The Billionaire's Marriage Contract(23)
“That’s when I broke my only rule.”
“You kissed him?”
Amy laughed. “No, I became his friend. I suppose at that point in Ethan’s life I was his only friend, the only one who knew who he really was and what he was doing. I broke my rule for becoming personally involved. I walked up to him and put my arm around his shoulder. ‘Let me buy you a drink,’ I said. He told me they were free, and I told him I’d buy myself one too then.”
“Endearing,” Hank said. “I can see how you’ve made such a career for yourself in communications. You tell quite a story. So what happened next?”
“Well, after I talked him down, we rejoined the reception and had a few drinks together. One thing led to another, and by the time the event wound down, I realized that I was alone with a handsome man in a strange city with no place to stay. When Ethan asked me if I’d like to stay in his suite, I said yes. It was kind of a blur after that, but he was a gentleman, and I woke up in the morning to that view of Chicago. I had fallen asleep while on the couch, and Ethan had taken the blanket from his bed and tucked me in. There was something sweet about that. Of course, I didn’t appreciate it at the time. I was a bigger fan of the aspirin and bottle of water he had left for me on the end table.”
Hank finished off his glass of scotch and looked at Amy. “I can see why you decided to give him a chance. I suppose I should tell you why I’m selling my company. It’s a far less interesting story. You see, I love my boys, but they’re not like me. They grew up rich. Money does funny things to people, and for my boys, well, it gave them the notion that they should work towards other goals in life. Charlie studied forestry in college, and he’s interested in conservation. Logan fancies himself to be something of a musician. Neither of them have a stomach for the business world. I think their mother saw to that, not that I could blame her.
“My company, my employees, they’re my family too. All of them, thousands of men and women who rely on their CEO for guidance and the ability to make the tough decisions necessary to keep a company relevant. I would love it if either of my sons had the interest or aptitude to run my company, but they don’t. That doesn’t mean I don’t think the world of them. They’re both brilliant, and I’m proud as hell of what they’ve been able to accomplish in life, things I never could do, but they’ve never been hungry. You’ve met Logan. You can see why I can’t hand the company over to him. He’s too immature, too brash. He makes poor decisions based on whims, and he’s never had to pay the price for it. I’m hoping that he learns his lesson eventually, but I can’t gamble the futures of my employees on hope. Logan’s older brother is a different story; he has no interest in business or money. I guess he’s like his mother in that way. He lives a simple life, and I respect his decision. The most basic fact is that neither of them has ever built anything. They don’t know what it means, not like me or you.”
Amy nodded as she listened to Hank. This felt like exactly the speech she had given to her sister only days before. “I know exactly what you mean,” she said.
“That’s the half of it,” he replied. “The other half is knowing when to say when. If either of those boys had wanted it, I’d have handed the company off to them years ago.”
“I’m sure you know what you’re doing. And, I’m sure your sons consider themselves lucky to have you as a father.”
“Thank you,” Hank said. “I know it must seem odd to you that an old fart like me can enjoy hearing about young love, but you made my night, Ms. Haven. As much as I would like to stay up and share stories all night, it’s past my bedtime now, and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. I’ve heard your husband will be back by the morning. Tell me, do you like pancakes and bacon?”#p#分页标题#e#
“Who doesn’t like bacon?” Amy replied.
“Atta girl.” Hank stood up and turned toward the door of his study. “I knew we’d get along. I’ll have someone come wake you when breakfast is ready in the morning. I make a mean chocolate chip pancake. Feel free to hang around in here or wherever you’d like.”
Amy stood up and gave Hank a hug. “It was wonderful getting to meet you tonight.”
Hank smiled. “The pleasure, Amy, was all mine. Since you’ve been so adept at turning your good guy into a bad boy, maybe you can advise me on how to do exactly the opposite for my son.”