Chapter 49
My head isclear as I nod for my assistant to let the woman waiting outside the door enter my office. I step out from behind my desk and slide a hand into my slacks, waiting.
The air conditioning pumps into the space at the same low temperature I request during board meetings. I need the cool air on my heated skin right now, perhaps more than I have during any single meeting I’ve had before today.
“Hello, Jocelyn,” I say, keeping my tone strong and even. “Thank you for taking my meeting.”
The singer stares at me with a curious gaze that lacks the judgment I expected to find today. For a twenty-five-year-old pop star, she’s far less cutthroat than I’m used to with our other artists. I have never deserved her kindness.
She smiles softly, the sun beaming through the tall windows behind me and glinting off the metal ring through her bottom lip. Her startling grey eyes lack any sort of lingering anger toward me, and I relax my shoulders slightly.
“Could I have declined the meeting?” she asks.
I keep my face blank despite my amusement with her question. “You could have if you so chose.”
“Good to know.”
With a swipe of my hand toward the two black leather chairs on my left, I say, “Sit, please. Do you want something to drink?”
She sits on one of the chairs and crosses her legs before draping the armpit-length platinum-blonde braid over her front.
“I’m good.”
I nod. “Alright.”
Taking the seat beside hers, I will some moisture into my mouth and clear my throat. I rehearsed my next words over and over until they were memorized as if this were my first speech I’ve ever spoken.
“I know we haven’t spoken since before I left, but I wanted to sit down with you and say thank you before I so much as attempted a proper apology,” I start, clasping my hands in my lap. “You had every right to leave Swift Edge, and I am very grateful that you chose not to. This company means too much to me to describe, but it’s also important to many other people. I’m a slim part of this label’s success, and if you had left, the damage would have been inconceivable.”
“Your thank you isn’t needed, Mr. Beckett. I didn’t make my decision for that,” she says, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
“I know.” I nod, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees, my head turned so I can still speak directly at her. “But I wanted to say it regardless. That and offer my sincerest apologies for what my lack of action caused. I’m ashamed of myself and know an apology won’t change anything that happened. However, it’s still important for you to hear.”
There’s no sign of the scratches that I know covered her arms and cheek after the attack, but I look for them anyway. Maybe I’m desperate for punishment, or maybe I just want to see what I’ve done so I won’t ever forget it. As if I could, regardless of whether they’re visible or not.
“I accept your apology. You followed through with the deal afterward, and I can’t assume it was easy for you to be without this place while things settled down. In all honesty, I was expecting you to tell me how idiotic it was for me to demand you be held responsible for what happened. You probably could have kicked me from the label,” she says.
I can’t help the small laugh that escapes me. “Not likely. You are very well loved both in this company and by the public. The outroar of that would have made the accident look like a speck in comparison. I will admit that I was a bit taken aback that one of my artists demanded I disappear for two months, but I would do anything for this company.”
Her brows furrow, and unease causes me to stiffen.
“I didn’t demand you be sent away for two months. Only that you were the one held responsible for this instead of the blame being shifted elsewhere like I’ve seen several times from my previous label. It was Reggie’s suggestion to have you leave. We were extremely happy with the additional offer,” she explains almost timidly, like a child nervous to tell on their friend in front of the principal.
“My father is a meddler,” I say almost to myself.
The reveal isn’t as upsetting today as it would have been months ago. I should be spitting mad with him for lying to me and sending me away when I wanted anything but to leave. But it’s impossible to be angry with him about it now.
His meddling paid off.
In those two months he pushed for, I met not only Poppy but many other people who I think helped me become a better person. I’m a far cry from a nice guy, but I’ve never wanted that description. I needed the time away from this place to grow and heal parts of my soul that I hadn’t known were so broken. I’ve learned what I want in life and that I’m more than capable of having it. Starting with the woman I’m in love with and haven’t seen in six days.
Poppy is worth every drastic move I’ve made this past week. I’m so close to being back at her side that every day I’m here seems to stretch to impossible lengths. The hours of the night are multiplying, making it nearly impossible to get through them without her sleeping beside me.
“Thank you for telling me that, Jocelyn,” I add, offering her a sincere smile.
Her head jerks back in surprise, and I laugh, standing. She follows suit, standing across from me in my office that lacks any sort of life. Its blandness has grown to frustrate me recently, but I won’t be here much longer now. There’s no point in changing anything.
