42. Jamie
42
JAMIE
I drove into the small executive lot of my brother’s building. There was a parking garage next door for the employees, but Tim had given me an access card to this area when he took over. Maybe he thought that showing me the perks, I’d want to follow in his footsteps. Never worked. And now, I needed him on my side while I stepped into the line of fire with my dad.
Last night, while King, Hayes, and I ate dinner, we talked more about what I wanted to do. The things I wanted to create. Now, with a more solid plan, I felt ready. Well, mostly ready. I just hoped Tim was in my corner. Even if he wasn’t, I knew I was heading home to the two people who meant more to me than anyone in the world.
I engaged the lock on the car and walked to the private entrance the executives used. Sweat beaded on my brow as the elevator ascended to Tim’s floor. What scared me the most was how this conversation had the ability to change my relationship with my brother. He always claimed he wanted me to not waste my talent, would that still be the case when I told him my plan? Not even close to the plan my dad had for me, but one that would make me happier than I could have imagined with my career.
If Tim couldn’t support me now, I didn’t think that was something we could come back from.
The doors opened and I stepped out onto Tim’s floor. There were only three offices up here, with his at the very end. The receptionist looked up from her desk and smiled.
“Jamie Deary, to what do we owe the pleasure?”
“Morning, Theresa.” I smiled, even as my insides churned. “I need to talk to Tim about something and since I was in the area, I figured I’d stop by and see him.”
“Michael had to go downstairs for something, but I’m pretty sure he’s free if you want to head on back.”
I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks, love.”
She pressed her hand to her cheek. “Such a charmer.”
I walked to my brother’s office with much more confidence than I felt. A light rap of knuckles on the door, and I turned the knob to open it. Tim looked up from where he sat down beside his desk. “Is everything okay?” Concern creased his brow as he jumped and came around his desk.
Always put together, Tim wore a navy suit with a yellow tie. The perfect combination for his dark hair and eyes. “Everything’s fine,” I reassured him. “At least I hope it is after we talk.”
Tim gestured for the sofa on the side of his office. “Talk about what?”
I took the seat across from him and opened the bag I brought with me. I pulled out the contract Dad had given me the day before. “Here’s the file on the company I told you about last night.”
Tim took the papers out of my hand and glanced over it. He set the papers on the table. Leaning his forearms on his thighs, he locked gazes with me. “Are you sure this what you want?” I could hear the skepticism in his voice.
“No. It’s not even close.”
“You didn’t sign it?” He glanced up from the last page of the document.
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t.”
“Good.” He sat up and leaned back, wrapping his one arm along the top.
“I hope you still think it’s good when I tell you what I want instead.”
His brows drew together. “And what is that?”
I sucked in a breath and launched into the explanation that I’d planned the entire ride here. Tim’s smile grew wider and wider with each word I said. When I finally finished, he clapped his hand together. “I think that sounds absolutely perfect for you. I wish you had done it sooner.”
“And you don’t mind that it’s not a huge corporation?”
Tim sighed. “You never wanted to run a big company. I knew that. I hated that you worked for that sleazy asshole at Equistris because it was a waste of your talents. He had no idea what he had in you.”
“I’m going over to Dad’s hotel suite to deliver the news and I’d hoped you’d be my backup.”
Tim stood and picked his phone up off his desk. He pressed a few buttons and lifted it to his ear. “Michael, can you reschedule my appointments through lunch? I have something I need to take care of.” They exchanged a few more words, then Tim disconnected the call. “Let’s go. You’ll feel better once you get it off your chest.”
“Thank you.”
Tim tugged me into a hug the moment I stood. “I’m always here for you.”
I let Tim drive to my dad’s hotel. My knee bounced out of control the entire ride there. By the time we pulled into the lot, I felt like I was fifteen again, about to tell my dad I’d gotten into MIT. Somehow, I figured that conversation was ten times easier than the one I was about to have with him.
“Would you relax? Everything is going to be fine,” Tim said to me on the way up to the suite.
“Says the prodigal son who always did everything right.”
He faced me. “I did the things that were right for me. Not for Dad or anyone else.” He clasped his hand around my shoulder and squeezed. “And now you’re doing what is right for you, which is all that will matter.”
He was living a pipe dream. Dad was not going to be happy. All I could hope was that he eventually came around to see this as a good thing.
We reached the door, and I took one last deep breath. My hand shook as I lifted it to knock.
