“Mason, can I ask you a personal question?”
He had his head resting on my thigh, and I was lying on my back looking up at his ceiling.
“Of course you can.”
“What’s up with you and your dad?”
“What do you mean? My dad and I are best of friends.”
I sat up, using my arms to keep me up, and looked down at him. He didn’t meet my gaze, but he started to smile.
“Yeah, okay. Well, angel, I don’t know where to begin. Let’s just say he may still be pissed at me since I took over his company and pushed him out.”
“You’re joking?”
He shook his head and looked over at me.
“Well, I guess that would be a good reason for animosity,” I said dryly.
“Yeah, I know. Growing up, I wasn’t the favorite twin. Anytime anyone told me to go right, I would go left. My dad hated that. He wanted me to “toe the line,” and it just wasn’t something I’m good at. When I was a teenager, I paid attention to the market and my dad’s business. I tried to tell him about a few business ventures to go for, and he wouldn’t listen. So I did what any smart, driven businessman would: I bought the business, using my father’s name and company.”
My eyes grew.
“Seriously?”
“Yup. I did it for almost two years, and I was good at it. As I told you, I made my first million as a teenager. I put myself on his payroll and started making business moves that brought an abundance of revenue for my father and his business partners.”
“So did you start a coup in his company or a hostile takeover?”
I couldn’t help but show my excitement.
He laughed.
“Sorry, angel. I don’t think it was that dramatic. He finally found out about someone that worked for him who was bringing in a lot of business and wanted to promote him and bring him closer to his chest, so he could ride the poor schmuck. What he didn’t expect was his youngest walking in the door of his so-called praise meeting. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not that much of a heartless bastard. I tried to work with him. When I revealed myself, I knew he had to embrace me. But he still wouldn’t listen. I made his clients millionaires twice over in some instances, but he still thought of me as a stupid kid. So I had to show him I was far from it. One day I told him I was leaving the company, and I was taking a majority of his clients with me.”
“Wow,” I said softly.
“Yeah.”
“So now what? He works for you?” I asked him.
He sat up and turned to face me.
“No, I still allowed him to keep his dignity intact. He sold his business to me, unwillingly of course, and I took over running it with him as a shareholder. He gets to voice some opinions, but I or my brother have the final say.”
“And this Ryan character— which by the way seems to be a huge fan of yours —did he used to work for your father before you took over the company?”
I saw a look of disdain cross his face.
“Well, that prick happens to be my brother-in-law who, as a favor to my ungrateful sister, I hired, so he had a job. He is completely attached to my father’s ass. If my father told him to jump off the bridge, he would probably ask how he should land, head first or feet first.”
Mason rolled his eyes and stared out, as if he was suddenly deep in some distasteful memory.
I waited a bit before I asked, “So you’re not close to your parents, your sister, or her husband. So all you have is your brother, your grandparents, and your best friend AB?”
He turned to face me and moved closer to me. “And you.”
I smiled and leaned into him to brush my lips against his. “Well, that goes without saying. No matter what, you have me. Just don’t hurt me.”
He shook his head. “You know I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“I mean, I know you wouldn’t do it on purpose. But just…” I looked down at my lap and breathed deeply. I looked up in his watchful eyes. I said, “I’ve never felt like this for anyone before. If you break my heart, I don’t know if I could recover from it.”
He ran his hands along my cheek and through my hair, coming to rest on the back of my neck.
“Allura, the way I feel about you, I would fucking lose my mind over you. I would break as well. So let’s make a pact never to break each other's hearts. I have no desire to go anywhere. I’m here to stay. You’re what I want in my life for as long as I draw breath… and even after.”
“Really?”
I am sitting here turning to mush.
“I love you, Allura Shaw. I want to be with you always. I just hope you can make room for me in your life.”