Chapter 28 Parker
Parker
Another Gentry meeting; the fourth one today.
I felt like my eyes were crossing. I had seen enough pie charts and data for a lifetime.
Every minute spent in this office building further validated my decision not to follow in my father's footsteps.
While I got to see a lot more of Aja and Janae, I still hated it here.
I knew how to play my part and do it well.
That didn’t mean I had to like it. During the day, I sat in on meetings, followed up on company findings and reports, and met with shareholders.
At night, my father dragged me to more meetings with potential donors for his candidacy and to the cigar lounge at The Marquis, where he schmoozed with constituents.
This all felt like a test. I could tell my father was observing the way I was handling things.
My mom even hinted at my father praising me in private.
I would be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that hearing that made me want to pass the test. There was a small part of me that still wanted his approval, even though I was content with the life I built, and I hated it.
It had been years since my father and I were on good terms. It is hard on our whole family.
Despite still having lingering feelings about my father’s approval, I didn't want to step up and take a place in the family business.
Aja and Janae were happy here, and I was happy for them.
I was hoping my father would get over my lack of involvement and focus on them.
But it appeared absolutely nothing had changed since I left home.
I took a look at my watch and noticed it was nearing four in the afternoon. The advisors had been arguing with each other for the past ten minutes about which company should be absorbed, and I couldn’t take another second of it.
“Alright,” I said as I stood up, straightening my suit out with my hands. “I want the meeting minutes in my inbox by the end of the day. Please have the comparative data on Henderson Co and Templite prepared for our meeting next week. Thank you.”
The arguing came to a halt, followed by a chorus of, “yes, sir,” and, “will do, sir,” as I walked out of the conference room.
The walk back to my office was a short one. Once behind my desk, I frosted the glass windows of my office as I sat down and loosened my tie.
I pulled out my phone to catch up on my notifications from the past hour. I hadn’t heard from Evelyn since this morning, so I texted her to check in.
William was watching her throughout the day, but I still liked to check in with her myself. Evelyn was always on my mind. I went to bed last night replaying our encounter before dinner. That woman had no idea what she did to me. I wanted every part of her in the worst way possible.
She was beginning to come out of her shell, and the last thing I wanted to do was show how eager I was to be with her. I knew I had to follow her cues, and I was more than okay with that. She was putting her trust in me, and I would be a fool not to appreciate that.
Ever since the night she decided to take a chance on me, we had been spending all of our free time together.
Almost every night before heading to our rooms, we would lie in bed and talk until one of us got tired.
Sometimes we would lose ourselves in each other and end up making out in her room like a bunch of teenagers.
I had never felt this close to someone or had a connection to someone that just felt right.
It was easy to forget everything we were facing when it was just us in that room. Even when the past tried to drag her back, we worked through the tough moments, stripping each other bare for the other to see. Together, we were safe.
When I looked down at my phone, three dots pooled at the bottom of our text message.
I waited with a smug smile for her response.
One of the items on her list had been to read a romance novel, and she crossed that off the list ten times over since she discovered Janae had the same reading taste.
Evelyn was deep in a book the other night as we lay side by side in bed, so I asked her what it was about.
Her face lit up as she told me everything she had read so far and her predictions for the ending.
I wanted to see that spark in her all the time.
While I tended to lean towards sci-fi and thrillers when it came to books, there wasn’t much I wasn’t willing to do to see her smile like that.
After an impromptu visit to the bookstore, we were now reading To Catch a Sinner by Lucy Wilson-Tagoe together, and I had a feeling she was skipping ahead.
How many chapters did you read ahead?
The screen brightened as a call from Chief Bradden appeared. This was a surprise. We’ve been here six weeks already, and I haven’t received one call from the firehouse or the department.
“Chief, how are you?”
“Woods. Got a minute?” The chief's voice was serious, and worry flooded my chest as I sat back in the office chair.
“Is everyone okay at the house? The tone of your voice has me worried, Chief.”
“Everyone is well. The house isn’t the same without you. But that’s not why I called.” Clearing his throat. “There’s been some allegations made against you. There are claims of misconduct.”
“What? You know me, Chief. You’ve never had to worry about me.”
Ten years. I’ve been a firefighter for ten years, and I’ve never had so much as a uniform violation on my record.
“There is a claim that you’ve been inappropriate with a rescue.”
Shit.
“That isn’t what happ—”
“I cannot believe you.” Chief Bradden's voice roared through the phone, cutting me off. “I expected a ‘no’ full stop.”
“Chief, I would never take advantage of anyone. This story is bigger than that fire.”
“There will be an internal investigation. They will call you to HQ for a hearing. I just called to tell you before the word got out.”
His voice was resigned, and I was too angry to articulate my disappointment in him.
“Thank you.”
He ended the call. Bringing my fist down on my desk a few times, I tried to relieve myself of this frustration. My reputation was ruined. It didn’t matter that I was trying to do the right thing or that this thing between Evelyn and I bloomed from friendship to more.
Snatching my keys off the side of my desk, I made my way to the elevator.
Punching the basement floor button leads me to the parking garage.
My body vibrated with all the pent-up feelings I had since being here.
I was holding on to a lot of anger and resentment for my father and the way things turned out.
Being back here in the place where it all started has me facing down my demons.