“I’m with you all the way,” Tim whispered in my ear.
My heart sped up when I heard footsteps on the other side of the door right before it swung open. “James, I didn’t expect to see you this morning. I thought we were meeting later at the lawyer’s office.” Always very formal. His eyes moved to my left. “Timothy, this is a pleasant surprise.” The grimace on his face said that this was anything but pleasant. Dad hated surprises.
I drew his attention back to me. “We were supposed to meet this afternoon, but there was something we have to talk about before then.”
Dad opened the door and swept his arm wide so Tim and I could walk inside. Our footsteps echoed through the long hall. The end of it opened into the main seating area.
“Jamie, Tim!” my mom exclaimed. “I’m so happy to see my boys.”
Mom stood and walked over to give both of us a hug. I held her tightly. “Mom, I didn’t know you were coming.”
She patted my cheek. “Of course. My baby boy has so many wonderful things going on and I wanted to be here.”
I glanced back at Tim, who smirked at me. We both knew my father’s ire would be drastically dimmed by my mother’s presence.
“Mom.” Tim opened his arms and my mom walked right into his embrace. My mom was the only mom Tim had really ever known. His mom had been killed in an accident before he turned two. Mom hugged him tight. “And how’s my other boy? The Emperors are doing so well. I hope the Sandpipers have the same success.”
“Kasper and I hope the choices we made during the draft will help fill some of the roster holes. We picked up a new wide receiver that should make a huge difference in the team dynamic.”
“That’s lovely.” Mom smiled and I knew that she didn’t understand anything Tim had said. She watched baseball, but never had an interest in football until Tim had purchased the Sandpipers.
Dad cleared his throat, bringing our attention back to them. “You said you had something to discuss.”
Just like that, the nerves came back. “I do. Can we sit down?”
Dad looked skeptical, but he took a seat. Tim followed our mother. I stayed standing, not sure I would be able to get it all out if I sat down. I paced back and forth a bit when Mom grabbed my hand to stop me.
“Jamie, what’s wrong?”
This was it. I looked directly at my dad. “I’m not buying Reynolds Trust.”
“I agree, there are some issues. You decided to go with Market Equities then.” He said it as a statement and picked his phone up from the table. “I’ll let them know to update—”
“No,” I cut him off. “I’m not buying any of them. I’ve done a lot of thinking and talking with King and Hayes. This is not what I want.”
Dad narrowed his eyes. “You just brought your relationship public and now you’re willing to take their advice on your career path? They play hockey. They know nothing about the business world.”
“Who gives a shit?” My dad sat farther back in his seat while my mom’s mouth dropped open. I’d never spoken that way in front of either of my parents, even at forty years old. “I don’t know anything about business either.”
My dad recovered from his shock rather quickly. “Well, you would have if you’d gone to Wharton like we planned instead of wasting your time with MIT.”
“It wasn’t a waste and we never planned on me going to Wharton. You did. MIT was my dream. It was the place I knew I could do what I love.” The entire conversation propelled me across the floor, no longer able to keep still. “And that’s what I’m going to do now. I won’t buy a company I don’t want just to make you happy. I’m going to start my own Smart Home business.”
Dad frowned. “And what, make Mollys for the rich and famous? They already have equipment like that in their homes.”
“Dad,” Tim chimed in. “You and I both know that none of the Smart Homes we’ve seen in friends’ houses can hold a candle to Molly. She’s unique. People would pay a fortune for a program like her.”
I grinned at my brother. “Well, they won’t be exactly like her. Molly will always be one of a kind.” I looked back and forth between my parents. “I want to design different systems for all income levels. I’ve already talked to Oscar about leaving Equistris to come and work with me. I have a lot of this mapped out.”
“This is a mistake, James.”
“No. Doing what I hated for years was, and now I’m going to rectify that. King and Hayes will be on the road, which will give me plenty of time to build this business from the ground up. But I refuse to be the man who sits behind a desk and directs everyone else. I want to be hands-on as the company grows.”
I could see he wasn’t listening, dismissing this as just another hobby from his wild, younger son. He was looking at it from a CEO point of view. That wasn’t what I needed. “Dad, for once I need you to take off your CEO hat. I’m not talking to Preston Deary about this. I’m talking to my dad. The man who didn’t bat an eye when I came out. To the man whose only concern about me dating two men was how much one liked publicity, not that it was two men.”
