Falling for the Seal

by Mia Ford

  Walking with him is a woman, he motions towards her, “Olivia have you met my grandson?”

  She stretches out her hand but then withdraws it. She wipes it on her jeans. Shit, I bet she loves riding horses. She can ride me, any day, anytime. She’s fucking hot. Trust the old man to have the best staff working for him.

  She shakes her head and then takes off her cowgirl hat letting lose her fire hair.

  Fuck, she’s a red-head! Now, I’m intrigued, there’s something about a redhead that sets them apart from all the rest. They’re different. Unique and just the way I love my women.

  “Isaac?”

  I shake my head, my cock’s going wild, and I can’t get this hottie out of my head, shit it’s too early in the morning for this, and I’ve got my important things to deal with today.

  I shake it and say, “Hi.”

  “Well, Neil,” she kisses him on the cheek. “I need to get going; I want to see if Autumn’s okay?”

  Granddad nods his head, “You and that horse. You would think that you’re sisters separated at birth. The bond between the pair of you is too strong.

  Olivia smiles and then she starts walking away, “Isaac, it’s nice meeting you.”

  I nod thinking that if Granddad weren't here, I wouldn’t let her out of my fucking sight.

  “Damn Granddad, how do you cope with her working here?”

  He laughs as he pats me on the back, “She doesn’t just work here. She lives here too…”

  I shake my head because I didn’t come here to check the ranch hand, I came here to find out what he wants.

  “Granddad, what is it? I’ve got work to do.”

  He sighs, “I know, but I heard about Paul and decided that things are getting out of hand.”

  I shake my head, “No, he was too old and besides he should have retired when you did. You’re the same age right?”

  It’s as if we’re stuck in the quick mud as we look at each other. I know what I’m thinking, that I’ll ask him straight-up to bail the company out. He has the money to do it. Part of me’s pissed, he should just sign the damn thing to me. Just because my dad was incompetent when he took over doesn’t mean that I follow in his shoes.

  “Yes, but we know what the real issue is. I wanted us to come in and talk about it. Like men. Man-to-man.”

  I nearly choke on his words, “You’ve got to be kidding me. You treat me like a fucking kid. Just because dad fucked up the company when he ran it. Doesn’t mean that I’ll do the same.”

  I want to go inside because the sun’s beating down on me like daggers. I start to loosen my tie, and can’t believe that I drove four hours, because most of that was spent in traffic. There was some fucking accident on the highway and it doubled the time that it should have taken to make this journey. I never made it to have the third degree.

  “Come inside, let’s talk. You’re getting upset over nothing,” Granddad says as he puts his hand on me, no doubt we’re causing a scene. He likes his privacy which is why I’m surprised that he let’s Olivia stay here. Maybe there’s something going on, fuck I just hope that she’s not some gold digger that’s after his money. Then again, she seems to innocent for that, or she could be a good actress.

  I walk up, to the house in front of him, not because I want to go in to talk, but I just need a fucking drink. Anything to calm down the nerves. I’ve stopped driving to work because a drink in the morning helps keep me going, but seeing as he demanded that I came here this morning and the driver’s out of town. I had no choice but to drive here.

  As soon as I open the front door the painful memories of my childhood flash into my mind like a tidal wave. Maybe Granddad’s right and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

  “This way,” granddad instructs me as he starts to walk to his study. I look up and see that he’s still got the family pictures up of when I was young and when this house used to mean something. We were respected by then; people used to look up to us until dad got into one scandal after another and it ended up with him retiring and me taking over the company.

  He shuts the door behind me and I stand to wait for him to lay it on me and then I’ll tell him the truth. The real reason I was debating about coming here today, so I can get it off my chest as we both sit down facing each other.

  I’m not a man to beat around the bush, so I just say what’s on my mind, “I need your help. The business isn’t doing well, and with Paul leaving, the bank’s on my back about the bank loan.”

  “What loan?”

  “Remember last year, when I told you that the business was in trouble and I needed your input you refused,” I sigh because either the old man’s playing games, or he’s going senile?

  I was sitting in the same chair telling him that things need to change at the company and he flat out refused to help. He must know that he can’t do that again.

  Fuck I need a drink!

  I stand up and start to head to the bar. The one at the corner of his study. There’s nothing new about this room. It’s as if it’s stuck in a time warp. The same antique chairs in the corner, the same mahogany desk that should have been replaced a long time ago and the photo of him and grandma on top of his desk.

  “Do you want one?” I say as I lift up a tumbler and realize that something has changed. This bar used to be stocked with different types of whiskeys, brandies and all kinds of liquor. Now, there’s just one bottle of bourbon.

  He shakes his head, “No.”

  I shrug and take off my tie and jacket which feel as if they’re ropes hanging around my neck and suffocating me.

  Then as I pour a bourbon he sighs, “I didn’t want to do this. I can’t have you running the company down to the ground like your dad did.”

  I knock back the bourbon and as it burns my throat and I think twice about pouring another one, but he’s still going on about what’s on his mind.

  “I need you to stop ruining not only your life but mine too. It’s my fault.”

  I turn to face him; he has his hands on his desk. He’s rubbing it as if he’s reliving a memory. One that I told him to lock away and turn away the key.