“You’re welcome,” she says, the words a mix between a statement and a question.
“Before you go, I want to offer you my word that you will never deal with anything like what happened again. Mr. Beaumont, Nathan, will ensure exactly that while I’m in Calgary overseeing the expansion for the foreseeable future.”
“What? Mr. Beaumont?” she squeaks, eyes flashing with panic.
There’s no time to ask her about her panicked reaction when, right on time, there’s a knock on my open office door and Nathan sticks his head through the crack. “Can I come in?”
“Yes, I was just telling Jocelyn that she’s going be well taken care of under your supervision,” I explain. Nathan has grown pale, and I narrow my eyes at him. “Right, Mr. Beaumont?”
He clears his throat and tries to meet her fleeting stare but is unsuccessful. “Right. You’ll be in very capable hands.”
Jocelyn coughs, her face a deep scarlet as she diverts her eyes, looking everywhere but at Nathan. Alarms blare in my mind, but it’s already too late to change my decision on staying in Toronto. Whatever has happened between them needs to end now before we slide right back into the hole we’ve just crawled out of.
I straighten my back and gesture to the door. “My assistant will get you some water on your way out, Jocelyn. For now, I would appreciate you keep this news between us. I’ll be making an announcement to the entire building tomorrow.”
She blinks a few times and looks at me, more focused now. “You have my word.”
I incline my head. “Thank you.”
With quick steps, she leaves my office. I reach for the door and click it shut behind her before spinning on Nathan. His hands are clasped behind his head as he stares up at the ceiling.
“What did you do?” I ask.
He blows out a harsh breath. “You’re going to want to sit down for this.”
“Areyou sure you want to do this?” I ask my father later that night. Mom is beside him, the both of them staring at me with calm expressions despite the seriousness of the conversation.
“We’re positive. I’m positive,” Dad answers.
Mom leans her cheek to his shoulder, nodding along. “I’ve always believed that home is with those you love, not a place, Garrison. That’s one lesson I’m very happy to have watched you learn.”
I reach across the table and cover her hand with mine for a few moments before leaning back. “I love you, Mom. But leaving Toronto will carry a lot of changes for the both of you. It means no more working with your favourite artists as often as you like to, Dad. Taking a step into retirement wasn’t your plan for a few years still,” I argue, my heart heavy in my chest.
“Retirement is a step I should have taken a long time ago. But I’m more than willing to take it now if it means I’ll get to spend more time with both you and your mother.”
“I know you want to believe that you’re forcing us into this, sweetheart, but you’re not. This is a decision we made very easily. There is no life in which I want to live far from you. Life is too short to spend it away from those you love,” Mom says, voice soothing yet confident.
“I’ll try to make it as easy of a transition as I can,” I promise.
Dad’s the one who says, “No, that will be my job. Your only concern is taking care of yourself and Poppy.”
“And you better take care of her, Garrison. That woman is your soulmate. I recognized it from the moment she stepped out of that car out front. She’s going to be my daughter-in-law someday.” She shoots me a wink, and I laugh at the way it contradicts her barely veiled threat.
“I will, Mom.”
And not because of her threat but because I would do anything to not have to leave her again.
I glance between my parents and exhale a long, heavy breath. Love pulses through me at a steady pace, becoming a second heartbeat in my chest.
I didn’t anticipate my parents coming with me to Calgary. While making plans that will ensure my change of home office goes as smoothly as possible, I worried about how hard it would be to leave them behind. Being away from my mother while I was in Cherry Peak was hard enough.
Yet I think the biggest surprise is my father. The man who I was so, so angry with for most of my life is sitting in front of me and telling me that he wants to retire. That for the first time in thirty years, he’s going to choose us—me—over his career. It’s the biggest and most meaningful promise he could have ever made.
These past few days have been so overwhelming but comforting at the same time. I’m excited for what’s coming next for me. For all of us as a family.
For my relationship with Poppy.
Fuck, I love that woman. Every snarky, gorgeous, sweet-as-honey inch of her. She’s a part of me now, and I was an idiot to believe there was ever a future for myself where she wasn’t at my side, as my person.
I reach for my phone constantly, her contact the only thing I consider pulling up. But I force myself not to call or text her every single time. She deserves to hear all of the answers at once, and I don’t have them all yet.
Once I do, I’ll be standing in front of her, and if she’ll have me, I’m vowing never to leave her like this again.