Dinner resumed, and Parker managed to finish his food, albeit in tears, but he cleared his plate.
“Let’s do a toast,” Janae said as she lifted her glass of rum punch.
“To what?” I asked curiously, even though I was already making moves to lift my glass.
“To crossing another item off the list, girl!” Aja said as she refilled her glass from the pitcher.
It was sweet that the twins were invested in seeing me do everything on my list.
Parker bumped my shoulder as he lifted his glass. “To healing, to conquering, and new beginnings.”
He knew better than anyone what this list represented for me. I pressed a kiss to his cheek in appreciation. We hadn’t discussed what we were or what we would tell people. I hoped the twins wouldn’t read too much into it and just see it as a kind gesture.
That didn’t seem to satisfy Parker because he firmly grabbed my chin and pressed a searing kiss to my lips. We got so lost in each other that we only broke away when the twins started a chorus of boos and gagging.
My cheeks flared with embarrassment even though I knew it was all in good fun. I threw my napkin at Aja’s head after she made a dramatic scene of fainting at the table.
After clearing the table, we played a very intense game of Monopoly, ending with the Woods siblings regaling me withstories of their childhood, each story pointing a finger at which sibling was the sore loser.
The night still felt young, so we took our drinks to the pool and enjoyed the cool, crisp air under the stars.
Briefly, my mind drifted to the text messages I had received from Charles, but I shook the thought off. I didn’t want to ruin this moment.
As the time neared midnight, we dried off and decided it was time to call it a night.
When we made it back inside the pool house, Parker helped me clear the rest of the mess from the meal and filled the dishwasher as I wiped down the countertops.
Once we’re done, we make our way down the hall in the direction of our rooms.
“I’m going to move my schedule around so I can leave the office a little earlier. We have a list to finish,” Parker said as we reached my door.
“You don’t have to do that. I know you have an agreement with your dad.”
“I want to, Ev. I want to be there with you while you see this through.” He says, placing a chaste kiss on my forehead and then my lips.
“Sleep well, baby girl.” Was all he left me with as he turned away and walked into his room.
Chapter 28
Parker
“The 2026 projections are saying that we should be in the running to make 1.6 billion dollars in revenue from the partnership with Nexstre Corp by 2030.” Troy droned on.
Another Gentry meeting; the fourth one today. I felt like my eyes were crossing. I had seen enough pie charts and data for a lifetime. Every minute spent in this office building further validated my decision not to follow in my father's footsteps. While I got to see a lot more of Aja and Janae, I still hated it here.
I knew how to play my part and do it well. That didn’t mean I had to like it. During the day, I sat in on meetings, followed up on company findings and reports, and met with shareholders. At night, my father dragged me to more meetings with potential donors for his candidacy and to the cigar lounge at The Marquis, where he schmoozed with constituents.
This all felt like a test. I could tell my father was observing the way I was handling things. My mom even hinted at my father praising me in private. I would be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that hearing that made me want to pass the test. There was a small part of me that still wanted his approval, even though I was content with the life I built, and I hated it.
It had been years since my father and I were on good terms. It is hard on our whole family. Despite still having lingering feelings about my father’s approval, I didn't want to step up and take a place in the family business. Aja and Janae were happy here, and I was happy for them. I was hoping my father would get over my lack of involvement and focus on them. But it appeared absolutely nothing had changed since I left home.
I took a look at my watch and noticed it was nearing four in the afternoon. The advisors had been arguing with each other for the past ten minutes about which company should be absorbed, and I couldn’t take another second of it.
“Alright,” I said as I stood up, straightening my suit out with my hands. “I want the meeting minutes in my inbox by the end of the day. Please have the comparative data on Henderson Co and Templite prepared for our meeting next week. Thank you.”
The arguing came to a halt, followed by a chorus of, “yes, sir,” and, “will do, sir,” as I walked out of the conference room.
The walk back to my office was a short one. Once behind my desk, I frosted the glass windows of my office as I sat down and loosened my tie.
