Page 11 of Every Breath

Benny: I’ve done it before. It’s only 5 or 6 hours.

Four if I drove but he doesn’t need to know that. Hell, I’d even move mountains, toxic waste or not, just to get there in time. Besides, it would totally suck balls for everyone to be there and I’d be a no-show. Worse, I hate having Daniel know of my plans only for them to fall apart at the last minute like it is now. At this rate, even if I did rent a car, I’m already running an hour late. I’d never had any problems getting on earlier flights before. But then, I wasn’t planning on proposing to the woman I loved either.

But even as I wait for Daniel’s response, it’s not like he can do anything on his end. Daniel lives in New York and while I don’t expect him to be in attendance tonight, I told him because it’s the right thing to do. No, actually, I didn’t tell him about the plan; I asked him for his daughter’s hand in marriage first thing this morning. He sounded like he’d just woken up but he gave me his blessing—or in his words, about damn time, son.

My phone buzzes as a new message comes in.

Daniel: So you’re still in Colorado then?

Benny: Yes, sir.

I stare at my phone, not knowing what else to say. If anything, I feel silly for planning something so ambitious only to fall short, especially in front of someone like Daniel. There’s something about him I’ve always admired, and I’m not just saying that because he’s Sarah’s father. It’s how he got from being a stockbroker working for someone else to forming his own investment firm that’s since transitioned to a powerful hedge fund. For someone like Daniel Drexel, when he wants to do something, he does it.

So where does that leave people like me?

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