I walked over and sat down next to him. “You’ve always supported me in my private life choices. Now, I need you to do that when it comes to my career.”
“Dad, his idea has real potential. Why don’t you let him explain his entire plan to you?”
Dad’s eyes darted around the room. I could see the war waging in his eyes. He’d always had certain expectations of us and there I was, asking him to set it all aside.
“Preston…” Mom said, watching my dad.
He sighed. “All right. Tell me the plan.”
And that was how I ended up sitting with my parents and Tim for the next couple of hours explaining every detail of my idea to them. Dad begrudgingly agreed that it had merit. He wasn’t fully on board, but this was the most supportive he’d ever been. I’d take what I could get.
We talked about King and Hayes moving in with me. I didn’t get out of there until Mom made us agree that we’d all have dinner that night. I didn’t know how Hayes would react to that. Somehow, I’d convince him what a good thing this was.
The elevator doors opened and for the first time stepping into my place, I heard something besides Molly’s voice. Music was playing from somewhere. Glancing out the window, I didn’t see anyone in the pool. Although after their training, I didn’t imagine that would last long.
Tugging at the knot in my tie, I climbed the stairs, hoping to find my two men in our bedroom. Damn, that had a nice ring to it. When they’d left early this morning, the plan had been for them to stop at their place to pick up some of their clothes.
We’d been able to schedule a mover for next week. Money came in handy when you wanted something done on short notice. Hayes just had to decide what he wanted to bring here first. But none of us wanted to wait for movers to pack up their place to start our life together, which meant grabbing whatever they needed to have until the movers could bring everything else.
When I reached the top of the landing, the music grew louder. The lights were on in the bedroom where singing came from inside. I stepped through the threshold and found King lying across the couch, scrolling through his phone.
“You know you can cast that to the wall, right?”
His head turned in my direction. “Huh?”
I walked over to King and took his phone from his hand. “Molly, expand viewing wall.” The glass wall, hidden between the outer bathroom wall and the outer one of the bedroom, slid forward. King’s eyes almost fell out of his head with how wide they grew. I connected the panel to his phone and handed it back.
He glanced at his phone, then to the wall, and back at me. “Holy fuck.” There was so much awe in his voice. “What else does this place have that I don’t know about?”
I leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Plenty and I promise to show you everything tomorrow.”
I slipped the knot loose and carried the tie to the closet, where I found Hayes hanging up more of his clothes. He smiled and after he hung up the pants in his hand, I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Let me guess, King just put shit in the drawers, not caring what went where.”
Hayes chuckled. “Pretty much.” He cupped my jaw and brushed his thumb along my cheek. “Your smile tells me everything went better than you thought it would.”
“Yes and no. At first things got pretty heated, but between my mom and Tim, we got my father to come around. A little at least. It’s a start and I’ll take it.”
“Good. I’m happy for you.”
“I hope you still think so. I told my mom we’d have dinner with them tonight.”
“Your mom’s here?”
I nodded. “She arrived yesterday.” I let go of Hayes and took his hand, bringing him out into the bedroom where King was. They both would want to hear the story. I told them everything that had happened while Tim and I were in my parents’ suite.
They took turns hugging and kissing me. “Does that mean you’re okay with meeting the parents?”
“Of course.” King took my hand in his. “You’ve met mine. It’s only fair we meet yours. We know they’re probably not staying too long and with the season starting soon, this may be our only chance until they visit again.”
I turned to Hayes. King was ready for anything that the world threw at him, but my sweet Hayes was much more cautious, well, anywhere but the bedroom. “Are you okay with it?”
He smiled. “I’d love to meet your family.”
“Good, because they can’t wait to meet the both of you. Tim and Vanessa are going to join us too. I told them we’d meet them at eight.”
King looked at the wall. “That gives us plenty of time to relax.”
Hayes looked in the direction King was staring. “Where did that wall come from?”
King smirked. “The magical home Jamie built.”
“You know you have to dress nice for dinner,” Hayes said to King.
He groaned. “Fine. But only for Jamie’s family. Mine is still getting casual me.”
“And they wouldn’t have you any other way.” Hayes grinned.
I laughed while walking to the closet to change into something more comfortable for the time being. Life had never been more perfect for me. The start of a new career. One I was actually excited about. And even more important, two men who loved me just as much as I loved them. Our lives together may not have been conventional, but it was us and I wouldn’t change a thing.