  “Your dad was a good man. Don’t get me wrong; I loved Ben just like I love you. I pushed him when his mother told me that he’s not a ruthless business man. I pushed him over the edge.”

  I agree, “You fucking did that alright.”

  He ignores me as he says, “I saw that you had the steam, the one that was ready to run the company. You took after me in many ways.”

  I choke, “Going to the office with you was the most excitement that I’d had as a kid. All I used to dream about was being you. Making people run around and jump to my command. You had that way about you that everyone did that as soon as you walked in the door.”

  “Yes, but it consumed me. So much so that I pushed your dad and looked what happened to him.”

  I sigh as I decide that there’s no point topping up the glass. I’ll just drink straight from the bottle, and then I sit down and face him as he revised the painful memory of dad when he was the CEO for two years.

  “I didn’t want to take your dad out of his position, but I had no choice…”

  “Blah, blah, blah…it doesn’t matter. As I said, I need money. Fast. Let’s not pussyfoot around and talk about the past. Because if I don’t have the financial injection soon, then Winters Industry will be closed and not passed to another generation. Not that there is any generation to pass it to,” I laugh as I start to sip from the bottle. I’m starting to feel disorientated as the bourbon’s not offering comfort but if anything it’s starting to give me a headache.

  “Son, you’ve been like this ever since Dede died and I-“

  “Don’t you fucking bring her name into this!”

  I’m trying to stand up, but then I flop back into the chair. I drank too much, and the worst part is I can’t remember the last time that I ate. This is turning into a fucking disaster.

  “Isaac you leave me no choice!”


  I’ve never seen the old man raise his voice. Not true, I’ve seen him but as he turns a deeper shade of red and then heads closer towards me. He takes the bottle of my hand and rants on, “Your drinking’s out of control. You took out a loan to invest in a company that’s not even related to our industry. You took out a loan against your apartment and even your flipping house.”

  “Damn! Someone’s been busy.”

  He shakes his head, “Not busy enough because I’ve tried. I call, I come to visit, and you go out of your way to avoid me. I was shocked that you said you would come here today, but then when I learned about the state of affairs, I knew that it was only for one reason. Money. Listen carefully, because I won’t be repeating myself. You see that beautiful woman that you saw when you came here.”

  I nod my head because one minute he’s talking about money and the next he’s talking about women.

  “Seriously, I don’t need to know about your love life. What you do with your life is your business. I just came here for the money.”

  “Three months Isaac. You move here. Live here. I help you with your drinking and if at the end of that you marry Olivia. Everything becomes yours.”

  He’s got to be fucking kidding me!

  “I’m not going to be blackmailed into marriage. Let alone living in the one place, I can’t stand to visit. What makes you think that everything will happen in three months time?”

  He sighs, “That’s how long the doctors have given me to live. I want it all to go to you, but things need to change.”

  Did he say what I think he said, “Three months?” I whisper as I think about this family and the fucking curse that must be on it. I can’t deal with another death or be a part of it. That’s why the bottle’s safe; it makes me forget my fucking nightmares.

  “I’m not sticking around and watching you die. And I’m not getting married. You can leave all your money to charity for all I fucking care,” I’m slurring, and my vision is blurry, that’s when I feel a hand by my side.

  “Trevor,” I look up as I see Granddad’s driver supporting my weight.

  “What the fuck do you want?”

  He doesn’t blink; sometimes I think that the man’s a fucking robot. He’s so damn emotionless. “Your granddad said that I should drive you home.”

  “I don’t want Olivia to see you in this state, and I need you to sleep on it.”

  Maybe I should stay so that she’ll see what her precious boss has lined up for her. But as Trevor practically drags me to my car. I know that I have no choice, Trevor’s going to take me home. He’ll do whatever my granddad tells him to do, and unfortunately, I’m not in any state to argue with him. Then again, I’m not in any state to do anything right now.

  Chapter Two

  Olivia

  Isaac’s hot! I can’t believe we have never met. I’ve been working here for a couple of years and have never met him. I’ve seen pictures of him around the house, but the man’s changed. I’ll ride Autumn for a while, ever since she injured her leg, she’s been a bit nervous about riding. Gareth, the vet said that I just need to give her time, but I can’t help myself. I hate seeing her this way. Especially when she was so vibrant before the injury.

  I smile as I think about the way he was looking at me. Then again, Isaac’s out of my league. I’m penniless, which is why I’m working and living on Neil’s ranch. I never used to be when both of my parents had jobs working on the ranch. Things were just great on the surface. But Dad couldn’t stop drinking. One sip and he took to it like a duck to water.

  If Dad hadn’t insisted on driving home after the party that night and ran his Mercedes off a bridge into a river thirty feet deep, then he would still be alive. However, I’m sure his drinking had become so bad he couldn’t function at work. I just hadn’t seen the signs. I was too caught up in thinking about going to college. Then again, that became a distant dream when I found out that my college fund was only something that dad talked about, but never set-up.

