Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“Do you ever regret following your own path?”
“I only regret that they never really grasped what motivated me, never bothered to understand where my drive and passion came from. It’s not like you with the violin, Beth. This is something I’m good at but also something I love with every fiber of my being. I understand how you must have felt having that talent but not possessing any passion for it. But I can’t imagine ever feeling the same way. I disappointed my dad by not joining the family business like my brothers and I wish—”
He stopped himself abruptly and looked embarrassed to have uttered the wistful words.
“What do you wish?” she prompted him, and he stared at her for a long moment before shaking his head.
“I wish I could find a way to slot my world into theirs.”
“Why can’t you? You’re incredibly gifted, Gideon, and there are so many opportunities in art design. Surely you can find a way to add value to your father’s company while doing what you love? Unless he has a specific position in mind?”
“I…” He paused, looking somewhat diverted by her words. “He never, uh, I always assumed he wanted me to do something along the lines of Nox and Niall. Nox is the Chief Financial Officer and Niall is a corporate attorney. He heads up the company’s in-house legal department.”
An in-house legal department? This didn’t sound some like some generational mom-and-pop outfit.
“What exactly does this company do?”
His eyes widened in astonishment as he stared at her for a long moment, before shaking his head in what looked like incredulity. He was staring at her as if she’d grown an extra head.
“I thought you knew. My family is in, uh, construction.”
Beth stared at him blankly for a second as she digested that response.
Construction?
Oh my.
“Hawthorne Construction and Engineering?”
“Aye, that’s us.” He looked almost embarrassed to admit it.
“The same company currently building that posh estate in Observatory?” she asked. She drove past the huge billboards advertising the new housing development all the time and had never once connected the name of the company with Gideon.
“HC&E is building it, but the development is owned by Chapman Global Properties. Our company does a lot of builds for the Chapmans.”
Hawthorne C&E was a massive global company. Beth didn’t know much about construction and engineering, but even she had heard of them. Their signs were always up at the build sites of the most upmarket housing estates, hotels, and shopping centers. It was hard to reconcile a household name like that with this sheepish looking man—in faded jeans, torn t-shirt, and scuffed trainers—slouched on her patio.
“That’s the one.”
“But you’re—” How did one put this tactfully? “You’re poor.”
So not tactful, Beth.
He grinned. “Well, yes…And no.”
“What does that mean?”
“My family has money. I suppose you could say that I have money. Inheritances from my mother and grandparents. But it’s not money I’ve earned, so it’s not money I feel comfortable using.”
“Why not? Is the money tainted in some way? Dodgy business practices or something?” she asked, not sure why she was pursuing this, but it added another fascinating dimension to his character that she hadn’t known existed. And she found herself wanting to understand the thought process behind his decision
“Of course not.” He sounded outraged by her question. “My great-grandfather founded the company. And my granddad built it to what it is today. Gramps was the most honorable and fair man you could ever hope to meet. And my dad is a carbon copy of his old man. Hard-working, ethical, and stubborn as all hell. They all worked hard to make the company what it is. The Hawthorne brand is synonymous with integrity, value, and community upliftment. I’m proud of my family, I just regret that they’re not equally proud of me.”
It became clear to Beth, as she listened to him speak of his family, that Gideon admired—even hero-worshipped—his father. And that he was fiercely proud of—and loyal toward—his family. Which had to make their rejection of him hurt that much more.
“Your mother and grandparents left you your inheritance free and clear of obligation, didn’t they?”
His eyes flickered and the tiny muscle in his jawline ticked. “What do you mean?”
“They left you and your siblings your inheritances because they loved you, right? Or did their wills have some provisos. Like no inheriting unless you’re married by your thirty-fifth birthday or something? No money unless you join the family business?”
He chuckled. “You clearly read way too many romance novels. No, my siblings and I all inherited the money free and clear on our twenty-fifth birthdays. No conditions or exclusions or arranged marriages of convenience.”
“So why the reluctance to use it? It was a gift from people who loved you and wanted you to have it.”
“I didn’t want to be just another trust fund baby. Not only aimless, but also a loser with nothing better to do than recklessly spend money on frivolous shit like parties and babes and cars and—”