by Calinda B
Anger was his first reaction, but then he listened to the words his dad was saying. There was no question who his dad was talking about. "What do you mean it's good that she's gone?"
Sighing, his father placed his silverware down. Eyes much like his own took him in from across the table and a serious look came over his father's face.
"Simon, I know you miss her. Hell, we all do. All you've ever known is Melanie and the same goes for her. That little girl loves you. She thinks you hung the moon and stars in the sky all for her. It's not difficult to see it in everything she says and does."
Simon couldn't breathe. "Wait, you think Melanie loves me?"
Shaking his head, his father looked at him as if he was sorely disappointed that his son was so flaming stupid. Simon felt his face flush with embarrassment as his father's gaze held his.
Clasping his hands together on top of the dining table, his father continued, "And from the way you look at her when you think no one's watching, I've known for some time how you feel about her in return. This time apart will be good for you. She's not one of those little college girls you like to play around with. This is Melanie. I won't let you play with her emotions and toss her aside." Breathing heavy and deep, his father looked ready to thrash him if he said the wrong thing.
Jaw clenched tight, Simon didn't want to put his foot in his mouth. Frustration built inside of him. How come he and Melanie couldn't talk about this before she'd left? Why couldn't she have stayed through the summer. It was if she couldn't wait to get away from him. That hurt. Counting to ten, he tried to calm down. The words were difficult to hear, but his dad was right. Plus, his father wasn't the issue and he wasn't angry with him. But everything had been all jumbled in his mind lately since she'd left.
Melanie had only been gone for two weeks and it was tearing him up inside. Since she'd walked away from him and into the terminal to catch her plane, he'd been seesawing from anger to resignation to disbelief that she'd left him.
Within a month of graduating high school, she'd hightailed it out of town and never looked back. Not one letter was sent to him from basic training. He knew she'd written to her parents already. Several times. What about him? Didn't she miss him at all?
Voice low, he admitted the one thing that continued to bother him. "Why did she leave like that? It's like she tried to get as far away from me as possible. I don't understand."
A deep sigh was the only sound in the room, "Yes, son, you do."
Lifting his head, he looked at his father in confusion.
"Think about it. Since you were fourteen, you've lived your life for you. You had girlfriends on each arm every other day. You flaunted them in front of her. Not on purpose, but the result was still the same. You came and went as you pleased, not bothering to think about how she viewed your behavior. The entire time, you treated her as a close friend, but nothing else."
Shaking his head from side-to-side, he broke in, "But dad, she was just a kid."
"Son, so were you. Yet, she waited for you. Even when you didn't do the same for her. If you'd paid attention, you would have noticed what was happening right in front of you. That girl, who I already love her like a daughter, loved you before she knew what the word meant," he shared as he stood from the table. The housekeeper grabbed the plate and utensils and took them in the kitchen.
Standing next to him, his father placed his hand on his shoulder. "You have to give her time. Let her find out who she is without you by her side. Let her live a little. When she comes home, let her decide if you are still the one she wants."
"She signed up for four years. It'stoo long," he challenged.
"No, it's just right. While she's gone, you have things to do. Finish your MBA, get your feet wet at the office. And most importantly, figure out the type of man you want to be for Melanie when she comes home," patting him on the back, his father walked out of the dining room.
His gaze catching the housekeeper's as she picked up his plate of mashed food, he caught her half-smile.
"You think I'm an idiot too, don't you Maria?" he questioned with a small smile.
"No, I think you're young. You'll figure it out soon enough. And if you don't, my nephew has always wanted to meet Ms. Melanie. So, if you decide she's not the one for you, I'm sure he'll be happy give it a shot with her," she laughed as she exited the room.
"Over my dead body," he yelled out to the sound of her laughter. Did everyone see what he was too blind to understand?
Sitting back, Simon closed his eyes and thought back over the last few years. He could admit that he knew how Melanie felt about him and reveled in it. Knowing she worshipped the ground he walked on made him feel seven feet tall. Even when he left for college, all he had to do was come home for a visit and she'd be there. Waiting. Always waiting for him to return. To her.
It never entered his mind that her love for him wouldn't be enough to keep her close-by. That she needed to know he felt the same. That she wanted to know her life hadn't been spent running after a boy who didn't feel the same way she felt about him.
But here's the thing. He did.
To him, she was beautiful inside and out. Her hazel eyes would blink up at him and he'd be lost in her gaze, willing to give her anything and everything she asked for. As she grew up, her body formed into his perfect vision of what a woman should look like. It took everything in him to not show her how much he wanted her. How much he needed her by his side. That's why he had girlfriends. Not because he didn't want Melanie, but because he wanted her so much.
Hell, just her smile could make his day brighter. There was no feeling in the world like sitting with her, eating popcorn and watching an action flick on tv. When he looked at his future, the woman he saw standing by his side was Melanie Ford...well, Melanie Quinn if he had anything to do with it.
If he'd done anything to disrespect her, he'd be answering to both his father and hers. Then their mothers would have had a go at him. All this time, he thought he'd been doing the right thing and had messed it all up anyway. How did it go to hell in a handbasket so fast?
