Chapter 35
MAX
“Where is your bag? You can get it and ride in the car with me. I’ve got the jet at the closest airport.”
I barely hear what Wolfgang says as I watch the direction Avery went long after she disappeared.
“I have too much here riding on me.” Not exactly the truth, because Talia is thorough, sending me updates as soon as she has them.
My father gives me that look, the one that says he’s done playing. “Pennies. Your time here is worth pennies. Working with the company produces billions.”
“Money isn’t everything, Wolfgang.”
I watch as the muscle along his jaw twitches. He hates it when I call him that.
“Where would you be without money, son? Sitting on a beach with no future and no ambition.”
“You think everything I’ve done hasn’t had ambition?”
“You’re the strong man you are now because of me. Because I molded you into who you are.”
“No,” I say with an edge in my voice, “The man I am today I owe to Opa Vogel.”
“You are the man you are because I allowed you to become him,” he says, his voice low and threatening.
But thirty years of barbs and persuasions don’t hold up to what I’ve found here. A haven I’ve always wanted. And a woman I think I love.
“Why do you really want me to marry Victoria, Dad? I haven’t seen you this anxious for me to do something since you asked me to take over the company.”
Wolfgang shifts, looking as though he’s just tasted straight lemon juice. It’s a look even I wasn’t expecting.
“Because ever since you took over the company, you’ve started believing your life belongs entirely to you.”
The words settle heavily between us.
“How can you say that? I’ve put in more eighty-to-hundred-hour weeks for years.” My heart rate picks up, and I have to take in a deep breath to calm myself.
“You’re not just a man, Max. You’re the face of a legacy. Every decision you make affects more than yourself.”
“Which is why I should be allowed to marry the person of my choosing. A spouse should be someone who’s there to balance out the world, to make it enjoyable. I don’t want to be waiting on a ticking timebomb for a divorce. I want to get married once, and have it last forever.”
I want Avery.
It wasn’t love at first sight—more like she had me laughing from the start. Now I just need to know if she’ll forgive me.
“You claim so much, yet it’s all based on emotion. You vanished without informing the board, ignored dozens of calls from your assistant, and missed a strategy meeting with Stuttgart. This reckless behavior isn’t going to keep Alder Haus at the top.”
“I’m aware of what I missed. I’m human, Wolfgang, not a robot.”
The ocean breeze catches the edge of his coat. “This is where you chose to run? A run-down beach town that doesn’t offer anything of value.”
I try to push down the anger creeping in, knowing he’ll only feed off my irritation. I lean back against the railing that leads to the boardwalk. “I wasn’t aware there were location requirements.”
“You’ve had your break,” he says after a moment. “Now you need to come home.”
Usually, this is where I would compromise.
Manage the situation.
Instead, I hear Avery’s voice in my head. “You should’ve told me.”
Not angry, just disappointed.
My father studies me carefully. “The engagement dinner has already been delayed once.”
I exhale slowly. “There shouldn’t be an engagement dinner.”
“There absolutely should.”
“I don’t even know Victoria.”
“You know enough.”
A sharp laugh almost escapes him at that.
Enough.
As if marriage is another acquisition. Another strategic alignment between powerful families and profitable futures.
My father’s gaze hardens slightly. “You are thirty-two years old, Max. At some point, you have to stop behaving like a rebellious university student.”
“I’ve been gone for a couple of weeks.”
“You abandoned your responsibilities.”
“No,” I say quietly. “I stepped away from them, to regroup.”
My father straightens. “Do you hear yourself?”
I do. That’s the problem.
Because, for the first time, the things I’m saying sound reasonable.
A few weeks ago, I thought I was out of control, irresponsible, and reckless. That taking time for myself was a sin.
Now?
Now I’m just tired of the game.
“We built an entire life people would kill for,” my father says. “And you’re standing here defending…” He gestures vaguely toward the street. “…this.”
My jaw tightens instantly. This has been more of a home than any of the places I’ve lived over the years.
The gift shop turned café.
The apartment with the blow-up mattress.
The town, both curious about my arrival and overall welcoming.
Avery.
Penrose. It’s one word that means so many things to me now.
“That woman,” he says carefully. “Is she the reason for this?”
I look past him toward the water. “She wasn’t the reason I ran, but she’s a big reason I would stay.”
His lips tighten to a shade of white as he shakes his fist in my face. “You’re a Bauer, and Bauer’s follow through on things they commit to.”
“What have I backed out on in all the years I’ve been working for the company?
I’ve put duty and honor above every want and need, making sure I took care of you and Mom.
I’m allowed to do as I choose when it comes to my forever partner.
And I’m allowed to live where I want. I can still run the company just as well with internet and a nearby airport. ”
My father’s face goes bright red, and I know he’s either going to clam up completely and leave, or he’ll explode, taking everyone near me in his wake.
Instead of focusing on his demeanor, I glance at the people around me. A group of tourists walk by carrying take-out boxes from the diner. Someone farther down the boardwalk is laughing loudly. The scent of smoke from a fire still lingers faintly in the air.
Small things.
Insignificant things.
Things I suddenly cannot imagine leaving behind.
“This union will bridge the gap between our families. You’re letting emotion interfere with judgment.”
“No,” I say quietly. “I think I’ve spent most of my life doing the opposite.”
Silence stretches between us.
His father’s expression cools further. “You are coming home tomorrow.”
Not: would you like.
Not: please.
It’s a fierce command.
The old Max would already be rearranging flights in his head, feeling that tug of duty that always got me up in the mornings.
This version of me just feels…tired.
What would Opa Vogel do?
“And if I don’t?”
His father’s eyes narrow slightly. “Don’t be dramatic.”
“I’m asking.”
“You have obligations.”
“I know.”
“Then start acting like it.”
Avery still hasn’t come back.
And suddenly, for the first time in years, obligation feels very different from choice.
My father checks the time on his watch. “Then we leave tonight. I’ll call Danny and have him get it ready for takeoff.”
Then he looks directly at me. “Don’t embarrass yourself over a temporary distraction.”
The words land harder than they should.
Because that’s exactly what I’ve been afraid this is.
Temporary.
Wolfgang walks away before I can respond.
And for several long seconds, I stay exactly where I am, staring at the door to the bike rental place.
I don’t want to leave any of it.