AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mistake or not, it was my choice to make,” I tell Ethan. “I will have to live with the consequences of the decisions made here.”
Having nothing more to say, I walk over to my jacket, put it back on, slip on my shoes, and rearrange my clothing as best as possible. Without saying another word, I grab my handbag and walk out. The door closes with a loud click behind me.
Chapter 1: Present Day
Ethan
I shouldn’t have answered the phone. For months now, I’ve ignored the ringing, the texts. And for good reason. I want to be left alone. Can’t a guy take off and just get away without being constantly harassed? I mean, I am doing my job. I’m not shirking my responsibilities. The world will continue to turn even if I’m not at the office. They can damn well do without me in the office for a minute. Or, in this case, a few months.
Sometimes a person just needs a fucking break. So I traveled to our family mountain home in Colorado, but the cold was too much for my icy heart, so I left for warmer weather on our family yacht, Bella Winny, in Miami. I was hoping some warm sunshine would do my heart some good.
So, here I am, on my yacht, off the beautiful Florida Keys. The salty ocean breeze has never felt more calming to my soul. It is just what I need, and I feel like I could stay here forever. Just me, the captain, and a handful of necessary employees. I know I’m lucky. As I look aroundat the pristine deck of my family’s yacht, I realize that my life could be far worse. Having unlimited disposable income makes things easier, for sure.
But you know the problem with your family having unlimited resources? There’s no hiding. They can always find you.
That brings my thoughts back to the conversation I just had with my brother Jake. After ignoring dozens of his calls, I finally answered the last one. Then again, I wasn’t given much choice after receiving his text.
When Jake Anders issues a summons, all of us lesser mortals better answer.
Jake
Answer my call, or I’ll sell the damn yacht right from under you. If I need to freeze your accounts, I can do that, too.
Eh, maybe I was a tad threatened by that, but not really. Even if the family cuts me off, I have plenty of money.
But I’d miss the yacht. I kind of love Bella Winny.
So when Jake called a few minutes later, I answered it.
“Where the hell have you been?” Jake demands.
“On the yacht, obviously.” I can almost hear Jake grinding his teeth at my flippant answer. Pissing off my brother has always been my favorite thing to do.
“Are you thinking of maybe coming back home anytime soon?” Jake asks in a reasonable tone. Or at least he probably thought it was a reasonable tone. I could hear the angry edge to his question. My sadistic side smiled just a little.
“I don’t have any plans to return just yet.”
Jake exhales heavily into the phone. “What is wrong with you, Ethan? Are you having a midlife crisis? Just go buy a Porsche or another yacht or a damn airplane like other normal people would do. We need you back here, back at the office.”
“Do you think normal people go out and buy airplanes?”
“I know you’re trying to piss me off, and it’s working.” Jake sighs into the phone. I can almost picture him rubbing the back of his neck in frustration. “Look, I’m doing my best right now, but the board isn’t happy with you. I can’t cover for you not being in the office much longer. What can I do to help you?”
This time, I was the one who sighed into the phone. My brother cares for me, and I’ve been nothing but a jerk to him lately. No doubt, I like to piss him off. But I never wanted him to worry about me. He has enough responsibilities without me being one of them. And my father worked hard to build the company. I never intended to jeopardize relationships there.
“I appreciate you helping me out with the board. I’ve been dealing with some stuff and just needed some time away from everything.”
“Well, what is it? It can’t be money problems. Problems with work? A woman? I’m lost as to what’s going on with you.”
How do I tell him what’s going on? I don’t have the words for it. Although we’ve always been close, we’ve never talked seriously about our problems or issues. We just handle things on our own, and that’s what I plan to do now. “Like I said, I just needed some time.”
“If you needed time, we could have planned a better way of doing it. You can’t just disappear from your responsibilities like this. Do you have any idea what I’ve been dealing with in your absence? The board wants to fire you.”
For the first time, I feel remorse at how I left. I knew leaving without notice would be difficult for the company to handle, but I did it anyway. I needed to escape and didn’t consider what I was leaving behind.
Still, one would think they’d manage without me for a few months. I have been doing all my typical work responsibilities from the yacht. I just didn’t do any of the extra things. “You’re the president. I’m sure you can prevent that from happening. They wouldn’t fire me. Our family owns the company.”
“You know that’s not how it works, Ethan. You haven’t been in the office, so you don’t know what is happening here. Dad is retiring permanently. We have some changes happening, and you must be here to sign documents and attend meetings. You need to unruffle some seriously ruffled feathers. Doing this remotely isn’t an option.”
