“You okay?” he asked, secretly hoping she was.
“This is crazy, right?” she said breathlessly. “I mean, tomorrow you’re…”
“I don’t want to talk about that right now. Please.” So many thoughts ran through his mind, but right now, he wanted to just focus on this. Them.
“We’re going to have to talk about it eventually, Logan. We can’t pretend that everything’s going to be okay.” She paused, her brown eyes scanning his face.
“And we will. I promise.” He placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. “But later.” He kissed her cheek. “Much, much, later.”
Luckily she didn’t argue and it seemed like someone hit the launch button because after that, the only talking they did was to spur each other on as he claimed her lips and her body for hours on end.
It was sometime after three when Piper fell asleep. He wasn’t far behind but he had to set his alarm. He had several calls lined up for the morning and he knew if he didn’t set the alarm, he’d sleep right through them. Yawning, he hugged her close and placed a kiss on the top of her head. They’d both be awake again in a few hours, whether they wanted to be or not. He had things he had to do before he left and there was definitely going to be an awkward conversation between the two of them. Maybe inviting her to come home with him wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but he wouldn’t change it for the world.
And that’s the thought he held on to as sleep claimed him.
The alarm went off at seven a.m. and he groaned as he reached over to turn it off. Piper was snuggled up against him and his arm was around her, keeping her close. He liked waking up like this. He missed it the few nights she hadn’t been here and he knew he was going to miss it again.
Beside him, she slowly raised her head and blinked him into focus. “Why is the alarm going off so early? Didn’t we just fall asleep?”
Nodding, he kissed her softly on the lips and gently urged her head back onto his shoulder. “I have some business to take care of this morning before I get on the road so I needed to get an early start.”
“Oh.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper and she squirmed to move away from him. “I should get going then. I don’t want to make you late.”
Holding her close, he waited until she stopped fidgeting and looked at him. “You’re not going to make me late, Piper. Trust me.”
“But…”
“No buts,” he said. “I don’t want you to leave yet.”
He felt her stiffen at the word “yet” and he knew it wasn’t going to be the only time she reacted that way. So rather than drag things out, he chose to dive right in.
“I’m working on a new business deal and my first call is going to be to my father. I can guarantee he’ll demand I come see him in person which is why I’m heading to Boston right after lunch.”
She lifted her head again to look at him. He loved how she looked first thing in the morning–slumberous eyes, tousled hair…she was beautiful. “What kind of a deal? Is it something to keep him from choosing a position for you?”
He wanted to tell her everything, but until it was a done deal, he couldn’t.
“Possibly,” he said, slowly, carefully, and he saw the disappointment in her face that he wasn’t sharing the details. Rolling onto his side so they could face each other, he did his best to explain. “I’ve been working on something the last few days and I honestly don’t know how it’s going to go over with my father, so I’m hesitant to talk about it until I do.” Reaching for one of her hands, he squeezed it. “It means I’m going to be very busy for the next week or so–lots of meetings are going to take place. I can guarantee that, but that doesn’t mean I’m not committed to making what we have here work.”
“Logan, we discussed this. Sort of. And this is why I wanted to talk about it last night.” She put a little more space between them. “You have no idea how much I wish I could agree with you–that I could be on board with trying to make the long-distance thing work–but I can’t.”
He watched helplessly as her first tear fell.
“You mean so much to me, Logan. More than I thought possible. But…”
“Hey,” he said softly, caressing her cheek. “Please don’t cry.” Resting his forehead against hers, he squeezed his eyes shut and prayed he wasn’t screwing everything up. “I need you to trust me, Piper.” Opening his eyes, he smiled at her. “I know everything about my reputation works against me, but I’m telling you, I am committed to this. To us.”
“I just don’t see how it can work,” she said tearfully. “So many things are up in the air–things we both need to focus on…”
“We will, Piper, I swear. Just…let me get through today, okay? Let me go and deal with this meeting with my father and then we can talk some more. Please.”
She didn’t look fully convinced, but he had to have faith that it was all going to work out.
“Logan…”
All he could do was try to convince her with a kiss.
And then some serious touching until they were both breathless and spent.
12
“You want to do what?”
Logan already knew how this conversation was going to go, but now that it was actually happening, he didn’t feel quite so confident.
“I’m going to invest in a video game company,” he said, hoping his father didn’t detect the slight tremor in his voice. “I’ve done all the market research and read over their business plan and it’s solid.”
“Logan, I already had to deal with Jason going into the entertainment industry and I wasn’t thrilled with it. But at least it’s making a big return for us. I will not have you putting the family name on…on…on a silly game!”
“Do you have any idea how big the gaming industry is?” Before his father could answer, Logan began giving him statistics. “The global revenue of console and PC games for 2019 is fifteen billion dollars. That’s up from thirteen billion a year ago and by 2022, we’re looking at eighteen billion dollars. And that’s just on console and PC games; that’s not even taking into consideration mobile apps.”
