“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I am doing the best I can.” I didn’t want to hurt either of them, not to mention the beautiful woman in my bed right now. I just worked too hard on this deal not to see it through. Once I got there, I’d speed along the process as much as possible. “I will call you soon, Mom.”
She merely said goodbye before hanging up. I clutched my phone in my hand for a long moment. What the fuck was I doing?
I poured some coffee into a large mug, fixing it the way Rebecca liked it. I’d send her home before I left, so I wanted to do it as well as I could without ruining that, too.
I crept back into my room to finish the packing I got distracted from last night. Rebecca slept so peacefully in the bed where I’d held her most of the night. I kept the light as dim as I could and stayed quiet, but she stirred as soon as I started to zip up my bag.
Rebecca looked at me as I finished the last thing I needed to do before I left. I raised my eyes to hers and offered her the coffee. She looked at the cup. “You’re still leaving?” she croaked. She accepted the cup and held it in her hand for a moment, seemingly to warm her hands.
“I have to. We spent months on this project, and I feel like I need to see it through. I did everything I could to keep it from coming to this.” I secured the bag and set it down on the floor. I took a seat next to her on the bed. She sipped the coffee before sliding it over to me. I took my own drink, swallowing it down my tense throat.
“How long will you be gone?” Rebecca asked me.
I looked at her. “It will be for a long time, more than likely. I am traveling far, and there will be a lot of negotiating.”
She nodded and stared forward. I was so certain she’d get mad, but Rebecca seemed resigned to the truth of the matter. I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about that. I was glad we weren’t arguing about it, but at the same time, her lack of emotion suggested that she didn’t care that I was leaving.
“I called the hospital and checked on Dad,” I said.
“How is he?” she asked. She glanced at me with raw emotion filling her eyes.
“They’re keeping him there for observation,” I told her.
She nodded. “I’ll make sure to come by and clean up the house and things for her. Is the key still under the same pot?”
I nodded. In New York City, people didn’t leave keys to their homes outside of the building. That was just inviting trouble, but here in North Reed, it was a normal thing to do.
“Okay. I’ll take care of them.” Rebecca sniffed and stared at me for a moment. “You know that he needs you here? They both do.”
“I know that.” My voice broke as I responded to her, feeling so conflicted on what to do. I was a son but also a businessman who needed to keep working so I wouldn’t lose what I knew to be my life.
“It’s just money at the end of the day, Austin. It’s just money, and you have so much already. I don’t know why you’re chasing more when so much is going on here.” Rebecca spoke slowly, thoughtfully. “When will it be enough?”
“It’s not just money. It is everything that I worked towards and dreamed of growing up. It’s the only thing that I knew before I came here.” I moved beside her, sliding my arm around her warm body to pull her close to me. “It’s the thrill of the chase and knowing that I made a difference somehow. And I can do so much with this money.”
“Does it make you happy when you get all of those things?” she asked.
I thought about the answer. “It isn’t happiness as much as it is a high for me. I feel so accomplished, and everyone admires me for it, pushing me up just one more step. It’s an addiction.” It was the truth. I didn’t know how to quit, not even when my family was damn close to falling apart with everything going on.
“I get that here, Austin. I get it from this town, my job, and being close to my sister. I don’t understand your addiction.”
I nodded and kissed her head. “I know you don’t. I wish I could explain it to you, but the only thing I can do is ask you to come with me.” I let the words fill the air. Rebecca tensed beside me. “That would make me happy and feel like I have a little bit of both worlds.”
“Where are you going?” she asked quietly.
I sipped the coffee. “Singapore when it’s all said and done,” I told her.
She breathed in deeply. “That’s so far from everything that you know here. Does your mom know?”
I shook my head. “She was already pissed off enough at me,” I explained. I looked at her body, covered by a blanket. “Please go with me, baby. I need you there.”
“I turned you down for New York, Austin. What makes you think that I’d go there when there is so much to take care of here? What makes you think that I’m like that?” Rebecca’s voice rose.
I stroked her shoulder in an effort to calm her down. “I am asking you. That’s why.”
Her head dropped forward, and small sobs escaped her throat. “I don’t even have a passport, Austin. I need one of those, right? I don’t even know exactly where you’re going or how much time we’ll be gone. No.”
I turned my body toward hers and held her. “You don’t need to know any of that. I h