Destined To Fall Read Free Page B

working for him I was hesitant, for no
other reason than I like my current lifestyle. Work of any kind hasn’t been a
priority, unless it’s the physical kind. With a woman. But something about my
father’s request has me feeling uneasy. I can’t fight the nagging in my gut that
something is wrong, that what my father is really doing is preparing me to
take over from him. Funny thing is, he’s about ten years away from retirement
and wouldn’t be leaving unless he has to. I push the concerns aside and start
organizing my office. For whatever reason, my father needs me and I’m not
about to let him down. Jessa can always join me for a ‘quick lunch’ in my office,
once my chaise lounge set arrives. Oddly enough, it’s not her I picture being
bent over my desk. No. It’s that brunette I met in the elevator, Quinn’s friend.
What was her name again? Great, asshole. You can picture bending her over
your desk but you can’t remember her name? It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve
wanted to do ungodly things to a woman whose name I don’t remember.
I have a shameless history of one night stands to prove that.
Jessa is the only woman I’ve had a semi-consistent relationship with, if you
    consider attending social events together and having meaningless but hot sex
afterward, a relationship. My mother has it in her head that Jessa Price and I
will someday get married, start a family and live happily ever after. I’m fairly
certain Jessa has the same idea in her head. They’re both delusional. If I ever
settle down, and that’s a very small possibility, it won’t be with someone like
Jessa.
    She’s all about status and social climbing and I have no doubt that she’ll cheat
on me the minute she gets bored.
No, thanks. I would rather stick to my nameless one night stands than subject
myself to a lifetime of misery. It would take a special woman to tame the animal in me and she is yet to be discovered. My mind unwillingly drifts back to
Quinn’s friend. Why the fuck can’t I remember her name? Dammit. Maybe I
should try and see her again? Shouldn’t be too difficult now that I’ll be working with her. It could just be two colleagues getting to know each other. Have
you lost your damn mind? You’ve met the woman once and now you’re conjuring up excuses to see her again? Ridiculous. It makes me grin.
“What has you smiling like a fool?”
     
My head snaps up and my father walks into my office. “Nothing,” I shrug my
shoulders. It’s obvious he doesn’t believe me but he doesn’t push it either.
    “You settling in okay?” he asks, looking around the large open space. The hardwood floors glisten as the morning sun shines through the floor-to-ceiling
windows, overlooking the city with Lake Michigan on the horizon.
“Yeah. The new furniture should be here by Wednesday,” I reply.
I watch my father rub his face and for the first time I notice how tired he looks.
“Is everything okay, Dad?”
He doesn’t answer me. Instead, he stares at the city skyline, getting lost in his
thoughts.
“Dad?” His head whips up and he looks startled. What is going on with him
lately? It’s as if he isn’t even here.
     
“What, son?”
    “I asked if everything’s okay.”He stares blankly at me, and it’s almost like looking in a mirror. Except the reflection staring back at me is an older version of
myself.
He shakes his head as if to bring himself back to the present.
    “Yes, yes,” he replies over enthusiastically. “Everything’s fine. I just wanted to
make sure you’re ready for all this.” The double meaning of his words doesn’t
escape me. He’s telling me something without actually saying the words. It
bothers me.
    “I’m ready, Dad,” I assure him, even if I’m not entirely sure of myself. My father has left a legacy, treating his employees like family and always doing what
is right for the company, never at the detriment of someone else. I’m not even
half the