AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I…” I don’t want to say it. Mike enters the room at that moment, he pauses and inspects the scene, then sits down next to Theo and grabs his hand in support, in comfort.
I never thought a man could be worthy of my son. I guess that’s something most parents believe, but Mike… he’s special, he’s a truly good person with probably the biggest heart in the world—literally and metaphorically.
Theo has his support now. He knows a love so true I can’t even imagine it. I’ve never felt it.
And that’s what it comes down to.
“Theo, I… well. Shit.” I scrub my face with both hands.
“You didn’t even look for someone to date. At first, because you were so focused on raising me alone, and then when Theo came home you saw how much help he needed and how shitty the grandmother from hell was to him, so you made him a priority,” Iris interrupts my scattering words.
I see Theo straighten, then deflate out of the corner of my eye as I stare at Iris. Like I said, she’s a badass and cuts to the chase.
“Yeaaaaah…” I stretch the word out. Not knowing how to soften the truth.
I turn to look at my son and he’s crying silently in his boyfriend’s arms, sad but understanding eyes on me. Seeing him cry at all breaks my heart. It always has, ever since he was a baby, I couldn’t take it.
That’s why I thought it was a good thing for Mary to be stricter with him. I couldn’t ever be the bad guy to him, I had to learn to be in Iris’ case, and now I’m a pro at it.
So yeah, when he came back, and I saw how deteriorated his mental health and his self-image were, even after I made sure he’d never see Mary’s mother again… I focused only on him.
And no matter how much I want to find the love of my life, being forced to find a partner is not the way to do so.
“Who says?” Iris interrupts my train of thought.
“What?”
“You said being forced will not lead to you finding the love of your life.”
“Oh, I didn’t know I said it out loud,” I say dumbly. I always sound a bit slow when talking with Iris if I’m honest. I’m over it by now.
“Well, who says it’s the wrong way to find your forever love? There are millions of books, movies, and real-life stories of people finding love at the most inconvenient of times.”
“And you deserve it.” Theo’s words sound harsh, stronger than I’ve ever heard him.
“Exactly, but Dad, do you actually want to sell the company? Because if you do, then it’s fine, you can obviously do whatever you want and shouldn’t hold on to it if it’s for something other than wanting to own it.”
I think about it for a second. What would I do if I sold the company? I mean, I’d still have to manage all my properties and the Kings. Of course, I’m not that hands-on there even though I could be.
But…
I don’t want to stop creating better machinery or developing real estate. I love the chase; I love working to make something the best it can be. I mean, I became an engineer and not an architect for a reason. I’m more of a problem solver than an artist.
I shake my head before I can even say the word. “No. I don’t want to sell my shares of the company. Or stop being the CEO.”
“Good.” The conviction in Theo’s voice makes me sit straighter. “Because I think you should do everything you can to stick it to your board. I mean they were clearly talking about you finding a woman to date, but I’m sure they never specified, did they?”
TWO
Tristan
Friday, December 18th
The thumpof a folder hitting my desk makes me jump on my seat.
I look up to find Zoe, my sister, staring down at me with a scary glint in her bright green eyes and a manic smile on her face. Her long blonde hair looks a bit unruly—which doesn’t happen very often, and even less at eleven A.M. on the Friday before we close the office for three weeks during the holidays.
“What’s going on?” I ask warily.
