Page 51 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 2
As the rehearsal dinner drew to a close, I wandered into the kitchen. For some reason I had been craving a juice box all night. I opened up the fridge and pulled one out. When I turned around, I was surprised to see James' father behind me.
"Hi," I said. It came out awkward, despite my best attempt. "Did you want one? Or we have plenty of other things to drink. Maybe a soda?"
"No." He smiled. "I'm good. I actually came in here to talk to you."
"About what?" I wasn't sure I could handle another fight tonight. I was exhausted.
He sighed and leaned against the fridge. "For what it's worth. I believed you last night. And I could see how hard it was for you to walk away from my son. You care about him. And that's all the convincing I need that you're in this for the right reasons."
"Thank you." I felt incredibly awkward holding a juice box while talking to James' father. I set it down on the counter.
"I just wanted you to know that. But I'd be here either way. I'm done directing my son's life." He looked out the door of the kitchen. "All of my children's lives."
He was tossing me a bone. I should have been grateful, but all I could think about was why now? Why after torturing hisson for almost 30 years had he decided to let James make his own decisions for once? "I thought you agreed with your wife? I thought you wanted him to get back together with Isabella?"
He laughed. "No. Susan expects things to be a certain way. Give her more time. I can't apologize enough for what she's said."
"I don't understand, Mr. Hunter. It seemed like you agreed."
"Please, call me Jon," he said with a smile.
"Okay. Jon, it always seemed like you agreed with her. When we were in your office and she was giving me the check...it seemed like you wanted me to take it too."
"My wife is manipulative. She knows just what to say to convince anyone of anything. Except you, apparently."
"And what has she been trying to convince me of? That I'm not good enough for her son? I know that." An exasperated laugh escaped my lips. "I know how lucky I am that he chose me. Ever since I've met him, I've been trying to figure that out. But at the same time, I don't think she has any idea who her son really is." I picked up the juice box. I refused to care about what James' father thought about me. I just wanted to be myself. Tonight, that included drinking from a juice box like a little kid. He could deal with it. He had certainly put James through enough hell.
"Neither one of us has ever understood James' motivations. For anything really. My whole life, and my parents' lives before mine...we have always been motivated by money. How to get ahead. How to grow our wealth. No matter who we had to step on. James wasn't like that. He wanted to make a difference. Hedidn't care about the same things that I did or that his mother did. Actually, none of our kids do really. We were hard on him because we want our name to mean something. As the oldest son, it was his responsibility. Look at Mason and his dad, Max. They had a falling out because Mason refused to take over Max's company. They patched things up, but that was partially because Matt stepped up. Max had another son that wanted the responsibility. One that cared about their legacy. And Rob...Rob doesn't care about anything but himself."
I wasn't sure what made my blood boil more. The talk about legacy and a name that James had only made better, or the fact that he didn't understand Rob at all.Fuck him."The Hunter name does mean something, more so because of James. James started two great companies. Not only do they both make money, but they make a difference like you said he wanted. He was a great professor too. And it made him so happy. If he'd listen to me, he'd still be doing that. As for Rob, you clearly don't know him at all. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know. He cares more about his siblings than himself. He was there for James during some of the worst moments of his life, because he didn't have anyone else. And that includes you. You abandoned him when he needed you the most. I'm lucky that tomorrow I can call Rob a brother. And I'm lucky to be marrying the most caring, strong, and loving person in the world tomorrow. It's a shame that you don't know him. You're the one that is missing out."
He gave me a curious look. "I wasn't trying to upset you."
I took a deep breath. "Then you shouldn't be throwing blind accusations."
"You're good for him. I can tell you're strong. He needs that."
"James is stronger than you give him credit for. He's overcome so much. A lot of which he wouldn't have had to if it weren't for you and your wife."
Jon smiled. "Even if he is strong, it's nice to know you have his back. That you'll fight for him. In our own way, that's what we were trying to do for him when he was younger. We made some mistakes, of course. I realize that. I want to make it better. I want to fix it."
I didn't say anything to that. He wanted to fix it. Just like I had wanted to fix it. But it wasn't up to us, it was up to James.
"And I don't doubt that he was a great professor."
"Why are you saying these things to me instead of him?"
"He wouldn't listen to me. James doesn't give second chances."
"That's not true. He's given me more chances than I can count."
"Maybe only to the people in his life that he loves then."
"If he doesn't love you, it's only because he thinks you don't love him. He's incredibly defensive."
"He gets that from his mother."
"Ugh."Shit.I had not meant to say that out loud. "I mean..."
