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STEFAN
My parents have no idea what’s going on and I want to keep it that way. I just hope this stays out of the news.
Me: Hendrix just got into an accident. You’ll need to play damage control. I’m sure someone is going to run the story.
Our PR firm has always been good about keeping us out of the media unless it’s good. After all, they get paid a pretty penny, and just for moments like this. They know how reckless Hendrix is, and it was only a matter of time until he did something that would attract unwanted attention.
Here’s the thing; when you are rich, everything you do doesn’t just affect you, it affects your company. I can’t even count how many companies have gone under because of bad publicity, but it’s a substantial amount. He should know better, but he has me and a huge firm to clean up his messes, but this time I can’t. He crossed a line, and I can’t be the one that stands behind him after he hurt a family.
I don’t want to bring up our contract, but there is a clause that at any time if we can prove that the other is unfit to lead the company or could cause harm to the company, we could buy them out, and remove them. I think we might have reached that point. Even thinking about this makes my stomach tense, but I have to protect our assets.
“Honey, I wasn’t expecting you for another hour or so,” my mother says, until she sees Angela. “Oh my gosh, it’s been ages. Come over here, beautiful.” She envelopes her into a huge hug.
“How are you doing? It’s been what, fifteen years, probably?”
I don’t know how they haven’t run across each other living in this small ass town, but maybe I can ask her to stop by and visit every once in a while. My mother would love that. Even if it’s just to go thrift shopping once a month. They must be getting lonely with Stefan only visiting a couple times a year.
“You turned out beautiful. Stefan, why haven’t you snatched her up yet?”
She turns to me and winks.
My mother has always wanted us to end up together. She just doesn’t understand everything that entails, but with Hendrix pulling this shit, maybe I should consider it.
“Mom, come on now. I’m sure Angela has plenty of guys fighting for her. Not sure she wants to date someone out of town.”
She wiggles her eyes. “You act like you live hours away. It’s like an hour with traffic.”
My mom looks at me.
“Okay, don’t get my mother’s hopes up. I know you are playing, but she doesn’t know that.”
Right now, I don’t have time to wonder if Angela is being serious about what she’s saying. And my mother will eat it up. She wants grandbabies pronto, and that means I need to find someone to settle down with.
I start to head up the stairs, and Angela follows me.
“You don’t have to come with me,” I say, turning around.
“Maybe I want to.”
She needs to stop playing around. I know she is trying to be funny, but she doesn’t understand how it’s fucking with me. Saying these things, in front of my mother, and right now I don’t have time to sift through what’s bullshit and what’s true.
When we get to my room, I shut the door.
“I appreciate you being sweet, but we both know this can’t go anywhere. Please don’t lead my mother on. She’s being serious, and I don’t want her to think you actually want to be with me.”
She sits down on the bed and crosses her legs. I forgot she was wearing that red dress. I’m surprised my mother didn’t make a rude comment about that, but she loves Angela.
“Who says I wasn’t being serious?”
I look up from my computer. “What do you mean?”
“If our situation was different, and Hendrix wasn’t in the middle, we would have been together already, right? You can’t tell me you don’t think the same thing. But he is, and we have to deal with that.”
Why is she making things so difficult for me right now? Those are words I have always wanted to hear, but right now is just not the right time. I’m stressed to the max, worried about the effect on the company from this Hendrix’s accident, and now she has me second guessing myself on whether I should just tell him to go fuck himself and take her out on a proper date.
She walks over to me and puts one hand on my chest. “Any girl will be lucky to have you. I just know that I’ll never be the one standing by your side. I’m come to terms with that.”
I groan. “But what if I wanted you to?”
