Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Grayson Bennett inhaled and then exhaled slowly, barely conscious of his breathing. His eyes were glued to the large screen of his desktop computer, and his mind was calculating profits almost as quickly as a machine could do it.
Finally, he let out another sigh and sat back, rubbing his temples with his fingertips. He glanced at the clock that was perched on the edge of his large, black walnut desk. It was late. In the past, he’d gotten out of work early on Saturdays, but for the past several months, he’d been lingering longer and longer.
He’d built his finance business from the ground up, and he was incredibly proud of it. He’d become successful in spite of humble beginnings because he’d worked tirelessly, and he had a quick, perceptive mind and an ability to be very charming when he made the effort.
Now he was incredibly rich and successful, but the feeling of success never seemed to be there. He’d expected himself to reach a point where he felt as though he’d done enough, where he could sit back and feel good about his accomplishments. But instead of that happening, he’d become more and more restless, always searching for satisfaction that never arrived. He kept telling himself that what he needed was just a little bit more money, but more money kept coming in, and he still didn’t feel as though he could call himself a success.
He turned his head and looked out across the L.A. skyline. The exterior walls of his office were made entirely of glass, and they offered him a perfect view of the surrounding city, along with glimpses of the glittering Pacific Ocean in the distance.
He’d just closed another deal, but instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment, he still felt restless. He wondered, as he had before, what it was all for.
At first, his drive had come from a desire to provide for his wife, Alexis, and give them both a good life. He’d first started working long hours with her in mind, thinking of how much he would be able to give her if he earned a great deal. But it soon became clear that his workaholic nature was driving a wedge between them. She didn’t seem to understand his need to do the best he could possibly do at his job, and he couldn’t understand why she wasn’t content to simply enjoy the life he’d given her. He felt as though he’d handed her a blissfully leisurely existence on a silver platter, and she’d turned him down.
And now she was back in that little hometown of hers, helping her family with their restaurant. His heart twisted as he thought about her being there, working long hours as a waitress. It must be hot, exhausting work, he thought. Her hands would get chapped and her feet would get sore and people would be shouting at her hour after hour.
Things between me and her must be really bad, he thought nervously, if she would rather live like that than come back to our mansion.
He swallowed. He was afraid that Alexis choosing to stay longer with her family meant that he was going to lose her.
At that moment, there was a short, sharp knock on his door and his secretary, Kay, entered a second later. Kay was a slightly stout, middle-aged woman whose perm was always in perfect order, and so were her pantsuits. Today she was wearing a dark green pantsuit with a starched white blouse and simple silver stud earrings. Kay had been his secretary since the beginning of his career, and she’d taken on an almost familial tone with him.
“You don’t need to be here this late on a Saturday,” she said briskly.
“You can go home anytime you want to, Kay.” He smiled at her, appreciating the fact that she was trying to take care of him despite the bossy way in which she was going about it.
Kay shook her head. “I’ve still got work to do, and my husband is out with his friends until tonight, so I have no reason to go home yet. You should go home.” Her eyes glittered knowingly, as if she’d sensed somehow that things were rocky between him and Alexis.
“I have no one to go home to either. Alexis is staying with her family in Rosewood Beach, on the other side of the country.”
“She’s still there?” Kay asked, surprised.
Grayson nodded. “She wants to help with the family business. I guess it’s tricky over there now that her father has passed away. He used to run the business side of The Lighthouse Grill.”
“Mmm.” Kay nodded as if accepting his words, but Grayson guessed that she was reading into what he’d told her.
I should have spent my Saturdays with Alexis when I had the chance , he thought. I just kept telling myself that if I worked hard for one more year, I’d have time to spare.
He hadn’t truly processed how long he’d been overworking himself until Alexis decided to stay in Rosewood Beach and he’d really stopped to think about it. What had felt like a few weeks strung together to him had been in fact months. He’d had his mind buried so deep in business details that he hadn’t paid proper attention to anything else in his life.
“What is it, Kay?” he said, unable to keep from smiling a little. Kay was frowning at him slightly, and she reminded him of a bulldog that was about to start barking.
“I know you probably don’t want advice from me, but you’re going to get it,” she told him. She crossed her arms. “You’re going to lose that wife of yours if you’re not careful.”
Grayson’s lips parted. Kay was known for being blunt, but he hadn’t expected her to be that blunt. He felt as though she’d just knocked him upside the head with her words.
“I—she’s just staying in her hometown for a while?—”
“Sure, and why would she ever come back? Out there she’s got a life with people she loves, getting to do fun things and keep her hands busy. She has people to look out for her and take care of her, to talk to and have experiences with. Out here she’s got a huge empty house that probably makes her crazy with loneliness, and a husband who’s always muttering to himself about finances even when he is home, which he hardly ever is.”
“I don’t mutter to myself about finances.”
“Yes, you do, I’ve heard you do it.”
For a moment, they looked at each other, and Grayson knew that there was no trying to deny what Kay was saying to him. His stomach tightened.
“Well, what’s your advice?”
“Fight for her. All any woman wants is a man who shows effort—one who demonstrates that he cares about her and the relationship and will give up anything in order to make it work.”
Grayson blinked at her. Wasn’t he fighting for Alexis? Working hard to give her good things, give her a house and money and any luxury she could dream of?
But Alexis didn’t want those things. He realized with a jolt that he wasn’t even sure what it was that Alexis did want, although he knew that she didn’t like just sitting at home without any work to do. She’d told him as much, and he’d completely dismissed her words.
“How should I fight for her?” he asked after a moment. He felt uncomfortable, as if Kay was staring into his soul somehow.
“You’ll figure it out,” she said, and she smiled at him as she left the room.
He leaned back in his desk chair, staring out the window. Could he figure it out? He didn’t know where to begin to “fight” for Alexis. What did that mean in his situation? How could he show Alexis that he wanted their relationship to work?
What he knew for sure was that he didn’t want to lose her. He rubbed his temples with his fingertips, feeling as though he was completely out of his element. Whatever happened, he needed to figure out how to not lose her.