Hayes
twenty
It was torture leaving Paige alone to deal with her mother’s insane schedule and planning while I went to The Abyss to work from my office here in Savannah.
Despite most of the company having the week between Christmas and New Year’s off, I still have plenty of catching up to do.
Diego emailed me a new update on the South African mines, the lawsuit, and what they have dug up on Octavius Rex and his possible connection to the New York law firm that brought the suit against Olympus and my brothers.
It’s not a clear connection, and that bothers me.
I thought for sure it had to be backed by Rex, as he’s the one with the most to gain from our downfall.
I spend the majority of my morning piecing together a plan to get through this situation but there is another matter that needs to be addressed.
One I had better get on sooner, rather than later.
I pick up my phone and dial a number that doesn’t get used much.
“Well, look who it is, calling the day after Christmas,“ the deep voice on the line says by way of greeting.
I smile. “You’re lucky I called you at all, old man,” I reply.
“Let me get your mother, she’ll want to give you the dressing down you deserve,” Thatcher Olsen says with a chuckle. I listen to the sounds of my father moving through their house overlooking the Chattahoochee River that flows through their small town of Helen, Georgia.
“Hayes, you old hound dog! How dare you not tell us you got married. I deserve a chance to meet any girl you bring into the family before she’s in the family way, so when do I get to see you and this lovely new wife of yours?
” Rula Mae Olsen is not one for subtleties, and she’s ready to get down to the matter at the first opportunity.
“Hi Mother, it’s nice to talk to you, too,” I reply with all the patience expected of me.
“Tell him we’ve been hearing all about his romance with the heiress girl thanks to Virginia Coombes and Lotte Smithson.” I hear through the line from my father, who must be sitting next to Mom.
“You remember Lotte and Virginia—“
“I heard him, Mom, you don’t have to repeat everything.
Just put the phone on speaker and you can both talk.
” My parents are not even sixty-five, but you would think they were geriatric with how they despise using modern technology and all of its conveniences.
Speakerphone should be a breeze since they take calls together all the time.
“Is this how you do it,” I hear Mom say faintly before I can hear Dad clearly.
“Just that button there, that should work,” he says.
“So, when do we get to meet this hotel heiress girl?” Mom asks again.
“Her name is Paige and she’s not a girl, she’s twenty-one,” I explain, knowing it will do little good.
“She’s an infant if anything. You are too old for that girl, but what good is it for me to tell you now that you’ve gone and gotten yourself hitched to her,” Mom complains.
“She’s real pretty, Hayes. Virginia showed me the photos of her that the gossip site posted a while back.
Y’all look really good together. I can’t wait to meet her in person. ”
“Well, that’s why I’m calling. We’re having a wedding ceremony and reception in Savannah next weekend.
Will you be able to attend? It’s New Year’s Eve and I know the town does some pretty exciting parties that night,” I drawl, knowing full well Helen is busiest in the summer when tourists descend on the Bavarian-themed town to tube the river and bask in the outdoor attractions.
Why my parents retired there is still a mystery to me, as they don’t like tubing or being outdoors more than necessary.
We were raised in Atlanta, so the tiny mountain town is a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the city, but that’s likely why Mom loves it.
“Of course, we will be there. We wouldn’t miss it,” Mom proclaims loudly, and I hold the phone away from my ear. “Savannah is a cute little place; it’ll be nice to get down there again.”
I hear my dad grumble and wonder what he could be up to that would be more important than the wedding of his eldest son.
“You have something to say, old man?”
“Everyone’s going to be on the roads traveling because of the holidays. It’s going to take us hours to drive to Savannah.”
“You have a jet, Dad, use it.”
“Too much trouble,” he mutters.
“Dammit, Thatcher, I deserve to be treated to a jet ride every now and again, don’t I? Why’d I marry you all them years ago, raise three of your sons, and be a widow to your work for so long if not to have the chance to be treated like a rich bitch when I want it?”
“If that’s what you want, then we’ll do it,” he agrees hurriedly, pacifying Mom’s legendary temper.
I laugh. “That’s the way to get what you’re after, Mom.”
“Well, I’m tickled pink to be meeting your sweetheart after all. Where is this shindig happening, exactly?”
