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“For the time being, no.”
“But I’ve been putting in more time there, trying to be more involved. Bash will tell you. I’ve tried to show you that I’m serious about the future of our company, and I want to be a part.”
“Until you can prove to us that you no longer prefer bars to boardrooms, I can’t have you there.”
“This is so unfair.”
Dad shook his head and shrugged. “Life’s not fair, son. I built this company from the floundering company my father started to the household name Schultz Chocolate has become. I worked very hard to get us here, and I know what this company needs to succeed.”
“And it doesn’t need me,” Gus stated matter-of-factly.
“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying for now. Until we see a bigger change.”
“I have changed. If you can’t see that then I don’t know what else I can do.”
“If you’d actually changed, you wouldn’t have been falling over drunk outside a bar after threatening a man. I’m not saying we haven’t seen positive changes over this past year. But after yesterday, well, it’s not enough, son. You’re not there yet.”
“This is so much bull. I know I messed up. I do. But everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I was sad, okay. I just wanted to relax and have a drink and not think about the mess that has been my life so far.”
“And how did that work out for you?”
Sebastian knew his father’s words weren’t meant to be sarcastic, but they came out that way, and he could see the change in Gus’s expression.
“That’s it. I’m so out of here.” Gus whirled around and headed for the door.
“Gus! Stop!” Skylar, who had been quiet up until then, raced after him.
The rest of them didn’t follow. They looked at each other with sadness in their eyes. But what could they do for Gus if he didn’t understand they were trying to help him?
A few minutes later, Skylar returned to the room with her hands on her hips. “Well, that went well. He left.”
“He’s a grown man, Skylar,” Sebastian replied. “We can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do.”
“This is all my fault,” she whimpered.
“It’s not your fault Milton was there and picked a fight with him,” Sebastian assured her.
“What if he leaves? For good?” she asked.
Dad squeezed Mom closer as she wiped away a few stray tears. “He won’t run forever.”
FOURTEEN
It seemed there were a million things to check off the list for the regatta, and Genevieve had accomplished about three of them in two day’s time. She’d booked the location and reserved the dates. She had an appointment with a catering company to discuss food for the gala. She’d made a list of possible local businesses who might want to sponsor the event. But this was only the beginning.
“Knock, knock.”
Genevieve looked up from her place at the desk, and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of Kurtis’s smiling face. “Hey! Come in. How are you?” She’d been concerned after his family issues the other day.
“Not great, but better now.” He gave her a smile, which caused her cheeks to warm. “How are you?”
Genevieve tapped the ink pen she was holding against her notepad, where she’d jotted down her seemingly endless list for this event. “Two days ago, I was feeling pretty confident about things, but I don’t know how all this will get done in six weeks.” She scanned the calendar on her desk. “Make that five weeks.”
He pointed at her notepad. “You know, there’s a program on the computer to organize lists like that, right?”
She doodled a little star next to one of the items. “I like the satisfaction of crossing things off as I go. You just can’t get that from clicking a box on a computer screen.”
He chuckled. “Interesting.”