Page 106 of The Bet
Un-fucking-believable.
“There you go again.” He clasped his hands and cradled the back of his head. What more was there to say? Except, “Iamgoing into business with Hennessy.”
“And Hennessy’s company is part-owned by Rust. How the fuck do you think he’s got the manufacturing infrastructure in China?”
So, what?“That manufacturing infrastructure is vital for me.”
“What are you making now? Butt plugs?”
Asshole.
But he didn’t have the stomach to tell him about the snooker and pool tables because he would only laugh. He glared at his brother. What did Tobias expect him to do? Bail out of the deal just because he’d had a bust-up with his colleague?
“What did he do? What did Rust do to you that has you all riled up like you want to split his head open?”
“Forget it.”
Xavier threw his hands into the air. “There you go again!” This was typical of Tobias. “I’m not telepathic.” He’d given him a chance to explain, and once again his brother had bailed out.
“If you intend to run a successful company,” Tobias said, giving him a look that made him want to shrink inside, “You need to do more in-depth analysis into a company before you dive into bed with them. You need to spend more time doing better background checks on companies—more time than you’d normally spend on picking up girls at the bar.”
Tobias stormed towards the door, slamming it hard behind him.
~ ~ ~
“It’s not so bad, is it, Dad? Once you’re out of the house. It’s nice.” Her father walked alongside her. “It’s not so bad,” he agreed, after a while.
“Whenever you feel you’re not in the mood to do anything, you should at least force yourself to come out and go for a walk in the woods.”
“It’s better when you’re around, Izzy.”
“I know, Dad, I know. But I have to go back soon.”
“Can’t you stay another week?”
“I’ll try and come back sooner next time.”
He fell silent again.
Two hours. She had managed to convince her father to come out for two hours, today. It had been the longest of their daily walks. But at least she had managed to persuade him to get out.
The tricky part was convincing him to do this when she was back at college, and she was returning a few days before the New Year. Two weeks at home had been enough, but it had also sapped her. It had eaten into her reserve of energy, talking to her father, trying to bolster his spirits. Doing what her mother should have been doing. Sometimes she wondered who the parent was.
She needed the internship, and she needed good grades at the end of the summer term. Another week here would leave her too jaded to return to college, and she needed every ounce of energy to deal with the exams that would hit a few weeks after the new term started.
At least once the next few months were done with, spring would be on the way. Things always looked better in the spring.
They came out of the forest, walking silently back towards their home, when her cell phone rang. Something fluttered deep within her belly when she saw Xavier’s name on the caller ID.
“It’s a friend, Dad,” she said, “You go ahead, and I’ll catch up.” She fell back, and answered the call. “Hey,” she said, still walking, but at a slower pace.
“I’m not disturbing you, am I?”
“I’m out for a walk with my dad.”
“How is he?”
“Sad that I’m leaving soon.”