“So you’re saying…”
“I’m saying this is an industry that makes money and whether you want in on it or not, it’s something I’m going to do. Believe it or not, I do have my own money and I strongly believe in this.”
“And if I say no? If I say I don’t want the Blackthorne name on this?”
“Then it’s your loss,” Logan said with more bravado than he actually felt. “The Blackthorne name and logo won’t be part of it, but I’ll still be doing it.” He paused. “Here’s the thing, Dad, I couldn’t make a decision about where I wanted to be because for a long time I wanted it all. I wanted to be at the helm.”
“Since when?” Graham asked incredulously. “You’ve never shown any interest…”
“I’ve shown plenty of interest!” he shouted. “I’ve worked everywhere within the company, learned everything I could, studied every damn report you sent out, and you know what? I’d be damn good at it!”
“And so that’s just it–you’re not getting your way so you’re going to turn your back on your family? On the business I’ve spent a lifetime expanding?”
Leave it to his father to minimize what he was trying to say.
“I’m not turning my back on my family. That’s never going to happen. Believe it or not, I love each and every one of them. Including you. But I can’t be something I’m not. You see, I wanted to be at the helm for all the wrong reasons. I’ve learned so much and I’ve tried to find where I fit in, but…nothing clicked. Nothing made me happy.”
“Work isn’t about being happy, Logan. If that’s what you think then you’ll be miserable wherever you are. Now stop this nonsense. Video gaming is not a respectable career for a Blackthorne. It’s ridiculous. You’re due back in Boston today, we’ll have dinner tonight and figure out where you’d be the most…” He groaned with disgust. “Satisfied.”
“Dad, you’re not listening to
me. You never listen to me,” he said firmly. “I’m doing this. With or without you, I’m doing this. Granted, the company would grow faster, probably make more of a splash in the industry with the Blackthorne name backing it, but make no mistake, it’s going to be successful with or without you. I’ll make sure of it. I learned enough about this sort of thing over the years that I know how to work with companies to get financing and how to make deals.”
“So you’ll take everything I taught you and use it for another job? This is how you thank me?” And yeah, no doubt his father was red in the face right now.
“I learned a lot in college too, Dad.”
“And I paid for it!”
Letting out a long breath, Logan leaned back in his chair. “This is getting us nowhere. I’m doing this. I’m going to Seattle with Piper and…”
“Piper? Piper who?”
Oh, shit…
“Piper Stewart. Connor’s daughter. She’s the one who introduced me to the business side of the industry. I mean, I’ve always enjoyed playing video games; I just never knew it was such a lucrative business.”
His father gave a sardonic laugh. “The groundskeeper’s daughter? That’s who you’re doing this for? Oh, Logan, I never thought you would be the one to be led around by the nose by a woman.” He made a tsk-tsk sound that was most definitely condescending. “You realize she’s just using you, right? No doubt you financing this company will benefit her.” He paused. “Now that I think of it, that’s what she went to school for, isn’t it? I remember my mother mentioning it a time or two.” Another laugh. “You’re making a fool out of yourself.”
“Why? Because I actually believe in something other than Blackthorne? Because I’m willing to make a sacrifice for the woman I love? Maybe you should try that sometime!” His heart was beating like mad and he knew he had just poked the bear in the worst possible way. “Maybe if you had made a few sacrifices for Mom, she wouldn’t have left!”
“How dare you!” Graham roared. “How dare you talk to me like that! You have no idea what you’re talking about! My relationship with your mother is none of your business!”
“It most certainly is when your actions have torn this family apart! And if there is one thing you taught me, it’s what not to do in a relationship! Unlike you, I am going to fight for the woman I love! And if that means moving to Seattle and helping her succeed, then that’s what I’m going to do!”
They were both silent for a long moment and for the life of him, Logan had no idea what was going to happen next.
“Very well,” his father said finally. “You do what you have to do, but don’t come crying to me when it fails. Which it will.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” he said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm. “Look, let’s be honest, Dad. Blackthorne doesn’t need me anywhere. Everything is running just fine without me. You know it and I know it. Why not be happy that I found something I find fulfilling?”
“You don’t know that it will, Logan. Trust me. Right now you’ve got stars in your eyes, but when reality sets in, you’ll see how you were wrong.”
“Wow. Just…wow. Seriously, what is wrong with you?”
“There’s nothing wrong with me and I resent you speaking to me this way. Now I’ve had enough of this. You need to be working for Blackthorne! I won’t tolerate this insolence from you!”
A slow smile crossed Logan’s face.
He knew it would come to this.
“Then I have a proposition for you,” he said simply and when his father didn’t respond, he went on. “I want to open up more locations of The Whisky Vault.”
“And let me guess, your first location will be Seattle.”
“You got it.”
“That’s not exactly what I meant by working for Blackthorne, Logan.”
“Well, that’s all you’re going to get. Take it or leave it.”
More silence before… “Meet me for dinner tonight and we’ll talk about it.”
Mentally high-fiving himself, Logan forced himself to sound calm as he said, “Sure. I’ll meet you at your office.”
