27. Happier Person

27

HAPPIER PERSON

P hoenix closed the book he was reading to Elsie later that night, kissed her and shut the light, then went right upstairs to Crystal’s suite.

There was so much he had to say, but when he got home after six, Elsie and Crystal had eaten, Elsie was bathed and ready for bed and he said he had it and she could be done for the night.

She didn’t argue, but he’d told her he’d be up to talk later.

“Is she sleeping?” Crystal asked.

“She is,” he said, coming over to sit next to her on the couch.

“You look tired and overwhelmed.”

“I am,” he said. “My cousins didn’t leave until six for the airport and I came right home. I’ve got a lot of things to think about and do.”

He’d made the call to the retailer that he could get the product in time and the contract was being sent over tomorrow. It’d go to both his father and Braylon to look it over before he signed everything.

As West said, they just needed to take care of that first and then move on to the rest.

“Anything you want to talk about?”

“I know I can trust you,” he said. He explained to her everything that was going on as best as he could.

“Wow,” she said. “That is a lot to take in.”

“Tell me about it,” he said.

“How do you feel about it? It sounds as if you’re going to turn over the running of your company to someone else at some point.”

“I feel relieved,” he said. “I know that is horrible, but I think I’ve been so unhappy for so long.”

She reached her hand out and threaded their fingers together. “How come?”

“I’ve been flying by the seat of my pants. I’ve got a chemistry degree, not a business one. Money has been an issue so I’ve been trying to do it all. My father is a big help, but I know he’s got other things he could be dealing with too.”

“You don’t need that stress anymore,” she said. “You shouldn’t feel that guilt either.”

It shouldn’t have surprised him that she understood that. “I do feel it. I don’t want it to seem as if I’m abandoning my job, but I want to be in the lab again. It’s what I love. I got stars in my eyes. I wanted to be this independently wealthy person like my father and my cousins. I knew it took hard work.”

“You can’t be someone you’re not,” she said. “I learned that the hard way in life. You have to do what you love and if it’s being in the lab and playing with things, then do it.”

He laughed and squinted one eye at her. “It’s a bit more than playing with things.”

“I know,” she said, poking his side with her finger. “I’m trying to make you laugh. You’ll be a happier person if you’re doing that. You’re so smart and I’m sure there is so much more you can discover and figure out.”

“It pains me to think that I wasn’t thinking as big as West was. And that he’d been thinking it for a while without saying a word to me.”

“Really?” she asked. “Do you know why?”

“Pride,” he said. “We all have more than our fair share. Just like West didn’t like asking for help but knew he needed it to get to where he was, I don’t either. He didn’t want to hurt my pride coming to me. My mother and his talk a lot. They are close. He hears things just like I do. I think West figured if I needed something, I’d reach out.”

“Do you think your father pushed you to do it? That if he didn’t you wouldn’t have?”

“I do,” he said. “And I don’t want to think about the fact that maybe I could have failed at this when it was staring me in the face. I didn’t need to have a product to my name to be successful. I did that for fun. I kind of did it for Maryn.”

“What?” she asked. “Why?”

“Because in college I told her what I was trying to do. Things I wanted to figure out. She was all about the stuff I could make. She believed in me when so many didn’t. She invested in the company too. I told you that. The shares came back to me, but I’ll make sure they go to Elsie. I’ve got to give up a lot to West too. That’s going to be hard.”

“Do you trust him?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “Everything he touches works out. He’s got the resources and a team behind him to make sure of it. But the money he’s willing to invest makes my head spin. More than I ever thought I’d make and he’s going to invest. He’s going to scale this and make it huge.”

It seemed like it was a dream and he was terrified he was going to wake up and find out that tomorrow he’d still be arguing with Scott over a stupid late shipment of two hundred bags.

Now he was going to have the money to fulfill thousands in a single order, not to mention other products. He wanted to keep up with it for Maryn. He couldn’t let it go even if it only broke even. He told West that. He thought his cousin would balk and didn’t. Said he’d understood and they’d make it more than profitable.

“That’s so exciting,” she said. “I know it’s going to take a lot of work and it sounds like Laken will be here for a bit too.”

“She travels a lot. These things take time. It’s not like it’s going to happen tomorrow. We have to negotiate terms and then it has to go through the lawyers.”

“You mean your father and cousin?”

“Yes,” he said, smiling. “But it still takes time. I’d say months before it’s finalized. Then while West gets contracts in place for what I can produce here. Other things I’ll try to develop besides material for bags and shoes, jackets, et cetera. He’s got a long list of ideas and people. I’ll be starting work on that soon. The process to get what he’s thinking of.”

“You should see your face,” she said. “You look so excited and happy. I’ve never seen you like this before. It’s a great thing for you and you need to think of it that way.”

“You’re right,” he said. “I do. I can’t think of it as I failed as a businessman, but maybe succeeded in the way we do things.”

“You are changing the world,” she said, bumping her shoulder into his.

“I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it’s a nice thought.”

“I'm glad it worked out. And please, don’t worry about being gone or working. We know it’s going to take time. I’ve got Elsie. She’ll be fine. You know I keep you up to date with things.”

“I do. But I’ve got a responsibility to her too. I’ll be able to balance it. I’m going to keep thinking of the light at the end of the tunnel. Once everything is finalized, I can focus on more of what I like doing and can excel at and less of what takes me forever because I’m sinking in mud.”

“I’ll pull you out if you sink too far,” she said.

