Chapter 2
Brandon Calloway had his hands stuck in the pockets of his pants. He was standing at the edge of the beach, surveying his guests and his property. The resort was doing well, and as he scanned his territory, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
He had spent the better part of the past 25 years, making good investments and slowly, one property at a time, he had managed to build an empire for himself. An empire big enough to boast of three resorts in Florida, four in California and a new one under construction in Hawaii.
He had started from nothing. A small B&B that his grandmother had left him in Cedar Key. A property that his two siblings had washed their hands off the moment the Will was read. Brandon had bought it off his brothers for a meagre sum and spent the whole summer fixing the house. For three years, he had greeted every guest himself, mastered the art of a good breakfast in its kitchen and saved every penny so he could invest in a second property.
Which, he did. And then in a third, and then the fourth one was a resort, and the rest was history. It was the same story he had told the reporter who had come to interview him from Forbes magazine. He was being featured in the magazine that month in the article titled ‘Five Billionaires under Sixty’ and now he couldn’t believe he had come this far.
It had taken him twenty-five years, and now he was 52 and his beard had just started greying…but he had made it! He had built a legacy for his children.
What children? Brandon tried to not shake his head at that thought, but ended up gritting his teeth instead. He had used up all his energy and brain space towards the business, and building this legacy and, not once in all those years had he stopped to wonder who he was building it for.
Women had come and gone, but Brandon had remained, steadfast and true to his ambitions. Like an old film reel, the faces of all the women he had short lived relationships with, flipped through his mind’s eye. None of them were good enough, none of them were partner-quality and, most importantly, he had never fallen in love.
“You’ve never given one of them a chance. Two weeks isn’t long enough for you to fall in love, Bran. It doesn’t work that way,” his best friend, Marty, had said to him six years ago. But where was he supposed to find the time? Two weeks at a time, was all he had, to dedicate his energy to a woman and then the moment they started interfering with his work-he was out of there.
Now, at 52, after having achieved everything he had set out to achieve in his life, he felt the pang. That pull in the pit of his belly. Who was he going to leave all this to?
He met Alice in Boston, on a business trip. She was the manager at the hair salon that was recommended to him by one of his assistants, and Brandon was in dire need of a haircut.
Now when he looked back on that day, on that week of his trip to Boston, he couldn’t help but wonder if the result of that trip was a direct consequence of one of his “moods.” He’d been thinking hard about his legacy, about what Marty had told him six years ago and, when he saw Alice, he decided that she would do.
Alice was much younger than him, in her late thirties with some child bearing years still left in her. He knew he had caught her eye too. She hovered around him a little longer. Offered to cut his hair herself, instead of designating one of the other hairdressers to him. Within fifteen minutes, he had asked her on a date. Within a day, they had slept together twice and he had extended his trip. Within a week, he had decided that he was in love and asked her to marry him. They flew to Vegas, and his two assistants stepped in as witnesses to the marriage. For the first time in his life, Brandon had felt like he had taken charge of his personal life.
That was three months ago, and between then and now, he had seen his new bride no more than three times.
Alice was quick to quit her job at the salon, and find a brand new townhouse in the swanky part of Boston. Brandon’s contribution to the setting up of the house, had been nothing more than transporting his trunks of books from his home in Cedar Key.
Alice didn’t even seem to mind that she rarely ever saw her new husband, which should have come as a relief to him. Living with another person, dealing with the daily nuances of a relationship…were not things that he was experienced in. However, he couldn’t help but wonder if this had been the right decision. They hadn’t even discussed children, he didn’t even know if Alice wanted them. Sometimes, he even forgot her last name, and he hadn’t even asked her any questions about why Alice’s daughter hadn’t turned up for their wedding in Vegas.
Brandon slipped his phone out of the pocket of his pants and stared at the bundle of emails and messages on the screen. None of them were from his wife. In a split second, he decided that he needed to make this work. He needed to give this marriage and this relationship a fair shot, it was about time that he did.