The Heir Arrangement (Deals and Daddies #2)

Chapter 1

MILES

“So that’s the plan,” Miles Aspin said, his driver dangling over his shoulder as his father lined up his shot.

Miles would hit second — he always did when he golfed with his father.

It was a fifty-fifty chance whether Silas Aspin would be interested in listening to anything his son had to say while he was taking his own shot, but Miles’s habit was to maximize every moment he had with his father.

After all, the man had taught him everything he knew.

“Well, it sounds like you’ve thought this through,” Silas said, not taking his eyes off his ball.

He swung his driver back and connected, sending it sailing up into the air.

Dropping the club through his grip so he was holding it by the neck, he shaded his eyes and watched the ball fly off. “That one’s on the green.”

Miles nodded. He’d expected nothing different. As with everything else in his life, his father was always successful on the links. He placed his own ball on the tee, but rather than square up to take his swing, he regarded his father for a moment. “So, you think it’s a good idea?” he asked.

“Merging with BasTech?”

“Acquiring BasTech,” Miles said. “Roland Bastion is selling to me, not entering into a partnership.”

“Well, that is better,” Silas said. “You don’t want to lose the controlling stake of the company.”

“Or the branding,” Miles agreed. “We’ll always be Gold Standard, if I have anything to say about it.

” It was the name his father had made famous, and now almost every household in America — and many throughout the world — had at least one Gold Standard product, whether it was an appliance, a computer, a television, or even one of their range of high-end home furnishings.

“Acquiring BasTech means we’ll take over production of their outdoor grills, patio furniture, Jacuzzis and in-home spas, and garbage disposals,” Miles said.

His father raised his eyebrows. “Garbage disposals?”

Miles shrugged. “It comes with the rest,” he said. “If we can start selling disposals under the Gold Standard name, it’s a new revenue stream. What was it you always said to me? Diversification is security, and security is profit?”

“Take your shot.” Silas’s mind was still on the game.

Miles lined up and struck his ball, watching as it sailed toward the green.

He felt sure it would land within an inch of where his father’s had struck.

Silas turned to look at him. “Diversification is all well and good,” he agreed.

“I just wonder if maybe you’re putting too much of your focus into all this. ”

“Into Gold Standard? That’s your baby, Dad.

You’ve been telling me all your life how you built the company from the ground up, how it’s your legacy…

our family’s legacy. That’s what you always say.

Don’t you want me to put work into it? Don’t you want me to do all I can to make sure we’re a success? ”

“Oh, of course I do,” his father said. “I just want to make sure that you’re not neglecting other areas.”

“You mean, like research and development?”

His father chuckled. “I’m sure the R and D is fine,” he said. “No, I’m talking about your personal life, Miles. When was the last time you had any fun? It seems like you’re always at the office.”

“I’m out golfing with you right now,” Miles pointed out.

“Yes, but we had to reschedule three times because you kept telling me something had come up. What’s keeping you so busy all the time that you can’t even get away for eighteen holes with your own father?

Our company is pretty stable at this point, Miles.

It’s not as if we’re at risk of bankruptcy.

You’d be fine if you devoted some time and energy to self-care. ”

“Self-care?” Miles stared at his father. “What have you been watching, Dad?”

“Well, now that you mention it, there’s a great series of videos by a self-help mogul that you should check out. I’ll send you the link.”

“Have you been body-snatched?” Miles asked. “You don’t sound like yourself at all, Dad.”

Then a more sinister explanation occurred to him.

He knew his father’s heart issues had gotten worse lately — he had insisted on accompanying him to his last physical.

It was after that appointment, after hearing the doctor talk sternly about the effects of stress on Silas’s heart, that Miles had insisted on taking over the lion’s share of the responsibilities at Gold Standard.

His father hadn’t quite taken an early retirement — he still attended meetings from time to time — but he spent a great deal more time relaxing and trying to take care of his health than he had previously.

Still, that had never meant he was the kind of man who watched self-help gurus on the internet.

There had to be another reason. “Did you get a new report from Dr. Roberts?” Miles asked his father.

“Is there an update?” He held his breath.

What else could explain his father’s behavior, but a turn for the worse?

Silas just laughed. “You really think I wouldn’t tell you to prioritize your own happiness unless I was dying, Miles?”

Miles wasn’t sure how to respond. He wouldn’t have put it that crudely, but his father’s first priority had always been the business.

Miles’s priorities had always been in line with his father’s.

And now his father seemed to be telling him that was wrong, that he wanted Miles to pay attention to other things instead.

“When was the last time you went on a date?” his father asked.

“Dad. I do live in the twenty-first century,” Miles said. “What do you mean, a date?”

“People go on dates,” his father insisted. “My friend Steve tells me his son is on the apps. Are you on the apps?”

“Am I on the apps?” He felt like he had fallen into a science-fiction novel. “How do you even know about the apps?”

