Landen pressed his hands together and looked solemn. “Yes, it was very worrisome. But I’ve spoken with her doctors and she’s made a full recovery. She’s been enjoying her time there, but I told her she had to come back to the States for a short break at least.”
So we were both going to lie. But if I did that, we would never get anywhere.
“Sir, I’m going to be blunt. I believe Ash…Ashleigh wants to come home. However, I think she’s concerned what that might mean for my future at Princeton.”
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t respond.
“Of course, I told her that was crazy. There would be no reason for you to keep her in Switzerland, if that wasn’t where she wanted to be. Certainly, you can’t be worried at all about my role in her life. We barely see each other, or speak to each other. I wasn’t sure if you knew that.”
“I don’t know what I thought about your…friendship.”
“You made it clear I had to stay away from your daughter. I’ve done that. I’ll continue to do that. I’ll do anything you want, if you just let her come home.”
“I don’t know what she told you, Marc, but I only have Ashleigh’s best interests at heart. She made it clear to me several months ago she has feelings for you. Let’s call it a teenage crush.”
“I haven’t encouraged that, sir.” It was true. I hadn’t encouraged it. I’d done everything in my power to discourage it.
It still didn’t stop me from fucking her blind.
“I’d hoped distance might help her put some perspective on that,” he said cautiously.
Translated. He wanted her away from me because he was worried about my influence over her. How did I convince him I wasn’t a threat?
“Sir, I’ve taken an accelerated course load at Princeton. I’ll be finished my degree by next semester, and then my plan is to come to Manhattan and make a name for myself in the financial world. Much in the same way you did. While I’ll always be grateful to George, and to you for allowing George to take me in, my eyes are on the future. Not the past. Ashleigh is simply the girl who grew up next door to me. Maybe she had a crush on me, but if she did, I’m sure she’s over it by now. I care about her health. Enough so, that I’ve come here today to ask you what I can do to help in that cause. But that is the extent of my involvement with her.”
He leaned back in his chair and studied me. I really didn’t know if I was a good liar or not, but it was easy to say these things when I mostly wanted to believe them.
“I’ve asked some of my Princeton friends about you, your progress. Of course, they know our situation. That I sheltered you for years and gave you an opportunity to go to the finest schools.”
He let me stay in a second house on his estate and I had to work for my keep. But the fact that he was talking to anyone at Princeton about me, was enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. What the hell did he care what happened to me? What did Ash say to him about me?
“By all reports, you’ll graduate at the top of your class. Some are suggesting Wharton as a follow up for your MBA.”
“Wharton, eventually. But I really want to start working after college.”
He nodded. “Then I have a proposal. How about you come to work for me? Now.”
“Sir?” Wasn’t the whole point to get as far away from the Landens as possible?
“You come to work for me. We’ll work around your class schedule. I’ll be able to keep my eye on you. See if I believe what you’re saying about work being your only priority.”
“My schedule is pretty tight,” I said. My schedule was insane.
“You still have Saturdays? Sundays? You’ll be so busy, you’ll barely have time for friends or women, but in the meantime, you’ll be learning the ropes directly from me.”
“That’s quite an honor, sir. And if I agree to this…”
“Switzerland was Ashleigh’s choice. If she wants to choose something else, that’s up to her.”
I nodded. Deal made.
“I’ll have my attorneys draft a non-discloser agreement. You’ll need to sign that.”
“Of course,” I said, trying to figure out where I was going to find the time to add whatever work Landen would dump on my head.
“Exactly. A gentlemen’s agreement then.”
I stood then, and offered my hand first. He took it, and his grip, while attempting to be firm, still felt a little soft.
“Thank you for your time, sir.”
“I’ll have my assistant reach out to you. Give him your contact information. Then we’ll see what type of work will fit your busy schedule.”
I smiled tightly and nodded. I left the office and made my way to the subway station. I was going to catch a train to Princeton. On the way, I called George and told him what had happened.
“I get to finish school, but I have to work for him while I do it. It’s not a bad trade. I was going to intern again this summer anyway. Why not with Landen’s operation?”
I heard the disapproval in George’s silence.
“What?” I pressed.
“Can I say I don’t like it? I don’t trust he might not have an alternate agenda.”
“Like what?” I asked. “I mean, how nefarious do we think this guy is? You know him better than anyone.”
“I know he’s changed. Something’s different in the past few years. His behavior, his patterns. I’m a driver, a cook. An errand boy. I don’t know the inner workings of his business dealings. I can only tell you, back in the day, he always sounded commanding and in charge on the phone calls he would take. Now, he seems almost hesitant. Nervous even.”
“Well, maybe that’s something else I can do. Get inside. See what’s going on. If there is trouble for you or Ash, I can help to warn you both. Or prevent something bad from happening, I don’t know. Either way, it’s done. He’s going to draw up an NDA for me to sign and Ash can come home.”
“She’s already settled in Florida,” George said.
I stopped in my tracks, which on the sidewalk of a large avenue in New York was not a smart move. People bumped into me until I stepped aside under an archway of a building entrance. Ash was back in the States. Not home, but not across an ocean. A place I could drive to. Now, I knew it wasn’t a temporary reprieve, but something I’d just guaranteed would be permanent for her. A sacrifice I’d made for her just like she’d made one for me.
“Have you spoken with her?”
“Yes, she sounds better. Stronger.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Do you know if Landen is planning to see her?”
“Yes, but not until next week. He just had me book a flight for next Sunday.”
Perfect. Plenty of time to drive down, see her, make sure she was okay, then get out of Dodge before the old man knew I was ever there.
I hadn’t told her I would come. All those things I’d said to Landen, I did want to be true. I wanted to keep my focus on the future. Not the girl from my past.
However, I also knew nothing would stop me from going to Florida.
3
Amelia Island Hotel