Chapter 2
Jackson
February 1st
“Ziggy’s buying a Ferrari.”Ethan looks up from his phone, a bemused expression on his face. “Says that we can join him Upstate later this month if we want to go for a ride.”
“Pass.” I lean back and shake my head, thinking of how much I don’t want to go for a ride with our college dorm roommate, Ziggy Vanderfilt. “I thought he was headed to the Hamptons for the rest of the year?”
“I don’t know.” Ethan shrugs. “Speaking of the Hamptons, I told Sarah we could go for a week in a couple of months. She’s going to bring her friends Isabel and Ella if you want to join.”
“You’re going the Hamptons?” I look at him in surprise. “I thought you hated the Hamptons.”
“I don’t hate the Hamptons; I just hate how pretentious it is.” He laughs and gives me a knowing look. “You’re the one that hates it.”
“I spent too many summers there. Been there, done that, thrown away the key sort of thing.”
“You might have more fun if you’re with us.”
“Is this a setup?” I raise an eyebrow and lean forward on his desk. I press my lips together and frown slightly. “Please tell me you’re not trying to set me up with Sarah’s best friend Isabel?”
Ethan stares back at me, his lips twitching slightly, and I let out a deep sigh.
“Ethan, I’m not interested in being set up. Isabel is a good-looking girl.” I pause as I think of the pretty blonde with the big blue eyes for a moment. If Isabel were not Ethan’s girlfriend’s best friend, I might have gone on a date with her for fun, but fun is all I was after. And the last thing I need is to complicate the friend circle of my best friend’s future wife. “But?—”
“Jackson, you don’t even need to continue.” Ethan holds up a hand and stands. I watch as he heads to the large window that overlooks the skyline of New York City. He has an amazing view in his office, as I do in mine. It’s one of the perks of us being the CEO and CFO of Rosser International, a company his grandfather had started many years ago. He looks out for a few moments and then turns back to me, his blue eyes kind as he continues. “You don’t shit where you eat. I get it.”
“That’s a bit of a crude term,” I say as I rise from the chair and head over to the window. “More like I don’t fuck friends of friends. Not if I want the friendship to continue.”
“Well, that’s true.” He nods. “Not like Isabel is even interested in you. Sarah is pretty confident she has the biggest crush on Ella’s brother, Sam.”
“Sam Wynter, right? The attorney?”
“Yup.” Ethan shrugs. “I have no idea if he knows.” He’s about to say something else when there’s a loud knock on the door. “Yes?” he calls out. “Come in.”
“Hello, Ethan.” Edith, one of his assistants, walks in with a warm smile on her weathered face. “Hello, Jackson.”
“Good to see you, Edith.” I return her smile and pull out my phone. I notice five missed calls from my dad, and I withhold a sigh. I see he’s also left me two voice messages, so I know that whatever he’s called about has to be important. To him. And very unlikely to me. I don’t want to call him back right now. Dealing with my dad is like dealing with the dentist when you need five root canals. It’s not a pleasant experience. My father, Cornelius Pruitt, is not the paternal sort. He is all business all the time. And there’s not a loving, kind bone in his body toward his wife, kids, or employees, which is one of the reasons why I never went to work for Pruitt Holdings, the family company, which is worth an estimated ten billion dollars. It is one of the largest privately held companies in the world. And I am the heir apparent, even though I’ve told my father and grandfather that I have no interest in taking over the company.
“I trust you are both doing well.” She pulls out her phone and I can see the nervous look on Ethan’s face. I hide a smile because I know what he’s thinking. He’s worried Edith will start showing us photos of her grandchildren before she explains why she’s walked into the office.
“Great, thanks, Edith. I’m sure you know Ethan is now on his way to the chapel.”
“Hardly on the way.” He rolls his eyes as I wink at him and start singing.
“How does that song go again, going to the chapel and I’m marrying my true love, Sarah, and we’ll live together?—”
“Talking of singing.” Ethan cuts me off as Edith observes us with a bemused expression.
“We weren’t talking about singing. We were talking about you and your betrothed.”
“We’re going to karaoke tonight. You should join us.”
“Karaoke?” I recoil back. “I can think of nothing worse.”
“We’re going to get a private room. Come on, you know you love to go out and drink.”
“I like to go out and drink, not listen to cats wailing.” I chuckle. “I mean, aside from Sarah, she has a nice voice.”
“She has a beautiful voice,” Ethan corrects me with a smirk. “We don’t have to get the private room if you don’t want to. We can just hang out in the bar and drink.”
“I don’t know.” I shake my head and look back down at my phone. “I might have some business to work out.”
“Hmm?” His blue eyes narrow as he gazes at me. “We don’t have anything due tomorrow.”
“My dad’s been calling.” I shrug. “I might have to put out some fires.”