“Steve told me. He said his son met his last two girlfriends that way, and now he’s on the hunt for someone new.”

“Well, Steve’s son sounds like he has a lot more time on his hands than I do,” Miles said.

“No, I’m not on the apps. I can’t fit that kind of thing into my life right now.

I don’t remember the last time I had an evening off.

I’ve been working so hard on this acquisition that I hardly have time to sleep. ”

“Well, that isn’t healthy,” his father said mildly, getting behind the wheel of their golf cart.

“You have to build some rest into your life, Miles. And for that matter, you need to spend some time doing things that are actually enjoyable for you. I think you should get on these apps. I wouldn’t mind seeing you with a pretty girl on your arm before I die. ”

Miles gritted his teeth. His father spoke so casually about death, but it really wasn’t a joking matter at this stage. “I’ll meet someone eventually,” he said. “I’m in no rush about it.”

“You know, if I could wish for one thing in this world,” his father said, “it would be that your mother and I had had more time together before she died. I wish we had met one another just a little sooner, so that we could have had a few more years.”

“You and Mom were college sweethearts, Dad.”

“Even given that, I’m still left wishing we’d had more time.

You’re going to be forty in a few years.

You don’t have any time to waste, Miles.

You don’t want to wait forever to meet your wife, because if you do, you’ll be cutting short the time you’re able to spend with her.

That’s the last thing you want, isn’t it? ”

Miles sighed. “You’re asking me about the time I want to spend with a wife I’ve never met?

I don’t know, Dad. I’m sure whatever was meant to happen is what will happen, and that will be good enough for me.

I really don’t have the time to worry about all this right now.

I have to think about my meeting with Bastion. ”

“I’d also like to see you have a child someday.”

There it was. Now at least these things made some sense.

Even though Miles was annoyed with the subject, he couldn’t help feeling a bit relieved to understand what his father was really after.

This was about the future of the company.

This was about making sure there would be someone to take over Gold Standard one day, when Miles had reached his father’s age and was ready to retire.

Of course that’s on his mind, given everything that’s going on with him. Of course he would be worried about the future of the company.

“Don’t worry, Dad,” he said. “I’ll get around to those things eventually.

“You don’t want to wait too long,” Silas lectured.

“I know it feels now as if you have forever, as if you can take the rest of your life to get this done, but that isn’t true.

One day, you’re going to wake up, and your best years will be behind you.

When that happens, you might find yourself wishing you had prioritized different things, but there won’t be anything you can do about it then. ”

“I’ll get around to it,” Miles grumbled. “I’m not going to wait my whole life to have kids, Dad, don’t worry. I know that’s important.”

“It is important. It’s more important than you might realize, Miles.”

“All right, all right. Can we get down to the green? Nothing’s going to be accomplished in business or in my personal life if I spend all day sitting around on the golf course.”

His father let out a sigh. “That’s you in a nutshell,” he mused.

“Always worrying about what’s going to be accomplished.

And it’s my own fault, really, for raising you this way.

I should have given you more of a sense of perspective.

” He started up the golf cart and began the drive toward the green.

Miles stared off into the distance, pondering what his father had said.

Did he really regret the way Miles had been raised?

And if so, why? Surely he couldn’t question the way things were going with the company?

The BasTech deal was one of the crowning achievements of Miles’s career so far.

He had expected his father to be thrilled about it, not to tell him he had his priorities wrong.

Silas stopped the cart and the two of them got out. “You’re very quiet,” the older man observed.

“Just thinking.”

“I hope I’ve given you something to think about, then. You simply can’t devote your whole life to work, Miles. If you do, you’re going to be filled with regrets when you’re my age.”

“Are you filled with regrets?” The idea surprised Miles, he’d always thought Silas would be proud of his achievements. “You gave a lot of time to work. Is this your way of telling me you wish you hadn’t done that?”

“It’s my way of telling you I wish some of my choices had been different, that’s all,” his father sounded wistful.

“My life is a story that has been written now, Miles, but yours is still in the middle. You still have plenty of time to make whatever you want of it, and I suggest you do so. That’s all I’m trying to say. ”

Silas walked over to his bright white golf ball, putter in hand, and gave it the lightest tap. The ball sailed directly to the hole and rattled its way in. He grinned, bent over, and pulled it out. “That’s two for me. One under par. Your turn.”

Miles found his own ball — as he had predicted, it had landed very close to where his father’s had.

He took his swing. For a moment, he thought his ball was about to go in too, but it didn’t.

It flew wide, overshooting the hole by several feet.

It took him an additional two putts to sink the shot at last, and during that time he couldn’t help but feel his father’s eyes on him, couldn’t help but wonder whether his father was still thinking about the conversation they’d just had.

And if he was, what might his thoughts be?

He didn’t know. But what he did know was that he would think twice before trying to impress his father with professional accomplishments again. It seemed that was no longer satisfactory. Silas Aspin was officially looking for something else from his only son.