Page 6 of Resolute

“I’m a grown man, Father. A businessman. I cannot just drop everything for a month to manage the vineyard while you’re off vacationing.” I scoff, incredulous.

“Youarea grown man,” he says, pointing his fork at me. “And you’ve been preparing yourself for this your entire life. If you no longer want to carry on the Godoy legacy and run the vineyard, simply let me know, and I’ll sell it. But I am done waiting for you.”

He stands, throwing his napkin onto his plate.

Before leaving the dining hall, he turns back and delivers the ultimatum I was dreading.

“If you’re not married by the end of the year, I’ll not only sell the vineyard, but I’ll also remove you as the head of the Godoy Group. Your move, son.”

“What? Why?” I ask, incredulous.

My father stops in his tracks, his back still to me. His voice is even, but there is a weight to it.

“Well, son, I believe being in a healthy relationship will help you put things into perspective. And given that I’m getting close to the point where I can no longer wait for you to make the responsible move and take charge of the vineyard, I need to give you this ultimatum.”

“And you think forcing me to get married is going to create a healthy environment in my life?”

I scoff at his ridiculousness. But before I can say anything else, he’s already gone.

I close my eyes, taking a few fortifying breaths before looking after him. He can’t force me to fucking marry.

What is this, the 1800s?

“I’m so sorry,hijo. This is not the way I had envisioned this weekend going. You know, no matter your decision, I’ll always love you,” my mother says with a sad smile before following him out.

First, my assistant retires and hires someone I didn’t veto. Now, my father shows up and lays down the biggest demand of my life. What’s next? The stock market crashing?

In an attempt to clear my head, I decide to contact my new assistant. Since I won’t be in the office on Monday, I’d better get this out of the way now and explain how I expect her to do her job.

The phone rings five times before going to voicemail. “Hello, you’ve reached Camila and Ava. Please leave a message, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

She has a daughter. It’s cute to hear her chirp in her mum’s voicemail message.

Cute?Who the fuck am I? I’m supposed to be furious with my father. I don’t have time forcute.

After the beep, I leave a message. “Camila, good morning. This is Vicente Godoy, your new boss. There are some things I need to discuss with you before Monday. Please give me a call back as soon as possible.”

Hanging up, I shake my head. I don’t have a good feeling about this woman. If she can’t even answer her phone, how the hell is she supposed to handle the demands of this job?

Chapter 2

Camila Flores

Ah, Saturday—my favorite day of the week. No blaring alarm to jolt me awake. Just the luxury of waking up on my own, spending a few extra minutes reading in bed. The possibilities are endless.

But none of that compares to my favorite thing in the whole world: being woken up by Ava, my mini-me. She just turned five last month, and she’s a ray of sunshine who warms my heart andgives me a reason to smile, no matter how hard or cruel life can be sometimes.

Ava wasn’t planned, but she was meant to be. Her father, Konstantine, was a great guy. We met when I was working at a pub, and he came in for a pint with some friends. He was Greek, but was in London for the summer.

We dated for three months, and things were great, until the unexpected happened. One night, while celebrating his friend’s engagement, Konstantine intervened to stop a robbery—just a decent man at the wrong place, at the wrong time. He died on the scene. Two weeks later, I found out was pregnant.

Life as a single mom hasn’t been easy, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Ava is the love of my life and the reason I keep going.

“Mummy! Brekki!” Ava shouts, barreling into my room and jumping onto my bed.

“Oh my, someone is fully awake already,” I say, tickling her until she dissolves into a fit of giggles.

“Mummy, stop. I’m going to wee myself,” she says between breaths.

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