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Lucky for me, his assistant is out to lunch, so I knock on his office door. He never leaves his office for lunch unless my mom pulls him away.
“Come in,” he says.
I open the door, and he doesn’t look up right away. Even after his first glance, he looks down before leaning back in his chair and looking me in the eye. He takes off his glasses and tosses them on the desk.
“Cameron,” he says my name with curiosity.
Most would never imagine we’re father and son from our interactions. I didn’t learn how to play football from him; I learned it from Hank Greene when he coached our peewee league. Dad’s never even thrown a ball with me or taught me to ride a bike or how to fish. Every time I asked him to spend time with me, he’d say he was setting up my future, which is what makes this conversation so nerve racking.
That’s what I meant when I told Chevelle her brothers are like my brothers. The Greenes are my family. And her dad is my second dad.
“Hey, Dad.”
“I’m actually glad you came. I was talking to your mother the other day. I’m pretty happy with how the fishing excursions are going.” He shuffles through some papers. My dad is familiar with a computer and has one on his desk, but he rarely uses it. Instead, he relies on paper reports. Says he likes to mark them up. “Have a seat.”
“I’d like to start, if you don’t mind.” I take a seat, but I don’t lean back because he might kick me out as soon as I tell him why I’m here. No point in getting comfortable.
He holds his hand out to me to start.
“I appreciate all you’ve done for me over the years.” I swallow.
“You’re my son. You’re blood. I knew working down there would get you to appreciate all I’ve done.”
I try not to roll my eyes because I appreciated it before he sent me down to work on the luxury boat he gifted me. Does he even hear himself talk?
“But… I’ve found something I really love to do, and I’m going to step away from Baker Corporation and explore my own interests.”
“Step away?” he asks with a tilt of his head.
“Yeah.” I nod as if he can’t hear me.
“You don’t want to run the company?”
I shake my head.
He stares at me in confusion. “You don’t want the company?”
“I’m sorry.” I hold up my hands. “I always thought I did, but you were right. I had to learn something for myself. I need to start from scratch, appreciate the hard work it’s gonna take to get my business off the ground.”
“And what is this ridiculous business you’re starting? Let me guess, it has something to do with a Greene?”
That’s one problem my dad always has. He thinks the Greenes somehow stole me away from him, but all they did was include me. Ever since I was little, I was asked to stay for dinner, sleepovers, and even family outings. I was like Hank’s sixth kid for the most part, and if not for them, my childhood would’ve been really lonely.
“You know the boats you’ve seen around? The Five Seas ones with the purple stripe?”
He draws his head back.
“Those are mine. I restored them.”
Again, he stares at me, his jaw tight. “People have been inquiring. Everyone assumed it was one of our businesses.”
“It started as a hobby and it just kind of grew from there. I love doing it, but I wasn’t sure I could make enough money to make a living at it. I think I can though, now that I’ve done a few and know what I need to put into them and how much I can charge when I sell them.”
“I mean, you have an empire here, ready and waiting for you.”
This is where I assumed this conversation would go.
“I know, but I don’t want to work in an office and have to be the person people hate because I control their income.”
