Chapter 31 #2
It feels like hugging him for all the years I didn’t. How ridiculous I was to push him away out of fear of losing him. How did a man so smart have a kid so clueless?
After a while, we pull away. I quickly wipe my face and compose myself. My dad’s eyes are red-rimmed, and he doesn’t bother hiding it.
“Thanks,” I mumble. “For lunch and for listening and everything.”
“Anytime, son.”
“I should get back to work,” I say, pointing to the building.
“You go. We’ll catch up later.”
“Bye, Dad,” I reply, turning my back on him to walk toward the door of the club. After a few steps, something that’s been gnawing at me pops into my mind. Spinning around, I call, “Wait, what were you gonna say?”
“Huh?” he asks.
“Back at the table, you said you get to watch your wife follow her dreams and your daughter come into her own. Then you started to say something about me, but you didn’t finish. You get to watch your son…what?”
“Oh,” he replies with a snicker. “I get to watch you find love.”
My lips part as my brows furrow. That’s not at all what I expected him to say. I was never the one with plans to fall in love.
“That was the whole reason I brought you to lunch,” he says with a smile. “I wanted to hear the tea about your new love interests.”
I laugh with a shake of my head. “Never say tea again.”
“Deal,” he replies before waving and walking away. “Bye, son.”
Back in my office, I stare at my computer, unable to focus. The laughter down the hall has me distracted and restless. Not to mention the conversation with my dad has me feeling…different. In a way I can’t describe.
Lighter somehow.
Standing up from my desk, I walk down the hall and find Jack, Elizabeth, Phoenix, and Weston sitting around Jack’s office, but they’re not working. They’re just…hanging out.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to harp on them or roll my eyes at their blatant misuse of company time. But that’s what I’ve always done, and look where it’s landed me—alone.
Instead, I shove my hands in my pockets and prop my shoulder against the doorframe.
“Hey, Jules,” Jack says, reclining back in his chair. “We were just talking about the pool party idea.”
“Then Weston had to tell us about the time he almost drowned giving a blow job underwater,” Elizabeth adds.
Everyone laughs again, even me.
“Didn’t go well,” Weston adds with a shake of his head.
“We should make sure to have a lifeguard on hand then,” I say, and I can tell my choice to join the conversation instead of ruin it catches everyone off guard.
Then, because I must be feeling very not-myself, I say, “You guys wanna go grab a drink at Geo’s?
I tried to get some work done, but I’m useless. ”
Jack’s eyes practically sparkle with excitement. “Hell yeah.” He looks down at his watch before standing up from behind his desk.
My team and I have never gone out for drinks. We’ve never even really hung out, not since we were kids at least.
“Hell yeah,” Weston echoes excitedly as he jumps up from his lean against Jack’s bookshelf.
Elizabeth gives a halfhearted shrug, which I take to mean she’s thrilled about the idea.
“We could always talk about the event over drinks and make it an off-site work meeting.”
“Sure, Nix,” Jack says with a laugh.
I text my sister, asking her to meet us there, and she responds quickly that she’s in the area and on her way.
Then suddenly, it’s the six of us sitting around the same table we were at a year and a half ago when my father delivered the life-changing news to us. And for a moment, as I watch everyone laugh over their drinks and big ideas for the club, we almost resemble a family.
I’m alone at the end of the table, staring down at my phone and thinking of Archer and Freya, when someone slides into the seat across from me. I glance up to see Jack smiling at me.
“This was a good idea,” he says, gently tapping his pint of beer against my Dalmore.
“I do sometimes have good ideas,” I reply proudly.
“Listen, what I said to you that day after our meeting was rude.”
My brows furrow as I try to recall what he’s talking about. “What did you say?”
“That you shouldn’t be anyone’s partner. It was harsh, and I was just frustrated. I’m sorry.”
The apology feels genuine, so I let it settle in like it could heal wounds. Of course, apologies don’t really work that way, but it’s not often I’m owed a real apology. Most of the time when people are mean to me, it’s because I fucking deserve it.
“Thanks,” I reply with a curt nod. “You weren’t wrong, though. I wasn’t a good partner.”
“Sure you were,” he lies.
I roll my eyes as I take a drink. “There is absolutely no reason for you to kiss my ass, Jack.”
He chuckles. “I know that, but I’m not kissing your ass.
” Leaning back in his seat, he wears a casual expression.
“You really aren’t a bad partner. You can sometimes be a little rude and crass, but you hold me accountable.
You strive for perfection and push everyone around you to do better.
That’s not the worst quality in a business partner. ”
“Not a good quality in a friend, though,” I mutter over my glass.
Jack shrugs. “Yes, it is.”
My eyes lift from the table to his face. For years, it’s felt like I’ve carried the burden of this strained relationship with Jack. And I know damn well I was the one standing between us and friendship.
“You’re a good partner, Julian. And a good friend.” With that, he lifts his glass, angling it toward me before taking a swig.
My teeth clench, and I don’t respond as I stare across the table at him. Then, doing something I never do, I clear my throat and mutter, “Thanks, Jack.”
With a haughty smirk on his face, he just watches me, and it’s torture.
“All right, enough with the serious shit,” I snap. “Let’s just get drunk now.”
“About time.” Laughing, he waves down Geo for another round.