Chapter 17
REID
“We’re definitely on the right path. The article was well received. Have you looked at the comments?” Hailey smiled, shuffling her fork through the salad bowl. We were in my office, having dinner.
“No, but I trust you. I don’t like looking myself up online.”
“Fair enough. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Do you think we’ll need another interview soon?”
“No, I think we’re good for now. We don’t want to push too much.”
She’d released snippets of information about me in several media outlets, but nothing as in-depth as that first interview.
“Got it.”
I reached for her hand and was just about to kiss her when I heard familiar voices on the corridor.
“Mom and Dad are here.”
“You were expecting them?”
“No, but they like to visit from time to time after hours.”
The rest of the staff had left for the day, which was why no one had announced they were coming up, but my parents didn’t need to be announced anyway.
“Oh. Okay. Okay.” She ran her fingers through her hair, then stood up, patting her dress. “How do I look?”
I bit down a smile. She was nervous. She hadn’t shown one ounce of nervousness when she’d come to my office the very first time, and I’d been as cooperative as a rock. But meeting my parents made her nervous.
“You’re beautiful, Hailey.”
My parents came in just as I stood up as well. Mom’s eyes widened as she looked between us.
“Ooooh, we didn’t know you had company.”
Hailey shook hands with both of my parents, who looked thrilled when she told them her name.
“Oh, you’re the girl who’s shaken up his life a bit.”
Hailey blinked, looking at me questioningly.
“Well, we were about to talk him into dinner, but we don’t want to interrupt you kids,” Dad said. I gave him points for trying, but we both knew Mom wasn’t done.
“So, what other plans do you have for tonight?” she asked.
“Well, we were just going to play it by ear.” Hailey was biting down a smile.
“Not locked up here in this office, I hope.”
“Mom,” I warned. She ignored me.
Hailey laughed. “Don’t you worry, Mrs. Davenport. I’m not done shaking up his life. Would you like to join us for dinner? We can order more food. The chefs here are very quick.”
“Well, if you don’t mind,” Mom said. I was sure she was already thinking about grandkid names again.
“Of course not,” Hailey assured her.
Ten minutes later, we were all sitting around the coffee table.
“Mrs. Davenport, where did you find that top? I love it.”
“Oh, online. I love shopping online. I don’t remember the store, but I can look it up.”
“Thank you.”
I was relieved that Hailey wasn’t put off by Mom’s eccentricity in the slightest. Mom talked loudly, and her choice of clothes usually included at least one neon color—like the bright orange top—but Hailey was chatting with Mom as if they were old friends.
“I got my hands all dirty,” Hailey said after she finished. “I’ll go to the ladies’ room to clean up.”
“I’ll come with you,” Mom said.
The second they left, Dad leaned forward in his chair. I expected him to ask about ROI and the P&L statement, as he usually did when he stopped by.
“That’s a fine woman.”
I was shocked. Dad rarely said anything about my personal life. “I know.”
“Glad we got to meet her.”
“Dad….”
“Son, I know the pressure you’re feeling.
I felt that too, in my time. I thought the only way to make it work was to give the business my all.
It didn’t do me much good. Not just health-wise, but I didn’t do right by your mother.
I didn’t give her nearly as much attention as she deserved, left everything related to raising you to her.
In some ways, the stroke was a blessing.
I had a second chance with Bianca. But you felt all the pressure instead.
I didn’t set a good example, I know that.
But for the love of God, don’t follow too closely in my footsteps. ”
I didn’t know what to say. I liked taking care of my parents’ legacy, but I wasn’t a workaholic.
I used to be, in the early years, but that had been necessary, until I could understand the business inside out, until I found a routine that worked.
Now, I put in normal work hours, just had a very strict schedule.
Could I enjoy life more? Probably. But I could honestly say I’d never felt as if I wanted things to be different.
Until Hailey, at least.
I didn’t want to give them reasons to worry. In the past, I’d brushed off their comments as teasing, but this sounded as if Dad had given everything a lot of thought.
Mom and Hailey were laughing when they returned.
“Howard, let’s go. Can’t let old bags of bones like us steal more of their evening. Come on.”
Hailey was smiling from ear to ear. “No, don’t leave. We can order dessert. Have you tasted the cheesecake? It’s amazing.”
She really meant it. She liked spending time with them. How had I gotten so lucky? Emotion crawled up my throat.
“You two enjoy dessert, but we’ll make ourselves scarce. Take good care of my son, okay?”
“Don’t you worry, Mrs. Davenport. I still have a lot in store.”
My mother beamed wholeheartedly. After they left, I waggled my eyebrows at Hailey.
“So, pretty girl. What exactly do you have in store for me?”
Hailey shrugged, giving me a look between coy and sassy. “You’ll just have to wait and see, Mr. Davenport.”
“I’m not good at waiting.”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
I waggled my eyebrows some more. “Well, for starters, I have a devious plan to convince you to have dinner with me every evening before your trip to Chicago in two weeks.”
“Oh.”
I frowned, because she didn’t look half as enthusiastic about the trip as she used to be.
“All set for it?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, it won’t be that exciting, though. Val can’t come. We were at the doctor’s office yesterday. She and the baby are okay, but he told her it’s best not to travel, especially because the flight is four and a half hours. I’m still debating if I should go at all.”
That light in her eyes dimmed a little. I knew how much she’d been looking forward to the trip. I couldn’t believe it, but I was annoyed she hadn’t even asked me.
“What if I go with you?” I asked, shocking even myself. Hailey’s mouth popped open.
“No, that’s okay. It’s Monday to Wednesday, remember? Not a weekend trip. I know you have a million things to do. Can’t just ask you to drop them for me.”
My heartbeat intensified as a bout of guilt shot through me. Clearly, I hadn’t shown her how much I cared for her. I was going to change that.
“Unless you want to,” she said quickly. “But I don’t think you do. And that’s okay.”
The light was back on in those soulful brown eyes.
I’d put it there, and damn if I didn’t want to be the one responsible for it every day.
My mind raced as I thought about my schedule.
I planned meetings so close to each other that chaos would ensue.
It would probably throw my entire month off course, but I’d wing it somehow. No way was I going to let Hailey down.
I remembered Dad’s words, wondering if he’d brought this up for the first time because he sensed how much Hailey meant to me.
So much that I was ready to get out of my comfort zone, change the way I did things, if it meant it brought me closer to her.
I felt different around her, there was no question about that.
“We’re going,” I announced.
“Really?” Her face exploded with a grin so big, I couldn’t help kissing her.
“Really.” I spoke against her lips.
“You know what? I think you just earned the right to know what I have in store for you tonight.”
“Pity. I was hoping you’d make me work for it.”
She laughed as I pinned her to the nearest wall with my hips, kissed along her jawline.
“By all means, if you want to choose the hard way, who am I to stop you?”