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Chapter1
Sutton
Idon’t know why I put myself through this journey time after time, but I knew if I didn’t come home once in a blue moon, my family would send a search party out to find me instead – then I’d struggle to get rid of them. At least this way I could stick to my motto; my plan.
Do what you need, talk the talk, walk the walk – that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.
If I didn’t, then I knew the raw emotions would hit me and I’d be made to feel like this place could be home again. I rolled my eyes at myself in disgust, like hell I would. Repeat, don’t listen. I repeat, stick to your guns. I was determined that I could do it because there was no way in hell, I was going to give up the peace I’d found for myself in San Francisco. I mean, two years had been a good ride, without any conflict from my dad about having to return home. I just dealt with the essentials through video calls.
I had left a note for my parents a few weeks after my twentieth birthday, informing them that I wanted to travel rather than be stuck here alone for the majority of the time. I was sick of never being seen, just the occasional pass of the turnstiles at night. At the end of the day the business came first and we – my brother and I – always were second best. I couldn’t cope any longer with it. After that, I avoided personal phone calls for several weeks, with the panic that they’d hate me, but instead they just supported me. Told me that they understood my reasons.
At least my brother, Asher kept their focus drawn away from me the majority of the time. Dad pulled him into the flock not long after I left – but with Asher seven years older – I’m surprised it had taken so long. I thought he would’ve started to pass his knowledge onto his prodigy a few years back, with him being heir to the company and all.
I mean, at least my parents had been reasonable and understood my request, before my dad, Harrison Wilkinson deemed that I had to step up into the family corporate world. I mean, I wasn’t excited at the prospect of joining my dad to buy companies and strip them down to basics and then rebuild them up again, but it worked. The company value increased beyond belief and became very sought after, especially with the skills we brought to the table. The only problem I had was I wanted to explore other factors inside investment and marketing and understand the full range of skills required in a company. I did what I thought was best and shadowed the CEO of an analytics firm in San Francisco. One of the strings in my dad’s repertoire of course. I had to ensure I knew the business inside out, knowledge was key. Now, at twenty-eight-years-old, over the last two years my responsibilities within the analytics side of the business had increased. I’d shared the knowledge I learned with my father. With regular trips between San Francisco and Greenwich, London it meant the business grew to a new level entirely and my father’s power increased.
When I sat and thought too long in my office in San Francisco, I’d many times considered if I should book a one-way ticket home to London – but I knew I could never work alongside my father. Well at least not in the same building; on a video call I could at least say I’d lost my connection when he started to blow up and needed to unleash his wrath on someone. Everyone makes mistakes. That’s why, when my next scheduled trip on the calendar arrived to head back to London, I’d only grabbed the one suitcase, because with minimal clothes it was another excuse to fly back sooner. And I always stayed in a hotel. I wasn’t in the mood for the moment I landed, knowing I’d be hearing about what a damn screw up I was.
I stepped off the train with a bounce in my step. My case rolled behind me as I headed straight toward the exit. I wasn’t in a rush but as the next person knocked my elbow, I knew my temper might explode if I didn’t escape this hellhole soon. I hated busy places and people, or anywhere I couldn’t stop to hear myself think. The sooner I found the lobby and I could hail a cab, the better.
The moment my feet stepped into the lobby, the dark scruffy hair that was desperate for a trim and hazel eyes with the wide grin of Asher, greeted me before he lifted his hand in greeting. Had he grown taller? I looked down at my body and my three-inch heels before I re-met his gaze. He still was a bloody mountain man. I was petite at 5 feet 2 inches but next to him, I wished the ground would swallow me up.
Seriously, Dad let him out of work to collect me? What’s on his mind?
“Wilkinson, hey over here,” Asher shouted before he placed his thumb and forefinger in his mouth.
I mouthed to him, “Don’t Asher,” as I shook my head from left to right.
The high-pitched whistle made passengers stop and stare, as I felt my inner bitch mode fizzle to the surface and the heat in my cheeks rise up.
“Asher, dear brother. Decided to come out to play? Did you need a break from the paperwork or did a client piss you off?” I snapped as I pulled my case through to meet him and stood in front of him. “I could have just got a taxi; you know one of those black things parked by the door?”
“Nice to see you too sis, come here.” He pulled me in for a hug and as I let go of my suitcase it tipped onto its side, causing someone to trip over it. We both struggled to hide the laughter as I leaned in and finally conceded to his grip. “I really did miss you, and I wasn’t letting you walk into the office alone.”
“Office? Asher,” I groaned, as I pulled back from his grip, “I just want to freshen up after the flight. Is that too much to ask?”
“To Dad, yep.” He nodded sincerely as he bent down to pick up my case and tucked my arm into his.
“Asher, Dad sent you to bring me straight to the office so I wouldn’t make any excuses.” I walked straight past him, with the heat of his glare on me as I stomped my feet toward his personalised, blacked-out BMW. I’d recognize it anywhere, and leant against the door.
“Did you really need to ask that?” he asked as he let go of my arm, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the key fob.
“No,” I admitted as he unlocked the doors. I quickly opened the door, and got in. “Dad always has a plan,” I mumbled under my breath.
I stared up at the glass towers as each one passed by. The multiple story towers didn’t stop for a while, but it mattered to me. I was counting down until we stopped. Until we arrived. The engine came to a standstill and in front of me stood the family business. The crisp, clean lines of Wilkinson Holdings Corporation was etched across one of the panes of metal. It was the main headquarters for our wide stretched empire, that didn’t seem to be about to come to a stand still anytime soon. The growth we’d seen over the years had been matched alongside one other competitor, Tate Hillside and that man somehow had managed to always be in our peripheral, awaiting his next move.
“Shall we head up?” I took in the quietness of the car within the midst of my surroundings, attempting to ignore Asher’s words. “He’ll be waiting.”
“He was tracking the flight, wasn’t he?” The nodded confirmation from Asher as I opened the door and got out of car made my anger rise a notch as I bit the inside of my lip and slammed his precious car door shut. From the depths of my bag, I grabbed my hairbrush and ran it through my shoulder length, brown waves, which had decided to frizz up.Typical, damn damp British weather.“Right, better not keep him waiting; shall we?”
I headed like a woman on a mission, straight to the lift doors, with Asher on my heels, who’d even remembered to grab my suitcase.Great, at least I can escape after here.I pressed the button for the top floor and kept my gaze focused on the metal doors, ignoring the other people that surrounded me as they started their working day. I was in business mode first, but deep down I couldn’t wait for a hug with my father.
The doors opened and I immediately took a left, the blueprints ingrained in my head, straight past the startled receptionist.
“Excuse me, miss… employees only,” she rambled, until she spotted Asher by my side. “Oh Mr. Wilkinson, I tried to tell her.”
“Grace – it’s alright, this is Sutton. Sutton Wilkinson,” Asher introduced us with a chuckle as he saw the widened eyes and realisation of her mistake appear on her face.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realise…”