  I turn around as I walk away, but Neil and Isaac are in a heated discussion. I found myself speechless in his presence. I wanted to say something, but then my mouth was shut firmly, and all I could do was think about his emerald eyes and dark hair. His features are the complete opposite of Neil’s, who has dark hair, but matching eyes. Maybe Isaac will stay for lunch, and I’ll get to know him better.

  I love the ranch, especially the stables. The smell of hay and horses seems to have gotten in my blood. The barn with its arched entrance and wide lane down the center makes me feel the way I do when walking into a church. I get a spiritual boost.

  Gee, I love Autumn, the chestnut colored mare that Neil gave me. She tosses her head up and down when she spots me. It’s her way of greeting me. My hand immediately goes to her forehead to scratch her. After a brief hug and a kiss on her nose I enter her stall, taking a brush and comb to her long mane. God, being around horses is one of the reasons I love the ranch. I think I like horses better than people.

  As much as I’m trying to focus on Autumn, my mind keeps drifting to Isaac. I hope I get to know him better. I shake my head. Stop with your silly daydreaming. I quickly finish my rounds in the stables as I want to hurry back home, get changed and see if Isaac’s still around. I feel like a little school girl with a major crush on someone that I’ve just met. But there’s something about him, which intrigues me. Maybe if he stays for lunch, then I can talk to him about spending more time with Neil. I think that he misses his family, sometimes he just stands in the hall looking at their pictures, and Isaac is his only living relative.

  “Okay, Autumn, you’ve had your brushing, and you’re good for the day.” I hug her neck as she bends it to look at me with her big brown eyes. “I hate to leave you,” I look at my watch and realize that it’s nearly lunch time. It’s amazing how time goes so quickly when you’re having fun and dreaming about your boss’s grandson.

  “Autumn, I need to get going. I’ll catch up with you later.” I smile and leave her to wash my hands. I wonder if she does understand everything I say. Maybe Neil’s right, that we’re like sisters that were separated at birth, but there’s just one problem. She’s a horse, and I’m not. I laugh at his observation, and then I sigh as I think about leaving the stables. I know the real reason that I’m going to see Isaac isn’t so much because he’s lonely, but I am at the best of times. I walk across the manicured lawn to the back door of the house, thinking about the rest of the ranch hands, they think that because I live in the same house as Neil that we’re sleeping together. We have separate rooms, and Neil’s never treated me as more than anything but the daughter that he never had. This is the problem with small towns, the tongues start wagging, and everyone has ideas even if they have no foundation for them. I try and be friendly to everyone, but they treat me as if I have the plague or something. I smell the roasting chicken before I enter and soon forget about my loneliness. I catch Neil peeking in the oven.

  “If you’re hungry, we can eat any time,” he says glancing at the kitchen clock. “The chicken’s done. It’ll only take me a few minutes to do the rice and broccoli?”

  Great, plenty of time to have a quick shower and then I remember why I didn’t do all my chores. I wanted to see Isaac.

  “Where’s Isaac? Isn’t he going to have lunch with us?”

  “He had to leave. I tried to get him to stay but he refused,” his voice changes from being friendly to being cold.

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” I want to say more, ask maybe why they were arguing when I left. But I know that it’s none of my business. Neil’s my employer and I’m his ranch hand.

  “Yeah, I really wanted him to stay for lunch, but he does what he wants these days.” Neil sighs. “I don’t seem to know him as well as I used to. We were so close when he was growing up, but now he’s seems to have drifted away from me and the ranch,” he hesitates before saying it, “I think he has the same problem your dad had with the bottle.”

  Oh, he likes to drink too much
. He seems clean shaven and not the type. Then again I didn’t know that my dad had a problem until it was too late.

  “I just thought that my dad liked having a drink after working. I never knew that it was more than that,” I feel stupid whenever I think back. It’s always clear when you look back at things to see the signs, but I was thinking about going to college, enjoying high school and worrying about whether my dad was a drunk never featured into it.

  “I’m afraid it’s more than that,” he sighs as he sits down on the breakfast stool.

  “Really?” I decide to forget taking a shower and just help Neil in the kitchen. I put the oven roasted chicken on the table. “It can cool a bit. The broccoli and rice are coming right up.”

  “Good I’m getting hungrier by the second.”

  “So, what exactly is Isaac’s problem?”

  Neil sighs. “His drinking is destroying the company. I love the boy God; I love him. It just breaks my heart to see him struggling, because of the….”

  He shakes his head for a minute as if he remembers something.

  “Anyway, he’s just lost his way due to one tragedy after another. First, his mom dying of cancer. His dad and the suicide and then…anyway, I just need to help him.”

  He’s missing out parts, I know about his son and his wife. So, there’s something else that must have happened to trigger it. I just don’t know what and without Neil telling me the whole story I kind of feel helpless.

  “Sorry to hear that. I wish there were something I could do to help. I don’t like to see you disturbed, Neil. You’ve been so kind to me giving me a job and letting me live in your house.”

  I put the broccoli and rice on the table, and we’re all ready to eat. I signal for him to sit, so he moves from the stool to the table.

  “Well, there’s something you can do for me?” Neil says as he carves the chicken. “White meat or dark?”

  “White,” I hold my plate near the chicken. “What it is that I can do, Neil?”