Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“I’ll get it done. I always do,” she said. “Now go shop, and good luck with the lawyers. I hope they end up being as terrific as they sound.”
I thanked her, and then I kissed the top of Owen’s head and told him, “I’ll be back soon, kiddo.”
He said something that sounded like, “Ga bah, Da,” and went right on smearing the paint.
I asked, “Did you hear that? My son’s a genius and just said, ‘goodbye Dad.’ Next thing you know, he’ll be doing calculus for fun.” Owen flashed me a huge smile.
Lucky and I cut through the house, and when we stepped out the front door, I was surprised to find a black town car waiting for us. “Parking is a pain downtown, so I hired a car and driver for the day,” Lucky explained. When we climbed into the back seat, he directed the driver to the house on Nob Hill and told me, “I need to change for the meeting, and that’s where I keep my dressier clothes.”
“I’m curious about something. I was under the impression you lived at the garage full-time when we met, but was I wrong about that?”
“No, you were right. When I first bought the garage a few years ago, I really didn’t plan to live there. But I ended up spending so many late nights working on my bikes that I bought a bed, just so I could sleep there occasionally. Then I added the kitchen and shower, and pretty soon there wasn’t much point in going home anymore. I still kept some things at the house, like my work wardrobe, and I’d stay there with my guests when my dad or some other relatives would come for a visit. But the garage felt a lot more comfortable than that house ever did.”
“You mentioned a housekeeper,” I said. “Does she live at the house?”
“No. I gave Nina the choice of moving in when I hired her almost ten years ago, but she felt her family was better off in a home of their own.”
“So, you bought them one, didn’t you?”
“How’d you know?”
I said, “I can tell she means a lot to you, and that seems to be what you do when you care about people—you spend money on them.”
“I guess it’s one of the few things my dad and I have in common. It’s important to us to take care of others in any way we can.” His phone beeped a moment later, and when he read the text, he muttered, “Well, shit. Speak of the devil.”
“What is it?”
“It turns out my dad’s on his way to San Francisco. That was his administrative assistant, giving me a heads-up.”
“Why is he coming here?”
Lucky shrugged and said, “If I had to guess, I’d say he’s coming to yell at me. I called him this morning when you were in the shower and reached his voice mail. I wanted to explain why I’d rushed out of the meeting yesterday. All I’d told him at the time was that my boyfriend needed me, and that I’d be in touch soon. But this morning, I ended up spilling my guts. Turns out it’s a lot easier talking to his voice mail than to my dad.”
“I can understand that, but what did spilling your guts involve, exactly?”
“I told him I fully intend to honor my commitment and take over the company when he retires, but I’m going to be working from San Francisco, not Miami. I explained it has to be that way because I’m in love with you, and my place is here, at your side. I also said we’d have to postpone my training and briefly mentioned the custody hearing before the recording cut me off.”
“Wow,” I said, “that’s a lot to drop on someone in a voice mail.”
“I know, and I was planning to have a long talk with him later today about all of it. But it looks like that conversation will be happening in person, instead of over the phone.”
“I really hope he isn’t too angry.”
“I can deal with anger,” Lucky said. “I just hope he isn’t too disappointed. That would break my heart.” He sighed, and after a moment he added, “I really wish I’d handled everything differently from the start. Instead of moving back to Miami, I should have been honest with him and told him my life is here in San Francisco, with you. I was just locked in to the idea that I’d made a commitment to my dad, and that it had to happen the way we’d agreed.”
I asked, “Do you really think you can run the company from here?”
“It’ll definitely be an adjustment for my team, but the thing is, they’re running a global enterprise. Now that I’ve watched them work with clients and business partners all around the world, which mostly happens remotely, I don’t see why they couldn’t do the same with me.”