“Thanks for that. There is something else we need to talk about.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“My cousins know we are seeing each other.”

“What?” she asked. “You told them?”

“Why the panicked look?” he asked. “I know we said we were keeping it quiet, but the truth is, all those laughs and smirks were in place because I didn’t have to tell them anything. They saw it.”

“Saw what?” she asked.

“How I looked at you. How you looked at me. I guess we don’t hide things well. But we haven’t been around anyone that knows us other than Elsie and she’s too young.”

“But you aren’t that close to your cousins,” she argued.

“I’m not and they still saw it. Considering I’m going to be working closely with them and we are talking a lot of money involved, I was honest.”

He’d tried to just laugh it off and not answer, but Braylon said they’d all been there. That sometimes you just know and you can’t fight it. He’d heard about how Braylon met his girlfriend, Lily, saving her from being hit on in a cafe.

It was hilarious when he was told West did the same thing with Abby.

He didn’t save Crystal, but he was starting to think maybe she was saving him.

“Did they say anything about it?” she asked.

“Nothing. West said to bring you to the wedding in April.”

“You want me to go to a billionaire’s wedding?” she asked.

He started to laugh at how wide her eyes were. “I do. But you have to be quiet about it. Whose wedding it is and the date. They don’t want the publicity. I don’t have all the details yet of where it’s going to be. We’ll most likely do what he said, go to North Carolina and then take his jet to the wedding. He’s got family there and others that can get there that way too.”

“Crazy,” she said. “So, can I tell people I’m dating you? I mean, like my sister?”

“You can,” he said.

“Phew...because I did earlier.”

He laughed and gave her a quick kiss. “What did she say?”

“Considering she married her boss, she was the best one for me to talk to about my worries.”

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Just don’t want to mess this up,” she said. “For Elsie first and foremost.”

“We won’t,” he said. “We had this talk already.”

“I know and I appreciate it. I think we are on the same page. I tend to mess a lot of things up in my life and don’t want this to be one of them.”

He started to laugh. “We all mess things up. I’ve been doing a pretty crappy job at my business lately and it seems to me I might win out in the end. Why can’t we look at this the same way?”

Her face softened and then flushed. He didn’t know what that was about. “I’d like to think of it that way but don’t want that pressure on us either.”

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to put any pressure on you or me or us.”

“I know. So much is happening in such a short period of time. If your cousins know, are you going to tell your parents? Will they tell their mother and have it get back to your mother?”

He sighed. “I don’t think they will tell their mother. They aren’t that way. But I was going to call my mother tonight if you’re fine with it.”

“I am,” she said. “I don’t plan on telling anyone in my family other than Taylor. It’s not like I see or talk to them anyway.”

He wouldn’t be hurt over that. He knew she didn’t have the best relationship with her parents.

“Give me a kiss then,” he said. “I’m going to go call my mother now.”

She gave him a big kiss and hug. “Are you going to let me know how it goes?”

“I will,” he said. “I can come back up if you want or you can come down and wait for me.”

He was going to make the call with her not around. He didn’t think his mother would give him a hard time but didn’t want to take that chance and not have a good poker face.

“You can come up if you want,” she said. “I’m going to get ready for bed.”

“I’ll be back soon,” he said, then went down to his room.

“Phoenix,” his mother said, answering on the second ring. “I heard you got some exciting news today.”

“It’s exciting and overwhelming at the same time,” he said.

“I was going to call you, but Dad said to give you time. Then I figured you were getting Elsie ready for bed too.”

“I was,” he said.

“How are you feeling about it all?”

He told his mother the same thing he said to Crystal. “I’m relieved and happy to spend more time in the lab. It feels as if this weight has been lifted off my shoulders even though we are nowhere near that yet.”

“You’ll get there. The light is at the end of the tunnel,” his mother said. “You’ll work extra hard until then and even after.”

“I don’t want to let anyone down,” he said.

“And you won’t. I’m thrilled for you. You deserve this. It’s been a wild several months for you.”

“Yes,” he said. “It has. I have another piece of news to share too.”

“What’s that?” his mother asked.

“I’ve been seeing someone,” he said.

“Crystal?” his mother asked.

He frowned. “How did you know?”

“I’ve got eyes and ears. I saw how you looked at her during the interview. I hear how you talk about her. Hear how Elsie does too.”

“I just want to do right by Elsie.”

“You are and you will. I have no doubts there and you shouldn’t either. But there is no reason you can’t find some happiness too.”

“I can’t mess this up,” he said.

“Then don’t,” his mother said. “Get out of your head. Only keep the smart things in there and stressing over the future you can’t predict or control isn’t smart.”

He laughed. “I get it,” he said. “I’ve heard that before.”

“That’s right,” his mother said. “You have. Go have a good night and tell Crystal I’m happy with the news.”

“She’ll appreciate hearing that,” he said.

He went upstairs and saw her sitting on the couch in a T-shirt and leggings with slippers on her feet. “Well?” she asked.

“My mother said to tell you that she’s thrilled.”

“Really?” she asked.

He held his hand out for her to stand up and then pulled her close to his body. “Really. I told her I was seeing someone and she guessed it was you before I could say it. She said she saw the way I looked at you during the interview and the way I talk about you now.”

“How do you talk about me?” she asked.

“I have no idea,” he said. “I just do. Maybe it’s the tone of my voice. Does it matter?”

“No,” she said. “It doesn’t. Guess we both got good news today.”

“Guess we did.”