Page 7 of Conveniently Yours

"Son, thank you for joining us," my father says as he reaches for his whiskey.

"Not as though I had a choice," I say bitterly.

My father says jump, and I'm expected to say how high.

"It's time for you to join the family business," he tells me. "You've worked your way up the company, and now it's time to be all in."

I scowl at the man I have come to loathe. I didn't want to be part of the company, I made that very clear from a young age. Iwanted to forge my own path, I wanted to become Axel Beckett, not John Beckett's son. "And if I say no?"

He smirks. "Then you'll be cut off. You have a choice. You either put pen to paper and become COO of AllBeck Management, or you are on your own. You are not allowed to step foot into our home, and payments for your car, home, and everything else will be stopped. You'll no longer have a job at AllBeck Management."

I glare at the man, he thinks he's fucking funny, he knows damn well he’s got me fuck over a barrel right now. "Fine," I hiss. "I'll sign the contract to become COO of AllBeck Management on Monday morning."

My father gives me a slick fucking smirk. "No need, son, I have the contract right here." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the contract along with a pen, and hands both to me.

I continue to glare at him as I sign the contract, knowing I’m stuck under his thumb until the bastard dies.

I've made a deal with the devil. Fuck.

FOUR

SCARLETT

FIVE YEARS LATER

"How bad is it?" I ask Evelyn, my gaze firmly on my son, Brandon, who's currently sitting on the sofa with Tilly on his lap, and he's petting her. "Evelyn, please," I plead with her. "You need to be honest with me. How bad is it?"

With a shaky hand she reaches for a stack of mail. "It's pretty bad," she tells me as she hands me one of the letters.

I look at it, and my heart splinters as tears spring to my eyes. "Oh, Evelyn," I whisper. "Why didn't you tell me?" I ask her.

Her shelter has no funding any longer, her sponsor died, and her family is no longer willing to continue to contribute to the shelter. She's worked hard, all her blood, sweat, and tears have been poured into the shelter, and now it's going to be shut down if we can't find a new shelter.

"How much do we need?" I ask her, trying to work out the calculations in my mind. I'm barely scraping by as it is, but Evelyn has been a Godsend to me. When I met her and adopted Tilly, I started to volunteer at the shelter, and soon we became friends. When I told her I was pregnant, I broke down again and cried, and everything that happened spilled out of me. She held me as I sobbed and then promised me everything would be okay.

When Brandon was born, she was the one by my side. She was the one that held my hand through the contractions and pain. She urged me to contact Axel, but the hurt I felt that day still affects me today, and I just couldn't bring myself to contact him. It was Evelyn that watched Brandon when I was at college and working. If it wasn't for her, I'm not sure what I would have done, she's been my light when everything felt dark. I owe her so very much, and I'm not sure I can ever repay everything she’s done for me.

She tells me how much she needs per month to keep the shelter running, and I can't help but gape at her. That's a lot. So much money. "I can get a second job," I tell her. I currently work from home doing project management for different companies, as much as it would pain me, I could push that tonight time work, and I could get a day job while Brandon is at pre-school. It wouldn't be ideal, but it can help.

She shakes her head. "I can't ask you to do that."

"Just until we can find another sponsor, or even a few sponsors. It wouldn't be forever, Evelyn, but it's something that needs to be done soon. I can find another job, get some extra money so we can use it for the shelter while we figure something else out."

She nods. "Okay," she whispers, and I know it’s taking a lot for her to agree to it. "But it won't be forever. I'll see if I can get a part-time job too. Maybe work nights."

I sigh, she's fifty-nine, perfectly capable of working, but the shelter is her dream, it's what she's worked toward for her entire life, and now she's on the cusp of losing it all.

"I'll search today and see if I can find anything." I reach for her hand and give it a squeeze. "It's going to be okay," I assure her, hoping I can repay a tiny bit of what she's given me.

"Brandon,hunny, I'm sorry, I know it’s not what you wanted. But mama has to go to the office and see if she can get a new job. Wouldn't that be great?" I say as I hold his hand as we hurry toward AllBeck Management. Hedge funding isn't something I know, but I'm great at office work and have a degree in business.

"Okay, mama,” he says.

I hate that I’ve broken my promise to bring him to the playground today, but I’m hoping I can take him once I’ve finished the interview. "How about we get pizza for dinner this evening?" I say with a smile, hoping that my words will cheer him up.

Just as I hoped, his lips curve into a blinding smile, and his brown eyes are wide with happiness. "Yay," he cries as he skips along beside me. Seeing him so happy, my heart restricts, whenever he smiles, he looks so much like his dad. Brandon is Axel's double. Even his mannerisms are Axel.

We quickly make our way into the office building and toward the smiling receptionist. "Hello, welcome to AllBeck Management, how may I help you?" She greets me.

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