AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cole shook his head and looked away from me. I could see he was conflicted in what he wanted and could say to me. I was sure he was wondering how pissed off Faith would be when she found out we talked, and I didn’t blame him. The woman could run circles around me, and she wasn’t a woman I would ever want to piss off.
“Hope was offered a fellowship in Berlin to be mentored there and work on her novel. She would be gone for over a year. It’s a perfect opportunity for her to get her novel completed in the locations that the story will be based and have the support to get it published. I’m just worried she might not take it because of you, or that you’ll break up with her because of it. I needed to know how serious you were about her. Long distance isn’t easy, and it wouldn’t be any easier for a man with your commitment and ties here in New York City.”
“If Hope needs to be gone for a year, then I will support and help her in any way I can. I have waited a long time to be with her, a year is nothing. What happens between her and I will be for her and me to decide. Not you or your wife,” I said.
“Faith doesn’t know I’m here.”
“Would you like to keep it that way?” I intoned.
Cole didn’t look at me as he muttered, “Probably.”
“It’s a blessing and a curse to love strong women. We want to protect them, as is our nature, but they don’t want us to, and therein lies the problem. I won’t tell Hope or Faith that you came by as long as you don’t tell them what I said. Deal?”
“I can live with that,” Cole said with a slight smirk.
“Wonderful. I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship,” I said.
“We weren’t friends before?” Cole asked and I laughed.
“Fair enough. Now if you would excuse me, I have work to get back to, as I’m sure you do too.”
“Yes. The job of a billionaire is never done, is it? I wonder sometimes why I don’t just run away from it all.”
“You would do that?”
“If the right situation came along. I actually like working with my brothers. I like being a part of something, I didn’t think I would, but I do. I can tell you do, too. I should be getting back to it. Maybe we can continue this discussion over dinner with our strong women one night at my place?” Cole asked as he stood up.
“I would like that. I’ll have Hope talk to Faith about setting up a date.”
Cole didn’t say anything but nodded and then walked towards the door. When he got to the doorway he turned and looked at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You might not be so bad as a brother-in-law.”
“That’s high praise coming from you. I hear you don’t like Grace’s husband,” I said, mentioning Hope and Faith’s sister’s husband.
“I’ve never met him and I don’t like hearing they are having problems. I can’t respect a man who can’t respect the family. You do. We’ll see how it goes, but you have my vote.”
“Thanks for that and for coming by,” I said.
Cole tilted his head up slightly and then walked out the door. I looked at the door long after he had left as my mind went over what Cole had told me. I didn’t know how long Hope had known about the fellowship or why she hadn’t discussed it with me.
Was she worried that we weren’t going to stay together when she did? Was she planning on ending things with me as soon as she left so she didn’t see the point in telling me? Or was she just as confused about what to do as I was and what it meant for us?
The one thing I did know was that I wanted to be with Hope. In New York, in Berlin, wherever she wanted to be. Yes, my work was important to me, yes, I wanted to be close to my family, but they weren’t everything. Hope was. She was what I had been waiting for, what I needed in my life. The more I thought about it, the more I knew if she was going to go to Berlin, then I would go with her
As soon as I had the thought, I knew it was the right decision for me. It wouldn’t be easy and would take some finagling on mine and Walker’s part. My family would be shocked, and my mother would freak out, but ultimately, I knew they would understand, even support me.
Sure, I would miss them and the city, but I could come back and visit. My family would visit us. Walker and Bailey would find some reason that the company would bring them over to Europe and I bet Morgan would gladly come along to see Hope. With Dad just retiring, it would give my parents an excuse to travel around Europe. As the plan formed in my mind and I saw how it could all work.
It would only be for a little while, a little over a year, Cole said. That was nothing. Hope and I would come back and everything we had would be waiting for us when we did. Until then, I would have to put in a leave of absence, and it would put more strain on Walker and the PR department, but I had no doubt he would find the right person to take over while I was gone. He could even use Morgan and her new company if needed. Whatever happened, I knew they would do great, and they would support my decision.
The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. I wanted to put the plan into action immediately. I had no idea how soon Hope needed to go to Berlin, but I wanted to be ready to go with her when she did. I bounded out of my office and practically ran into Walker’s. He was sitting at his desk going over some papers and he hardly looked up as I entered.
“Give me thirty seconds,” he said.
I didn’t answer him, but I knew he didn’t want me to. I sat down on the couch in the middle of his office and waited for him. The conversation I wanted to have with him was more personal in nature and felt it would be better sitting on the couch. When Walker saw me sitting there, he would understand, somewhat, the nature of me coming to see him.
