Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Parker
As we sat around the boardroom table talking about the next six months’ strategy for Sunrise, I had to constantly pull my attention back to the room.
My mind kept wandering back to Tristan, to the way he’d told me he’d lie to me again if he had to do things all over again, the way he held my hand as he told me about Mike, the divorce papers sitting on my bedside table at home.
“I think another auction would be a great idea,” someone said. “The last one raised a lot of money.
“That’s because Parker had her husband bid,” another person answered.
I forced a smile, glancing at my ring finger on my left hand. I still wore the rings he’d given me. I wasn’t sure when I was supposed to take them off. When I moved out? When I signed the divorce papers? When I got over him?
“We can’t do another auction before the next gala, which isn’t until next year,” I said. “We should keep it as a special event.”
“Do you think we can convince Tristan to put himself up next year?” Ana said.
I bristled at the question. He was still my husband and would be for a while yet. We couldn’t file the divorce papers for months. But I wasn’t na?ve. Even if he wasn’t put up for auction, Tristan would be dating soon enough.
“I’m not sure he’ll be amenable,” I said, trying to keep my tone as soft as possible.
“That’s a shame,” Ana replied. “I’d have bid.”
I checked the time on my phone. “I’m going to have to excuse myself. I have a meeting with a potential donor.”
I stood and exited the boardroom. I needed distraction, not discussion about Tristan. I turned into the reception area and saw someone waiting. Maybe my meeting was early.
“Parker, Mr. Fisher is here for you.”
I turned, and the elderly man in the grey suit in reception stood.
“Parker Frazer?”
I smiled and stepped forward to shake his hand. “Mr. Fisher.”
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“And you. Let’s go through to a meeting room.” I guided us down the corridor, invited him to sit, and set about pouring us some coffee.
“I must ask,” Mr. Fisher said. “I couldn’t help notice the spelling of your surname. Any relation to Arthur Frazer?”
“Yes,” I said. “Arthur is my dad.”
“He’s a good man. Rare that you get someone who’s so successful who doesn’t have any enemies.
You can always count on him to do the right thing.
” Mr. Fisher chuckled to himself. “I know it’s not a fashionable thing to say, but I honestly believe that it was because he married young and stayed married that he managed to keep balance in his life.
He kept his priorities straight. We all need to remember that first and foremost we are someone’s son, daughter, husband, wife, mother, father. ”
“I agree. It’s important to remember who we are to the people we love first and foremost.”
Did Tristan think of me as his wife in anything but name? Did he love me like I was beginning to realize I loved him?
“Exactly,” he said as sadness swept over his face.
“My granddaughter means everything to me. She’s suffering, but we’re lucky that we can pay for the best possible medical care.
I want to give something to your charity so that other families get the same opportunities we have. ” He blinked back tears.
I clasped a hand over his. “I’m so sorry. It’s a terrible time.”
He nodded and I took away my hand as he regained his composure. “I keep telling my son that he must hold his wife and children close. And he tries. But it’s so much pressure on him and on them as a family.”
I nodded, wanting to listen to his pain, hoping it would lessen if he had someone to talk to. “I worry about my grandson too. He’s not having the childhood he should. Everyone is so focused on illness and hospitals. It’s just awful.”
I thought back to how Tristan must have felt as a helpless child when his sister was getting treatment and then died. He must have felt powerless. And then when his parents split, his world fell apart.
The urge to drop everything and run to him was almost overwhelming. I wanted him to feel better. I knew he carried that pain with him still.
“I just hope they push through together as a family. As a unit. They’re stronger together.”
Mr. Fisher kept talking but I couldn’t hear a word he was saying.
All I could think about was Tristan, and how his family unit had disintegrated when he needed them most. He must live in fear of people abandoning him when he needed them the most. Had I been guilty of that?
Tristan should have told me about my dad knowing about our arrangement, and he shouldn’t have been monitoring my emails without my permission, but did that mean he wasn’t the man I thought he was?
Did it mean I couldn’t trust him?