“Aw, I see,” he says, but we both know that he doesn’t really. Ethan and I do not talk about my family. He knows I’m not a fan of talking about the Pruitt clan. The only conversation we ever had about my family’s money was when he offered me the CFO position at Rosser International; he wanted to know if I would commit to working here for at least three years. I told him that it wouldn’t be a problem. I know people wonder why I am number two at a company that doesn’t bear my name when I could be number one at a company that does, but I have my reasons.
“But I can go for one drink,” I say finally, rolling my eyes at Ethan’s self-satisfied smugness. “How can we help you, Edith? I’m sure you didn’t venture into Ethan’s lair to hear him gloat.” This seemed to amuse Ethan even more because his smirk turns into a chuckle. Love has made him soft, and I know I’ve lost my best friend, my wingman, forever. It was inevitable that it had to happen one day. I never expected that it would have happened so quickly. I thought we’d both be bachelors forever.
”Edith, feel free to go ahead,” Ethan prods her, and I can hear a hint of annoyance in his voice. He wants to get back to work so that he can get back to Sarah.
”I actually have a message for Jackson.” She heads over to me and gives Ethan a dismissive look, which she can get away with because she”s old and has worked for Rosser International since Moses walked the earth. Or at least that”s what she”d like everyone to believe.
”For me?” I ask her. Why would she have a message for me? I feel a sense of dread and take a deep breath as I wait for her to tell me what my gut is already whispering in my head.
”Your father called…” She pauses, her face is apologetic as she looks at the paper in her hand. ”He says you”re to call him immediately. It”s about your grandfather.”
”Of course it is,” I say, pressing my lips together. ”Thank you for the message, Edith.”
”I told him I would let you know it was important.” She looks over at Ethan and then back at me. ”Is everything okay?”
”It”s fine.” I nod. ”Ready to go grab that drink, Ethan?”
”As ready as you are.” I”m grateful he doesn”t ask me if everything is okay. I can see in his eyes that he has questions, but he knows better than to pry. He”s not my therapist, not that I have a therapist, and I”m not the sort of man who enjoys talking about my family or feelings.
“Thanks for the information, Edith.” I nod. “I appreciate the message.”
“Anytime, Jackson.” She pauses, and I can tell she’s debating continuing with her thoughts. I hope she decides against it, but she’s not one to keep things to herself. “I really do hope that you also find someone special, Jackson.” She walks over to me and presses her hand on my arm. “You and Ethan are like my grandsons, and I want the best for you both. I can’t fix the past; none of us can, but I can pray for you to have an amazing future.” Her kind blue eyes gaze into mine. “I hope you find the same love Ethan has found.”
“What are you, my fairy godmother?” I shake my head and laugh. “Contrary to popular belief, we don’t all need true love to be happy in life.”
“Are you happy?” she asks, but I can tell from the look in her eyes that she thinks she already knows the answer. “But I’m being a busy bee. I don’t want to offer advice that isn’t wanted.” She smiles at me winningly. “If I were fifty years younger…”
“I’d take you up on it.” I grin and give her a quick hug. “You have a great evening, Edith. Ethan’s about to ruin my night with his bad singing.”
“Sarah thinks I have the voice of an angel,” Ethan says and grabs his briefcase. “Come on, let’s go and get a drink, and I’ll text the ladies to come meet us.”
“You boys have a good night.” Edith taps her phone and holds it up. “But before you go, let me show you both some photos of my grandson Jeremiah. I got this gorgeous chestnut-brown wool and knitted him a squirrel outfit, and his mother absolutely loves it.” She shows me a blurry image of something brown. “So I told her I’ll make him some nuts as well because what squirrel doesn’t love nuts?”
“I guess no—” I start, but I guess the question is rhetorical because Edith doesn’t wait for my answer.
“And then I’ll also be making some skunks, even though Janice down in accounting says that she thinks skunks are the scum of the animal planet. Well, I told her that every living thing needs to be?—”
“Oh, is that the time?” I look down at my watch and frown. “Ethan, the market is about to close, and I need to make one last trade. I’ll head to my office now to take care of it.” I smile warmly at a frowning Ethan and quickly depart to the door. “Have a great evening, Edith. Ethan, I should be ready in half an hour.”
“Uh-huh.” He presses his lips together as Edith turns to him and starts talking about some new smoothie drink she’s making every morning. I don’t stop to hear exactly what she’s saying because I know Edith can talk a mile a minute for dozens of minutes. She’s not the best assistant at Rosser International; she’s likely the worst, but she’s been with the company since Ethan’s grandfather started it and has stuck by the Rosser family through thick and thin, so I know Ethan will never fire her. Plus, he has another assistant that actually does good work.
I head toward the elevator and debate between going to my office or the rooftop to take a few breaths and think about calling Dad back. I have no idea what he wants, but I know that whatever it is will annoy me. Instead, I find myself heading to one of the coffee bars to make myself an espresso shot. I have a feeling that it’s going to be a long night.