The Boss's Son Box Set

“Can I talk to you?” he asked.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I just need to talk to you. I have a lot going on in my head right now and maybe you can help me sort it out.”

“Okay.”

“Leave that stuff for now. Come out to the terrace with me.”

“You have a terrace?” she asked, dumbfounded. “I’ve never even used that word before.”

“Here.” He opened a glass door she had thought was a window and out they stepped onto a lovely curving stone terrace.

“Should I put on pants?” she asked, indicating the borrowed t-shirt she had on.

“No, it’s a private space. You can wear, or not wear, whatever you like out here,” he assured her.

There was a beautiful rattan couch with an umbrella-like shade over it like a half shell. She curled up on it and wondered where it had been all her life. Jack sat beside

her, his arm across the back, his fingers toying with her damp hair.

“Charlie left early. He was going to stay a few weeks and all of a sudden changed his mind. He signed off on a power of attorney for me to make all the financial decisions on Dad’s estate. There’s a lot.”

“Do you have a lawyer or anyone to help you?”

“Sure. There’s a team, most of them guys who knew my dad for a long time so they can help me with his wishes and stuff like that, but there’s just...things I have to decide based on being his son and how I want to move forward.”

“How can I help?” she asked, her hand on his knee. “I’m here for you.”

“I know you are and that means more to me than anything in my life now, I want you to know that. The thing is, I have all these companies to deal with, decide what to keep, what to sell, and then this offer fell in my lap. The company in Hong Kong where I did the software training wants to give me a contract to do some design work exclusively for them.”

“And this is on top of your first major studio album? You’re only one man, Jack,” she said. “What do you want to focus on right now? It’s not unreasonable to tell people that, hey, you need six months before you commit to any major changes. Like, if you just want to hire a manager and go lay down tracks for your album, do it. You don’t have to do everything yourself and you sure as hell don’t have to do it all at once. Just because people want something from you doesn’t mean they get it.”

“Wow, you’re incredible, Britt. I just...I have to juggle all this and the last thing I want to do is let anyone down. Because my dad wasn’t like that. Whatever needed to be done, he just did it. No complaints, no excuses and no taking six months to get his head together.”

“If that was what worked for him, great. You don’t have to be him, or meet all his commitments. Just do what feels right for you. Okay?”

“What feels right to me is you, Britt. You are absolutely the only thing that makes any sense to me right now.”

“There’s no place else I’d rather be.”

“I can never thank you enough for rescuing me last night. I think I was lost until I saw your face. You pushed your way in and it was like I could breathe again.”

“That’s because I opened your windows to blow the stink out of your place,” she joked.

“You know what I mean. I had a reason to breathe in and out again.”

“I’m glad. So what are you thinking about Hong Kong?”

“I’m thinking it’s a great opportunity but I’m not willing to leave you behind.”

“I can’t move to Hong Kong. My job—”

“Is at a company that’s in limbo until I decide what to do with it. I’m not going to play puppet master with you. If you want to stay here, then stay here and I’ll stay with you. I could probably work remotely on the design project if they’d agree to it. Part of me wishes you would have been able to say you’d go with me anywhere in a heartbeat but I understand.”

“It seems a bit extreme to me, to move to Hong Kong. If you decide to do it, that’s your choice, but it seems almost like an escape hatch to me. Like if you don’t want to deal with all of your dad’s businesses, you can skive off like Charlie did.”

“I’m not looking to run away and hide. If I were, I would just go to Bali and never come back. Frankly, I can afford it. I’d be working in graphic design on the Hong Kong project, not smoking it up on a private beach, Britt. You make it sound like I’d be a coward.”