.

“For far too long, I let that old man control everything I did. I tried so hard to be the perfect son, and it was never enough. And when that failed, I turned to alcohol to numb the pain… I let my entire life fall into ruins. Worse, I just sit by and watched while he tried to do the same thing to you.”

“Eat your waffle,” Tammy said, pushing his plate closer to him.

Michael shook his head. Turning in his chair, he looked up at Logan.

“I can’t make up for the past,” he said, “But I can start doing things right. Finally. I know you are gathering information to use against Senior. I’m ready to tell you everything I know.”

“You mean…?” I started to say.

“Yes,” he replied. “I’m finally ready to stand up to him.”