“It’s good. You should try it,” he said, dumping a huge mound of the flaky stuff into a bowl.
“Not until she has a steak.” I grinned.
“You’re crazy.”
“Yep.”
Since no one else was enjoying them, I poured Froot Loops into a large bowl for myself and dug in. I felt like the worst kind of role model as I watched my son eat a bunch of fruit and grains while I stuffed children’s cereal into my mouth.
I shrugged.
I didn’t care. Froot Loops were the bomb.
Besides, I had a shitload of other things to worry about besides my breakfast choice at the moment.
I watched my son as I finished my cereal. For years, it had just been him and me against the world. Every action and every decision in my life had revolved around this little guy. When Liv had walked into our world, our circle had grown just a bit larger. Suddenly, those decisions that had seemed so easy to make before were ten times harder. Now, there were two people in my life who mattered.
How did I make the right choices when I had two lives to consider?
I stared at him, waiting for an answer that didn’t come, and I hoped that what I was about to do today would be the right decision—for all of us.
“You can’t do this to me, Jackson,” Mark begged, rising from his desk. His eyes were wide with shock and surprise.
I’d just dropped the mother of bombs.
“It’s already done,” I said, holding up my resignation letter.
“If you want more pay, consider it done.”
“It’s not about my salary, Mark. I just need to move on,” I tried to explain.
“You just fucking got here!” he yelled, his hands flying up in frustration. “You haven’t even given us three months. What am I supposed to tell the Senator? He’s going to think something is going on internally.”
“You won’t need to explain anything, Mark,” I assured him.
“I seriously doubt that.” He slumped back in his chair, every bit the defeated man he appeared to be.
Silence settled around us as I watched my boss from across the room.
“I’m in love with his daughter,” I finally confessed.
“Say what now?” he asked, his eyes flying up to mine.
“Olivia Prescott is my girlfriend. We’ve been dating for months.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
I just stared at him.
“Holy shit. Why didn’t you say anything? We could have probably bagged this account from the start!”
I cocked my head to the side, the unpleasant mood written all over my face.
“Right. That would have been wrong. Of course,” he said, coughing slightly. “This still doesn’t explain why you are resigning. I would think the old man would be happy to have his future son-in-law working for him. Or does he not like you? Did he catch you boning her? From behind?”
“What the fuck, Mark? Could you be serious and grown-up for two minutes? Fuck.”
“Sorry. Please continue.”
“Liv and her parents don’t get along. Things between them are…not going well at the present moment. I can’t put myself in the position of being in the middle.”
“So, you’re picking sides?”
“It’s not a matter of choosing,” I answered. “I will always choose her, no matter what.”
“Do you have anything lined up, man?” he asked, his voice actually sounding concerned.
“No, not yet. But I’m sure I can find something. I’ve got enough in the bank to hold me for a while.”
He nodded. “I’ll put out some feelers and write you a killer letter of recommendation, if that helps.”
“It does. Thanks.”
He stood, stretching out his hand across the desk. “I know I act like a jackass some of the time—well, most of the time, but I get it. I do. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my wife and kids. Despite how much I joke around, they are my fucking world.”
“Thanks, Mark. Under all that asshat exterior, you’re not a bad guy.”
We shook, and I could see his grin appearing.
“Thanks, man. That means a lot.”
We said our good-byes, and Mark wished me luck.
I needed all the luck I could get because when Liv found out I quit my job for her, I would be a dead man.
~Jackson~
My foot bounced nervously as I stared out the window, counting down the seconds as they ticked by. The sleek lobby of the downtown law firm was well decorated and appointed just like all the others I’d sat in over the last two weeks while waiting to be called into interviews.
I tugged at my scarlet red tie, hating the way it felt tighter now that I’d gone a couple of weeks without them. It left me wondering if this little taste of freedom was a hint that I was supposed to be doing something bigger, something greater than sitting in an office every day for the rest of my life.
But if so, then what?
This was what I’d been trained to do, what I’d worked my ass off to accomplish. What else was there if I didn’t do exactly this?
I adjusted my tie again and pondered just how long the folks at Turner and McCollum Law firm were going to make me wait and sweat it out here.
Performance under pressure—I guessed this was my first test.
The alarm buzzed on my watch, notifying me of the time. It always beeped at this exact moment so I wouldn’t forget when the bus dropped off in front of our house. Noah always got off the bus at exactly a quarter past three every day, and he was expected to call me within five minutes without fail. This was our agreement, and so far, he’d adhered to it perfectly. I was amazed by his maturity and ability to handle himself. When I had been still working and would come home at night, I was surprised to find the house didn’t look like a train wreck. The dishes would be neatly stacked in the sink, and his homework would already have been completed and put away. It was eerie how well behaved he was.
Three minutes had passed, and I was starting to get restless. He knew this was my one condition of his staying home alone, and even though I’d been home for a few weeks, I knew he wouldn’t have forgotten.
Maybe the bus was late?
Another minute passed without a call.
I sent a quick text message to him, basically saying that he should call or he’d be grounded for life.
There was no reply.
I stared at my phone, willing it to ring, when the administrative assistant called for me.
Perfect.
I followed her back to the conference room, and several of the partners greeted me. They were all in their late forties with various shades of the same designer suit.