All He Really Needs(28)

Griffin snorted. “Right. I’ll just walk away from a half billion dollars.”

“Why not? Dalton did.”

“Dalton also got offers from ten other Fortune 500 companies within about five minutes of quitting.”

“Do you want to work for another Fortune 500 company?”

“Don’t be an ass,” Griffin said lightly. “You know I don’t want a job somewhere else. I barely do the job I have, even though it’s practically part-time. The only reason I’ve stayed at Cain Enterprises for as long as I have is because I want to get my hands on my inheritance so I can put it to work at Hope2O.”

“Right. And now your practically part-time job has turned into a full-time position as CEO.”

“Interim CEO,” Griffin interrupted.

“Interim or not, you’re going to have a hell of a time keeping up with that job and this one.”

Griffin glared at the sea of red brake lights still clogging the loop. “You’re right. But I don’t see any way around it. Either I do this job or I forfeit a fortune.”

Carl was silent for a long moment, then spoke with disappointment in his voice. “And you just can’t give up the money.”

“You know the money doesn’t mean jack to me. Hope2O needs the money. Not me.”

“No, Hope2O needs you on board all the time. It’s your expertise we need, not your money.”

“You think I should walk away like Dalton did?”

“Hey, I can’t tell you what to do. I’ve never had a carrot worth half a billion dollars, but ask yourself this—what has the promise of all that money ever gotten you?”

Griffin didn’t have an answer to that. The conversation moved on to other Hope2O business, and he stayed on the phone with Carl taking care of obligations he’d been neglecting for a week until long after the traffic on the loop cleared up. It was well after noon when he finally got back on the road and finished the drive to his parents’. All the while, in the back of his mind was the question Carl had posed. What had all the Cain money ever gotten him?

*

Because Griffin was going to talk to his mother, Sydney felt no compunction abandoning her drudgery to head back to her desk so she could catch up on her normal duties as EA to the CEO. After a morning away from her work, things had started to pile up. The whole EA thing hadn’t exactly been the career path she’d imagined for herself when she’d done her undergraduate work in psychology. She’d always imagined she’d do postgraduate study and one day get her therapist’s license. She’d taken her first job as an assistant on a whim. Just something to pay the bills while she’d waited for the next semester to start. But she was good at it. The money was great, and she found being in the thick of things in an office surprisingly rewarding. Today was no different. Fifty fires had sprouted up during her morning away from the computer, and she doused them with her usual speed and efficiency. Her inner therapist laughed at her. The joy she took in her job was an obvious attempt to fill her need to be needed. To feel like none of it could function without her. She knew that’s why she loved it and she didn’t even mind.

She was cruising through her work when the phone rang. “Griffin Cain’s office. How can I help you?”

“Is Griffin available?” asked a woman’s cool voice.

“He’s not in right now. I may be able to transfer you to his cell phone. May I ask who’s calling?”

There was an annoyed huff as though the caller had expected Sydney to recognize her voice. “This is Caro Cain. I am allowed to call my own son, aren’t I?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Cain. I’ll patch you through.” But the phone rang and rang and Griffin never picked up. Sydney switched back over to the original call and apologized again. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Cain. I’d be happy to connect you to his voice mail or take a message. Was this in regard to the conversation you had this morning?”

There was a pause and then, with a touch of uncertainty in her voice, Caro asked, “The conversation?”

“Yes. The conversation,” Sydney repeated, feeling dumb. “Griffin left the office, oh…nearly three hours ago.” Surely that was enough time to get to his parents’ house. If he hadn’t gone there, then where had he gone? “He said he was going to your house to talk to you.” Unless Caro wasn’t at home. That explained it. “Are you at home? Perhaps he missed you?”

“You may be my son’s assistant, but I hardly think I need to clear my schedule with you.” There was a pinched quality to Caro’s voice. “What did he want to discuss with me?”