Alexander
As I sift through the mail on my desk, Cora fields a barrage of questions from my father. I would rescue her, but it makes my life easier if half of the 20 questions are already answered by the time, he gets to me. And the dinner last week at my parent’s place was painful enough. My mother brought up another of her friend’s daughters as my father watched my every move. Almost as if he suspected I was lying, and my mouth wasn’t even moving.
This woman is a suitable wife. Blah. Blah. Blah. An arrangement will be made with…. Blah. Blah. Blah. I stopped listening at that point.
What are we in? The dark ages? Although money and marriage between companies is a powerful motivation for greedy people. Josephine, their first suggestion was at least a woman I can stand. The newest one? She is a conniving bitch. That’s even more of a reason I’m not interested. I’m not looking for anyone but Daisy, and I never will be. It doesn’t matter how much money they throw in front of me.
Does that mean I’m prepared to give up the company if my father pushes my hand? My shoulders tense. This company is my legacy. I can’t imagine giving that up.
I shove out of my chair and walk to the windows. What would they think of Daisy? Okay, I know they’d hate her because she is my student. But outside of that, how would they feel?
She’s shy but strong. She’s caring but determined. She’s terrified of failing but stronger than anyone I’ve ever met. She’s passionate about her work. She’s an overachiever. And she’s the perfect mixture of innocent angel and wild vixen. I can’t get enough of her.
Hell, I stuff my hands into my pockets. I don’t want to have enough of her. More than once, I’ve had my hand on my phone, ready to call the dean and quit. I want to be out in the open. I want to introduce her to my parents. But if I do, then all my students will be let down. I’ll let her down. It's only three more months until the end of the semester. My term will be done, and she’ll graduate. What’re three months in the grand scheme of life?
A fucking eternity.
“Son.” My dad’s voice booms from inside my office.
I turn to face him. “Dad.”
He shuts the door. “I wanted to talk to you about the software design project.”
“Of course.” I return to my desk and settle into my seat. Why didn’t he jump on board with this idea years ago? Instead of going out on my own, we could have doubled the company’s portfolio by now.
“I’ve given a lot of thought to the idea, and I’d like to explore a line of office software. Things to help clients with accounting, documentation, organization, and whatever else they might need to run their business or home office.” He joins me and crosses one leg over the other, resting his ankle on the opposite knee. The man oozes confidence like a boss. Mixed with a dash of condescension. But isn’t that the same thing?
“That would be a good marriage with the products we already sell.” I place my hands on my desk and cringe. The last thing I want to do is draw attention to his marriage demands until Daisy and I can be open with our relationship.
Each time he brings up the topic of expansion, it feels like I’m in an alternate universe. He’s resisted the idea for so long, I assumed he’d never consider it based on principle alone. I’m the kid. I can’t possibly know what I’m talking about. It’s validating that he thinks I have more to bring to the table besides his DNA.
“I agree.” He picks a piece of lint off his knee. “I’ve contacted Weston Cain to secure a bid on a package that covers these topics.”
Son of a bitch.Anger flashes through my head, sending a shooting pain deep into my brain. The asshole is going to leave me out. I should have expected it, but I wasn’t anticipating this punch in the nuts.
“I want to explore all my options. I know you dabble in software, but I want to put a stellar product on the market for the clients.”
I relax my hands to keep from leaping over the desk and wrapping them around his neck. But the joke is on him. “While I don’t agree with your decision, I respect your desire to put the best product out for our clients.” It’s not lost on me that when he speaks, he usesIlanguage and when I speak, Ius and wepronouns.
Unease settles in my gut. He’s not planning to retire. He’s leading me around by the dick to get me to do what he wants. Well, I’m not buying.
“I’m glad you see reason. I was expecting you to get upset and throw a fit.” I’m not two. Although, I’d like to throw a fit. He drops his foot to the ground. “That was a good talk.” He stands and marches to the door.
As he twists the knob, he says, “Dinner in two weeks with Josephine’s family. She’s the best choice for you. It’s time you were reasonable in all areas of your life.”
My hands ball into fists. “I won’t be there.”
“Yes, you will. Or you’re out.” The door snaps shut. The man is a prick. How did I grow up in the same house as him?
Somehow, I’ve got to stall him for three months so I can introduce my parents to Daisy. It would be shortsighted of them to complain about her being my wife. She’s studying to be a doctor. Just because her parents aren’t producing ink pens or reams of paper is no reason for him to discount her.
Marriage? I suck down a ragged breath. Am I ready for marriage? Daisy’s eyes twinkling as she looks up at me fills my brain. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted. She is what I want. I’ll stall them until school is out, and then we’re getting married. We’ll fly to Vegas so they can’t interfere, and someday, I’ll take over the company.
I open the adjoining door to Cora’s office. “Cora?”
“Yes, sir?” She types on the keyboard of her laptop.
“Call Wes.”