Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Death is imminent.
Or so they say.
A sick tendril of wonder weaves itself in my mind. What does Dad think of all this? I’m sure the great Mitch Bennett would have a helluva lot to say about the matter. He always was a lot more practical when it came to things like this with incredible instincts and actionable advice. It’s a shame that after Mom died, his already heavy hand became unbearable and his hateful words finally sent me over the edge that drove me to California. Without Mom’s interference, there was no way I could have stayed.
And you left Little Knox there with that bastard all those years ago…
I didn’t want to run—and running is exactly what I did—but with losing Mom, Dad’s always mounting disappointment that’d turned into such crushing cruelty, and the way Knox looked up to me like I had all the answers, it was too much. Knox was turning into a man. Surely he didn’t need me. Not that I would’ve been useful to him anyway while dodging Dad’s wrath.
Escape was crucial for my own survival. Unfortunately, my brother was on his own.
Needing to move and escape the depressing thoughts swimming around in my head, I stalk over to a wall of windows in my office. There are darkening clouds in the distance, signaling a pending thunderstorm. San Francisco sees its fair share of rain year-round, so it’s not concerning. However, after hearing several strange weather accounts this late morning, the dark clouds are ominous.
Get a grip, man.
Obsessively watching the news and pacing the office won’t calm my spiraling thoughts. A hefty glass of bourbon could, but it’s not even noon. Unfortunately, the only thing that’s got me through life in the past decade on my own is work.
SF Freedom Acquisition has been the buoy that’s kept me from drowning from feelings of failure, of abandoning my brother, disappointing my father in more ways than one, and the tragic and utterly gutting loss of my mother. It’s typically the only time I can find a reprieve inside my head, filling it with reports and clients and companies to buy or sell rather than heavy memories from my past. I’d even thrown in the word “freedom” when choosing a name for my company because it represented the release of my father’s clawing hold on me.
I don’t feel so free now.
I still feel like the vulnerable young guy all those years ago, waiting for the back of Dad’s hand to strike me across my face like he could smack the gay right out of me. Most days, I think he did because a few closed-door, drunken hookups over the past ten years were the only glimpse of the guy who attempted to come out of a closet in conservative bumfuck of Texas. No relationships or friendships. No parades or rainbows. Just me. Alone. Always fucking alone.
Somehow, I manage to bury those thoughts and busy myself with checking emails. I’m a machine as I respond, only looking up when I feel eyes on me.
Not Frannie.
Kyle.
Kyle Upton is my COO. A young, good-looking guy with a ravenous hunger for success. If I didn’t own this company, I might fear for my own job. One day, he’s going to leave SFFA for a bigger fish that pays a whole lot more than what I can offer. He’s brilliant and a little too shrewd for his own good.
“Knock-knock, boss man,” he says, wearing a shit-eating grin as he motions for the television. “Can we talk about the Cincinnati office or are you waiting for an asteroid to hit Earth this time and take you out of your misery?”
Like I said. Astute. Observant as hell. Sometimes it makes my skin crawl. I can barely deal with my issues without someone else trying to sneak a peek as well.
“There is no Cincinnati office,” I say, tone clipped as I mute the TV.
With a shrug, he closes the door behind him. He then makes himself at home, settling in the chair across from my desk. “Not yet, Bennett, not yet.”
Not ever.
Cincinnati may as well be in China for all I care. If I were to open another office, and that’s a huge if, I sure as hell wouldn’t put it in Cincinnati of all places.
“What do you need?” I pin him with a no-nonsense stare. “I have a ton of emails to catch up on.”
“I was thinking about stealing Frannie. She just knows her shit, unlike Elise.” His brows pinch together. “Also, Elise’s voice grates on my nerves. Come on, man. Do me a solid.”
There’s no way in hell I’d ever give Frannie up.
Ever.
I’d give up the entire company and start over before letting her go off to help someone else. She is one of the very few people who understand me.
“Frannie stays. Why don’t you take this problem of yours downstairs to HR if she annoys you so much?”