Coming to a decision, he knew what he needed to do now. He'd give her time to find out what life was like without him. When she finished playing around and running away from him, he would be waiting for her.
The only question still lingering is would she be able to handle what and who he was. Even at this age, he knew what he liked, and it wasn't cookie-cutter by any means. He wasn't sure Melanie could handle something like that and he was concerned that he'd scare her away. She was innocent and sweet, and he never wanted to do anything to change the way she looked at him.
Just thinking of the types of things he wanted to do to her—with her—made his shaft thicken in his shorts.
The girls he hooked up with understood the deal. They knew what he enjoyed and were willing to give it to him. Whenever and however he wanted it. They never questioned their future together bothered to vie for something more, and that's what he wanted from them. When he felt them start to become too clingy, he let them go and moved on to the next. Some tried to keep things going for longer than necessary, but he had a rule. No one got close enough to interfere with his long-term plan. Melanie. He'd always known and accepted that she was his future, but he'd failed to make sure she knew as well.
That fateful day in the airport had thrown him. Sara Jean had been so receptive to everything they'd done in the bedroom and seeing her had conjured up memories. He'd lost himself for a minute and it had cost him. His little head had overtaken his big head and now he was paying the price.
One minute of distraction was all it took. He felt as if he'd lost a piece of himself when Melanie walked away from him with tears in her eyes, not looking back.
* * *
Simon shook his head to clear his thoughts. The memories from that dark time just after she left were best kept in the past. It had been too long since she'd been home and fuck, he'd missed her. Looking at her face as she played to the crowd, he wanted nothing
more than to walk over there and snatch her up. Although he recognized the game she was playing, his patience was wearing thin. His fingers itched to touch her smooth skin under her form-fitting dress.
The tight bodice cupped her breasts showing her perfect cleavage to wandering eyes. Thin straps draped over her shoulders in a poor attempt at trying to hold the dress up. No, that was all Melanie keeping that skintight dress in place.
The shiny material hugged her curves and a long slit displayed the deep mahogany of her thigh. Strappy sandals finished the look, with hot pink nail polish gracing her toes as the material of the dress moved when she walked. His gaze traveled back to the slit in her dress and he licked his lips. Damn, she was sexy. And she had no idea how many men in the room followed her with their eyes.
Who allowed her to come out dressed like that? There's no way her father would have approved this. Spinning his head to look for her parents, he saw them walking towards him with a look of calm on their faces. Melanie's parents knew his intentions towards their daughter and they both knew his blood was boiling over at her dress and the amount of skin showing.
"Simon, dear. Now before you get upset, she's twenty-four," Janice Ford's words reached him moments before they arrived in front of him.
His eyes shifted to Ronald Ford and the man shook his head as if to say, 'Don't get me involved in this.' Nodding slightly, he took a moment to greet them, "Mr. Ford. Mrs. Ford. Thank you both for coming tonight."
"You're welcome Simon. We wouldn't miss this for the world," Ronald answered as he reached out his hand for a firm shake.
"Don't you try that mess with me Simon Wendell Quinn," Janice scolded. For such a small woman, she was no pushover. "Mr. and Mrs. Ford? Really Simon?" Her perfectly arched eyebrow rose up so high it almost hit her hair line. "Don't you take out your angst on us because she's avoiding you. Now take the scowl off your face and give me a hug."
"Yes, ma'am." There were few people in this world who could get away with bossing him around and two of them stood in front of him. Smiling softly, he leaned down to give her a hug, only to be enveloped in her tiny arms.
Holding him close, she whispered, "I'm proud of you tonight. You're going to do great." Her light perfume was as familiar to him as his own mother's and he loved this tiny woman more than he could say.
As the three of them stood there and talked about everything from recent vacations to the next family dinner—meaning Ford and Quinn family dinner—a few other people came up to their small group. The conversation wasn't particularly lively, but in this spot, he had a clear view of the entire ballroom and could track Melanie wherever she went.
After a few moments, she stopped by old Mr. Charles who whispered something in her ear. The sound of her laughter reached Simon across the room and he couldn't help but smile in return. It was almost a sure bet Mr. Charles said something inappropriate to her. That old man never did learn how to stop flirting with beautiful women. Even if he was old enough to be their grandfather.
A wife of one of his father's associates touched his arm, "Simon, why are you smiling?"
She was a nice lady, but he didn't like people touching him unless he gave them permission. And this woman didn't have it. Looking down at her hand until she removed it from his suit sleeve, his face held a look of detached boredom. "I thought of something that reminded me of my childhood." He caught the smile reflected on Mrs. Ford's face and chose to ignore her knowing smirk.
He watched the woman clear her throat as she tried to recover from her blunder of touching him without permission. "By the look on your face, it must have been a very nice memory."
Tilting his head as his gaze followed Melanie around the room. "It was."
Needing to take a moment, he excused himself from the group he was chatting with. "Mr. and Mrs. Ford, I'll speak with you later?"
