In a move that shocked me, my mom shot up from her chair and rushed over to me. She grabbed my arms and gave me a little shake. “The VanBuren merger,” she said, voice panicked.
“What?”
“Your father was in the final stages of a huge merger with VB Corp.”
“Okay, well, clearly, it will have to be put on hold.” Why was she even thinking of business at a time like this?
“No.” She shook me again. “Your father wouldn’t want that. You know how important his work is to him.”
Did I ever. “Screw work. Mom, he’s not even conscious.”
Acrylic nails dug into my skin through my thin sweater as she clutched me tight. “No, please, Ryder, you have to take over for him.”
“What?” My jaw hit the floor, and I took a step back from her, shaking my head.
She pulled me back to her. “Please,” she said, tears falling from her eyes. “You have to do this for him. He needs to know his company is taken care of while he recovers. It’s the only thing he’ll care about when he wakes up.”
I scoffed. Pretty sure he’d want to be able to stand and shit on his own. I managed to keep those words in. She was probably right. All he’d care about was if his money grew while he was lying unconscious in a hospital.
“Please, Ryder. He needs you right now. You need to run the company for him while he is unable to do so. I’m begging you. You’re his only son.”
School would start in a few weeks. I was supposed to begin a new path, one I’d set for myself based on my own goals and desires, not those my parents laid out for me. We hadn’t had a conversation about my switch to a master’s degree in education, but my father must have told her about our blowup. My stomach turned over. I couldn’t, didn’t want to say yes.
“Ryder, it’s time to stop playing around.” Her voice shifted from that of a devastated wife to the socialite who made headlines with her lavish lifestyle. “We’ve let you be selfish long enough. It’s time to grow up and do what your family needs. You need to step up and take your father’s place until he is well again.”
I stared down at her fresh tears. Were they for my father or for the fear of losing her status as the top one percent?
Or was she right?
Would it be selfish of me to step away from my father’s business to pursue my dreams at this time?
Fuck, I wished Alex was with me.
CHAPTER TWENTY- EIGHT
ALEX
After Ryder disappeared behind the ICU double doors, I lowered into the stiff chair with my heart in my throat. In a matter of minutes, our roles had reversed entirely. Ryder kept me sane all morning, and with one phone call, his world exploded.
What shit timing, not that a family crisis could ever happen at a good time, but Ryder’s relationship with his father fractured the day Ryder told his father he wanted a different future. One he’d devised for himself. Now, who knew what had happened to their chance to repair the rift?
Thinking of the mix of complex emotions Ryder must be dealing with had my heart aching—fear, guilt, shock, sadness, grief. I’d give anything to be at his side, holding him up in whatever way he needed, but having spent more than my fair share of time in hospitals, I knew there’d be no chance of getting beyond those doors. I’d have to suck it up and wait until he emerged.
So, I waited.
The first hour crawled slower than a slug through sand. I fucked around on my phone, watched the news report the depressing state of our nation, and counted ceiling tiles until my eyes blurred. By hour two, I’d given up on entertaining myself and stared at the doors, willing Ryder to appear.
My phone finally rang close to the top of the third hour. “Hello?” I said, recognizing the number for the recovery room.
“Hello, is this Alex?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Hi, Alex, I’m Theresa, one of the PACU nurses taking care of your mother. I just wanted to let you know that she is out of surgery, awake, and doing very well.”
The relief had my hands shaking as I tried to hang onto my phone. I could not have handled a second bout of bad news. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome. She’ll be in here with me for about an hour before we send her up to a room for the night. You’re free to come sit with her at any time.”
