Page 9 of Shattered Saint
My mother nodded. "Ah, Elizabeth seems to be a social butterfly and the queen of making connections, so I'm not surprised about that. Is everything okay with you?"
I nodded. "I'm good, if not a bit bored."
I watched as Mom tried to hold back a chuckle. When she managed to maintain her composure, she glanced at my father before looking back at me. "I know. That was why I'd hoped you would be able to hang out with some people your own age. It was one of the reasons why we asked you to come tonight. Figured it would be nice for you to meet Nash in person versus whatever text messages you sent back and forth a couple of weeks ago."
Oh, I'd met him alright, but neither of our parents would have been expecting the conversation we'd had. "That makes sense."
"Maybe you guys will be friends by move-in weekend," said Mom.
"Yeah, maybe we will." I had my doubts, but now wasn't the time to discuss them.
"Son."
That one word drew my attention to my father.It felt as if he was scrutinizing every inch of me so hard, I wondered if he would call my bluff.
"The Hensons seem like lovely people, but keep in mind that their son is your competitionnow."
Nash’s thoughts about Bianca and me had made me furious and went beyond him trying to control who she dated. My father's words only fanned the flames within me.
Nash and I would be competingin a few areas now. Football was the obvious one as I knew we both would be playing for the Brentson Bears this fall. But now our social circles would be intertwined, which would make things very interesting.
With me here, would Nash continue to be Brentson's golden boy?
Dad leaned in closer, as if to make sure that no one but the three of us could hear.
"We can talk more about it when we leave because you never know who is listening. You know that we have a reputation to uphold. It might be in your best interest to… what's the saying? Oh yes. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
He winked at me, and a small smirk formed on his lips. Dad had said the phrase enough times over the years that we both knew it by heart.
"I understand, Dad."
My father gave me a firm head nod and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Your mother was starting to develop a headache, so we were about to head out. Are you ready to leave?"
It wasn't unheard of for my mother to develop headaches that could go from minor head pain to a migraine, so I didn't blame either of them for wanting to leave. There was nothing left for me to do here anyway. "Yeah. I'm ready."
I looked into the ballroom as we walked toward the front door to see if my eyes would land on Bianca, but apparently it wasn't in the cards. I couldn't find her, and I didn't want to draw attention to myself by trying to do so.
It took several more minutes for us to get our car, but once we were on the road, I watched as my father placed his hand on my mother's. "How are you feeling now, honey?"
"I'm fair. I hate that we had to leave early because of me."
"It's okay. With us establishing a base here, we'll have plenty of opportunities to socialize."
"That's true," my mother said just before she turned her head to look back at me."Easton, how was your conversation with Nash and Bianca?"
I wasn't surprised that my parents had tabled the conversation about the Henson siblings until we were in the car. "It was fine. Like you said, it was nice to talk to them, and at least I'll know someone at the start of the school year. Did you meet anyone worthwhile this evening?"
My father shifted in the driver's seat before he replied. "We were swarmed a bit with people wanting to introduce themselves to us, and that contributed to your mother's headache."
While I was sure that many of the people at tonight's event were loaded, I had the feeling that we were one of the richest people there, therefore making them one of the most popular couples. My family's wealth had come from investing in a variety of sectors, but the biggest had been in the shipping and the tech industries. The Beaumont family invested heavily in several companies at different levels, including a startup that exploded when it was bought out. We still owned Beaumont Global Logistics as well as several other ventures that our family held interests in that I was vaguely aware of.
I'd made it a point to ignore the family business for now because soon enough, I would be expected to take over from my dad. I tried not to think about the pressure I would have to deal with when the time came.
I'd told my parents multipletimes I wasn't sure if I wanted to take over once he retired. It had become a sore point between us. Of course, I shouldwant to take the reins of Beaumont Global Logistics and the investment portfoliothat would eventually be passed down to me. But was that what I wanted to do with my life?
The pressure for me to be my father’s successor would be intense, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to live with that. However, I didn't have to worry about that for the time being.
"I mean, I don't blame anyone for trying to talk to you. It's not every day that you come into contact with someone who could potentially finance your dreams and aspirations.”
