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A coincidence—probably.
But it is starting to feel more like a commitment—no, thanks.
“Martha, it’s Saturday morning,” I said as I took a stool at the breakfast bar, gratefully accepting the cup of coffee she slid across the kitchen island.
“It’s two p.m.,” she corrected, hiding a grin behind her own mug as she raised it to her mouth.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, it’s Saturday afternoon. What the hell are you doing here instead of at home with Joe and the kids?”
The thought of spending every weekend with my own family was like fucking torture. Our relationship was—for lack of a better word—fucked. But that didn’t mean I didn’t understand the importance of family for others, especially Martha, who had an amazing and supportive husband and three energetic kids at home. All of whom I’d watched grow and thrive in the loving environment their parents had created.
To which—I couldn’t relate.
“Because of these.” She nodded toward a pile of papers, and I reached over and picked them up, instantly recognizing what they were—an acquisition contract. One I was sure had left my desk to be finalized weeks ago.
Six years ago, my dad inherited my grandfather’s trucking company, AL Logistics. It wasn’t a huge company, a little over seven hundred employees across a handful of different states, but it was well-known and trusted.
At least, it was until two years ago when my father married his latest wife.
Now, he was in debt up to his eyeballs and days away from losing this business, all because he was trying to live beyond his means in order to keep up with this woman’s expensive taste.
I frowned, flicking through the pages. “I thought—”
“He hasn’t signed them,” Martha said with a sigh as I turned to the last page where the dotted line was blank.
“Of course he fucking hasn’t,” I muttered in disbelief, pinching the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes, taking a moment to breathe. The old man was so fucking stubborn and a goddamn idiot. “How long do we have?” I asked, still not opening my eyes.
“If they aren’t signed today, there won’t be time to get the bank to release the money, then get that money to the debtors before the deadline on Monday afternoon,” Martha explained, the smile she’d been wearing a few minutes ago now morphed into a heavy frown. “His lawyer said they must have forgotten.”
A load of shit.
This was a stalling tactic Dad was attempting while trying to find another option or another buyer. He didn’t like the idea of having to sell to me because I was never meant to be the son who became successful. They saw me as a failure, and nothing I ever did or achieved would change that.
Though, I’d fought pretty fucking hard to try.
Part of me wanted to throw my hands in the air and sayfuck it! Let the stubborn bastard lose everything. But this wasn’t just about him.
If the debtors weren’t paid, AL Logistics would be put into liquidation, and everything the company owned would be sold so they could get the money they were owed.
We’d lose my grandfather’s company.
And seven hundred employees would lose their damn jobs.
All because of how much he hated me, and that wasn’t their fault.
“I’ll get it signed,” I announced with my jaw clenched, given this was the last thing I wanted to be doing today.
“Good. Him and Cruella… I mean, Christine, are at a wedding just out of town,” she advised, placing her coffee cup into the sink and grabbing her bag. “If you get there soon, you might catch the bouquet,” Martha added after seeing the look on my face.
“Hilarious,” I deadpanned, taking one final sip of my coffee before climbing off the stool and heading back to the bedroom. “Now…go home,” I called back over my shoulder.
“Yes, sir!”
When I stepped back inside, I noticed Trina hadn’t bothered to move from the bed. Instead, she sat up, the sheet tucked around her as she played on her phone. “I’m going out,” I announced, not even bothering to try and disguise my annoyance as I grabbed my cell from the side table. “I’ll text my driver and have him meet you downstairs. He’ll take you home.”
She laughed softly, though still made no attempt to get up. “Wow. That’s it, huh?”
Maybe a better man would have apologized for being so blunt and uncaring, but I wasnota better man.
