“No, I don’t think that, but I don’t feel comfortable leaving her alone.”
As if I would think that!
“Damn, this was not the three-way I envisioned. Okay, well, I’ll take the night shift—”
“Eric, no taking her to any clubs, you understand?”
“Dude, talk about possessive. We got your back, Edwards. Now let’s go before tiny Tim starts charging us by the minute.”
“Rocky, as if I would ever charge for phone sex. Mind you…”
I hang up the phone, the two of them can enjoy their random conversation. I have better things to do. I need to devour every inch of Charlotte before my flight takes off tomorrow.
***
I remember the first presentation I did in front of a whole auditorium of business associates, investors, and political parties—I was a nervous wreck. But within the first minute, I found my footing and never looked back.
I sit on the sofa belonging to Mark Mason, cautiously watching him in case he pulls out an assault rifle from behind the recliner he’s sitting on. While being back here brings back memories, he makes me feel unwelcome. His resistance to my request to meet with him only confirms one thing—I have a hell of a lot of persuading to do.
“I hope you didn’t come into my home to tell me the reason why you are here is because you want to marry my daughter,” he threatens.
Fuck!
“With all due respect, sir, I did come to ask for that, but not before you hear me out.”
“What could you possibly have to say that will make me believe you can take care of my daughter? Did you invent some sort of time machine so you can erase all the pain you caused her?” He pauses, allowing me to speak, but for some reason, I hesitate. “I didn’t think so.”
Here it goes. C’mon, Edwards. One man, you can’t wimp out.
“I love Charlotte. I always have since the moment I came back that summer, maybe even before. I was a kid, and I made the wrong decisions and hurt everyone around me, but mainly the one who mattered the most. I can’t erase that, and to forgive myself took years of destructive behavior, but in the end, it was Charlotte’s forgiveness I needed the most. I don’t know who is looking down on me, but I thank my lucky stars that somehow, something brought us back to one another. She is my life, and I want to give her everything she desires. Perhaps I’m not asking you for your permission as such, because let’s face it, Charlotte will do what she wants to do, anyway…” I pause thinking about what to say next. “What I’m here for is to reassure you that Charlotte will be taken care of. Aside from financially, I’d move heaven and earth for her. I will do everything in my power to give her the life she deserves. All I ask in return is that you support us on this journey because, without your support, Charlotte won’t feel whole, and I can’t let that happen. I cannot watch her experience hurt and pain, not if I can help it.”
He grazes his beard with his hand. Just like my dad, he has a poker face. What the hell is he thinking?
“I know you won’t hurt her again, for anyone who has ever met Charlie knows Charlie is to love her. No one would purposely cause that girl pain.”
“Wait,” I’m shocked at his answer. “Does this mean…”
“I’m not stupid, Edwards. I do know what it’s like to love someone. I get it, you love my daughter, and you want to marry her. You think Charlie would allow me to disapprove of this relationship? Please, she and Debbie alone would gang up on me with all their I-am-woman-hear-me-roar mumbo jumbo. And to top that off, my ex-wife would be on the next plane over probably stabbing a voodoo doll with pins chanting destroy Mark.”
I laugh unexpectedly. What else can I do in a situation like this? He understands. He wants the best for his daughter, and I am the best for his daughter.
I ramble on about my intentions, the exact plan. Yes, finally, I have a plan, and it’s perfect.
“That’s a lot of stuff going on for one day. How the hell do you expect to pull it off?”
“I have our friends working on it. All I need from you is to pretend this conversation never happened.”
I said our friends. Is this what it’s like to be normal?
Shit Lex, you fucking soft cock, I think to myself.
“Deal, but you’re sleeping in separate rooms while you are under my roof.”
“If Charlotte agrees.”
She will never agree. She is a walking horn-dog, but, hey, who am I to complain?
He stands up and walks over to his desk, pulling out a drawer. He reaches in to retrieve something. It’s his checkbook. “Tell me how much the wedding is, and I’ll pay.”