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“Maybe nothing. He’s still the same selfish asshole he always was. He had a stroke and he thought about his own mortality and then he decided he wanted to give up the day job," Jacksons voice monotone. "He wants me to take it over because I'm the next in line and because he wants to spend his days golfing. He knew that he couldn't approach me with the same cold demeanor that he always has because I would not be willing to even go to lunch with him. He fooled me. And attempted to emotionally manipulate me.”
"He's still your dad and you're still the heir apparent to Pruitt Holdings, thought,” I say, squeezing his hand.
"I am," he says, "but I don't want it." He shrugs like he doesn’t care, but I can tell that he does. His green eyes are full of hurt and pain. "I don't want to take over Pruitt Holdings. I don't care that it's been in my family for decades. I don't care that it would be my own company. I like working at Rosser International. I love working with Ethan. I enjoy going to work each day. I enjoy making decisions with him. I may not be the CEO, but I have a lot of power."
I rub his shoulder. "Well, if you want to stay at Rosser International, I think that's what you should do. But if you do want to take over Pruitt Holdings and the only reason you're not doing it is because you want to spite your dad, then think about it. Just because he's a shitty-ass, self-absorbed, narcissistic asshole, you shouldn’t let that stop you.” Jackson's lips twitch at my words, “Live your life for your dreams and don’t even give him a second thought.”
He nods slowly. “Well, you’re a dream I didn’t even know I had come to life.” He his hands through his hair. “I’ll think about it."
"It's okay. I'll help you figure it out. I'll listen. I'll talk. I'm sure Ethan will as well. Shit, even Lila will even though she knows about as much about business as I do." I giggle. I lean over and give him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Jackson. And whatever you want to do with your life, I'll be by your side."
"I don't know how I got so lucky as to meet someone like you," he says. "I don't know how..." He pauses.
"What is it?"
"I used to think that you had a hard time saying no to people," he says softly. "I used to think that you were a little bit of a pushover. I mean, I know your heart is really big, but..." He pauses and makes a face. "I know about Sandra," he says. “I know why you find it hard to walk away when people take advantage of you. I want to say I’m sorry for ever judging you.”
I stare at him for a couple of seconds, my heart filling with emotions I hadn't felt in a really long time. There's sadness in the pit of my stomach, and I can feel myself tearing up. "She was my best friend." I stare at him. "We did everything together. We shared our dreams and our life and our hopes and our wishes at an age when you think anything and everything is possible. You know?" He nods, but doesn't say anything. "I just always thought we'd be in each other's lives forever. I always thought I could just pick up the phone and call her. And when she started hanging out with those college guys, I was so mad. I wanted her to understand that she was giving up her life. She wasn't studying. She wasn't taking classes. She didn't take the SAT, and this was something we'd talked about for years. We were going to go to college together. We were going to date college guys together when we were freshmen."
I bite down on my lip. "I was so mad at her, so, so mad, and I felt like she dropped me. She used to say things about me to the guys and they would tease me and say that I was going to be a virgin for the rest of my life because I didn't want to hang out and go drink and smoke with them. And it hurt me, and I think that was part of the reason why I didn’t want to help her that night." I take a deep breath. "There were so many years that I thought I would never forgive myself for not being there for her. And I understand that I'm not responsible for her death. I understand that I can't carry that with me, but I never want to feel like I wasn't there for someone again, especially someone I love.”
He nods and holds my hand.
"I know you look at me and you think, 'How are you letting Elise get away with so much?' I know you look at me and you think that she's a horrible mother and I enable her." I take a deep breath. "Her ex, he wasn't a good guy," I say. "He was a really, really bad guy. And don't get me wrong. Elise is self-centered and all she thinks about is herself, but she was a child when she had those kids. She was young and dumb and stupid and she made bad decisions.” I lean forward and lower my voice, "he hit her. Only once," I say, "but once was enough. She came to me with the kids that night. She didn't know what to do. She didn't have a job. She didn't have anything, and I told her that I'd always be there for her and for them, and I take that responsibility seriously. Trust me when I say I know that maybe I've been too easy on her. And that's about to change because as much as I love Elise, I love Luke and Charlotte more, and they need stability in their lives."
"You're wonderful," he says, touching the side of my face and bringing me into his arms. "Are you Mother Teresa?"
"Very unlikely," I say, laughing.
"I know. I don't think Mother Teresa would have gone home with me that first night in the bar."
"I don't think she would have either," I say, shaking my head. "But I'm really glad that I did."
"I'm really glad that you did as well." He smiles at me. "So your parents are coming today. Are they going to hate me?"
"Why would they hate you, Jackson?"
"Because they think they're coming to meet their daughter's fiancé and instead, they're coming to meet her boyfriend."
"They'll just be so impressed by this house and the fact that you're a billionaire that they're not going to care. Not that I think that's nice or anything," I say quickly, and he starts laughing.
"Oh darling, even rich people are impressed by the fact that I'm a billionaire. It's okay. I know that you're not with me for my money. I know that you're not with me trying to get anything from me."
"And you know I'm not with the New York Times trying to write a story about you, right?” I say with a straight face.
"You are never going to let me forget that, are you?"
"No, I'm never going to let you forget the time you told me that I wasn't a good actress and would never get an Oscar even though I wasn't acting or lying."
He bursts out laughing. "Well, that's a story we will have to tell at our wedding."
"Yeah," I say. "I think by the time we get married, that will be a fun story."
"What does that mean?" He looks at me with narrowed eyes.
"I'm just saying that by the time we actually get married, I'll be able to laugh at that story."
"Does that mean that you're not anticipating us getting married for a really long time?"
