Mad About You (18 page)

All three of them came down to her car. She loaded them up with a box containing a huge chocolate cake decorated with “
Congratulations, Scott and Team,
” a selection of Seattle’s best boutique beer, and bottles of French champagne.

Cassy found party hats in a cupboard and made the guys put them on. They tacked up streamers and balloons. They looked a bit silly in the hats but the geeks were into it. Now all they had to do was wait for Scott so they could celebrate.

…

Scott’s first glimpse of his father’s spacious corner office on the thirty-fifth floor of the downtown building was intimidating. A secretary ushered him in and closed the double doors behind him. Across the plush carpet, seated behind a massive oak desk, Ian Thornton was holding court on the phone from a leather chair large enough to rival Jean-Luc Picard’s captain’s chair on the USS
Enterprise
. Ian gestured to him to take a seat, then swiveled away to continue his call.

Too nervous to sit, Scott strolled to the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked across the central business district to Puget Sound. Ian showed no sign of winding down, so he moved on to study the artwork adorning the walls of the sitting area. Tall ships in full sail, steamships crossing the ocean, European canal boats, English sailing barges, early settlers’ canoes loaded with furs, long-tailed Thai boats laden with fruit and vegetables…

Hang on. He leaned in for a closer look at a photo that didn’t fit the theme. The odd picture out was a framed Polaroid of a young boy with a shock of thick brown hair standing behind a homemade lemonade stand, squinting into the camera. Aunt Lynn must have taken the photo, but how did it come to be here, in his father’s office? Scott’s chest tightened and for a moment, he couldn’t seem to catch his breath.

Ian clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You had get-up-and-go from an early age. I always knew you’d amount to something.”

Really? Thanks, Dad. Thanks for waiting ’til I was thirty years old to tell me
. He felt as if he’d just been patted on the head. Which would have been nice when he was seven years old. He should want to punch Ian’s face except that a traitorous part of him was lapping up his father’s crumbs of praise.

“Sorry about the wait,” Ian went on. “That was a call from the owner of the factory you said you were interested in. He’ll show you around the premises this afternoon.”

“You don’t waste any time.” Ian was already opening doors. Scott hadn’t even been able to get hold of the owner, much less arrange a viewing.

“Come. Sit down and we’ll talk.” Ian released his shoulder and motioned Scott to a chair in front of his desk. He removed a document from a file folder and placed it in front of Scott. “This is a preliminary term sheet outlining the financing.”

Scott scanned the first few pages of the document. It was mostly about dividends, conversions, and voting rights for the shareholders. He tried to concentrate but his mind kept skipping back to the photo of him and the lemonade stand. So, his father
had
taken notice of him.

“Your lawyer can look it over and when I get back from Beijing we’ll negotiate the nuts and bolts,” Ian added. “For now, let’s discuss what I, as your angel investor, will expect from you.”

That got his attention. “I’m not letting any of my techies go. They’re the best around and they’ve been with me on this whole journey.”

Ian’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he held up a reassuring hand. “Absolutely no need to worry. I’ve followed your company from the beginning. All those guys are good. But you will need to be open to suggestions. Some business owners get sentimental about the businesses they’ve built from scratch and that sentimentality can cost them.”

Yeah, Ian would think sentimentality was a problem. Scott tossed the document on the desk. The question he’d intended never to lower himself to ask just blurted out. “Why didn’t you keep me?”

Ian’s head jerked in surprise and he frowned. “I beg your pardon?”

Damn, he should have kept his mouth shut. The last thing he wanted was for Ian to think he was some sniveling brat stuck in the past, moping over Daddy. “Never mind. Forget I said that. It doesn’t matter.”

Ian gave him a sharp look and cleared his throat. “Thornton Holdings will be listed as a secondary shareholder at forty percent of shares. Your company will own sixty percent. If market predictions are accurate, within two years of manufacture you should be able to float the company on the stock market…” He trailed off. Mouth set, he got up and went to the window, his hands clasped behind his back. Then he turned and leveled his gaze at Scott. “I never wanted a child. I was totally wrapped up in my work. I only agreed because your mother wanted a baby and I would have cut off my right arm to make her happy. When she died, I didn’t know what the hell to do with you.”

Scott listened in shock, his eyes widening. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but it wasn’t this raw, brutal honesty. What the hell was he supposed to say to the news his father hadn’t wanted him? Well, that’s what he’d always known. All along. So he said nothing.

“I gave you away, got rid of you.” Ian seemed almost angry, with himself and with the situation he’d been forced into. “Lynn and Rob couldn’t have kids of their own. They were thrilled to be able to raise you. They took good care of you, far better than I would have. They loved you as if you were their own child.”

“I have no complaints about them. They were great. Still are.” His own anger simmered, barely checked.
What about you? Didn’t you love me even a little?
“Did you never have any regrets?”

“Not one. I knew I would screw you up if I kept you. Your happiness came at the price of mine.”

“My
happiness
?” Scott pushed away from the desk and surged to his feet. “Did you think I was happy to be dumped on virtual strangers after I’d just lost my mother? At least you were the bastard
I knew.
How dare you pretend you were concerned with my feelings?”

Ian swelled to his full height, only slightly shorter than Scott’s six feet four inches. “You’re right. I wasn’t thinking of you.”

“I knew it. You were thinking of yourself, first and last.”

Ian shook his head, his gaze never wavering, but his jaw worked. “I was thinking of your mother. She was the love of my life, the sun, the moon, and the stars. In turn, you were the love of her life. She doted on you. After the crash, when we knew she wasn’t going to make it, she told me she wanted you to grow up in a real home and a loving family. She begged me to remarry and give that to you. But I couldn’t. I knew I wouldn’t be ready for years.”

