worked his ass off for the company. Once he took over and dismissed the board, he contacted a friend of his who owns one of the country’s leading staffing agencies. He hired a CEO, a CFO, an operations officer, and an information security officer. All the positions I’d been handling since Dad died.
The company functions a lot better than it did when Dad was alive. We oversee everything, but thanks to Sterling, we have people who have the passion and drive to continue with what my father started. I only have to check in on them bi-monthly.
For the past year, I’ve been working on my own company. Ahern Brothers, which is a software company with two subdivisions: SAW Entertainment which develops games, and CorpSolv where we develop different kinds of software for corporations.
“I have so many questions about Abby,” I say when we arrive at the house. He might be able to shed some light on what is going on with her.
“You can ask, but I might not answer all of them.” Sterling isn’t rude, but a little defensive—protective.
Feels like our roles have changed. He didn’t care that much about Abby when she first came to our house. It wasn’t until she went to London that they began to interact more, but now they seem too close. Almost as close as Abby and I were.
“Since when are you guys so close?”
“It’s a sibling thing. You don’t get along while growing up, family tragedy strikes, and you get closer.” He tilts his head my way. “I told you several times. She’s like my little sister. No one was there for her, except for me.”
Guilt crushes my entire body. But I couldn’t be there for her when I was barely able to stand on my own two feet.
“Why didn’t you mention that you two were still friends?” My voice comes out edgy without meaning to.
“It didn’t seem necessary,” he answers with his usual cool tone. “What happened before caused you to drown yourself in booze. Why would I mention her at all? You were a fucking mess, not to mention Mom. What the fuck happened between them?”
He frowns, lifting his chin and watching the starry sky.
“Mom feels like she failed Abby. Abby mentioned once in her letters that it was a long story.” I shrug because there’s no way to understand how they went from being so close to not talking to each other.
My mother has changed a lot since Dad died. She’s a happy woman and lives her life like it’s her last day. She no longer checks on us daily. She stopped sending me care packages. When she first moved to Arizona, she sent them weekly. Because God forbid, I didn’t have enough shirts, ties, or underwear.
“It’s their relationship, not ours,” I remind him. “We can only be accountable for what we do.”
“And what are you going to do about Abby?”
That’s a loaded question and only takes me a few seconds to respond, “Show her that we were made for each other, that our love isn’t gone, and that she should take a leap of faith.”
“It’s going to take some work.” He shrugs, but I notice a smile with an air of victory crinkling the corners of his eyes.
“So, you agree that’s not impossible,” I say, seeking some reassurance.
“Only because she might be fond of you,” he argues. “I’m warning you to be fucking careful. I don’t want to see either one of you getting hurt.”
“Any advice?” I ask, opening the door to our building.
He remains quiet while we wait for the elevator.
“You’re on your own,” he finally says once the elevator opens in the living room. Then he shrugs one shoulder. “I usually don’t believe in the second chance shit, but with you two, I can see it working.”
“Why is that?” I unleash Oakley and walk to the kitchen to make sure she has enough water in her bowl.
“You two aren’t together because of the circumstances. Life threw her a nasty hand. That’s different from breaking up because one of you wasn’t invested in the relationship.” He shakes his head and waves. “Have a good night, Wes.”
It wasn’t just bad timing, but I get what he’s saying. We loved each other but had no idea how to handle our relationship. Abby and I can’t let go of what we had, but we can’t start where we left off either. We need a clean slate. This time we’re not hiding secrets. It sounds easy in theory, but I don’t know