Page 63 of Working For A Billionaire

Shawn looks at me and shakes his head. "I hope you do. You two are good for each other. She made you seem almost human for a while."

"Yeah…well, we'll see. Can we get back to business? I have some important matters to attend to."

He nods, not wanting to push the issue any further. "Sure thing."

The rest of the meeting is filled with talk of prospective clients and negotiations with the Department of Defense. It goes on for hours until Shawn finally sits back in his chair.

"That's the last of it for now," he says with a sigh. "We're done here."

"Okay. If there's anything else, just call or text," I reply.

"Will do," he says, standing up from his chair.

"I'll talk to you soon," I say as I stand up from my chair to shake his hand.

"I hope you and Riley work things out, but if you decide it wasn't what you wanted after all, I guess I can't change your mind."

"I didn't say that," I say, feeling defensive.

"Well, when you were trying to get me to sign this deal with you, you practically stalked me everywhere I went. It seems to me when you really want something, you don't just sit around and see what happens."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration and I can't stalk the mother of my child or force her to talk to me. Don't you think I have tried to talk to her? I have no choice but to wait. Thank you for your concern, but I can handle this."

"You know, Riley was right about one thing. You're kind of a bastard sometimes." He walks over to the door and opens it. "But she is worth it. Good luck, son. I hope you make the right decision." Then he leaves the room, leaving me alone.

The day drags on until I start feeling restless and need to get out of the office. I grab my keys and head for the door. Mrs. Thatcher doesn't bother asking questions this time.

When I get home, I head straight to the nursery. Everything is still how she left it. I pick up my phone and dial her number with a lump in my throat and try to hold back the tears.

With every ring, my heart drops further into my stomach. Her voicemail picks up and I hang up without leaving a message. I am not sure what I would say if she answered. Have I screwed up my only chance to have a family?

I walk to the nursery and stand in the doorway, staring at the pale-yellow walls and stuffed animals. In just a few months, Riley managed to turn an unused guest room into the perfect home for our baby and now I don't know if he will ever see it. The thought makes me angry again but this time it's directed toward myself. How could I be so stupid as to think she would never find out? What kind of idiot walks around with a secret like that?

"This is bullshit," I mutter to myself. "She needs me and now I can't even talk to her." I grab my phone off the table and dial her number one more time. This time there's no answering machine or voice mail, just silence. I hang up and sit down on the floor next to the crib. My whole body feels numb; I don't feel any anger or sadness anymore, only complete numbness.

"Harrison?" My mother says from the doorway, breaking me out of my thoughts. "What are you doing here?"

"Wishing my family was here," I say without looking at her or asking why she is here.

"Well, sitting there wishing isn't going to bring them back. If you really want them, you are going to have to get off your ass and go get them." She sits down beside me and places her hand on my knee.

"But..." I start to protest and then stop when I realize how weak the excuse sounds. I even forget that it’s her I’m talking to. Everything about this situation is messed up.

"You're right," I say quietly. "I just don't know what to say to her."

"You can start with how much you love her and then apologize for being an idiot."

"That's it? That's all I need to do?"

My mother smiles and takes my face in her hands, kissing my forehead, which is something she hasn’t done in ages. "It's a good place to start."

"I guess you're right."

"While you're at it, tell her I'm sorry for being an idiot. I don’t want to lose you. I realize that now. I just want you to be happy. Since I lost your father, I have been so afraid to lose anything else that I have been doing all the wrong things. You should be running the company, not me. I hate doing it and honestly, I have never been good at it. There are too many games. Too much bullshit. Your father loved it, but I don't."

"Do you really think I'll have a shot at having a family?"

"Of course! You can do anything you put your mind to. Why wouldn't you?"

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