Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“My dad didn’t say anything.”
“What do you mean? He didn’t warn you about the debt?”
“No, I mean he didn’t say anything. Nothing about the financial position of the business at all. As far as I was concerned, when I took over, it was a family business we’d all done well from. I planned to go in and grow it. Offer different products. Focus on high-net-worth individuals. But I couldn’t do anything. I was fixing leaks as soon as I got there. Just trying to stop the business from sinking was a full-time job.”
“And after it sank, what did he say?”
I knew the question was coming, but it doesn’t stop it hurting when she asks it. Because admitting that my father didn’t take responsibility feels like . . . It feels like I lost a father that day. He stopped being the man who’d stand in front of a bus for me. Stopped being the man I could go to for help and advice. Stopped being a man I could trust. “He told me I shouldn’t feel bad and that I should learn from my mistakes.”
“Oh, Hunter.” She doesn’t say more, and I don’t need her to. She doesn’t make excuses for him or say that it must have been a misunderstanding—rationalizations I’ve tried to make over the years.
“He abandoned you when you needed him most,” she says simply. She slides off her stool and presses her palm on my cheek. It’s so comforting. So warm. So completely what I need. Yes, I was an adult when I took over Bain Insurance, but I needed my dad to step up in that moment. Even if he hadn’t told me the state of things in advance . . . Maybe he was embarrassed or thought I could fix things. But when everything eventually collapsed, I needed him to tell me it wasn’t me who had failed. I needed him to let go of his ego, his pride—whatever it was that stopped him being a father in that moment—and to step up as my dad. To take responsibility.
“I think you’re the bravest man I know,” she says.
“Don’t say that. It’s not true.”
“It is true. Your dad blamed his lack of business acumen on you and cut you loose. And you took it, shouldered it all. Then you started again. That takes courage.”
Her words are like lines on a ship, fixing me to her shore. Keeping me close. Safe.
“No, that was Ed. If it hadn’t been for him, I never would have started Portis. I would be working in a bank somewhere.”
She looks at me as if she can’t quite believe what I just said. “You picked yourself up and went and got yourself a job. I would have been in a ditch with a bottle of wine. Ed didn’t do you a favor by asking you to go into business with him. Ed is a great guy, but he’s no dummy. There’s no way he’d have suggested going into business with some worthless dropout who sinks businesses. He knew you were smart, self-motivated, and trustworthy.”
“I know, but he took a chance on me,” I say.
“Of course he did. But he didn’t do it out of pity or charity. He did it because he knew you’d be a good fit for each other. And you know what? You deserve credit for saying yes. Because if what happened to you had happened to me, I don’t think I would have trusted anyone enough to make me a Big Mac and fries, let alone run a business with me. Kudos for taking a chance.”
Her words echo inside me, filling up all my empty spaces. She sees things through fresh eyes. I’ve always thought of Ed as someone who saved me. But Lucy is right. I’ve learned a lot about Ed since going into business with him. He’s not a guy who makes business decisions from a place of emotion. I think he did believe in me. Maybe he knew I’d shoulder the burden when he decided to take a step back.
“I like the way you see the world,” I say.
“Oh, I don’t know. I was ready to write you off the first time I ever saw you. I can jump to conclusions.”
Despite all the emotion running through my body, I manage to laugh. “You were protecting your sister’s happiness. You’re very good at doing that.”
She smiles. “Thank you.” She slides her hands up my thighs, and the air between us goes electric. “You know what else I’m good at?”
If we weren’t in a bar full of people, I’d spin her around, yank down her jeans, and be balls deep into her before she had a chance to tell me.
“Let’s get out of here,” I say, pulling out my wallet.
“Great idea.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lucy
Every minute I spend with Hunter, I like him more. He’s not the man I thought he was when we were first introduced. He’s not even the man I thought he was before our date tonight. He’s sweet and sensitive and underestimates himself. And I want him all to myself.