“I am perfectly fine, Father, I assure you.” I sound hoarse. God, I need water.
“Your mother has informed me of your madness.”
“Father,” I say gently. “There's no madness in wanting to move.”
“Back to that...that…” Father says, obviously searching for the most scathing term to call the place they'd once called home.
“Latimer,” I fill in helpfully.
“Why in the world would you go back to that God forsaken place? Am I not providing enough for you here? You belong here. With us. Stop gallivanting and wasting time and money. I want you to come back and take your place in the company, as you should have done already.”
“Father, I have told you over and over, I’m not—"
“What? You’re not what?” he interrupts. He doesn’t want an answer, he just wants to have everything as he wants it and screw everyone else’s free will. Or happiness. Even his kids’. “Not ready to join the company? Not done with your little tantrum or rebellious act or whatever the hell this is? It’s time to work for all we’ve given you. To earn your place in this family and in my company. Grow up and act like a man for once.”
Father’s last words sound like a slap across my cheek. He knows he has crossed a line because his voice lowers when he adds, “Let’s talk about this. I’ll be coming over to your apartment.”
I nod, feeling too numb to say anything. “Can you hear me, Mitchell?”
“Yes,” I force out.
“Good,” is all he adds, hanging up.
As soon as the line goes dead, I push out of the bed and take a short shower, calling up a town car to take me back to my apartment. But as soon as I do, I know I will not be hanging around my New York apartment waiting for my father to grace me with his presence to hurl even more hurtful words at me. Making sure I have my shades, I simply pick up the blueprint of my current project and go down to the lobby of the hotel to wait for the car.
As the driver begins the drive back to Latimer, guilt hits me for leaving my parents hanging. It never use to be this way. But If I ever hope to find true happiness in this life and the sort of fulfillment I crave, this is the only way to achieve that.
I send the realtor a quick text so that I can have the papers signed and the house key handed to me. Even though I am certain that my parents, as influential as they are, cannot stop me from purchasing a house, I don’t want to tempt fate. This is the first time I’ve openly gone against their wishes.
Three hours later, I’m ignoring my father’s phone call, and instead, calling to meet up with Aaron after I’ve signed the papers and gotten the keys to my new home. There’s a warm feeling in my chest, the sort of feeling I have never felt before. It’s the feeling of accomplishment, of striking out on my own without the influence of my parents.
I go to the bar Aaron and I visited last night and wait for Aaron to round up at the office. Glancing around, I unconsciously search for the brunette who had basically invited herself into my bed last night, but I do not see her, which I think is a good thing, right?
Fifteen minutes later, Aaron is straddling the seat beside mine.
“Sorry,” he apologizes as soon as he settles. “I got caught up.”
I nod, remembering that I had in fact used those words on my mother last night.
“No problem,” I say accommodatingly, gesturing at the bartender to top up my glass. When I down everything in a go, Aaron regards me with knowing eyes.
“It didn’t go well, did it?”
“No, it didn’t.”
Aaron shakes his head. “I hope never to be that kind of parent.”
“I don't think you could be that extreme even if you tried,” I tell him.
I am no longer in the mood to talk about my parents’ inadequacies. So, I quickly launch into the topic that brought me here, my app.
“I told you last night what a grand idea this is,” Aaron says after I give him a thorough, and this time sober, rundown of my plans. And then, he sighs. “Working for someone else is the shittiest thing, Mitch.”
Aaron also tells me about his interviews in New York for NW Pacific tech firms. I shake my head, understanding a little bit of what he's going through. Father is the worst; lately, I had witnessed him bring employees to tears with his cutting remarks. He wasn’t always like this. He was actually a fair employer and a nice enough guy. Until he had to have back surgery, and my brother took over the company. There is no way I want to have to submit to anyone else’s rules. I don’t want to live someone else’s dream. I want to be my own boss, and live or die by my sword, so to speak.
Suddenly, an idea pops in my head.
“We can do this together, Aaron. You and I.”