Not Quite Over You
Page 47
Autumn laughed. “That’s true. She’s beautiful. I love her hair.” She glared at Drew. “I did not inherit her blond hair, which I would have really liked.”
He raised both hands. “I had nothing to do with that.”
“You actually did. Your dark hair DNA overwhelmed hers. It’s very sad.” She turned back to Grandpa Frank. “Am I your only great-grandchild?”
“You are. I have one on the way, but not for a few more months. So you’re the first.”
“And the best,” Autumn told him.
“Very much the best.” He held out his hand. “Let’s go to the kitchen and get something to eat. Then we’ll take a tour of the house. There are some interesting things to see that I think you’ll like, including a secret passage that leads to the attic.”
“Really? That is so cool. A real secret passage? Our new house in LA is being built. I saw it when it was just framed and let me tell you, there are no secret passages.”
Grandpa Frank chuckled. “Then you’ll have to come back and use ours as often as you want.”
Amelia went with them, no doubt to tempt Autumn with all kinds of treats. Drew would have to remember to warn Silver that Autumn was unlikely to be hungry for much dinner. He thought about joining them but instead decided to deal with what was likely to be an unpleasant conversation with his mother. While Grandpa Frank had been excited at the thought of an eleven-year-old great-granddaughter, he doubted his mother would be anything but annoyed to learn of her existence. She would see Autumn as standing in the way of what she thought of as his destiny.
For a second he toyed with the idea of not telling her about his daughter at all, but knew she would find out eventually. Better to learn the truth from him—in a situation where he could protect his daughter.
He went upstairs to the guest suite and knocked on the closed door. His mother opened it and stared at him.
“Drew. Did I know you were going to stop by?”
“No, and I hope that’s all right.”
“Of course it is,” she said as she opened the door and let him in. “I always enjoy your company.”
The three-room guest suite was large and open, with lots of windows and high ceilings. There was a bedroom, a bathroom and a sitting room. Irene led him into the latter and motioned for him to take one of the chairs.
“Should I ring for coffee or tea?” she asked. “Although I should warn you, it will take hours. Honestly, I don’t know why Dad keeps Amelia around. She does a terrible job.”
“So you mentioned last time I was here. I’ve never found her anything but helpful.”
“You only lived here as a teenager. I doubt your standards were much of a challenge for the staff.”
Drew wanted to point out that the problem might be a lot more with his mother than with Amelia, but that wouldn’t accomplish anything. More important, he needed to tell his mother about Autumn.
“I hope you appreciate what I’m doing for you,” his mother continued as she took her seat. “Libby is still the biggest bitch on the planet. I can’t figure out what’s wrong with her. She’s going to be trouble about the bank. You have to be prepared for that. Oh, and I’ve talked to a few friends and your father and I already have invitations to the party for the king and queen of El Bahar.”
“I think the party is technically for Cade and Bethany,” he said drily. “They are the ones getting married.”
She waved her hand. “You know what I mean. Now we just need that private audience.”
Drew told himself not to be distracted. “Mom, that’s not why I wanted to talk to you. I have something important to tell you.”
His mother’s gaze flickered and he wondered if she already knew. Libby might have heard and she would have been delighted to spread the word.
“You remember Silver, Mom. You met her the other day.”
His mother’s look sharpened. “What does she have to do with anything?”
“We dated the summer before college. Silver got pregnant and we decided to give up the baby for adoption. Autumn is eleven now. Silver’s stayed in touch with her and her family.” He told himself that whatever his mother’s issues were, she couldn’t possibly turn her back on her grandchild.
“Mom, Autumn is here. In Happily Inc. In the house, actually. She’s with Grandpa Frank. I know you won’t want to meet her, but I thought you should know about her.”
His mother’s expression hardened. “Fine. And now you’ve told me.” She pressed her lips together. “No wonder Libby’s been in such a good mood the past few days. She must already know.”
He waited, thinking she would want to say something else. Finally he asked, “Is that it? You don’t want to know anything about her?”
“Why would I? She’s not going to help you get ahead. You made a mistake when you were young. It happens.” Her gaze turned speculative. “Actually it makes you seem very relatable, which we can use to our advantage. I assume you’re covered legally.”
