PART 3
Chapter Twenty-One
Milo – Monday
The fresh, crisp, early morning air felt good against my skin as I walked down toward Landon’s business to meet him. I wasn’t totally sure what he had planned for me today, but I was looking forward to it. I had no idea if this investment would be a massive money maker, but I wasn’t totally sure if that was the most important thing to me anymore. I had a feeling that I wanted to invest in his company for other reasons...
“Hey, there.” I spun around to see Landon right behind me, looking as chipper as ever. Clearly, he was a morning person, which I liked. In this business, it showed dedication. “Nice weather today, right? I had a thought, if you were up for it, that you could come out on the boat with me for a few hours? I’ll show you the factory and stuff, too; I just thought it could be good for you to see the whole company.”
“I would love to.” I smiled happily at him. I hadn’t ever been out on a fishing boat before, I’d only ever been on the water on a yacht, and I had the strong sense that this would be different. “That sounds fun.”
He led me down to the harbor, and I felt my heart skipping an excited beat. This was different; this was actually the sort of adventure I’d come here looking for without even realizing it. Stepping out of my comfort zone was just what I needed.
Plus, being out on the water would give me the much-needed distraction from obsessing over Eliza. I needed to get her out of my mind, just for a short while, so I could go back to it with fresh eyes. It was such a complicated mess, and I had no idea where things would go next.
“Here.” Landon handed me some bulky, waterproof fishing gear, which made my face screw up in disgust. “I know it looks a bit crap,” he laughed at me, not offended by my reaction at all. “But trust me, you’ll be thankful for it. Even when the water doesn’t look rough, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. I’d rather you didn’t find that out the hard way.”
“Fair enough.” I nodded seriously before pulling it on. It was hot, stuffy, and very uncomfortable, but if Landon told me that I needed it, I was inclined to believe him. “Right, let’s go.”
As the boat started to sail, I watched Landon in amazement. He was a natural at this, a real guy’s guy who worked well with his hands – the total opposite of me. I’d never been that way, which was why I’d made my money in other ways.
I wanted to do more things like this; I wanted to take this new lease of life and do more fun things. This was much more preferable to spending my life partying meaninglessly.
“So, what drew you to the water?” I asked, leaning back to let the sun bask on my skin. God, this feels incredible...
“Oh, growing up in Florence, there weren’t many other options,” he replied casually. “But that didn’t bother me; I never wanted to do anything else. I love it here, it’s so beautiful, so homey. It’s the sort of place you never want to let go of.”
In a weird way, I knew exactly what he meant. I was sucked in by Florence; I didn’t want to leave myself.
“And, I love the water. I might not have been the best-behaved kid in school, but that didn’t matter because I always knew what I wanted.”
“And, you’ve achieved it well,” I shot back with admiration in my voice. “What you’ve built up is amazing.”
“Thank you. It’s been hard work, but I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been one hell of a journey. It certainly hasn’t left much room for a social life, at any rate.” That was the only moment that I noticed a flash of sadness in his eyes, but it was gone so quickly that I could have imagined it. “But, yeah, things are doing great now. I’m hoping to expand sometime soon, just trying to get it all organized.”
“What do you need to expand?” I asked innocently enough. This could have been the perfect moment to confess who I was, but first, I wanted to hear more about his plans. I didn’t want to make my identity public until I’d fully made a decision.
“Money, mostly. The business is doing well, bringing in a profit, but it isn’t enough to expand at the moment. I’m confident, though; I’m sure I can do it.”
“I agree.” I nodded seriously. Even if he didn’t get the money from me, he would get it from someone else – there would definitely be someone who’d see how investable he was. “I’m sure you’ll go far.”
“Yeah, then all the people who told me I’d be a failure will see!”
“So, you didn’t have much fun in school then?” I teased. I could just picture him: the kid in the back of class messing about, that brilliant business mind of his not bothered with academia because he knew he wouldn’t need it.
“Oh, it wasn’t just school. It was my dad, too.” His face fell, and I suddenly felt bad for saying anything. “He never believed in me. He spent my entire youth belittling me. He always told me that I wasn’t worth anything and I wouldn’t go far.”
“Wow, that must have been hard,” I murmured sadly. I wasn’t sure what to say, I didn’t have much life experience to base this on. “I’m sorry to hear it.”
