“Good morning, baby.” Connor walked into the kitchen and gave me a warm kiss.
“Good morning. Tell Collin when you see him at the office that dinner is at six o’clock sharp.”
“I will. Don’t worry.” He took his coffee over to the table as I set his breakfast in front of him.
“I was thinking last night about Collin and Amelia and how we could be planning a wedding for them in the near future.”
“Let’s not rush them into marriage, sweetheart. I think Collin needs a couple more years before he even considers getting married. They both need to get settled into their careers first.”
“I agree, but isn’t the thought exciting? Watching our baby boy walk down the aisle, marrying the love of his life like Julia did. Where is Julia, by the way? I thought she was bringing Brayden by this morning.”
“I’m right here, Dad.” She smiled as she walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he took Brayden from her arms. “You know I’m only a few minutes late. It’s hard with Jake being out of town.”
“Sorry, princess. I was just missing this little guy.”
I poured Julia a cup of coffee and handed it to her. “Why don’t you and Brayden spend the night here until Jake gets back?” I was hoping she’d say yes.
“It’s fine, Mom. I’m more than capable of being alone with my son. But thanks for the offer. Jake will home tomorrow night.”
“Well, I have a full day planned with this little one.” I walked over and took him from Connor’s arms.
“Elle, I wasn’t done playing with him.”
“Sorry, babe, but he wants his grandma. Don’t you?” I held him up in the air and he smiled.
It was hard to believe that he was already six months old. Spring was settling in New York and I was excited to take him to Central Park.
“I have an idea, Julia. How about you pack Brayden an overnight bag and let him stay the night with us tonight? That way, you can have a night to yourself.”
“How about I take you up on that offer tomorrow night when Jake gets home so I can spend the night alone with my husband?”
I gave her a smile. “That’s an even better idea.”
Connor finished his breakfast and got up from his chair. “Are you ready to head into the office, princess?”
“Yes, Dad. I’m ready.” She walked over and gave Brayden a kiss goodbye. “Be good for Grandma, Brayden, and Mommy will see you later.”
He cooed and smiled at her. I took his little arm and waved goodbye as they stepped into the elevator.
Connor
“Good morning, son,” I got up from my desk chair and walked around to give him a light hug.
“Morning, Dad.”
“How was the rest of your trip in Vegas?”
“It was good. We had a lot of fun.”
I walked back to my desk and sat down. Collin planted himself in the chair across from me. He seemed different.
“What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing. Why do you ask?” He gave me a strange look.
“I can’t put my finger on it, but you seem different.”
“No, I’m not. I’m the same Collin I was a few days ago.”
“Okay. Maybe it’s just my imagination. Oh, your mom said dinner is at six sharp tonight. Don’t be late.”
He got up from his chair. “We will be on time. I promise.”
I gave him a small smile as he left the office. As I was looking over some documents that my new secretary, Cara, typed up, I noticed a lot of errors. I pushed the button on my desk phone.
“Cara, could you please come in here?”
A few moments later, the door opened, and she walked in. “Yes, Mr. Black?”
“Have a seat please.” I pointed to the chair. “As I’m looking over these documents, I’ve noticed a lot of typing errors. Did you even go through them before handing them over to me?”
She looked at me with her brown eyes, and as she chomped on her gum, she sighed. “I thought I did. I’m sorry, Mr. Black. Hand them over to me and I’ll go through them again.” She held out her hand.
Handing the documents back to her, I frowned. “You have until five o’clock to get them back to me.”
She walked out of the office and shut the door. I missed Valerie and Diana. I hadn’t been able to find anyone competent enough to fill their shoes and it was starting to piss me off. Why I let Collin talk me into hiring Cara, I had no clue. She didn’t even have that much secretarial experience. I looked at the calendar and thought next weekend would be a good weekend to go to the Hamptons and open up the house for the summer. This was the time of year I loved. Spending weekends at the beach house with the family were times that I always treasured. Although this year would be different with Collin having his own house right down the street. I pressed the button on my desk phone again.
“Cara, please call the florist and have a bouquet of roses sent to my wife at our home.”
“Will do, Mr. Black.”
I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to Ellery.
“I’m having roses sent to the house so you can use them as a centerpiece for the dinner table tonight.”
“Thank you, babe. I was going to stop with Brayden on my way home from the park to get some. I love you.”
“I love you too. I’ll see you later. Send me some pictures of our grandson.”
Before long, Ellery had blown up my phone with the cutest pictures of Brayden; some by himself and some with her. As I stared at him, he reminded me so much of Collin. I sat back in my chair and thought about what Denny used to say.
“Connor, that son of yours is the spitting image of you. Brace yourself because I have a feeling you’re going to be in for one hell of a ride as he gets older.”
I silently smiled because he was right. Collin was the spitting image of me, not only in looks, but in personality and defiance as well. He had grown into a man before my eyes and already endured such heartache but also extreme happiness, and I couldn’t have been prouder of him for the way he handled things. I didn’t have any worries as far as the company was concerned once I retired.
Chapter 3
Connor
I left the office early and headed home to my wife and grandson. He was the highlight of my life and I couldn’t wait to sit down and play with him. I stepped off the elevator and set my briefcase down. Walking into the kitchen, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the flowers sitting in a vase on the counter.
“What are those?” I asked.
Ellery turned to me and smiled. “Those are the roses you sent me. Care to explain, Connor?”
Anger rose up inside me as I stared at the dozen black roses before me. “I can’t believe that Cara would send black roses. What the fuck is the matter with her?”
Ellery started to laugh. “I guess they are different, aren’t they?”
“It’s not funny, Ellery.” I took them from the vase and threw them in the garbage. “Where’s Brayden?”
“He’s taking a nap.” She walked over to me and placed her arms around me. “Don’t stress out over the flowers. It’s not a big deal.” She reached up and kissed my lips.