“You mean did I sign all the right paperwork so Silver and our daughter can’t come back and sue me or do something else to get in the way of my future?”
He’d been speaking sarcastically, but his mother didn’t seem to notice that. “Exactly.”
“It’s taken care of.”
“Excellent. Then we’ll weather this storm and keep moving forward with our plan.”
“She’s not a storm. She’s your granddaughter,” he said. “Don’t you have any curiosity about her?”
Irene’s eyebrows drew together. “Why would I? She’s nothing to me.”
He and his mother had never been close, but he genuinely didn’t understand her attitude.
“I couldn’t disagree more,” he said quietly. “She’s rapidly becoming everything to me.”
“It’s that Silver person, isn’t it? You’re back together.”
“We are, Mom, and it’s worse than you think. You know what? I wasn’t kidding before. We’re working together and it’s great. I like helping out with her business, improving processes and hiring people. It’s different from banking. More personal. I’ve talked to Grandpa Frank about starting a venture capital company.”
His mother went pale. “You mean him starting one. Not you. Oh, Drew, you couldn’t. A venture capitalist? How does that make anything better? How does that get us where we want to go?”
“Where you want to go,” he corrected. “Not me. Helping entrepreneurs is important work. Business drives our economy. Just think—we could fund the next Bill Gates.”
“Tell me you’re joking.”
He had been messing with her, but the more he talked, the more he realized the idea appealed to him. Direct involvement was always preferable to being at a distance.
“I’m thinking about it,” he said, realizing he wasn’t actually lying.
“I don’t want to hear about this,” she told him. “I don’t know why you’re torturing me. Honestly, I work so hard for you.”
He thought about his beautiful daughter, his mother’s beautiful granddaughter, and all the time that had been lost. He thought about Silver and how she understood what was important.
He’d always known his parents were different, especially his mother. As he’d gotten older, he’d wondered if maybe he’d exaggerated their ruthlessness and their ambition, if the memories had been distorted. Now he understood the truth was the opposite—he hadn’t remembered his mother as awful as she had been.
He raised both hands. “I had nothing to do with that.”
“You actually did. Your dark hair DNA overwhelmed hers. It’s very sad.” She turned back to Grandpa Frank. “Am I your only great-grandchild?”
“You are. I have one on the way, but not for a few more months. So you’re the first.”
“And the best,” Autumn told him.
“Very much the best.” He held out his hand. “Let’s go to the kitchen and get something to eat. Then we’ll take a tour of the house. There are some interesting things to see that I think you’ll like, including a secret passage that leads to the attic.”
“Really? That is so cool. A real secret passage? Our new house in LA is being built. I saw it when it was just framed and let me tell you, there are no secret passages.”
Grandpa Frank chuckled. “Then you’ll have to come back and use ours as often as you want.”
Amelia went with them, no doubt to tempt Autumn with all kinds of treats. Drew would have to remember to warn Silver that Autumn was unlikely to be hungry for much dinner. He thought about joining them but instead decided to deal with what was likely to be an unpleasant conversation with his mother. While Grandpa Frank had been excited at the thought of an eleven-year-old great-granddaughter, he doubted his mother would be anything but annoyed to learn of her existence. She would see Autumn as standing in the way of what she thought of as his destiny.
For a second he toyed with the idea of not telling her about his daughter at all, but knew she would find out eventually. Better to learn the truth from him—in a situation where he could protect his daughter.
He went upstairs to the guest suite and knocked on the closed door. His mother opened it and stared at him.
“Drew. Did I know you were going to stop by?”
“No, and I hope that’s all right.”
“Of course it is,” she said as she opened the door and let him in. “I always enjoy your company.”
The three-room guest suite was large and open, with lots of windows and high ceilings. There was a bedroom, a bathroom and a sitting room. Irene led him into the latter and motioned for him to take one of the chairs.
“Should I ring for coffee or tea?” she asked. “Although I should warn you, it will take hours. Honestly, I don’t know why Dad keeps Amelia around. She does a terrible job.”
