“Steve told me. He said his son met his last two girlfriends that way, and now he’s on the hunt for someone new.”
“Well, Steve’s son sounds like he has a lot more time on his hands than I do,” Miles said. “No, I’m not on the apps. I can’t fitthat kind of thing into my life right now. I don’t remember the last time I had an evening off. I’ve been working so hard on this acquisition that I hardly have time to sleep.”
“Well, that isn’t healthy,” his father said mildly, getting behind the wheel of their golf cart. “You have to build some rest into your life, Miles. And for that matter, you need to spend some time doing things that are actually enjoyable for you. I think youshouldget on these apps. I wouldn’t mind seeing you with a pretty girl on your arm before I die.”
Miles gritted his teeth. His father spoke so casually about death, but it really wasn’t a joking matter at this stage. “I’ll meet someone eventually,” he said. “I’m in no rush about it.”
“You know, if I could wish for one thing in this world,” his father said, “it would be that your mother and I had had more time together before she died. I wish we had met one another just a little sooner, so that we could have had a few more years.”
“You and Mom were college sweethearts, Dad.”
“Even given that, I’m still left wishing we’d had more time. You’re going to be forty in a few years. You don’t have any time to waste, Miles. You don’t want to wait forever to meet your wife, because if you do, you’ll be cutting short the time you’re able to spend with her. That’s the last thing you want, isn’t it?”
Miles sighed. “You’re asking me about the time I want to spend with a wife I’ve never met? I don’t know, Dad. I’m sure whatever was meant to happen is what will happen, and that will be good enough for me. I really don’t have the time to worry about all this right now. I have to think about my meeting with Bastion.”
“I’d also like to see you have a child someday.”
There it was. Now at least these things made some sense. Even though Miles was annoyed with the subject, he couldn’t help feeling a bit relieved to understand what his father was really after. This was about the future of the company. This was about making sure there would be someone to take over Gold Standard one day, when Miles had reached his father’s age and was ready to retire.
Of course that’s on his mind, given everything that’s going on with him. Of course he would be worried about the future of the company.
“Don’t worry, Dad,” he said. “I’ll get around to those things eventually.
“You don’t want to wait too long,” Silas lectured. “I know it feels now as if you have forever, as if you can take the rest of your life to get this done, but that isn’t true. One day, you’re going to wake up, and your best years will be behind you. When that happens, you might find yourself wishing you had prioritized different things, but there won’t be anything you can do about it then.”
“I’ll get around to it,” Miles grumbled. “I’m not going to wait my whole life to have kids, Dad, don’t worry. I know that’s important.”
“It is important. It’s more important than you might realize, Miles.”
“All right, all right. Can we get down to the green? Nothing’s going to be accomplished in business or in my personal life if I spend all day sitting around on the golf course.”
His father let out a sigh. “That’s you in a nutshell,” he mused. “Always worrying about what’s going to be accomplished. And it’s my own fault, really, for raising you this way. I should havegiven you more of a sense of perspective.” He started up the golf cart and began the drive toward the green.
Miles stared off into the distance, pondering what his father had said. Did he really regret the way Miles had been raised? And if so, why? Surely he couldn’t question the way things were going with the company? The BasTech deal was one of the crowning achievements of Miles’s career so far. He had expected his father to be thrilled about it, not to tell him he had his priorities wrong.
Silas stopped the cart and the two of them got out. “You’re very quiet,” the older man observed.
“Just thinking.”
“I hope I’ve given you something to think about, then. You simply can’t devote your whole life to work, Miles. If you do, you’re going to be filled with regrets when you’re my age.”
“Are you filled with regrets?” The idea surprised Miles, he’d always thought Silas would be proud of his achievements. “You gave a lot of time to work. Is this your way of telling me you wish you hadn’t done that?”
“It’s my way of telling you I wish some of my choices had been different, that’s all,” his father sounded wistful. “My life is a story that has been written now, Miles, but yours is still in the middle. You still have plenty of time to make whatever you want of it, and I suggest you do so. That’s all I’m trying to say.”
Silas walked over to his bright white golf ball, putter in hand, and gave it the lightest tap. The ball sailed directly to the hole and rattled its way in. He grinned, bent over, and pulled it out. “That’s two for me. One under par. Your turn.”
Miles found his own ball — as he had predicted, it had landed very close to where his father’s had. He took his swing. For a moment, he thought his ball was about to go in too, but it didn’t. It flew wide, overshooting the hole by several feet. It took him an additional two putts to sink the shot at last, and during that time he couldn’t help but feel his father’s eyes on him, couldn’t help but wonder whether his father was still thinking about the conversation they’d just had. And if he was, what might his thoughts be?
He didn’t know. But what he did know was that he would think twice before trying to impress his father with professional accomplishments again. It seemed that was no longer satisfactory. Silas Aspin was officially looking for something else from his only son.
CHAPTER 2
CHELSEA
“Does it seem to you as if we always get stuck writing down the gifts at these things?” Heather asked, passing a glass of champagne to Chelsea.
Chelsea crossed her legs and balanced her notepad on her lap as her friend Jessica unwrapped yet another stack of onesies and began to squeal. “I suppose it’s because we’re single,” she said.
