We hung up the phone and I straightened my bed, picked up my clothes and then went to take a shower. This time dressing for a date, I was nervous. I pulled out nearly every dress I owned not quite sure what I should wear. Should I go with casual or something a little more dressed up? Should I go with something sexy or something more subtle? I laughed at myself, as I felt like I was a schoolgirl again with a crush on a boy.
I finally chose a cherry red dress, perfect for the time of year. I wore my hair down because I got the feeling that Noah liked it that way. I put on makeup, but only enough to highlight my assets.
I grabbed my purse and a sweater in case it was cooler out where he was, and started out the door. My phone beeped. I looked down at the notification of an email from Marcus. I stared at it for a minute wondering if I should open it. Before we learned everything about Marcus, I would've absolutely answered it. Any day or night, when business email came in, if I noticed it, I would deal with it. But things were different now that Marcus was the adversary. I knew that Noah's brothers were taking care of what needed to be done to save the business, so I didn't see any reason to open the email. Instead, I put my phone in my purse and headed out to my car to drive out to see Noah. I was excited for what the night might hold, even as I worried this could all still go very badly.
27
Noah
I didn't want to leave Andi's side. Ever. And because of that, I had to leave. I hadn't lied about going to see my father, but the intensity of what had just happened between us terrified me and so I was glad for the excuse to leave. As
much as I wanted to stay, a part of me still hadn't completely gotten over how Andi had been so willing to believe that I would betray my family. Especially on the word of a man like Chen. While my heart was ready to go all in with Andi, common sense was urging me to go slow. I'd never really had my heart broken before and I didn't want to start now. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. I think my heart broke the minute I realized Andi was accusing me of betraying my family.
So, I got myself out of her bed, dressed and on my motorcycle headed out to the beach to visit my father. Nearly a year ago he'd been in a serious car accident, and had to go through major rehabilitation. Now he was nearly as good as new, and had even resumed surfing, his favorite pastime.
When I arrived, I was glad to see that none of my brothers were there. I wanted an opportunity to talk to him alone. I walked through the house and out to the back terrace, where he could almost always be found if it wasn't raining, which didn't happen very often in Southern California.
His eyes lit up when he saw me. "Noah, you’re back." He stood from the table where he'd been enjoying an afternoon glass of wine and came over to hug me.
"Yes, a few hours ago, although it feels like days," I laughed.
"Jet lag will do that to you. I'm glad that you came to see me, but if you'd rather go inside and take a nap, I’d understand."
I shook my head. "It's always better to get through the first day according to the time zone."
"Well come sit down. Would you like a glass of wine?" He sat at the table.
I shook my head and waved my hand. "No, if I'm going to stay awake, I can't have wine."
"According to your grandmother. You saved the day."
"I don't know if I'd go that far. I did what she asked me to do." It was nice to breathe in the sea air and soak up the sun as I sat across from him.
"She told me of the deal she struck with you."
I studied my father what he thought about that. My grandmother had told me been happy that she was letting me go, and he was the type of person that would sacrifice his own feelings to make his kids happy. But it didn't mean that it would make him happy.
"I guess that means you will be able to do whatever it is you want to do. I know you've been itching to go up north to Silicon Valley,” he finished.
I nodded, but I had an uneasy feeling in my gut. It made me think back to Hunter telling me that I needed to be certain that what I thought I wanted was what I really wanted.
"My work isn't completely done for Gran. I was able to find out the hacker and we know what his game is. But I'm still uncertain about how he was able to get in the system. I think he sent something to someone in the company who then inadvertently or on purpose, gave them access to the system."
My father's brows arched high on his forehead. "You think somebody might've purposely helped the hacker? You think there's someone on the inside?"
I shrugged. "I don't know one way or the other, but it's a possibility. Until I figure out how he got into the system, I'll be sticking around."
"I know that will make your grandmother very happy. You're the only one she really trusts to deal with something like that. And I know it's not something you wanted to do, but I'm glad that you did it."
"I don't mind helping the family, dad. I just don't think I want to be in the family business. That's all."
He studied me for a minute. "There was a time when you had a stronger conviction about not being in the family business. Now it sounds like maybe you're wavering."
I shook my head and looked out over the ocean because I didn't really know what I was feeling.
"How was traveling with your grandmother's assistant?" he asked.
I turned my attention back to him wondering if he was asking me a loaded question. "It was fine."