anything that bad, Adam just did not appreciate people speaking their minds to him and disobeying his wishes, that’s all. If he were completely honest with himself, he’d agree that the event had gone perfectly the night before without all of his changes and that Cassie had done the job to his needs and expectations. How could he stay angry about that?
Opening the door quietly, he slipped out and walked down the stairs realizing that he had no answers and at the bottom nearly collided with Katie.
“Adam! What are you doing here?”
“Your sister was um…in pretty bad shape last night. I fell asleep on the couch, you know, in case she needed anything.” This was worse than coming in after curfew and getting caught by your parents.
“How is she this morning?”
Adam wished he’d gotten the hell out of here last night. It was bad enough that he’d spent the night, he didn’t feel like getting the third degree from anyone; especially not a twenty year old! “She’s still sleeping. I didn’t want to wake her.” Making his excuses about needing to get home and get ready for this morning’s session, Adam left and pulled away from the shop as if his life depended on it.
Last night he was supposed to go home and tweak his speech for today and get a good night’s sleep. Instead, he’d slept in a strange bed, fully clothed while holding a very stiff and clearly miserable Cassie. He’d have to avoid her today, that’s all. Blow her off and pretend as if he hadn’t shared her bed.
A quick shower and shave back at his place had Adam feeling refreshed. He’d rehearsed his speech during the whole process and was confident in the day to come. The point of this retreat was to energize his staff for the upcoming year. The plan was to branch out into several more countries and in order to do that, his staff had to be as excited about their new products and services as he was. They needed to understand how he created the systems and how to use them. He planned on doubling his fortune.
He was prepared for the leeches to come out of the woodwork when that happened. Like his father had all those years ago. Adam looked in the mirror and straightened his tie as he frowned at the thought of the man who had deserted him and his mother so many years ago and then came back when Adam had first made a name for himself in the business world. The old man had walked away from his wife and only son on the hopes of climbing the corporate ladder unhindered. It must have worked because for years, William Lawrence had led a very good, very pampered existence. Unfortunately, like most corporate mongers, he had gotten greedy, made some bad investments and lost it all. When Adam was 25 and made his first million with the L.S.S. 3.0 security system, his father had come calling.
And begging. The man had groveled and begged to have his family back; claiming that he’d been a shell of a man without them and that he’d made a terrible mistake. When both Adam and Bev had hesitated in opening their hearts to him, he’d turned bitter and flat-out asked for money. Adam had kicked him out and made it abundantly clear that he was never to contact them again. Bev had been devastated and it was then that Adam had learned that love didn’t exist. People didn’t really want nor need love; it was all about the money. Well, he had money; lots of it. He didn’t need love.
Sure, his mother loved him and that relationship was never in doubt, but other than Bev, there was no one and Adam doubted that real love even existed. Knowing that even now Bev was claiming to be in love with Stephen Jacobs, he had his doubts. Maybe they were both lonely and looking for companionship. At least have the guts to call it what it was! Just as long as Stephen didn’t come to him for any loans or investments, Adam would be fine.
Wiping the Jacobs family from his mind, Adam strode into the
Opening the door quietly, he slipped out and walked down the stairs realizing that he had no answers and at the bottom nearly collided with Katie.
“Adam! What are you doing here?”
“Your sister was um…in pretty bad shape last night. I fell asleep on the couch, you know, in case she needed anything.” This was worse than coming in after curfew and getting caught by your parents.
“How is she this morning?”
Adam wished he’d gotten the hell out of here last night. It was bad enough that he’d spent the night, he didn’t feel like getting the third degree from anyone; especially not a twenty year old! “She’s still sleeping. I didn’t want to wake her.” Making his excuses about needing to get home and get ready for this morning’s session, Adam left and pulled away from the shop as if his life depended on it.
Last night he was supposed to go home and tweak his speech for today and get a good night’s sleep. Instead, he’d slept in a strange bed, fully clothed while holding a very stiff and clearly miserable Cassie. He’d have to avoid her today, that’s all. Blow her off and pretend as if he hadn’t shared her bed.
A quick shower and shave back at his place had Adam feeling refreshed. He’d rehearsed his speech during the whole process and was confident in the day to come. The point of this retreat was to energize his staff for the upcoming year. The plan was to branch out into several more countries and in order to do that, his staff had to be as excited about their new products and services as he was. They needed to understand how he created the systems and how to use them. He planned on doubling his fortune.
He was prepared for the leeches to come out of the woodwork when that happened. Like his father had all those years ago. Adam looked in the mirror and straightened his tie as he frowned at the thought of the man who had deserted him and his mother so many years ago and then came back when Adam had first made a name for himself in the business world. The old man had walked away from his wife and only son on the hopes of climbing the corporate ladder unhindered. It must have worked because for years, William Lawrence had led a very good, very pampered existence. Unfortunately, like most corporate mongers, he had gotten greedy, made some bad investments and lost it all. When Adam was 25 and made his first million with the L.S.S. 3.0 security system, his father had come calling.
And begging. The man had groveled and begged to have his family back; claiming that he’d been a shell of a man without them and that he’d made a terrible mistake. When both Adam and Bev had hesitated in opening their hearts to him, he’d turned bitter and flat-out asked for money. Adam had kicked him out and made it abundantly clear that he was never to contact them again. Bev had been devastated and it was then that Adam had learned that love didn’t exist. People didn’t really want nor need love; it was all about the money. Well, he had money; lots of it. He didn’t need love.
Sure, his mother loved him and that relationship was never in doubt, but other than Bev, there was no one and Adam doubted that real love even existed. Knowing that even now Bev was claiming to be in love with Stephen Jacobs, he had his doubts. Maybe they were both lonely and looking for companionship. At least have the guts to call it what it was! Just as long as Stephen didn’t come to him for any loans or investments, Adam would be fine.
Wiping the Jacobs family from his mind, Adam strode into the
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