"Absolutely, son. I'm sure we'll catch up later tonight," Ronald said with a smile.
Nodding to Mrs. Ford with a smile, he turned away from others without further word. He was an asshole and he knew it. And he damn sure wouldn't apologize for it.
Within moments, he began making his way around the room in the opposite direction, intent on meeting Melanie in the middle. It was high time she stopped ignoring him.
Before he approached with her, he needed to figure out what he'd say after all these years. All his efforts to reach out to her while she'd been away were rebuffed. His letters were never returned, but there was also never a response. He'd started to question if she'd received them, but knew she had when her parents would mention things he'd written to her.
Emails he'd sent over the years were opened and read, but no response was ever given in return. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn she'd fallen off the face of the earth. But he did know better. There were so many times he'd wanted to stop letting her play this game and make her come home. Get on a plane and get to her, force her to acknowledge him. Respond to him. Anything.
Both of their parents had not only received emails or postcards from the various places she'd traveled, but she sent pictures showing her smiling at something and living life. Without him. She'd seemed happy. And he wasn't by her side. She'd seemed to forget all about him and he didn't like it one bit.
The one thing that prevented him from going all caveman was that he knew during her time away, her focus was work, travel, and experiencing things with her girlfriends. There had never been a serious boyfriend. At least not anyone she'd mentioned to her parents. And no one was mentioned by his round-the-clock bodyguards. Then again, he also knew Melanie had no doubt he would have found out and raised hell about it.
His letters and emails to her had been clear. She was his. Had always been his. She'd left him to embark on her own little adventure, but it was time she came home. To him.
Waiting for her to return home had almost killed him. A year after she'd left, his father had seen the signs of him becoming obsessive and hyper-focused on what she was doing without him. For his own peace of mind, his dad suggested hiring someone to make sure she was okay. Not to interfere, but to keep her safe.
Thinking about his dad, he smiled. There was no man better than Albert Quinn, but that man also had layers. He wasn't above using his money to the benefit of his family. Never anything illegal, but what good was having all the world at his feet if he couldn't use it to protect his future wife.
By finding someone who could be his eyes and ears for Melanie, he was able to relax. Obsessive? No, he'd prefer to call it cautious. If he couldn't be there to protect her, someone who knew how much she meant to him would be.
After that, he'd focused on finishing his degree, business school, and molding himself into the type of man he wanted to be. For himself and for Melanie.
She filled his dreams every night. His vivid imagination filling in the gaps of what could have been between them. If only he hadn't fucked up so bad.
Getting to her tonight was his only focus. Nothing else mattered but making it clear to her why she could never, ever leave him again.
"Hey son? Why so deep in thought?" Stopping short at the sound of his father's voice, Simon looked over at the man who'd raised him in his own image to become the man he is today.
This evening was the beginning of the journey for him. On one hand, he'd been born ready. On the other, he felt he still needed more time. There were so many things left undone, even if his father didn't see it the same way. His older brother, Steven, had already been working with their father for more than five years, and tonight was Simon's introduction to the masses. If he didn't love his father so much, he'd be running for the hills.
"Hey Dad," he said as he gave his father a handshake.
His dad pulled him in for hug, clapping him on his back. "You ready for your big moment?"
"As ready as I'm going to be," he said, pulling back. "Mom finally let you out of her sight? You know she hates it when you leave her by herself at these things," he laughed.
His mother would rath
er get a needle in her eye than to be standing here hob-knobbing with Virginia's elite. Her clothing of choice had always been jeans, t-shirts, and a pair of low tennis shoes. It didn't matter how much money they had sitting in the bank, she'd never wanted to play the games like the others. A fun night for his mother would include playing charades in their family room with music playing in the background and laughter ringing through the house.
His father's big booming laugh made his belly shake. "Son, I couldn't take it anymore. If I had to hear one more time about how some schmuck happened across some tasty stock tidbit and gained six figures in one day, I'd go crazy. Who the hell cares about all that mess? Half these people are here tonight because they think I'll grant them some favor in the future. The other half wants to gain some favor with you and Steven, thinking they'll cash it in when I retire. The whole group of them are boorish and rude."
Simon held back his laughter. "Well, tell me how you really feel, dad."
"Oh hush, you know I can't stand all this pomp and circumstance. If the Board wasn't asking for this huge announcement about you joining the company, we wouldn't be here. Your mother and I were not happy at all with their demands about this. But sometimes, we do things we don't want to do because it's easier to get through it, gritting your teeth the entire time. Better to keep things moving than fight a battle not worth winning. This wasn't the battle we wanted to fight. That will come another day."
Latching on to his father's last sentence, Simon started to ask what he meant by his statement, but his mother walked up to them. Eyes laser-focused on his father, she smacked him lightly on his arm as she approached.
"There you both are. Albert, if you leave me one more time with those women who have nothing better to discuss than their latest Botox treatments, I'm going to scream." Leaning her face over to Simon, she accepted his kiss.
"Hi Mom. You look beautiful, as always." And he meant it. After two sons and more than thirty years of marriage, she looked as beautiful as the day she married his father.