Page 50 of Cade

But that didn’t compare to the amount of people in the board room today... including my mother, who looked like she was nursing a hangover, with her bug-eyed black sunglasses in a natural lighting room at ten in the morning.

I took my seat next to her begrudgingly, sliding her a bottle of Fiji from the stocked bar in the corner of the conference room.

Dad always liked to have the bar stocked for the big meetings. People were more likely to be agreeable to whatever bullshit you’re throwing at them when they were drinking at ten in the morning. And even if they weren’t, everyone likes a free drink.

“Thanks, sweetie,” she said with a sigh as she unscrewed the cap, her perfectly manicured nails glinting in the natural light filtering in.

Maybe it was my dread, maybe it was because I’d had a good night’s sleep for the first time in a long time, and maybe it was because I was just feeling candid, but whatever the reason was, I eased up next to her as the rest of the suits dwindled in one by one.

“Mom, about last night...”

“It’s okay, Weston, we don’t have to talk about it,” she said with a defeated sigh.

I batted my Fiji water back and forth in my hands, chewing my lip. Despite the anxiety swelling in my stomach, I had the overwhelming inkling to confess the truth to her.

“I... I met someone. Recently,” I spoke softly.

She turned to me, peering at me over her shades to show me bright eyes full of shock.

“Weston, honey, don’t take this the wrong way, but you meet a lot of people. You’re going to have to give me a little more.”

I bristled in my seat, knowing this was a dangerous game to play with her. My mother, as sweet as she could be, could still be quite a gossip hound, and the last thing I wanted was for Cade to end up water cooler chit chat.

But still, I felt the burdening need to be truthful. To lay it out on the table.

My father liked to think I was some playboy asshole, dicking down men that were after our fortune and nothing else, and that was embarrassing for him and the company. And being as I’d never done a thing to correct him, nor had I ever brought anyone into our Rhodes Family Soap Opera, I supposed maybe on some level he was right and I agreed with him. He and my mother didn’t know I wanted things to change. I wanted someone different, but money complicates things. It always has and it always will.

“I met a guy, mom,” I said as Cynthia passed out waters to a few of the men pouring in. I noted the time on the clock said it was 9:55 am, and we had a few minutes to spare. My father wasn’t there yet, but I knew he liked to be exact with things. He’d waltz in the place at ten and launch into whatever it was he had to say immediately, giving no room for buffering.

My words must have registered for her as her mouth formed a tiny ‘o’ and she nodded, just as my father came in and shut the door.

His scoured the room, landing on my mother and I with a soft, melancholy look.

I nearly jumped out of my seat when my mother slid her hand over mine.

CHAPTER 29

Weston

The announcement of my father’s retirement shouldn’t have been surprising, but I guess that maybe on some level I hadn’t though he’d actually do it. My entire life, my dad’s main focus was his company. He’d talked about retiring years ago, but it had fallen to the wayside. He just couldn’t give up control, and he didn’t want to leave his company in the hands of just anyone.

He wanted to leave it with me, and I was not in any way, shape, or form ready to take over a company. Nor did I want to.

I just wanted to live my life. Work my dumb little job, fuck the pretty assholes who didn’t care about me, and experience everything the world had to offer me outside of Jasper Springs.

But as my dad elaborated to the room full of men that it was simply time for him to hand over the reins, I couldn’t help but feel nauseous.

He’d said he would do his best to hire the right person for the job, the best person, whoever that may be. But I think all of us in that room knew it was push come to shove.

Could I really refuse?

Could I say no now that it was really happening?

And then he looked at me. For a brief moment before he wrapped up his speech, he looked at me with a gleam in his eyes.

This wasn’t just a planned retirement, no. My father was calling checkmate. He was well and truly putting the ball in my court.

I knew he would entertain the idea of hiring someone else, because my father was many things; organized and ten steps ahead were two of them. But the minute I came to him and said yes, none of those candidates would matter.

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