Page 23 of Drunk on You

“When did you start working for my dad?”

“He took me under his wing when I was twenty-five.”

“I stopped coming here when I was fourteen.” With our ten-year age difference, it makes sense I never met him.

“I remember,” he says. “Your dad wanted you to intern here, but you refused.”

“Yeah, by then, I resented his job for taking all his time.”

“Which is something I’ll always regret,” my dad says, making me spin around. “I hate that I didn’t see what I was doing to my family, that I refused to listen. I thought I could buy your love, and I learned the hard way that it’s not possible.”

I swallow down the lump of emotion clogging my airway and nod, incapable of saying anything. Because of my refusal to speak to him for years and then keeping him at arm’s length, he’s never apologized—he’s never been given the chance to apologize.

“I know you don’t understand why I’m so hell-bent on the way I would like the direction of the company to go, but it’s because of my mistakes. I don’t want what happened to me to happen to either of you.”

He glances from me to Julian, and it’s then, in the way he looks at him, that I see how much my dad cares for Julian. He’s not just his COO. He’s like a son to him.

“That’s not going to happen,” Julian says, his eyes locked on my dad’s. “I’ve been running the company successfully for the past seven years, and I have no problem implementing the changes you’d like.”

“I actually have some great ideas,” I add. “I’ve been doing research on corporate childcare, and I’d like to pitch my proposal to you once it’s finalized.”

Dad smiles. “That would be great, which leads me to my thoughts regarding both of you wanting to take over as CEO. After having conversations with a few other employees I was considering and them either not interested or not up for the task, it’s down to you two.” He darts his gaze between us. “Are you sure you’re okay with going up against one another for the position? Your relationship is new and?—”

“We’re sure,” I say despite the fact that Julian and I have barely spoken ten words to each other and none of them were regarding what would happen when I got the CEO position. “We’ve spoken at length and agreed there will be no hard feelings toward whoever gets it.” I thread my fingers through Julian’s to emphasize my point.

“And if you aren’t selected,” Dad says to me, “would you still like to work for Kingston?”

I never considered not getting the position, but now that he’s mentioning it, my first thought is yes. Now that I’m home, I want to stay. I want to get to know this new version of my dad and hopefully work through our issues so we can have a relationship again.

But then I glance at Julian, whose jaw is tight.

“If my fiancé will have me,” I say, half joking.

I glance up at him and flutter my lashes playfully, and his jaw untightens. And if I’m not mistaken, a hint of a smile quirks in the corner of his mouth. His small smile shouldn’t send butterflies fluttering through my belly, yet it does. I need to be careful because my body is clearly refusing to get on the same page with the rest of me.

“I’ll have to find my place here, like anyone else just hired,” I say to both of them when Julian doesn’t respond, “but if Kingston is a good fit and Julian’s okay with me staying on, I’d like to work for Kingston.” I glance at Julian, meeting his gaze. “It’s our family business.”

Julian clenches his jaw once again, understanding the words I’m not saying. He might be close with my dad, but at the end of the day, only one of us has the last name Kingston.

Breaking eye contact with him, I look back at my dad. “I’m not going anywhere regardless of the outcome.”

We have a long way to go to mend our relationship, but I’m done running from my past. I never should’ve stayed away as long as I did, and now that I’m home and it’s clear my dad has changed his ways, I don’t want to be stubborn and miss out on having a relationship with him. I thought I had many years with my mom, but I was wrong. Life can be taken from us at any moment.

A bright smile spreads across my dad’s face, and before I know what’s happening, he’s engulfing me in a hug. It’s the third time he’s hugged me since I’ve been back, and I don’t know how I went all these years without them.

“I love you, sweetie,” he murmurs. “And I’m so glad you’re finally home.”

When we separate, Dad clears his throat. “Okay then, instead of you working directly with the marketing department, I think it would be best if you work on this floor. I have an office for you that I had maintenance clean out last night. With me planning to announce my replacement at the end of the year, that only gives me less than six months to decide. To keep it fair, I’ve decided to see how you both handle the situations given to you, starting with Ronan Flynn.”

“The musician?” Julian asks as I try to figure out who that is.

Thanks to living in the UK, I’m put at a disadvantage regarding all things American.

“Yep,” Dad says. “Selene’s daughter, Ingrid, works for his record label. He’s been blowing up on the charts, and he’s a hometown boy, born and raised in Rosemary. After confirming he’s got a good reputation, I’d like to get him on board for a collaboration. Which is where you two come in.”

Dad crosses his arms over his chest and grins like he’s enjoying this way too much. “You’ll both present your ideas to the team on Friday.”

Julian chuckles. “Sounds good.” He leans over and kisses my cheek, shocking the hell out of me. “I’m going to head to my office to do some work. I’ll let you spend some time with your dad.”

---