Mr. Foti rose to his feet, the grin falling from his face. He braced his arms on the other side of his desk, and went head to head with his son. “Watch it boy, I’m not too keen on the tone of your voice.”
“Well, that’s a damn shame isn’t it?” Nick said sarcastically as he stood his ground. “I will tell you exactly what I told Erica. I will close your deal, and probably close it before the week is over, because I’m that good, and because I’m in that much of a hurry to get back to my life. Nothing can keep me here anymore.” He waited a beat. “Be a man and give the damn girl, her job back.”
This made, the older Nick laugh out loud. “Why should I do that?”
Nick shrugged his shoulders slightly. ‘Be a man? Or let Erica keep her job?” He waited a moment and decided he could never persuade the coldhearted man in front of him to be a noble man so he chose the latter. “She doesn’t deserve to be fired because I no longer have a desire to work with you. She does for whatever reason and she’s willing to work harder for you.”
Nick’s father raised an inquisitive eyebrow towards him, but didn’t say a word.
“Another thing,” Nick started. “Don’t try using her as a pawn to get me back here after I close this deal. It won’t work. This will be the last deal I close for this company, regardless of what tactics you try to use to sway me here.” Nick declared icily before pushing off of the desk and standing to his full height. He unbuttoned the button on his suit and casually slipped one hand inside a pocket. He grinned just as mischievously as his father had. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have investors I have to meet with.” He tipped his head towards his father before turning around and with a casual stride full of confidence he left the office.
Nick had scheduled meetings throughout the afternoon with the potential investors. Apparently the deal his father couldn’t close was pretty huge. They were proposing to build luxurious high-rise apartments, along with an upscale outlet mall, in hopes to clean up the downtown Seattle’s waterfront. Meeting with these hotshot investors, it was clear for Nick to see why his father had needed his assistance. They were just as cocky and arrogant as his father, and Nick knew how to take their ego’s down a notch without them even noticing.
He forgot how grueling it was to kiss the asses of millionaires, but he had been successful and that only brought him closer to going home. He stepped into his hotel suite and quickly shed his suit jacket, throwing it over the back of the sofa. He cracked his neck, relieving the tension as he loosened the knot in his tie. The emptiness of the hotel room engulfed him, and he wished there was someone there to greet him after a long day, that someone being Sam.
He slipped the tie from his neck and draped it over the sofa, like he did the jacket. He still hadn’t spoken to her. He was too busy today to get a free moment, and besides, he didn’t want to be on a time limit when he did finally talk to her. He unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt and then the buttons on his sleeves. When they were undone, he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and poured himself a drink. He promised himself only one. There was no need to reach for a bottle when this was only a temporary situation. He didn’t even fill the glass up all the way. He took the tumbler of amber liquid and walked over to the floor length window. He stared out the window and at the city that claimed six years of his life.
He took the first sip of his drink as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He searched for Sam’s number as he took a seat and when he hit send he hoped to God, she answered the phone, at least it was ringing and not going to voicemail.
“Hello?” Sam’s soft voice filled his ears and he closed his eyes for a moment, leaning back in his chair.
“You answered.” He said relieved.
Sam lay in her bed reading “What to Expect When You’re Expecting”. She closed the book and sat up when she heard Nick’s voice.
“Yeah, I did.” She said softly and her teeth bit down on her lower lip. Since she had found out she was pregnant all she wanted was to hear his voice.
“Are you about ready to hear what I have to say?” Nick asked as he leaned forward, his forearms resting on his knees.
“Shoot.” She said, giving him the floor. She leaned back against the pillows and absent-mindedly let her free hand rest on her belly.
“First of all, I’m coming home Sam. It’s not like the last time.” He said his voice sincere. “I tried to stop by your apartment to tell you in person, before I left but you weren’t home.”
“Why did you have to go back?” She asked. “Is that why Erica showed up?”