Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
I listened for any sign of Laurie moving around, but I didn’t hear anything. I picked up my phone and considered calling my brother and having it out with him, not that he’d believe I wanted a relationship with Laurie. He’d tell me I was infatuated, and I needed to keep my dick in my pants.
I saw I had a text from Laurie. He’d left the villa a few hours ago to have breakfast by the pool.
I forgot all about Beck in my haste to get up and dress so I could head down and find him. Fuck. I really had it bad.
Before I could get out the door, my phone rang. It was my mother. I let it go to voicemail, but when it immediately began to ring again, I wondered if something truly was wrong. Against my better judgement, I answered.
“Worth, thank goodness you finally answered. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days.”
“I told you I would be away and that you could call Nicole for anything you needed.”
“What I need is to talk to you. I expect you to get on a plane today and come right back here. Your place is at the company. Nicole can—”
“Run the place better than I can.”
“Worth, why do you refuse to do the one thing your father really wanted?”
She did not want my list of answers to that question. “I’m not suited for the role, Nicole is.”
“Worth, I will not have you disrespect your father’s wishes.”
“I’m not going to discuss this now.”
“Your attitude—”
“Goodbye, Mother. Don’t call me again. I’ll let you know when I’m back in New York.”
I hung up as she started another tirade.
It was all I could do not to throw my phone across the room. Why the hell had I answered the call? I knew better.
I considered pouring myself a Scotch, despite how early it was, but there was one thing that would soothe my nerves much better: Laurie.
When I dropped my bag on the lounger next to Laurie, he sat up and looked at me. “Good morning.”
His shy smile made me want to kiss him even more than I already did.
“Morning,” he said, his voice soft and low. “I thought you’d probably want to do your own thing today after….”
“Laurie, I want to be wherever you are. I told you last night I didn’t intend to let you out of my sight.”
“I thought you meant at the club.”
“No, I meant always.”
“That’s crazy. You don’t need to follow me around here.”
“I needed to see you.”
Laurie frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“I made the mistake of answering a call from my mother.”
“Oh. Do you want to tell me about it?”
I shook my head. I didn’t need to recount how my mom spoke to me like I was sixteen instead of thirty-two.
“Then do you want to explain more about why you’ve been so unhappy in general, and what you’re going to do about it?”
I sighed. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to talk more or not. I turned away from Laurie, unable to bear how he seemed to see me so clearly, all my fears and sadness. I looked out across the pool to the ocean. The view really was unbelievable. I could stare at the sea for hours. “How can I sit here looking at all this beauty, knowing I have people ready to wait on me hand and foot, knowing any luxury is at my disposal, and complain about my life?”
“Because, like you said, it’s things your money can’t buy that are bothering you.”
“The money sure as hell makes everything easier, but my family is a fucking mess. Growing up, my sister had her moments, but my parents were shit and spent as little time with us as possible. Then Beck came along—and he’s fabulous—but my parents barely acknowledged his existence. My mother has always had a vision for what my sister’s role and mine needed to be, and never once did she ask us what we wanted, nor did she consider our professional strengths. My father passed away a few years ago, and my mom has been even more insistent since then that Nicole and I fulfill the roles she dreamed up for us.”
“And neither of you have followed her plan?”
“No, not really. Nicole humors her more than I have, at least until recently.”
“What path did she plan out for you?”
“As the oldest, I’m supposed to take over at the helm of the corporation my father built. I don’t mind consulting, but working there day-to-day is abysmal. It’s all such meaningless bullshit, and I don’t want to be stuck in an office. I know how that sounds. The company is what sustains our fortune. You probably think I’m an ungrateful shit.”
Laurie shook his head. “I don’t think that at all. No one likes being trapped. Is there any reason why you have to be in charge? Could someone run it for you just as well?”