“We will have a small ceremony for family and close friends at the Elysium Garden on top of my nightclub. The reception will be at Paige’s family’s ancestral home called The Mansion.
It’s a hotel and I can get you rooms there if you want.
They have a ballroom I think the Fairchilds will be using, since it’s large enough for what they’re planning. ”
“Look at you, fancy pants! You have a nightclub with a garden on it? How come you never told us about that?” Mom asks.
“I don’t have it connected to Olympus at all, it’s a pet project for me.
Would you like to know about the pizzeria I invested in, or the drift racing team I’m working on sponsoring next year, also?
That’s another pet project. Or, hmm, I did just give a liquor company to Paige as a wedding present, but it was also a project of mine,” I say, listing off some of my ventures.
“Oh, stop it, you smart ass, you’ve made your point,” Dad grumbles. “I like how you’ve diversified, that’s good at the very least.”
“I learned from the best,” I say, giving him the compliment he deserves.
“Back to this Paige girl, tell us about her!” Mom demands.
I run a hand through my hair and pull, thinking of how best to describe the whirlwind that is Paige. She’s so much more than I even imagined when she first walked into my life. She’s disarming, sweet, and her softness is something I would die to protect to keep her from growing hard with the world.
“Paige is… She’s as warm as summer sunshine and as comforting as a coastal breeze.
She’s kindness personified. She has the biggest heart, and it even extends to people who are undeserving of her grace,” I say, thinking of her willingness to forgive her parents and make amends with them when I would have written off closer people for less.
“She’s making me think of others, instead of just myself, and she makes me want to be a better man.
Someone deserving of her.” I’m rambling, but when I thought of how to explain Paige to my parents, there was no shortage of things to say.
“He sounds pussy-whipped,” Mom says to Dad, like I can’t hear their side of the conversation.
“That is one way to put it,” I agree, letting them know I’m still here. I’ll take the slight, because it’s not wrong. I worship Paige’s pussy.
“Please tell me you got a prenup before you jetted off to Vegas to make it official,” Dad says, ever the businessman.
Ah, there it is. “Paige is independently wealthy, Dad. She’s set to inherit quite a lot from her own family. She’s not after my money.”
“That’s a no, then,” he says. “You can still get a document drawn up to set some things in place. Thank God, Georgia isn’t a community property state, at the very least. It’s not just about protecting your assets, maybe she needs protecting from you, if she has her own money.”
“We’ll be fine without one. If she decides to leave me one day, she might as well take half, because I’ll have fucked it up myself and sent her running. She’ll more than deserve it.”
“Oh, our boy’s lovestruck for sure,” Mom says, but the tone isn’t as playful as the words sound. Rula Mae Olsen is a conservative, practical woman through and through. “Just think about it a bit, Hayes. We don’t want to see some messy thing between you two in the future.”
“How about we talk about this wedding that is coming up, instead?” I ask, moving the topic back where it belongs.
“If you provide the details, we’ll show up.”
“With bells on!” Mom adds.
“Fine. I’ll send you an itinerary with your lodging information. Just be here by Friday and you won’t miss a thing.”
“Your brothers will be your groomsmen, right?” Mom asks. “Which one did you ask to be your best man?”
I hadn’t thought that far, actually. Despite working closely with them, I wouldn’t call either of my brothers my best friends.
Zander drives me crazy, and Payton stirs the pot, egging us both on.
I don’t know if either is trustworthy enough to put in that position, but it makes sense I would. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“If you’re having a wedding next week, you better get on that soon, son.”
“I guess that’s my next call.”
“Love you, Hayes. Tell your brothers they need to call us every once in a while, too. None of y’all had the good grace to actually be with us or even call on Christmas of all things.
But thank you for the nice orchids. They look so nice on my sun porch.
Your daddy liked the wagyu beef you had shipped in from Japan.
That made our Christmas dinner plans so fancy.
I still put A1 sauce all over my filet mignon. ”
I shudder at the blasphemy she committed against the fine beef I sent them, but know it’s Mom’s way and there is no changing her. “Love you, too, Mom. I’ll see y’all on Friday.”
I shake my head when I end the call. They were in good moods today and extra chatty. Normally, it would be a quick call of them asking about work, since it’s all I can fill them in on. They seem to like having Paige to talk about. I think they will love her. How could they not?