Scott blinked. In all his ranting against his dad, he’d never imagined this cold, distant businessman could have such a passion for his wife. Or that it would be a Shakespearean-level tragedy when she died.

“I loved you, of course I did. You were my son. I may not have wanted you at first but once you were there, well…” Ian’s handsome features twisted and he looked old and tired. “I gave you up for her sake, to fulfill my promise to her. It was painful to visit you and be reminded of everything I’d lost, so I didn’t come around as much as I should have. That I do regret. But I don’t regret letting Lynn and Rob bring you up. How could I when I see what a fine man you’ve become? It may have been the wrong decision, but I believe I did it for the right reasons.”

Scott sank back into his chair. He thought of the times during his teenage years when his father had visited and Scott had refused to talk to him. “I never knew.”

Ian shrugged. “There was no point burdening you with the truth.”

“I disagree. It might have helped me understand you better.”

“It didn’t matter if you understood. You were a child. All you had to do was accept.”

If Ian thought that, maybe Scott was better off having been raised by Lynn and Rob. Speaking of them, it had been months since he’d talked to them. He ought to give them a call, let them know the progress on the Dreamcatcher. He owed Uncle Rob, a high school physics teacher, for encouraging his interest in science, and Aunt Lynn for turning him into a rounded human being. He would always regard them as his parents in every important way. But Ian’s honesty, while painful, had the effect of softening his attitude toward his father.

“You did remarry, though.”

“Not for twelve years the second time, and sadly, that didn’t last long. I didn’t really fall in love again properly until I met Serena.” Ian’s face creased into a smile. “She’s wonderful. I sent you an invitation to the wedding. Maybe you didn’t get it.”

Or maybe he’d thrown it in the garbage unopened, the way he did every card or letter from his father. “I’m sorry I missed it.” To his surprise, he found he meant it. “Do you have any other children?”

“No. Serena has two daughters from her first marriage and didn’t want more. Both her girls are in college back east.”

Scott processed the fact that he had two stepsiblings he’d never met. Maybe when his life settled down a bit, if it settled down…

“You and Cassy should come out on the boat with us sometime,” Ian said. “We could go salmon fishing.”

“I don’t know…maybe. Cassy and I aren’t really engaged.” He didn’t want to lie about something so important to a prospective business partner. Oh, who was he kidding? He couldn’t lie to his father. Damn. He’d sworn he would never be sucked into Ian’s orbit and here the old man was, talking about going fishing together.

“I know all about you and Cassy. It’s clear to me what you are to each other but I’ll let you work that out for yourselves.” Ian glanced at his watch. “I’m afraid I’ll have to cut this short. I’ll get my PA to fax you the steps that should take place immediately as part of a restructure.”

“Sure, just tell me what you want. We’ll talk again when you get back from China.”

“Wait and I’ll walk out with you.” Ian put on his suit jacket and packed his briefcase. He called his PA to ask for a cab, then joined Scott at the door. There, he paused. “My wish is that through a mutually beneficial business deal we can find our way back…to, if not a father-son relationship…then at least a friendship.” When Scott said nothing, he added, “Regardless of how far you want to take the personal side, the offer of financing is solid.” He held out his hand.

Scott hesitated, long-held anger and resentment warring with a residual need for his father’s love and acceptance. When was he going to grow up and truly not care what his father thought?

“A lifetime feels like eternity when you’re holding a grudge,” Ian said gruffly. “I’m sorry I hurt you. You’ll never know how sorry I am.”

All Scott’s life, Ian had been a shadowy evil figure that haunted everything he did. Maybe it was time to put those demons to rest and come into the light. Maybe growing up meant forgiving. He hesitated, then clasped his father’s outstretched hand. Awkwardly, they stepped forward and met in a clumsy, rough embrace. “I’m sorry, too.”

Ian cleared his throat and stepped back. “Welcome aboard Thornton Holdings, son. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that we’ll be working together.”

“I am, too.” Scott released his held breath and blinked rapidly.
Dad.

…

“He’s here!” Cassy hissed in a stage whisper when the outer door began to open just before noon. God, she hoped the meeting had gone well and Scott hadn’t thrown Ian’s offer back in his face. She jumped up and hurried into the coffee room. The guys scrambled to push back their chairs and follow her.

They were all lined up beside the table laden with cake and champagne flutes when Scott entered. “Where is every…”

They all cheered. Cassy hurried forward and strapped a metallic red party hat to his head. “I told them the news, well, the bare bones. What happened? We’ve been going crazy waiting for you to tell us the details. Did it go well? Did you get everything you hoped?”

“It went really well, even better than I expected.” Scott’s happiness shone through, despite the fatigue lines from three nights with minimal sleep.

“Oh, Scott, I’m so glad.” Scott and Ian must have connected in more than simply a business sense. If they worked together, they were bound to resolve the rift that had kept them apart for twenty-odd years. She knew Ian wanted it and now she was certain Scott did, too. Having his father back in his life was the missing piece in the puzzle of his life, the balm that would heal his heart.

Yes, everything was coming together in the most wonderful way. Last night’s emotional lovemaking was the icing on the cake. When she recalled how Scott had looked at her, she still got goose bumps. He’d been so intense, she’d thought she would combust from the love building between them.

And yet she had to admit she was just a teeny bit anxious about how he really felt about her. Neither of them had used the L-word.
Did
he love her, or were they merely friends who’d turned to sex as a distraction from the excitement and anxiety of the Dreamcatcher? Was this the beginning of an amazing extension of their friendship? Or the beginning of the end? When they’d been just friends they’d been able to talk about anything. She would have simply asked him. Now she was scared to mention the deep feelings she had for him because it mattered too much.