Chapter 12 #3
“It’s about my company.” His voice sounded more serious, and I got the feeling this wasn’t going to be a straightforward conversation.
“I know you told me when we first met that you don’t want me to map out your life and that you’re not interested in The LaFleur Corporation.
And if that’s what you want, I fully support you.
But I wondered if any of that has changed since we first spoke. ”
“To be honest, I haven’t thought about it.”
“Do you still feel as strongly about not being a part of the company as you once did?” he asked.
“No, not really,” I murmured. “I mean, I don’t feel as strongly against it as I was then. But I also don’t feel strongly for it either. I always pictured a future in medicine, but I don’t know exactly what that looks like.”
“I understand.” He pursed his lips as he processed what I’d said.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I’m making some changes,” he replied.
He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a breath, like just thinking about it exhausted him.
“I’m considering taking a step back from the company in the next few years, and I need to determine what the future of The LaFleur Corporation looks like,” he continued.
“There are some decisions I need to make in preparation for that. And the choices I make now may affect you if you ever decided you did want to follow in my footsteps.”
“Right.” It was nice Matthew was considering me in his decisions, but I’d always expected I’d have to build my own future from the ground up.
I’d never imagined I’d be handed an entire company.
I didn’t know if I’d ever have the skills to do what Matthew did or whether it was something I even wanted.
“I don’t even know where I want to go to college next year, let alone what I want to do with my life,” I said.
“You should do what’s best for you and The LaFleur Corporation.
Don’t worry about me. If your decisions now mean I might not have a future there, then I’m not going to hold that against you. ”
“You will always have a future there,” he murmured. “But, thank you. I didn’t want to make any decisions without consulting you.”
I thought he’d be relieved I was making his job easier for him, but from the look in his eyes, I could see he was still feeling torn about whatever decisions he needed to make. “So, what’s brought this on?” I asked. “Why are you looking to make changes now?”
“An opportunity presented itself,” he replied. “And I’d be unwise to ignore it.”
“But are you really thinking of taking a step back so soon? I thought you’d only been running the company a few years.”
“I have, but over these last few months, I’ve begun to reevaluate my priorities.
I have more in my life now than I did when I first started working for my father.
I don’t want to spend all my time working myself into the ground.
I still want to be a part of The LaFleur Corporation, but I don’t want it sucking the life out of me anymore. ”
“But you’ve always talked about the LaFleur family’s legacy.”
“I did, yes, but someone made me realize that family is more important than any legacy will be…” From the way he was looking into my eyes, I knew he was talking about me. He wanted to take a step back because of me.
“There was one other thing I wanted to ask you,” he said.
“Oh, man,” I let out an exaggerated gasp. “You’ve already grilled me on my college and career plans. I hope we’re not covering marriage and kids next?”
“No, no,” he chuckled. “Nothing like that. There’s an event in New York coming up, and I was hoping you’d join me for it.”
My cheeks warmed. “An event? What kind of event?”
“Just something I have to go to for work,” he said with a wince.
“It’s in a few weeks, and by then, I should have made some more concrete decisions about the company, and I’ll be making an announcement.
We can spend the rest of the weekend seeing the city.
All the Christmas decorations will be up.
It’s a really magical time to be in New York.
Of course, you’re welcome to say no, but I’d really like for you to be there. ”
“No. I mean, yes,” I quickly corrected myself.
“I’d love to come see the city in all its Christmas glory.
” I felt like I’d only scraped the surface of New York on my last visit, and I couldn’t wait to go back.
I liked the thought of spending some more time with my father as well.
We seemed to be making more and more progress.
It also sounded like it was important to him I was there to hear his announcement about the company, whatever it was.
“Great.” He smiled brightly. “I’ll make the arrangements for you to come.”
“Great.” I agreed.
The bell above the café door chimed, and we turned to see my mom standing in the entrance.
She was smiling at us, and I could see how much it meant to her that I was developing a relationship with Matthew.
But I wasn’t the only one who seemed to be forming an attachment with him.
Matthew and my mom had barely looked at anyone else over lunch and had been completely absorbed in conversation with one another.
Even now my father was mirroring my mom’s smile.
They just seemed so at ease in each other’s presence.
It was something I hadn’t expected. Especially knowing what my mom had been through because of Matthew, however unintentionally, and when I knew how different they were.
Still, my heart warmed to see them getting along so well.
“What are you two doing out here?” she asked. “It’s getting cold.”
“Just talking,” I said. “But it is a little cold.” I turned to my dad. “Have you got time to come inside for a bit before you go.”
He grinned. “I think I’ve got just enough time for another slice of pumpkin pie.”