My Friend's Dirty Uncle

“I hear you aren’t really in the office anymore. Hunter, you know this time is too valuable to waste. You should be making connections right now – as many as you possibly can.”

“I decided to take some time off,” was my reply grunt. “It’s just for the summer, and I can assure you that my performance hasn’t changed. I’m still keeping this hellish meeting schedule. And frankly, I’m a little angry. It’s insulting that you think I’m not doing my job.”

My father didn’t look up from his coffee.

“You know I work my ass off,” I continued. “The company earns twice as much profit under me as it did under you. It’s one of the premiere media companies in the world.”

“You spending more time with the kids?” My father asked, ignoring everything I’d just said about work. “Priscilla will be pleased.”

I knew his implication was clear: my sister might be happy, but my father sure as hell wasn’t.

“Yes,” I replied. It was true, I was spending more time with the Kristi and Aaron. “We’ve been having a game night once a week, or going to the movies. It’s important to spend time with family,” I said calmly while reaching for my orange juice.

“Family time is important, but you need to make more time for the business too,” said Hugh smoothly. “I don’t want this company I built to suffer because you can’t be bothered to give it the proper attention.”

What an asshole.

“I haven’t been out with a woman in weeks,” I said, barely keeping the anger from my voice. I knew what my father was getting at. I’d developed a reputation for sleeping around over the years. But this summer, I had felt no real desire to look at anyone other than Dani, which shocked me to my core. Was it possible that I was changing?

Even more surprising, I was starting to think of a future with the gorgeous girl. Dani would be going to school in the fall and I’d be leaving the city, going wherever the company needed me. But that didn’t mean being together was impossible. I travel on a private jet, so we could work something out.

Suddenly, a female voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Hunter, it’s so nice to see you!”

My mother’s voice snapped me out of my head. Elaine smiled broadly as she joined us on the patio, sliding an thin arm around my shoulder and kissing the top of my head.

“It’s nice to see you, Mom,” I said as I hugged her lightly.

“I didn’t know you were coming for breakfast.” She looked to my father. “Why didn’t you tell me Hunter was going to join us?”

“This is supposed to be a business breakfast,” my father replied smoothly. “I didn’t think you’d be interested.”

“Hugh Maddox, you know you are retired,” my mother scolded as she took a seat between us. “No more business. Not right now.”

My father shook his head and went back to his plate, knowing full well that she was the primary reason he left the company. Elaine had been telling him for years to retire. She had finally worn him down enough to give me control of the company, even though he obviously wasn’t ready to step down.

But now that Elaine was here, I knew we wouldn’t be discussing business anymore for the day. Thank god, because my mom has always had a way of rescuing a conversation going south. She was the queen of niceties and smooth transitions. We could be talking about endangered species, and somehow she would steer the conversation to something cheerier.

And Elaine worked her magic this time as well.

“I hear Mary is in town visiting her mother. You should try to see her before you leave.” My mother eyed me. “I hear she’s very beautiful, Hunter, and so sweet. Did you know she volunteers with orphans?”

I tried not to groan. Mary Everton was a girl I had gone to high school with. Our mothers did charity work together, and I had known Mary for almost my entire life. If there was one woman my mother was constantly badgering me about, it was Mary Everton. The Everton family was old money, with traditions up the wazoo. By contrast, we Maddoxes were nouveau riche and supposedly uncouth. It amazed me that the Evertons would even be interested in welcoming me to their rarefied world.

But Mary’s mother was quite fond of me, for some reason or other. Nancy Everton always made an effort to include me in Everton family events, and the truth is that Mary was lovely. She was beautiful, smart, and one of the nicest women I had ever met. But nothing was going to happen because Mary liked women – although neither set of parents knew.

So I hedged.

“I don’t think I have the time. All my free time is taken up with Kristi and Aaron.”