_OceanofPDF

“Mind your business, twerp,” Byron said.
Screw him for saying it. He was fine giving it to them. He just didn’t
want me to be part of the decision even though Dad had brought me into
that room for a fucking reason.
“Exactly,” I said with my finger rigidly pointed in my brother’s
direction. “It’s business. This business. Which is my business. Dad—”
“And there’s something else,” Dad said. “If you two can get your
thumbs out of each other’s eyes for a minute, I’ll tell you.
“Logan.” Dad looked at me, and I felt the torque of a rapidly changing
subject. “Your mother and I talked about this… God, if I could count the
hours we talked. We’ve watched you work yourself ragged to prove you can
manage an international company the size of Crowne. But every time I ask
you what you want out of your life—just a month ago was the last time—
you say you want what your mother and I have.”
“I do. You guys are perfect. So?”
“How are you going to get it like this? Twenty-two-hour days. Constant
travel. The last time you socialized, it was to practice Cantonese.”
I wasn’t getting his meaning. He’d worked just as hard when he took
over from his father. How was I supposed to get the same reward with less
effort?
“You managed,” I said, pointing to the back again, where Mom and
Olivia were still drinking lemonade.
“We were stupid. We got married at eighteen, before Uncle Jerry died.
Before I knew it would be mine. You’re running into a lonely life like a
starving man chasing a sandwich.”
“You’re telling me to date? Dad. Come on.”
I was about to explain that I saw women, but it was a secondary pursuit
because I loved what I was doing. But I paused too long trying to formulate
a convincing way to explain why loving my work that much was a good
thing.
“I’m telling you,” Dad said, “to get married.”
“What?” My hands shot to the armrests as I slid to the edge of the chair.
“Dad?” Byron asked incredulously. “Are you serious?”
Dad spread his hands on the desk, laying into me with his gaze. “Your
mother and I don’t care how much money you make in a lifetime. Or how
much you grow the business. She said, and I quote, ‘I will die weeping if