AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Plus, I always had work there. Not to mention Uncle Patrick was just as security conscious as I was, seeing as he was my silent partner in all of this.
“I’m okay with that,” Dad said.
“That’s good with me. I could catch up with Nel,” Mom agreed.
“Ugh, we have been there so many times!” Katrin grumbled.
“Then it’s decided. We’ll go to Ireland.” Bellamy nodded. “Your phone sure is getting a lot of text messages tonight.”
I’d felt and heard the phone go off multiple times since I’d last set it down.
“Business,” I lied. “I didn’t lie when I told y’all I was busy. There was a reason I tried to decline dinner.”
And lunch for the last few days.
I just had no time.
In between my regular workload, then the new workload that the Singh family had dropped in my lap, almost every single second of my time was taken up. When I wasn’t doing anything, I was sleeping. When I wasn’t sleeping, I was working, preparing to work, or something to that effect.
Needless to say, they should be thankful I was here at all.
“You work too much,” Mom grumbled. “I miss the time we used to all spend together as a family.”
I didn’t.
I loved my family, but I’d been relieved to get out of the house when I was eighteen.
In fact, I loved my family unconditionally, but fuck. There were times when I could handle them—though they were few and far between due to their meddling—and there were times that I wanted to be anywhere—preferably three hundred miles away—but with them.
My mom was one of those helicopter moms since she had no one else to focus on—like her husband who worked all day every day and barely made it home to sleep—but us. Meaning, we spent a lot of time with her.
At times, it felt like I was being smothered, and no one liked to live their life like that.
My phone buzzed for a fifth time, and I couldn’t stop myself any longer.
I had to know.
I couldn’t stop myself.
I opened the message with my phone in my lap, and nearly inhaled a piece of steak.
As it was, I had to cough my left lung up to keep breathing.
There she was, sitting in my desk chair, Dallas skyline at her back, giving me the sexiest fucking picture I’d ever received in my life. And she had all of her fuckin’ clothes on.
“Jesus, what’s wrong with you?” Bellamy asked, looking concerned now. “You’re acting like you’re dying.”
I was.
I most certainly was.
“He doesn’t want to be here, so he’s acting all weird so he can go back to his work and do god knows what for god knows how long.” Katrin rolled her eyes.
No, I hadn’t been. But had I known it would be that easy…
My mother sighed. “He’s really what is keeping this family afloat at this point, so if you have a problem with how much he works, maybe you should change your lifestyle. Go get a job that’s not with him. Make it easier for him to work shorter hours.”
I felt my mouth quirk up at that.
Katrin really was quick to get annoyed when I worked as much as I did, keeping the family from spending birthdays and holidays together. But my mom was right. I literally provided for all of them.
Hell, Bellamy was getting college paid for by me. Katrin had a job as an in-house interior designer…and I hadn’t used her services in well over six months.
Hell, I wasn’t even sure what they did all day, but it certainly wasn’t come up to the company and put any work in.
Not that Dad was allowed to at this point. After suffering his heart attack while at work, there’d been a lot of things we’d put our foot down on, and him coming in every single day was one of them.
Now, he only showed up to the office twice a week to offer advice or attend a board meeting.
Just the way I liked it.
The waiter showed with the check, and I had three hundred-dollar bills waiting for him.
He accepted and left, not bothering to ask if we wanted a to-go box.
I eyed my sister’s steak that she didn’t eat, because red meat was bad for your cholesterol, and thought that the woman that was currently occupying my office might eat it.
Hell, there was no might about it. She’d devour the fuckin’ steak, like she devoured my favorite macaroni and cheese.
I flagged down a waitress who was passing by and asked for a to-go box.
She came back in thirty seconds, provided it, and I handed her a tip. “Take twenty out of this and give the rest to the waiter.”
Her eyes widened and she pocketed the cash.
I half wondered if the girl would give it to him, and then decided I couldn’t care less. I’d intended to give the waiter more money when he brought the cash back from what remained after he’d paid the check, but as I waited for the waitress to come back with my to-go box, I’d seen him outside smoking.
