Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“Yes, Harper. What are you doing?” My mother is a nice shade of pink, too. “Sheryl said yes. Now you’ll have what you need to keep your position. I’m sure we can find something for Reid to do.”
This actually feels good. Like I’m taking off a way too heavy for me coat and moving freely for the first time in my life. “No, Mom. I’m not letting Reid spend money on this company when we have our own to build. Paul, it’s all yours. Good luck. Mom, I’ll have Lawyer draw up the transfer of my stock to you. It’s where Dad should have left it.”
“No. That’s not what he wanted at all,” my mother sputters.
“You can’t leave.” Paul is on his feet and looks like he realizes he entered the find-out stage of his life. “You’re the CEO.”
“Not anymore,” I reply. “I quit, and I divest myself of all stock in the company. My mother informed me that my father never wanted me to be the CEO. He intended to train my husband to one day take over.” I tilt my head to look Reid in his gorgeous eyes. “You want to take over, babe?”
“Absolutely not. You chose poorly, but I’m holding you to it,” Reid replies with a grin.
I turn back to the family I probably will be going low contact with. “See, I chose poorly. Like my mom always says I do. She can have the stock and Paul can have the joy of heading the company, so please direct all of your complaints and requests to him. Also, I’ll be taking some of our employees with me. The people who worked on Banover Place will be getting offers.”
“We’re going to need a crew,” Reid agrees. “And I think we already have a head of production, even if he is on the grumpy side. What’s up with that?”
Patrick is way less grumpy these days. Jeremiah has the man actually smiling from time to time.
“Harper, this is unacceptable.” My mother stands, her whole face rigid with outrage.
I take a long breath because this speech I’m about to give is a long time coming. I never thought I would give it in public but here we are. “Mom, I love you. In many ways you were a good mom, but you don’t like me very much and I’m unwilling to sacrifice my whole life so you approve of me. I am going to marry Reid and we’re going to start a new career, one I’m so excited about. If we choose to, and I think we will, we’ll have a couple of kids and we’ll likely raise them here in the city. I’d like for you to be in their lives if you can be good to them.”
“And their mother,” Reid adds. “If you’re not good and kind to their mother, their father will have something to say about it.”
“If you choose not to, know that they’ll have wonderful, weird and wild women to take your place. They’ll have my sisters, and they’ll have Lydia and Diane and CeCe to spoil and love them. So even if you can’t ever forgive me for not being what you thought I should be, know my kids will be loved. I will be loved.” Tears pulse behind my eyes. She’s been terrible but she’s still my mom. She still held me as a baby and rocked me and went with me to buy my graduation dress and showed up at all my recitals.
“You cannot walk out that door, Harper,” my mother insists.
“She won’t have to.” Reid leans over and scoops me up and starts for the door as everyone is freaking out behind us.
“What are we going to do?” someone asks. Probably one of the aunts.
I don’t answer because it’s not my problem anymore.
I choose me. I choose us.
I let Reid walk me out of that building and into our future.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I stare up at Banover Place and wish so much we had more time with her.
“It feels like the end of an era,” Ivy says, threading her arm with mine.
“And the start of something new.” Anika does the same on my other side.
Behind us there are cameras and cranes and everything the crew needs for sweeping exterior shots. They’ve set up the interior shots as well, and we’re simply waiting for the owner to arrive with her daughters. We’ve been told they know nothing about the gift their mother is about to give them.
I’m excited, but there’s a bittersweetness to the day because in some way we started here as young girls, these sisters of mine. This was the place where we first spoke our dreams out loud and vowed to help each other achieve them. Those dreams changed over the years, but what never wavered is our love for each other.