When he hung up, he felt like jumping up and down like a kid.
So he did.
“Yes!” Feeling beyond excited, he had no idea what to do first. He wanted to call Piper, but decided he’d do that tonight after he had dinner with his father. Though he wasn’t sure he was going to tell her everything, he could at least share that he challenged the great Graham Blackthorne and won! “Ha!”
Oh, it felt so good! He felt so good! Moving around the apartment, he threw away food that was going to spoil and then sent out a quick text to confirm the cleaning crew would come in tomorrow and clean for him. Once that was done and there was nothing left for him to do, he packed up his one meager bag and made his way down to his car.
The original plan was to go have lunch with his grandmother, but she called earlier to tell him she had to cancel–apparently one of her friends from her book club wasn’t feeling well and Nana was bringing her lunch. It was a very sweet thing for her to do, but he was disappointed that he wasn’t going to see her and be able to share the good news with her. More than anything, he knew Nana would appreciate what he was trying to do.
He made a mental note to call her tomorrow.
The thought of taking Piper to lunch instead crossed his mind, but they had said their goodbyes earlier and watching her leave was harder than he thought it would be.
Soon…
Soon everything would fall into place and he wouldn’t have to watch her walk away again. He’d make sure of it.
So with nothing left to do, he made his way out of King Harbor.
“Are you joking? This better not be a joke.”
Staring down at the screen in her hands, her two best friends were grinning from ear to ear. “No joke, Piper,” Michael said. “It’s really happening!”
“Oh, my God! This is amazing! I can’t believe it!” she cried. “So Logan was able to help?”
“Who?” Eric asked, his expression was one of confusion.
“Um…Logan? The friend I told you about. He was looking at your business plan, remember?”
The guys looked at each other and then to her. “Sorry, Piper, but your friend never called. We took your advice and had reached out to some other potential investors and things are happening,” Eric said.
Disappointment swamped her because she had hoped that Logan would be the one to help. Considering their fight, however, she guessed he forgot about it. Although, she couldn’t be too upset because even without him, things were working out.
“Okay, so listen,” Michael was saying, “we want you here to do a presentation with us. We can handle most of it, but they are really excited to talk to you about Grove of the Eternal. I mean, we could probably handle that end, but it would mean a lot more if you were the one to do it.”
“Oh, wow, um…okay. When?”
“Day after tomorrow.”
“What? That would mean I’d have to be on a plane…”
“Tomorrow,” Eric said. “We know it’s short notice…”
“How…I mean…there’s no way…and how long would I be gone?”
“Piper, calm down,” Michael said with a small laugh. “Look, we’re handling your airfare and hotel. You just need to get on a plane and get here. Easy peasy.”
“But for how long?”
“I don’t know,” he said with a bit of a huff. “A week, I guess. Could be longer…”
Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. “I have a job, Michael. I can’t just leave them shorthanded and not tell them when I’ll be back. That’s not right.”
“Piper, when this deal goes through and you accept the job–which we all know you’re going to,” Eric added, “you’ll be making like…a hundred times more than what you’re making now! And you’ll get to keep most of the rights to your game, so…come on! What are you waiting for?”
Good question…
“I…I don’t know.
There’s so much I’d have to do before I could leave,” she rambled. “I have to pack, talk to my dad, find coverage for my shifts…”
“That’s all doable, Piper. Come on! We always said we’d do this together so you need to be here so we can do it together!”
Excitement bubbled up inside of her and she let out a laugh before she could stop it. “This is really happening!”
Both guys laughed. “Yeah, it is! So…are you in?”
She nodded. “Yes! Email me my flight info and anything else I’ll need and I guess I’ll be seeing you soon!”
When she hung up, she swore she was shaking so hard she was going to fall right off the sofa. Glancing at the clock on her phone, she knew her father would be home soon and she couldn’t wait to tell him the news, but first she was going to call Charles and beg his forgiveness for leaving him in the lurch.
Once that was done, she ran to her room and started packing. It was nerve-racking to think about going away and not knowing what she should bring and what she shouldn’t. Normally Piper was a light packer, but knowing there were going to be meetings and possibly some dinners…she knew she needed to cover all bases.
“And that means the big suitcase,” she murmured, reaching into her closet and grabbing the biggest one she had.
“Uh-oh,” her father said from the doorway. “Going someplace?”
Smiling, she dropped the luggage and ran over and hugged him. “Dad, I have some great news!” Taking him by the hand, they walked out to the living room where she explained the deal that was hopefully happening and how she needed to leave tomorrow.
Connor Stewart stared at his daughter with a serene smile on his face. “Are you nervous?”
“More than I thought I would be.” With a nervous smile, she continued, “This has the potential to be everything I worked so hard for.”
“But…”
Shaking her head, she let out a low laugh. “Nothing’s finalized yet.”
“There are no guarantees, sweetheart. Trust me.” He patted her on the knee. “But you’re a fighter and I know you’re going to do everything possible to make it succeed.”
Logan (7 Brides for 7 Blackthornes Book 6) Page 16