“Oh, it doesn’t bother me anymore.” He shook his head a little too sharply. Clearly, this was something he wanted to squash down. “It used to drive me crazy. I would have done anything to impress him, to make him feel proud of me, but now... Well, now I just do it all for myself.”
“Best way.”
“My mom is great, anyway! I wouldn’t be anywhere without her.” All of a sudden, he seemed to realize where we were and who I was, and he snapped right back into business mode. “Anyway, let’s get you a line, try some fishing.”
“I’ve never done it before,” I felt compelled to admit, however crazy it made me sound to someone who lived in Florence. “I don’t know how good I’ll be.”
“Where do you live?” he exclaimed in mock disbelief. “How can you have gone through life having never fished? Never mind, I’m sure we’ll find a way to make it work. We’re not doing any heavy-duty stuff anyway; I need a crew for that. This is more of a leisurely thing.”
“Okay,” I sighed, relieved. “Let’s do this.”
***
“I still can’t believe I caught something!” I laughed loudly, clapping Landon on the back. He already felt like a friend; we’d grown a bond throughout the day and he was a great guy. “You must be an awesome teacher.”
He’d also shown me throughout the factory and he’d revealed his plans to me. I had to say, I was impressed. He did know what he was doing, and there was money to be made. Maybe not in the millions, but enough for me to feel comfortable.
I wanted to help Landon. I wanted to give him a much-needed business boost. He needed someone to help him out, and I wanted to be that person.
“You know, I might as well tell you the truth,” I admitted, handing over the wad of cash for the day. “I know Justin Gains. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of him, but he recommended you to me as a business opportunity. I want to invest in you.”
“Wh... What?” Landon stammered, blown away. It was the first time I’d seen the cool veneer cracked. “What do you mean? Are you serious?”
“I am. I mean, I’ll have to get some advice from Justin, I’ve been out of the investing game for a while, but I know now that I want to do it.”
His face turned pale, and he instantly handed me the cash back. “I can’t take this money from you if that’s the case. I didn’t realize this was a business trip. Oh, God, and I told you all about my past...”
“Man, don’t worry, it’s all good,” I chuckled. “I had a good time. I learned a lot from you. I’m sorry for being sneaky with you and not telling you who I was in the first place. I probably should have, but I wanted to get to know how you did business without a veneer over it, you know?”
“Oh, I agree, and I’m grateful.” He shook my hand a little too hard. “Thank you so much.”
“I’ll be in touch soon, all right?”
As I hopped back into the car and drove back to the cabin, I felt a warm glow of positivity. I’d done a good thing today, and I felt amazing because of it.
If the whole health scare thing had taught me one thing, it was that life was far too short to worry about the details. This felt good, my gut instinct told me that it was right, and that was enough for me. Landon was a great guy, and he deserved a chance. I could be the one who helped his dreams come true.
Now all I wanted to do was share the good news with Eliza. I wouldn’t tell her in a way that suggested I’d be back a lot or anything. I just wanted her to know. Maybe I’d be able to gauge her feelings by her reaction. She was a rollercoaster at the moment, and I couldn’t wait to learn more.
But as I crept through the front door, I could already tell from the hush that had fallen over the place that I was too late and Eliza was asleep. Time had raced away from me today, I hadn’t realized how late it had gotten, and I was disappointed. I’d wanted to talk to her about things. I didn’t think that I’d been out there that long, but time had obviously passed me quicker than I realized.
In fact, she was the one I wanted to share everything with; we’d become that close. It was crazy to think that I’d actually let her in more than most of the people I’d known for years.
I peeked into her room, just wanting to see her, and I instantly spotted Veil on the floor next to her, with her hand resting on his head. He never came into the bedroom at home – all my training was flying out of the window, but I honestly didn’t mind. Eliza made all that seem pointless. She’d changed my opinion about everything. He’d been sleeping in my room since I was here anyway, so there was no way I could be mad regardless.
I rested against the doorway, smiling to myself while I admired her beauty as she slept. She was so sweet, so perfect. All I wanted to do was climb in bed next to her and wrap her up in my arms, but I couldn’t. We weren’t in that place; we were still “friends.”
It might have been very up and down in my mind, but the last sober conversation we’d had on the topic was that we were going to remain purely platonic. I needed to respect that, however much I didn’t like it.
No, instead I’d have to sleep frustrated and alone in my room, knowing that she was only a few feet away. And I wouldn’t even have my own pet for company. What the hell had happened to me?