Now my life was exploding in New York, and everything I’ve worked for, all the good that I had done for my community, was going to be dissected and quartered over a boardroom table because circumstances dictated that I shouldn’t be with Evelyn.
I needed to clear my head.
I drove with no direction, cruising through the streets of Oakland Ridge.
Somehow, everything was exactly the same but different.
Oakland Ridge wasn’t the average small town.
Sure, it was small, having a population of 12,000 people.
But it was also one of the wealthiest towns outside of Atlanta.
Our school system has been rated one of the highest in the country.
Gentry Co employed thirty percent of the townsfolk.
The majority of the people who live here have lived here for generations, like Mrs. Johnson.
Odette’s may have been located on a back road, but it wasn’t because Mrs. Johnson couldn’t afford a different location.
She wanted to stay connected to her roots, knowing what I know, she could’ve opened twelve new locations if she wanted to.
Somehow, my aimless wandering had led me here, Odette’s Soul Food Kitchen.
Smooth Jazz played from the restaurant as I walked up to the entrance.
The outdoor area was littered with a few families, and the indoor dining area seemed to be empty.
Looking around the room, I tried to spot Mrs. Johnson.
When I couldn’t find her, my feet led me to the kitchen.
Mrs. Johnson was standing there with a scarf over her head in a stained apron, removing the stems from some greens.
She paused what she was doing when she saw my face.
“Thinking about running again?” She said, tipping her chin up at me, resuming her tasks.
“What makes you say that?” I said as I went to the sink to wash my hands. Rolling up my sleeves, I grabbed an apron and slipped it on.
Mrs. Johnson pointed her knife at the bowl of freshly washed potatoes, and I started to peel them.
“You look like the same lost boy that stormed in here ten years ago.”
We worked in silence for a moment. This wasn’t like before.
When I left home, I wanted to be anywhere but here.
The pressure from my father was overwhelming, and the silence from my mother was making me resentful.
My breakup with Denise pushed me over the edge.
School was over. There was nothing keeping me here.
One night, I said goodbye to the twins and bought a train ticket to New York.
“I think I’m in love with Willow,” I muttered, tossing another potato into the bowl full of ice water.
“I know that’s not what’s got you screwing up your face like that, so there must be more to it than that.” She tutted as she moved the greens over to the large sink to soak them.
“She’s someone I rescued, and the department found out about us—now my job is on the line. My career, everything I worked for. It’s all blowing up in my face. Now I’m here working for Gentry just like he always wanted.”
“I’ve been wondering about that.” Mrs. Johnson washed her hands and then sat on a stool by the kitchen window. She poured two glasses of sweet tea from the pitcher on the counter and handed me a glass.
I stood back, taking a sip, savoring the cool sweetness on my tongue. “She was in trouble, and the only way to protect her was to bring her here. If it wasn’t for her, then I probably would’ve never stepped foot back in this town.”
“Do you regret it? It seems like since you met her, you’ve been dealing with a heap of problems.”
“C’mon, Mrs. J.” I let out an exasperated sigh. “No, of course I don’t regret it. Evelyn, she’s—she’s one of the best things to come into my life.”
“Go rinse those greens.”
Outside of the kitchen, she was a sweet elderly woman who hugged and pinched cheeks. In her kitchen, though, she was all work and no play. You followed her rules, or you found yourself outside the door. I didn’t want to be on her bad side, so I started rinsing the greens like I was told.
“There’s fear in your heart. You were scared back then, too, and that is okay.
A boy wanting his father’s approval is nothing out of the ordinary.
I’m not going to go back on my word and say leaving wasn’t the right thing to do.
It was—you needed it.” She shook her head as she stirred a large pot on the burner.
“I thought you would find yourself and come back. Tell everyone how proud you were to be a firefighter. Instead, you stayed gone, you hid where no one could judge your choices.”
“His voice is always the loudest in the room.”
“Being loud doesn’t make you right. This is your home.” She paused for a long while, hand on her hip. “You grew up to be a good man. Appeal to the hearts of those people. If what you feel for her is real. Don’t run, don’t hide—fight for your love.”
I dried my hands off with a towel, turning to face her. “What if I fail and I still end up losing everything?”
“What if you do? If all this trouble isn’t worth it, then what's stopping you from going home and ending this charade? Your great-granddaddy didn’t manage to build this place because he was lucky. He endured. He persevered. If this love is real, then …” Her voice trailed off.
“Sometimes you have to be willing to risk it all.”
“Mmm.” Was her only reply.
There was no way I was leaving Evelyn to fend for herself.
When I thought of the things that had been done to her, the things that made her scream at night – my body shook with rage.
The last thing I wanted to do was break my promise to her.
I said I would protect her, and nothing was going to come between that.
There was more than enough evidence to prove that I was an upstanding firefighter and honorable captain. I worked my ass off; I wasn’t going out like this.
She was worth it.
We cooked in silence. She directed me, and I followed.
I had calmed down a lot since I first set foot in here.
Left to my own devices, I wouldn’t know where to start, but somehow helping Mrs. J cook collard greens seemed to settle me.
The old woman was right. I gained more perspective than I’d hoped for.
I helped clean the kitchen before I bent down, embracing her in a hug. “Thank you for listening.” She patted me on the back and shooed me away.
“Parker, one more thing.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Don’t hold it all in. Tell her.”