Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“So, he agreed to let you run the business from San Francisco! That’s fantastic.”
As we both took a seat on the couch, he said, “Not exactly. Whoever we end up hiring as president will run the company from Miami, since that’s where the entire executive staff is located. We’re thinking my cousin Enrique might be a good fit, if he’s interested. But we still need an office for my dad and me. He’ll continue to act as an advisor even after he retires, and I’ll be the company spokesperson, more or less—a figurehead, really, the face behind the Suarez Global name. We’re still working out the details, but that’s the general idea.”
“Oh my god, Lucky, does that mean you’re off the hook?”
“It looks like it. I have no idea what you said to my dad earlier tonight, but thank you.”
“I actually didn’t say much. All I did was get the ball rolling, and you did the rest. So, are you happy with this new role at the company?”
“It’s perfect,” he said. “I’m glad I can continue to work with my dad, but this way, it’ll just be a few hours a week and not my entire life.”
“I’m so glad things are falling into place.”
Now we just had one more thing to worry about—and we’d be doing a lot of that over the next month and a half.
Chapter 14
Six Weeks Later
The Saturday night before the custody hearing, Lucky and I tucked Owen in together. Once he was asleep, we slipped away to the garage, leaving Dylan and Lark to babysit.
My boyfriend and I then spent a couple of hours naked in bed. Even though he was living with me now, privacy was hard to come by at the pink Victorian, so our Saturday ritual continued.
“I know you might not want to hear this,” Lucky said, as he rested his head on my stomach and I stroked his hair, “but we need our own place. I love your found family as much as you do, but the Victorian’s too crowded. Owen needs his own room, and I want to be able to make love to you more than one night a week. Plus, seven people sharing one bathroom isn’t great. I know Dylan’s getting close to finishing out the attic and turning it into a useable family room for all of us, but that’s not really going to fix these issues.”
The overcrowding was even more noticeable since Hal had shown up on our doorstep two weeks ago with a giant suitcase—not in tears, but with a fiery determination to start fresh. He’d walked in on his boyfriend cheating on him and decided to leave not just the relationship, but Southern California in general while he figured out what to do next. He’d been crashing on our couch ever since, and of course we’d all welcomed him to stay as long as he needed to.
“You’re right about all of that,” I said, “but it would make me so sad to move away from everyone. I know they’re our family no matter what, but even being across town would feel like it was too far away.
“Also, just to be clear, you’re not suggesting we move into the Nob Hill house with your dad, right? Because to me, that really doesn’t seem like a good solution. I know he’s gone to Miami a lot, but that’s just temporary while he’s training your cousin Enrique on running the company. Once that’s done and he finally settles in here in San Francisco, I feel like he wouldn’t give us much privacy.”
“I totally agree, that house isn’t an option. Between my dad living there and the fact that we’re using the third floor as our west coast office, we definitely wouldn’t have enough privacy.”
“Exactly,” I said. “So, what do we do?”
“I guess we start looking for an apartment no more than a couple of blocks from the pink Victorian. It might be a while before something comes available, but that would be ideal. We could still share meals a lot of the time, and drop in for family game night, and so on. Best of all though, it would help Owen feel like he’s a part of both households—the one he knows, and the one we’ll find for the three of us. I think that’s important for him.”
“We’re totally on the same page,” I said.
“Like always.” He shifted around and drew me into his arms. “With the custody hearing just two days away, how are you holding up?”
“Okay, I guess, but it feels like all of us have been holding our breath for the last six weeks. I’ve tried so hard to think positive and believe the judge will rule in our favor, but it’ll be a huge relief to put it behind us once and for all.”
“They’re definitely going to rule in your favor. You’re the best thing for Owen, and everyone knows it.”