Chapter Twenty-Five
Zack
Saturday
I fixed my eyes out the window as the cab whizzed through the city towards the building that was about to become my office. My dad was talking to me about all the plans he’d laid out to bring the office to where it needed to be. I wanted to listen to him, to really drink it all in, but my mind kept wandering towards the red-haired beauty I’d spent the night with last night.
After dancing, we had a few drinks and a whole lot of laughs. It felt like there was no one else in the world, never mind the room. I didn’t care at all about the rest of the people at the party; I could only see Olivia. She made me feel more amazing than I could ever hope for.
Then I walked her home, and we shared a cheeky kiss outside her front door. I wanted more to happen, my whole body buzzed for it, but she had to let Drea go. I half expected her to pop round in the middle of the night for another steamy session, but actually, I was glad that she didn’t. It made it feel more like a real first date, and it proved that we were both taking things seriously. We wouldn’t just randomly hook up anymore, what we had was going to be so much better.
“You okay, son?” Dad finally dragged me out of my thought bubble. “You seem a little out of it?”
“Oh no, not at all.” I shifted in my seat. “I’m just excited about what’s to come. I’m glad that we’re really getting things on the road now.”
“Is that it?” Perceptive as ever, my dad saw right through me. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else going on?”
“Oh well, there is something else.” I figured I might as well be honest. This was what Dad wanted for me anyway. “I’ve met someone. A girl...we’re dating.”
His eyes it up excitedly. “You have? Tell me more. I’m interested in learning about the woman who's finally thawed your heart.”
“Her name is Olivia.” I couldn’t say it without my face breaking into a big, beaming grin. “She lives across the hall from me, and she’s also my physical therapist...”
“What?” He sounded shocked, and actually a little angry. “Are you serious? Do you know how stupid that sounds?”
Well, that was unexpected. I thought he might be cautious when he learned that she was a single mom, but I hadn’t even got to that point yet. This was bad news. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, how crazy is that? She lives in the same building as you, and she’s working with you. What if her boss finds out? Won’t she lose her job for fooling around with a client?”
I gulped. I’d done my best not to think about it too much because I didn’t want to accept the possible consequences, but with Dad saying it so blatantly I couldn’t think about anything else.
“Plus what happens if you break up? You’ll have to see each other every damn day. It’s ridiculous. Did you even think about that before you started hooking up with her? Did you even consider what might happen afterward?”
“I...” I didn’t know what to say to that. I was starting to wish that I hadn’t said anything. “I don’t know; it doesn’t matter. It is what it is.” I shrugged trying to act as blasé as possible. “Anyway, we’re here.”
I jumped out of the cab quickly, tossing some dollar bills the driver’s way. Dad had zapped all the happiness out of me, and I just wanted to get this over and done with. I felt so disappointed...until I looked up at the building that was about to become mine. I had to be proud about that, and Dad was too. Even if he didn’t like what I was doing with my personal life, he liked what was going on with the charity.
“Right,” I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. “Let’s do this.”
I stalked up the steps to my office with a surge of determination. This was the first day of the rest of my life, and I couldn’t wait for it. As we reached the top of the stairs, a woman with long legs and platinum blonde hair hanging down her back smiled at me. She had a royal blue suit jacket and skirt on and bright red lips. She had that typical real estate agent look about her.
“Hello there, Mr. Taylor,” she cooed at me. “It’s good to see you.”
“Yeah, it’s great to see you, too,” I replied brightly. I took her hand and shook it. “I’m glad to get this started.”
“Well, all the paperwork has already been drawn up for you, so all you need to do is read through and check it.” She handed me a stack of papers. “And, I’m here, so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them.”
“Thank you.”
I scanned my eyes over the papers, feeling a little unsure of what I was supposed to be looking for. I didn’t know much about all of this, which was why it felt good to have my dad by my side. I had no doubt whatsoever that if there were anything to see, he would find it. As I read, I continually glanced my eyes over to him, but he didn’t seem to give me any warning sign whatsoever, so when it came to writing the check, I had absolutely no issues doing so.
“Here we go,” I proudly said as I handed my money over to the real estate agent. “Thank you for sorting this.”
She couldn’t help herself – the woman’s eyes bulged out of her head as she saw the amount that I’d written. My breath caught in my throat as I expected her to question me about it. If I didn’t want to share my financial details with my girlfriend, then I sure as hell didn’t want to tell this woman I didn’t know. Luckily for me, she gathered herself together, and she returned to professional status.
