Chase and his mother seemed to have a very close relationship. Although, I suspected she was pretty much the fun parent while his father was the disciplinarian. Her brief shock about the marriage quickly died down, to both my relief and Chase’s.
“Now, how can we tell your father so he doesn’t get angry with you? I do like that you two have been getting along lately.”
They talked for a bit and devised a plan that would help Chase in dealing with his father. It was a simple plan that basically focused on how Chase had saved so much money by getting married in private. I thought it was brilliant, but only time would tell what his father actually thought about it.
About twenty minutes later, we heard the front door open as Mr. Foster arrived home. My hands got clammy, and I felt the color rush from my face. He was an intimidating person – just his presence in the room made me nervous. I could sure see how he ran his billion-dollar company. His aura just oozed CEO.
But Mr. Foster was getting older, and it seemed like he was becoming very frail. Even though his presence commanded attention, I could tell that he tired easily and probably really wanted to retire from the day-to-day work of running his company. All we needed to do was provide him with the information he craved to feel like Chase would be a good person to take over the company. He needed to feel comfortable that Chase was able to make good decisions under pressure.
To be honest, I wasn’t really sure that Chase was all that great at making decisions under pressure. But, he did seem to want to really learn and grow. In the short time I had known him, he already had grown so much from the man he was in his past. Deep down, I hoped he would be able to prove to his father that he was ready for the big undertaking of running the company.
“Chase,” Mr. Foster said as he made a straight line for his son.
“Hi, Dad.”
The two seemed pretty distant. I couldn’t help but wonder if they were always that awkward together. Chase gave his dad a bit of a hug and then turned to face me. Quickly, I stood up and put my hand out.
“Dad, this is Jordan. Jordan, this is my father, Reynold Foster.”
“It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“So, Chase, how did you and this beautiful creature meet?” Mr. Foster said as he held onto my hand for a minute.
Mr. Foster seemed a bit enamored with me. I felt like it was the perfect opportunity to try and get him to think more positively about the decision we had made to get married.
“Mr. Foster, your home is so beautiful. You must work really hard to support your family so nicely.”
“Yes, darling, I do work hard. If I have my way, Chase will be working just as hard, and I’ll be able to retire and enjoy myself a bit more.”
“I know Chase has talked a lot about getting himself back on track with work. I hope you have seen some positive changes in him recently.”
“Dad, there is something I need to tell you,” Chase tried to interrupt, but Mr. Foster was much more interested in talking to me than he was to Chase.
“So, Jordan, tell me – what do you see in this kid?” Mr. Foster grabbed Chase by the shoulder and pulled him up next to him.
Chase seemed incredibly uncomfortable. It was the weirdest thing to watch a father and son be so distant with each other. I could tell that they loved each other, but there were definitely some hard feelings between the two of them.
“Oh, Mr. Foster, where do I start? Chase is incredibly kind. He always puts my needs ahead of his own. He’s also a very hard worker and has a sense of humor that makes me laugh every single day.”
“Wow, Chase, you got a good one here. You should keep her around.”
“Dad, I’m so glad you like Jordan. There is something I need to tell you,” Chase started to talk, but then I saw the nerves as they took over.
“Chase and I wanted to save money, so we got married,” I said as I tried to make eye contact with Mr. Foster. I tried my best to say something that showed we were responsible, but it didn’t come out well.
He didn’t seem amused at all.
“Chase Foster, didn’t we just talk about the importance of being responsible? You went and got this nice girl knocked up. That’s not showing any sort of responsibility. There is no way I can sign over my company to you now!”
Mr. Foster stormed off, and both Chase and I looked right at Mrs. Foster for help. I wasn’t pregnant – if that was why he was going to be mad at Chase, he should at least know the truth.
“Reynold, she’s not pregnant,” I heard Mrs. Foster say as she ran after her husband.
The two of them stopped at the edge of the room, which was just outside of our hearing reach. Chase and I sat on the couch. He held my hand as we waited to see if Mrs. Foster would be able to calm her husband down. At least he wasn’t upset about us getting married. It seemed he was actually upset because he thought I was pregnant. Hopefully, a conversation with Mrs. Foster could fix that.
“He will come around,” I whispered to Chase.
“I don’t know. I just don’t think we are going to have time. He’s not a fast decision maker. Even if he does trust me, I’m not going to have access to the money I need by the time I have to get it to Escabar. I really think I’m screwed.”