“I’m not going back. I’m sick of the past where I don’t have her, Jett. I’m done. Start drawing up your crew. Get your goals together. You’re captain. You better not sink my damn ship.”
The phone lit up, signaling he’d ended the call. He might have been done with the conversation, but I sure as hell wasn’t.
I stalked out of my office and yelled to Gloria to hold my calls. I took a side door to the stairwell that led directly to my father’s floor. The rich mahogany doors screamed old school and clashed with my floor’s open concept. Every floor of Stonewood Tower varied in look and feel. The floors we managed represented our individual styles a lot closer than we wanted to admit. Dad's style was always old money and power.
I didn't knock or wait for his assistant to usher me in. She scrambled to buzz a message to him as I opened his door.
He sat behind his large wooden desk, smiling. The expansive piece of wood shined proudly in the middle of the room and a woman with dark hair curled in sleek waves sat on top of it, arms crossed, facing the door. She had a smile on her face to match his.
I groaned and started to swing the door closed as I backed out.
“Oh no, Jett Stonewood,” my mother shook her head and the dark curls swooshed lightly over her shoulder. “You get your workaholic ass in here.”
“Mom,” I sighed and skulked into the room where I slumped into the chair directly in front of her. “I have to get back to work.”
“You want to get back to work, you can start with an apology.” Her voice didn't hide her amusement.
“If you two wanted a conversation, we could have continued it over the phone.”
“I wanted to see my son, not just hear his voice. I shouldn't have to come to the tower to do it.”
“Mom, we're busy.”
She clucked her tongue. “You're about to get busier. That mean you don't have time for your mother?” She leaned forward, arms still crossed like she was daring me to say no.
I shook my head and looked at my father. “You could have told me you had me on speakerphone.”
He chuckled, and I took in his relaxed shoulders, his light laugh, how the lines on his face disappeared when he grinned. Loving my mother always agreed with him; being in her company practically made him a teddy bear.
Without her, he was the most ruthless businessman in the country, one not even the mob would mess with. He'd woven himself into every big business in the city and staked a claim on it. But my mother honed his brilliance, and it showed whenever she came into town.
Dad motioned to her before he spoke. “She wanted to witness for herself how far off the deep end you were.”
She nodded and then slid off the table, pacing the office like her opinion of my work habits mattered. “You need to pull back, Jett. Jax will be with Aubrey. Your dad and I are leaving. You can't take on the burden of managing this company alone. You have the most intelligent people working here. They know their products. Trust them. Trust our teams.”
“Dad, you can tell her that's the worst business advice ever.”
He straightened in his chair. “I don't think you need any advice. Just do as you normally would.”
Mom said from behind me, “No. He needs a vacation, Joe.”
“Honey, he can't take a vacation when I'm about to resign.”
As he said the words, his eyes glazed over and a large grin formed on his face while he looked over my shoulder.
I turned to see my mother with the same damn watery smile on her own. “‘Resign,’ Joe. I love that word.”
“Oh, for fuck's sake,” I grumbled.
My mom's hand connected hard with the back of my head just as the words left my mouth. “Watch it. You're treading on thin ice as it is. I'm so sick of your attitude.”
“My attitude? You two realize I'm a good son, right?”
“‘Good’?” she scoffed. “You're not married, you work fifteen hour days like your father—”
“I don't drink. I don't do drugs. I'm successful.Forbesclaimed I'm one of the most successful—”
“Success would be a grandson,” she mumbled while she glanced around the room and moved to straighten my father's shelf. The awards that sat atop it, the photos of him with a president, the gifts from various businessmen. They were a testament to his accolades. Yet here he was throwing it away for love.