You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 536

“What brings you here?”

Emerson took a deep breath, pulling himself together before finally letting Curtis into his office.

Curtis walked in, glanced around, and looked a little surprised. “Where’s Ms. Klotz? She’s not here?”

“She had something to deal with,” Emerson said, already pouring him a cup of tea, not really caring about the formalities.

Curtis looked down at the tea in front of him. It was cloudy and looked like it had been sitting there for ages. He could guess Emerson hadn’t exactly been feeling his best lately.

“I’ll just be upfront with you. I’m here to talk you into doing the right thing.”

Emerson had seen it coming. He took a sip of the bitter tea, grimacing. It was awful, almost as bad as his mood.

His guard went up immediately, and his tone turned sharp. “So you’re here to tell me to step down?”

Curtis saw the tension in his face and just sighed. Whatever he meant to say, he let go with a simple, “Forget it. I won’t get involved.”

Funny, Emerson thought. Most people aren’t afraid of getting advice. What really stings is when someone suddenly gives up on you with a “Forget it.”

Those words could hide so much.

Even before Curtis arrived, Emerson’s mind had been a mess of worries, going in circles. He hadn’t figured anything out, but that one “Forget it” hit him like a punch to the gut.

Forget it? Why? Was it really that bad?

He forced a half-smile. “Don’t just drop it. Come on, just say what you want to say.”

Curtis gave a little smirk. “You know it’s easy to climb a mountain but not so easy to get back down. And if the summit’s already on fire, there’s nothing left to burn. That’s all I can really tell you.”

Everything he needed to say, all his intentions, were right there.

Martin Group had been through two leaders now. Whether it was Jason or Emerson, at the end of the day, the goal was always profit.

The board didn’t care who sat in that chair. They only cared about their own bottom line.

Eighty percent? Emerson thought that was a joke.

He’d tried to reach Mr. Higgins all day, but Higgins’ driver kept coming up with excuses. Now the police were showing up at the office in person.

He didn’t have any confidence. Maybe not even ten percent.

They talked a bit more about work, then Curtis made an excuse about having something else to do and left.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Emerson tossed the teacup onto the table with a loud clatter and slumped back onto the couch, completely drained.

He stared up at the ceiling, closed his eyes in resignation, and let out a long, heavy sigh.

He picked up his phone, about to call Tina, but then saw a new message pop up on the screen.

Amber: “Hey, do you think this little outfit is cute?”