Page 125 of The October Arrangement

“I’m retiring.”

I laughed because I knew he was fucking with me. The problem was, he wasn’t laughing along with me.

“You’re serious?”

“Very serious, son.” He looked at Mary and smiled.

“When did you decide this?” I asked.

“Since you proposed to Bella.”

“Excuse me?” My brow rose. “And you’re only telling me now?”

“I wasn’t ready to tell you. Besides, you had too much going on with the wedding plans. It’s time, Simon. You’re more than ready to take my place. You have been for a long time. Mary and I want to travel.”

“In an RV?” Bella grinned.

My father smiled and pointed at her. “Maybe.”

“You’ll last two weeks,” I said.

“I figured you’d say that,” he said.

“You don’t know how to retire, Dad.”

“I’ll learn.” He grabbed Mary’s hand. “We’re traveling, son. The plan was to be gone for at least a year. But now with the baby on the way, we’ll have to do it in eight months. There’s no way I won’t be here when my grandchild is born. Besides, you’ll have free childcare.”

“What do you mean?” Bella asked.

“You both will be at the office all day. Have you considered who’s going to watch your kid?”

Bella and I looked at each other. That was something that hadn’t crossed our minds yet.

“And you’re not hiring a nanny. I will not allow my grandchild to be raised by a stranger. You didn’t have one growing up.”

“Only because Mom didn’t work,” I said.

“Doesn’t matter. Mary and I will babysit. Won’t we, darling?”

“Of course.” Mary smiled. “We’re looking forward to it.”

“I can’t believe you planned an entire retirement behind my back,” I said.

“It wasn’t behind your back, son.”

“It certainly wasn’t in front of me. I thought it would still be at least three more years until you did. When are you retiring?”

“The end of this month,” he said.

“Excuse me? The end of this month? That’s in two weeks,” I said.

“I know. All the paperwork is with the lawyer. As soon as they’re ready, you’ll need to sign them, and you will become the face of MDG.”

“I’m already the face of MDG,” I said.

“You’re the second face. When people think of MDG, they think of me.” He winked.

“You are keeping your seat on the board, right?” I asked.