“Thank you very much, Mr. Taylor. Here are the keys; I hope you enjoy your new building.”
“I’m sure I will.”
We all left the building together with a celebratory feel around us. That warm positivity crept through my veins and made my face break with happiness. I’d done it; I finally had things started. I was now on my way to creating what I hoped would be a very successful charity.
“What do you want to do now?” Dad asked me, sounding happier and freer than before. It seemed that the charity had given him a fresh new purpose, too. “Did you want to go out for a drink to celebrate?”
“Yeah, why not? That sounds nice, actually.”
Dad paused for a second before he spoke once more. “Why don’t you invite your girlfriend? Sorry I was a bit harsh earlier. I just don’t want things to be complicated for you after all you’ve been through.”
I bit down guiltily on my bottom lip. He was making it incredibly challenging for me to tell him that everything was even more complex than he thought. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Why not? Is it because of what I said earlier? Because I am sorry. I would still like to meet her...”
I couldn’t let Dad believe it was his fault; I had to be honest. “No, it’s because she doesn’t know.”
“About the charity?” His eyes narrowed at me. “Or about the money?”
“All of it,” I admitted, feeling more than a little foolish as I did.
“What? Why not?”
“It just... It hasn’t come up, that’s all.”
Dad sighed and shook his head at me. He seemed disappointed in me, which was probably well justified. I should have told Olivia about it; it was only fair. I’d had opportunities to, and I just hadn’t done it. I was foolish, and now I was more than a little scared that I’d accidentally ruin everything with my stupidity.
“You have to tell her if you want to keep her,” he warned me. “If you’re serious and think she’s the right one, then you need to be honest with her; you can’t build your relationship on a lie.”
“But what if she looks at me differently? What if it changes her opinion of me?”
“Then she isn’t the one.” He placed a comforting arm on my shoulder and stared deeply at me. “Trust me, son, telling the truth is the only way you can make this work.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Dad loudly sighed before he spoke again. “You know, I kept a secret from your mom once.” My eyes snapped up to him, he hardly ever spoke about Mom, so I knew that this had to be something serious. My heart pounded just a little bit as I waited for him to continue.
“When we first started dating, I got my acceptance into the military, and I didn’t tell her about it. I was proud of it, don’t get me wrong, but I was scared that it’d end things for us. I thought she’d grow bored if I was likely to be away for long periods of time.”
“Why?” This story had me gripped; it made me feel closer to my mom that I had done in a very long time.
“Because she was so beautiful, and she had a lot of guys interested in her.” He chuckled at the memory. I could easily imagine what he was saying was true; I could remember my mother’s pretty face well. “I assumed if I went, one of the others would get her, so I kept it a secret. The date of me leaving kept looming, and still, I kept it inside. It was stupid – I couldn’t avoid the inevitability, but I tried to ignore it anyway.”
“When did she find out?”
“The day I left,” he said gravely. “She came to see me as I was loading my things into the car.” I could only imagine what heartbreak that caused. “She went crazy, obviously…screamed at me for being a coward. Yelled at me for leaving without telling her. My secret caught up with me, and the consequences were terrible.”
“So, what happened?”
“She broke it off with me as any smart woman would.”
“She broke up with you?” My heart shattered as I realized this story had no happy ending...except it had to because I was born.
“Yes. And it took me three long years to get her back. I was distracted the whole time I went through my army training; all I could think about was her. I plotted and planned my way to get her back, and after a very long time, I did.” He patted my shoulder and grinned. “So, I guess what I’m saying is if you don’t want three wasted years as I had, then be honest. Don’t make the same mistakes that I did.”
Yeah, I didn’t really want to wait for three years to be with Olivia – I wanted to be with her now. Just like Dad, my secret would catch up with me, too. She was already starting to suspect. I had to find a way to let her know that I had the money, then I’d pray that she’d still act the same around me afterward. I couldn’t lose her… I just couldn’t.
She was the first person to make me smile in a very long time. I wasn’t ready to let that happiness slip through my fingers so easily, over one silly mistake. The next time I saw her, I would tell her everything. I vowed to myself that she’d know the truth about me, one way or another.
“So, did you want to go for that drink?” Dad asked. “Celebrate?”
“I do. Let’s do this.”