Bending the Rules: Breaking the Rules #2
Page 24
“I’m glad to hear that, my love. Shall I bring you some breakfast before we start this shit storm of a day?”
“Yes please. Do you have any food here?”
“Garrett stocked us with a few essentials, but we’ll have to go shopping later. I know I had some tea in the cupboard and I’m sure they brought eggs, how does that sound?”
“Nothing sounds more perfect,” Morgan says, and I give her a small kiss as she rolls onto her back, stretching like a cat in the sunshine before getting out of bed and heading to the shower.
****
My mind is racing on our drive over to my Dad’s house. I feel so much anger towards the man and I’m trying to process it quickly and let it go, but I can’t seem to shake it. I’m mad that he was always such an asshole to me, I’m mad that he was never around, I’m mad that although I was busting my ass to prove my worth to him he banished me to the other side of the world then fired me with absolutely no regard to the fact that I’m his son, and if I’m going to be honest with myself, I think I really am mad that he’s gone. It’s too late for shoulda woulda coulda. I will never make amends with him and even though he was such an asshole, he was still my dad, and I was still doing my best to make him proud.
Sensing my pain, Morgan reaches over and grabs my hand to comfort me. I briefly glance over and am so thankful that she is not giving me a look of pity like I’m sure I’ll see a million times today, but just a simple look of reassurance.
“You know I’m here for you too, Drake.”
“Hmm?” not sure where her left field comment is coming from.
“Last night you said you are here for me if I need anything and that me and the baby are your top priorities, but I want to let you know that I’m here for you as well. You are my top priority and you will always have someone in your corner, especially as you go through this hell with your dad.”
I reach the hand up that is holding mine and kiss her knuckles gently before glancing over at her again. “Thank you, my love. That means a lot to me. You’ve already given me so much more than you’ll ever know and I’m happy to have you by my side.”
We pull into the driveway and I’m surprised that my code still works for the gate. It wouldn’t have shocked me if the old man changed it and I’d have to call Gloria to help me out. When we reach the house, everything seems a little too quiet. I expected to see a few of the lawyers cars in the driveway, friends of Gloria’s bringing food or offering their support, but there isn’t any of that. Just a quiet house that looks like it’s going about its day as though its owner hadn’t just died.
“What’s going through your mind?” Morgan asks.
“I just thought there would be people here. You know, lawyers, friends, florists bringing flowers. It just seems so quiet,” I say with a shrug as I unbuckle my seatbelt and move around the car to get Morgan’s door and help her out. She seems to be thinking about what I said as we approach the front door.
“You know what, you’re right…were you supposed to meet Gloria at the funeral home?”
“No, she said she would have the funeral home collect my Dad’s body from the hospital and that we would meet at the house to start making arrangements,” I say as I unlock the front door and walk in. The house is so big and the front door is always locked, so I’ve just always let myself in because they wouldn’t have heard me knocking anyway and my mom disabled the doorbell when I was a little kid during one of her many lows and they never got it fixed.
“Gloria,” I call out to her when I don’t hear any movement in the house as we enter. “Huh, I doubt she’s still sleeping,” I say as I begin to wander around the downstairs with Morgan keeping in step at my side.
We walk upstairs and check the bedrooms and baths, but she doesn’t seem to be anywhere. I check the garage and find her car is there but my one of my dad’s Jaguars is gone.
“This is kind of creeping me out, Drake. If Gloria is expecting us, why isn’t she here?” Morgan says, practically reading my mind.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure there is a reasonable excuse. Maybe she ran out of milk or cream and ran to the store to get some. Let’s go to the kitchen and make some coffee and wait for her to get back. I’m sure she’ll be here any moment. She’s probably just as anxious to get this all over with as I am.”
We walk into the kitchen and as I go to the freezer to get the beans out I see an envelope taped to the fridge with my name on it. “Well this ought to be good…” I say as I start opening the envelope.
“What is it, Drake?” Morgan asks.
“I’m not sure, but we’re about to find out,” I answer as pull the note out and start reading it.
Dear Drake,
Let’s not make this whole ordeal more awkward than it needs to be. We’ve never gotten along and we don’t need to pretend to as a few hundred of our not so nearest and dearest sob over what an amazing man Drake Sr. was, when we both know that’s a pile of horse shit.
Your father left the company to you and everything else to me. I’m not about to spend one more moment in this awful place, so I’ve drained the accounts and met with my lawyer this morning to sign the rest of the estate over to you. It was always about the money for me anyway, I think we all knew that, but now that he’s gone we can say it out loud. I’m finally off to warmer climes to live the life I’ve always wanted.
Enjoy your life, Drake.
Gloria
“Drake, what is it?” Morgan asks again, and I lift my eyes from the note that has rendered me speechless.
“She’s gone….Gloria…she took all of the money and left. My Dad left me the company after all.”
“Holy shit, Drake, what are you going to do?” Morgan asks as she reaches out for my hand.
“I’m going to bury my father, sell off his entire estate, and I’m going to put the proceeds into rebuilding Baylor Industries into the company it has the potential to be. It’s my turn to make the rules.”
Thank You.
I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my husband, Bradford; my family and friends for their support and encouragement. Thank you to Heather, Steve, Meredith, and everyone else that contributed important content and ideas for Bending the Rules. Thank you to my beta readers Brittney, Rachel, and Holly, I love you girls!
Lastly, but most certainly not least… thank you to the bloggers, everyone who read my book and spread the word to other friends, Twitter, Facebook, etc. It means the world to me that you loved the book and shared it with others.
Please leave a rating and/or review on the website you purchased this e-book from and don’t hesitate to spread the word to your friends, enemies, loved ones, co-workers, pets (only if they’re avid readers), Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, etc. It may seem silly to ask this of you, but it makes a big difference to self-published writers like me!
This series will culminate with the next and final installment called “Making the Rules”, which I hope to have out by late spring/early summer. For more information on this book and many others to come by me, follow me on Twitter @LKLewisAuthor and like my LK Lewis Facebook page.
About LK Lewis
LK Lewis lives in Northern Michigan with her husband and three-year-old son.
Born and raised in Michigan, LK spent her early twenties chasing the man of her dreams (now husband of eight years) around the country, residing in both New York, and Portland, Oregon. While living in Portland, LK attended East West College of the Healing Arts, and is now a massage therapist, makeup artist, and spa/boutique owner.
When LK isn’t working, writing, or chasing her son around, she enjoys boat days, playing in the sunshine, and giggling with her husband. You may also find her on Twitter most days, especially live-Tweeting when The Bachelor/Bachelorette, Sons of Anarchy or The Walking Dead is on. Check her out, you may enjoy her colorful commentary!
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