Jayson Cooper sat next to Gia, a few inches between the two exes on a short white bench. Bran relaxed in a chair next to Taylor. They were talking about how ill-suited for retirement Jack was, and how gracefully he’d aged.
“I’m glad I inherited the thickness of his hair,” Gia said. “But the headful of white can wait.”
“What’s this?” Cooper touched a strand of Gia’s dark brown hair. “Looks like you’re getting a head start.”
“Stop it!” Gia slapped his hand away.
He grinned, and Taylor shook her head at Gia. “He’s teasing you. Your hair is gray-free and beautiful. And still chestnut in color.”
Cooper chuckled. “That gets her every time.”
“This is why we’re divorced.” Gia’s smile was patronizing.
“That and your inability to admit when I’m right,” Coop replied with an easy smile.
Those two. Taylor shook her head, unsure what to make of their bickering. Sometimes it sounded like flirting, other times like they were navigating the difficult landscape of friendship after a divorce.
“I’d like to make a toast.” Jack stepped out of the circle of people with whom he was conversing and raised his bottle of water. “And an announcement.”
Royce once again looked to Taylor, and she schooled her expression. Only Jack knew what Jack planned on announcing, but judging by Royce’s grim expression, she wondered if the CEO announcement would happen sooner than expected.
Jack Knox gestured to the glass wall surrounding the rooftop. “You know... I should’ve arranged for a group BASE jump while we’re all here.”
Royce shook his head, unsure if his old man was joking or not. Lately Jack had shown interest in a lot of adventurous pastimes, though diving off a building in a city was illegal, so hopefully he wasn’t serious about that one.
“If you’re here it’s because I’ve asked you not to leave.” Jack switched gears with a jolt. “Not to worry, the staff was polite when they used cattle prods to blast those others out of here early.”
In the remaining crowd were Royce’s parents, his siblings, Taylor, Taylor’s mother, Deena, who’d arrived about an hour ago, Addison, Whitney and a handful of others from the board and upper management. All trusted insiders.
“Thank you for making my sixty-second birthday special.” Jack walked through the crowd while he talked. “I never thought ThomKnox would grow to be as big as it is. When Charlie and I started this company we wanted to avoid the confines of a big corporate office while giving ourselves—and the people who work for us—the trappings of a great place life. Then, my children joined the ranks.” He cupped Bran’s shoulder before resting a hand on Taylor’s shoulder next. “And Charlie’s daughter.”
Her smile was pained yet grateful, with another emotion behind it Royce couldn’t place. It uncoiled a sense of longing within him he didn’t recognize. He wanted to know what emotions had splintered her smile. And why.
Another new reaction to this woman. They just kept coming.
“I didn’t expect to be a tech leader, but what I really didn’t expect was for Charles to be gone.” Jack squeezed Taylor’s shoulder and her eyes closed.
Losing Charles was still fresh. Grief rang tuning-fork true when Jack moved to Deena and softly kissed her cheek.
“We’ve reached yet another fork in the road of ThomKnox,” Jack said. “I’m not getting any younger, and if you ask Macy she’ll tell you I’m trying my damnedest to age backward.”
“It’s true,” his mother addressed the crowd. “Just ask our new Ferrari.”
The crowd laughed on cue.
Jack held out a hand to quiet them. “It’s time for me to go and do some of those things Charlie and I imagined we’d do after retirement. But I am leaving you in capable hands in my absence. Brannon has served as President and our darling genius daughter, who inherited her father’s legendary brains, has kept us on the edge of relevance, along with our own tech superhero Jayson Cooper.”
“How smart can she be if she let me go?” Cooper draped his arm over his ex-wife’s shoulders and pulled her close to kiss her temple.
“You’re a moron,” Gia told him, but she smiled anyway.
“And Royce.” Standing behind him now, Jack cupped his oldest son’s shoulder. “Royce has been CFO for as long as I can remember. He’s the nerdiest of all of us, and that’s saying something for a tech company.” More laughter.
Royce’s grimace wasn’t due to his father’s jibes, but at the premonition of where this speech would end.
“He’s capable,” Jack continued, “he’s confident. And as of now, he’s your new CEO.”
The announcement was made in the same easygoing tone as the rest of the speech. A palpable silence fell as the crowd absorbed the news.