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Walking to my desk, I flopped down on my chair and swiveled it around to face the window. As I gazed at the sleek glass skyscraper buildings beside mine, my thoughts drifted to Charlotte as they usually did. I’d resigned myself to seeing her in my memories. Her smile, her laughter, her warmth… the way she always understood me.
The memories were like a knife twisting in my gut because I’d never experience those things with her again. She was clear when she said goodbye. She wanted nothing to do with me. In her mind, she was protecting my friendship with Lincoln. I bet she didn’t realize how much she’d hurt me.
This was a first for me—getting my feelings hurt by a woman I’d been romantically involved with. That meant I was more into Charlotte than I even realized. I think I was… heartbroken.
“Jesus,” I breathed as I rubbed my tired eyes. Didn’t that kind of heartbreak come from being in love…? “Jesus,” I muttered again.
I didn’t get to drive myself up the wall trying to figure out the depth of my feelings for a woman I spent barely a week with because my cell rang. The name on the screen made me sigh.
Still, I answered. “Dad.”
“James, are you at the office?”
His stern voice boomed into my ear. The sound of his voice always made me tense. I even sat up taller in my chair, ready to receive whatever order he had to dish out. Dad always made it sound like he was giving suggestions but he gave you hell if you said no. So, essentially, he gave orders. And I always followed them…
“Where else would I be, Dad?” My fingers drummed out a rapid agitated rhythm on the desk.
“Working hard as always. Good. Good. I trust you’re ready to meet Gwendolyn.”
My fingers stopped drumming. “Gwendolyn…” Who the hell was Gwendolyn?
“Gwendolyn Calloway,” Dad sighed. “You said I could arrange an introduction with her when you got back from that silly trip with your friends.”
I massaged my forehead. A trip to escape the emotional despair of my birthday was silly… the cold, clueless bastard. “Did I agree to that?”
“You never gave me a response so I took it to mean you agreed.”
My molars clamped together so hard, I thought they’d shatter. Of course, he assumed my lack of response was a yes. I did everything he said up to this point. That was on me. However, Charlotte helped to significantly lessen the guilt I felt about Mom and the obligation I thought I had to please Dad.
“No,” I said.
“No?” The mixture of shock and confusion in his tone sent a sliver of amusement through me.
It was like I said, I had nobody to blame for Dad’s constant expectations of me but myself. I’d never said no to him.
“I changed my mind about getting hitched to some woman I don’t know because you think she’s suitable.”
“But… You…”
Spinning my chair around, I threw my feet onto my desk. It was time to take charge of my life and stop living to please my old man. “When I’m ready to get married… If I ever am, I’ll choose my own bride.”
“The Calloways?—”
“Are in the same social sphere. They come from old money and will help to extend the Winchester reach… Yeah, I got it.”
Boy, did I get it. I’d been hearing the same shit about the kind of woman I should tie myself to since I hit puberty. There had never been any mention of love or even like for the other party. It was all about keeping up appearances and doing what was right for the Winchester legacy.
After experiencing what I did with Charlotte, I decided that if I were to commit, I’d rather it be with someone I had a meaningful connection with.
“I’ve grown the Winchester empire to multi-billion dollar status, Dad. I think I have the mental capacity to find my own dates. You don’t have to do it for me.”
Dad huffed, and I imagined his eyes bulging and his face turning red as it usually did when he was pissed—when someone said no to him. Plus, he hated sarcasm. My lips twisted into a slight smile because it felt damn good to tell him no and not be hit with guilt.
“James, what has gotten into you?” he asked calmly.
He never let his emotions control him… and that was a part of the problem with our strained relationship. I loved the old man but he’d die before he showed me a sliver of affection.
I considered his question. “I’m learning that I deserve to be happy, Dad.” There was more to life than being his dutiful soldier.
