The Divorced Heiress Is Entering a New Marriage

Mr. Hudgens led Logan and I through a long hallway to a living roomed at the back of the house.

I Wide windows opened to a spacious backyard filled with trees and flowers, and let in plenty of light.

The room itself was filled with warm tones. Crocheted blankets covered the backs of the leather couch and matching arm chair. All of the furniture looked expensive initially, but nothing about this room felt like a museum. The couches had indentations in the cushions. The tables had little nicks and scratches.

This was a house that was lived in arid loved.

“Please. Sit down,” Mr. Hudgens said, gesturing to the loveseat.

I sat, but Logan chose to stand, leaning against it.

Mr. Hudgens exhaled deeply as he lowered himself down onto the arm chair. “Where to even begin?”

“You were there from practically the beginning,” I said, remembering his years of employment with Hatfield Supply. “I suppose my first question would be, was Mr. Hatfield Senior always been this way?”

We’d already heard some speculation on this from Senior’s current employees, but I was curious would hold true to someone like Mr. Hudgens, who had been with Senior since nearly the start.

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“He was always ruthless,” Mr. Hudgens said. “He would have done anything on his path to success. But there was a time when that path was wide enough to carry more than just himself. There were many of us who he helped along the way. Many he sabotaged as well, but mostly he helped. At some point, he stopped helping.”

“I never saw the side of him that cared about others,” Logan said.

“I suppose not,” Mr. Hudgens said. “This was way back, when your father was a boy. Your grandfather adored him and doted on him constantly. He wanted his son in the business but would have supported him in anything. He was an idealist then, in a way, He probably thought, like we all did, that he would live forever and he could support his family.”

“My father lacked ambition,” Logan said.

“Yes,” Mr. Hudgens said. “He was lazy, content to do nothing, and eventually turned to drugs. Rehab after rehab, before he was even eighteen. Senior shifted then. He started seeing everyone, even his colleagues, as people only out for his money. He totally bottled up.

“I didn’t know any of this…” Logan said.

I leaned against him, resting my shoulder against his back, and offered what silent comfort I could.

“Your father eventually tried to turn his life around. He shaped himself into the person your grandfather wanted him to be. He was even a pretty decent employee for a while, but it was too late. Senior had closed off, even to him. Nothing he could do was ever good enough, which eventually led to his drinking…”

“I can fill in the rest after that,” Logan said.

1 imagine,” Mr. Hudgens said. “Unfortunately your father has since been in that hole, unable to pull himself from it. Around this time is when most of your grandfather’s atrocities truly began. His attitude toward our female employees entirely soured. He stopped promoting women, certain they would leave the company to have children. There was a lawsuit, but he squashed it.”

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Outrageous. That type of behavior should not have been tolerated in the modern age.

“He became tighter with the budget about this time, as well,” Mr. Hudgens said. “Raises stopped. The company’s benefits were shaved off, one by one. Anyone heard complaining about their salary was immediately fired. The rest of us had to go along with his whims or we risked our own necks on the chopping block.”

Mr. Hudgens sighed, “I’m not the only one with stories, in fact, I’m still in touch with many old employees, colleagues, and former friends that Senior has hurt over the years. Why don’t we arrange a meeting? I’d prefer you hear each individual’s story that my crude summary.”

Before we could even answer, he was already holding his phone. “Fact is, while I witnessed many terrible things Senior did, I also benefitted financially from his actions. He never hurt me personally. You’ll want to hear from the others. Let me arrange this meeting.”

“Okay,” Logan said, glancing at me.

I nodded. “It would be good to hear all the stories.”

“Yeah, well, I hope you have backup, because I’m about to put you in contact with a whole sea of people.”

When Logan and I finally returned to our apartment, I felt accomplished. We were taking large steps forward, gathering facts and allies. Soon, we’d be able to present a united front against Mr. Hatfield Senior and hopefully convince him to stop his attack on us altogether.

Yet, while my spirits were lifted, Logan’s seemed to be dragged low.

He still stood tall and proud, just not as tall and proud as he usually did.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“The way Mr. Hudgens was talking about how grandfather treated his employees, almost as if they were less than human,” Logan said. “It reminded me of the way I used to be.”

“What? When?” I refused to believe the comparison.

“When I hired you,” Logan said, glancing away from me. “I treated you like my personal servant. I didn’t respect you at all. It wasn’t just you. It was everyone at the company. I tried so hard to be my grandfather, that I think I might have become him for a time.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Don’t lie to me. I was terrible, you can tell me. I can take it.”

“You weren’t… great,” I admitted. “Especially when you had me buy Natalie gifts and plan your dates. That was well beyond the scope of my job.”

Logan winced slightly.

“But… it’s because we spent that time together outside of work that we were able to slowly learn more about each other,” I said. “There are plenty of things I don’t like about our past, Logan, but I can’t say I would change any of them. Everything that happened then helped lead us to where we are now.”

Looking at me again, he sighed with fondness. “You are a romantic, you know that?”

I stepped closer to him. “Only because I’m in love.”

Logan wrapped his arms around my waist, tugging me closer to him. After a brief kiss, his face hardened once more. “I know I am a man with a hefty amount of ambition, Hazel. If I ever start to become the kind of man my grandfather is…” Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“You won’t,” I said at once.

“But if I do,” he insisted. “I will trust in you to help bring me back to myself.”

“You won’t become your

andfather,” I told him. When it seemed like he was about to argue again, I submitted, “But if you start to gain his qualities, I’ll tell you about it. You can trust me to always be honest with you.

“Good,” Logan said and kissed me again.

The next morning, Logan, Dylan, Mabel, and I arrived together at the local community center for the meeting Mr. Hudgen’s arranged.

“We could face anything in there,” Mabel said.

We’re ready for anything,” Logan said, and we stepped inside.