“So you mentioned last time I was here. I’ve never found her anything but helpful.”
“You only lived here as a teenager. I doubt your standards were much of a challenge for the staff.”
Drew wanted to point out that the problem might be a lot more with his mother than with Amelia, but that wouldn’t accomplish anything. More important, he needed to tell his mother about Autumn.
“I hope you appreciate what I’m doing for you,” his mother continued as she took her seat. “Libby is still the biggest bitch on the planet. I can’t figure out what’s wrong with her. She’s going to be trouble about the bank. You have to be prepared for that. Oh, and I’ve talked to a few friends and your father and I already have invitations to the party for the king and queen of El Bahar.”
“I think the party is technically for Cade and Bethany,” he said drily. “They are the ones getting married.”
She waved her hand. “You know what I mean. Now we just need that private audience.”
Drew told himself not to be distracted. “Mom, that’s not why I wanted to talk to you. I have something important to tell you.”
His mother’s gaze flickered and he wondered if she already knew. Libby might have heard and she would have been delighted to spread the word.
“You remember Silver, Mom. You met her the other day.”
His mother’s look sharpened. “What does she have to do with anything?”
“We dated the summer before college. Silver got pregnant and we decided to give up the baby for adoption. Autumn is eleven now. Silver’s stayed in touch with her and her family.” He told himself that whatever his mother’s issues were, she couldn’t possibly turn her back on her grandchild.
“Mom, Autumn is here. In Happily Inc. In the house, actually. She’s with Grandpa Frank. I know you won’t want to meet her, but I thought you should know about her.”
His mother’s expression hardened. “Fine. And now you’ve told me.” She pressed her lips together. “No wonder Libby’s been in such a good mood the past few days. She must already know.”
He waited, thinking she would want to say something else. Finally he asked, “Is that it? You don’t want to know anything about her?”
“Why would I? She’s not going to help you get ahead. You made a mistake when you were young. It happens.” Her gaze turned speculative. “Actually it makes you seem very relatable, which we can use to our advantage. I assume you’re covered legally.”
“You mean did I sign all the right paperwork so Silver and our daughter can’t come back and sue me or do something else to get in the way of my future?”
He’d been speaking sarcastically, but his mother didn’t seem to notice that. “Exactly.”
“It’s taken care of.”
“Excellent. Then we’ll weather this storm and keep moving forward with our plan.”
“She’s not a storm. She’s your granddaughter,” he said. “Don’t you have any curiosity about her?”
Irene’s eyebrows drew together. “Why would I? She’s nothing to me.”
He and his mother had never been close, but he genuinely didn’t understand her attitude.
“I couldn’t disagree more,” he said quietly. “She’s rapidly becoming everything to me.”
“It’s that Silver person, isn’t it? You’re back together.”
“We are, Mom, and it’s worse than you think. You know what? I wasn’t kidding before. We’re working together and it’s great. I like helping out with her business, improving processes and hiring people. It’s different from banking. More personal. I’ve talked to Grandpa Frank about starting a venture capital company.”
His mother went pale. “You mean him starting one. Not you. Oh, Drew, you couldn’t. A venture capitalist? How does that make anything better? How does that get us where we want to go?”
“Where you want to go,” he corrected. “Not me. Helping entrepreneurs is important work. Business drives our economy. Just think—we could fund the next Bill Gates.”
“Tell me you’re joking.”
He had been messing with her, but the more he talked, the more he realized the idea appealed to him. Direct involvement was always preferable to being at a distance.
“I’m thinking about it,” he said, realizing he wasn’t actually lying.
“I don’t want to hear about this,” she told him. “I don’t know why you’re torturing me. Honestly, I work so hard for you.”
He thought about his beautiful daughter, his mother’s beautiful granddaughter, and all the time that had been lost. He thought about Silver and how she understood what was important.
He’d always known his parents were different, especially his mother. As he’d gotten older, he’d wondered if maybe he’d exaggerated their ruthlessness and their ambition, if the memories had been distorted. Now he understood the truth was the opposite—he hadn’t remembered his mother as awful as she had been.
