His mom started crying and hugged him again. “I’m so proud of you, Douglas!”
His dad wiped at his eyes, which suddenly looked too bright, before clapping Doug on the shoulder. “Me, too. That’s great news, son!”
He could almost sense the weight of his dad’s worry lifting. “Dinner’s on me,” Doug announced. “Pizza fine with everyone?”
Tina and Eileen walked in at that moment, carrying their mother’s things from the hospital. “Pizza’s always fine with me, bro,” Eileen said.
That was another worry. Eileen, a junior in high school, got good grades. By all rights she should be able to get scholarships to cover her tuition, or at the very least pick up a few grants or low-interest loans for school. She wanted to be a nurse and had already applied to USF there in Tampa. Living at home would save her money.
His job would insure he could pay for her education even if everything else fell through. And he could help Tina pay off her student loans.
This is for my family, he insisted. At the end of the first year, he’d see if Harper would let him tell Tate the truth. If Tate was even still single.
And if Tate would ever forgive him for selling out like this.
After his sisters and mother had gone to bed, Doug sat at the kitchen table with his father. It was nearly ten o’clock, and he’d taken the chicken route and called Tate earlier, when he knew his lover wouldn’t be able to hear his phone in the noisy sports pub. With his own phone on silent, he could claim he didn’t hear it. Tate was an early riser, so not calling him late would be believable. All he’d told Tate was that he’d gotten a job, his mom was home and doing well, and that he missed him.
And that he loved him. Although he was sure Tate would hate him pretty soon.
His dad smiled at him. “I’m so proud of you, son. You have no idea.”
Doug felt a little sick inside. If his parents knew the truth, they’d never let him do it. He also imagined they would most likely be ashamed of him for selling out the way he had.
“Thanks, Dad.” He took a deep breath. “Um, about me and Tate living here—”
His dad nodded. “No problem, as long as you like. Seriously.”
“It’s not that, Dad.” He studied his hands, unable to look his father in the eye. “Tate’s not going to be moving in.”
“Why not?”
“I just…” He tried another approach. He wasn’t ready to break it to them that he’d be moving out, too. “It’s not going to be fair to uproot him. I’m literally going to be on the road weeks at a time, sometimes a month or more,” he fibbed. “I’m hardly going to be home.”
“So? He’s family. We’ll take care of him.”
His dad wasn’t making this any easier on him. “I think the only fair thing to do is to take a break from our relationship for a while, at least until life settles down a little. Besides, he’s got a decent job for now, has health benefits and everything.”
“What are you saying, son? Are you breaking up with him?”
“I don’t want to—”
“Then don’t!”
“Dad, please.” He stood. “This is my life,” he said, even though it really felt like a fib now. He was beholden to Harper Wells for a year. “I don’t want to discuss this anymore.”
His dad slowly nodded. “Okay,” he quietly said. “You’re right. I respect your wishes.”
Doug walked into the lobby at ten minutes till ten the next morning. He passed the bank of elevators just as the doors to one car slid open and Harper and Gorden stepped out.
Her expression brightened when she spotted him. “Perfect timing!” She held out her hand with a cheery smile. He forced a smile of his own as he shook with her. “Glad to see you didn’t decide to chicken out overnight,” she joked.
“No, I know a darn good deal when I see one,” he said.
He held the coffee shop door open for her and Gorden and followed them inside. She picked a quiet corner booth. After a waitress came over to take their order, Harper opened a folder she’d had in her hand and pushed a stack of papers and a pen across the table to him.
He glanced through them and started to pick up the pen. Gorden laid a hand over Doug’s, stopping him. “Son, read through them, first. In fact, if you want a few hours to take them to an attorney, we’ll understand.”
He shook his head. “That’s not necessary.” He did read them, though. It took him twenty minutes, and Harper and Gorden didn’t speak or interrupt him while he did. When he finished, he signed everywhere indicated and pushed the papers back across the table to her.
She now owned his ass for a year. He supposed he shouldn’t think of it as pimping himself out, because she’d clearly said she wasn’t expecting sex from him, but it all boiled down to the same thing, didn’t it?
He still hated himself for what he had to do to Tate.
He’d even been so chickenshit as to call Tate this morning at nine o’clock, when he knew Tate was working and couldn’t take personal calls.
He studied Harper’s face as she leafed through the folder and removed another sheaf of papers. He’d found out from Gorden she was only twenty-eight, just three years older than him. She’d come to be the CEO of her father’s company because the man literally lost a bet to her. Ever since she’d graduated Magna Cum Laude from USF in Tampa, she’d bugged her father to give her a larger role in the company. She’d been working part-time as Gorden’s intern since she graduated from high school, and to shut her up more than anything, her father had made a bet with her one night in front of Gorden and several of his friends.
Harper had twelve months to turn around their newest acquisition, a struggling Miami company they’d purchased in a hostile takeover. If she did it, he’d make her CEO of their entire organization.
Her father had never expected her to be successful.
In less than eight months, the new company was not only in the black, it was turning the highest profit it had in years.
And Harrison Wells was never one to welsh on a bet.
She smiled as she handed the papers over. Doug realized that she was genuinely happy over this arrangement. She wasn’t trying to use him unfairly. He’d agreed to this crazy, albeit generous and highly profitable, deal.
Her smile made her look a little less careworn. “These are for you,” she said. “Some basics about the company. If you’re not busy today, I’d like to send you out with Gorden to get some stuff. It’s going to take us a week or so to get you a corporate credit card. My father is going to be here later today, and I want to introduce you to him.”
“You want me to look my best.”
She laughed. “Exactly.” He realized there was nothing mean or hurtful in her laugh. Even her hazel eyes had faint smile lines around them. “Believe me, you deserve it,” she added. “I’m more than happy to spring for a shopping spree.”
For a moment, it looked like her demeanor slipped before she strengthened her smile. She lowered her voice. “Doug, you have no idea how much I appreciate what you’re doing. I realize, yes, you benefit from this, but I cannot begin to tell you how much this means to me.”
Now he felt like a double shit. Here was a nice woman in a tough situation of her own. Gorden had told him her father wouldn’t hesitate to follow through on his threat to remove her from the company if she kept pushing herself as hard as she had. He suspected there was more to the story, but Gorden either wouldn’t or couldn’t elaborate further.
Harper tried not to stare at Doug from across the table. He was definitely easy on the eyes. And single. How lucky am I? Maybe she could eventually talk him into her bed.