company you can steal away. Jesus, Mother, what kind of a parent does that?”
“One who wants to prepare you for the world. Besides it was Natasha’s idea to exile you, Raymond and Alexander. Your behaviors all got you here and, frankly, all three of you have done extraordinarily well and grown into the men we always knew you could be.”
“How very Hallmark of you,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest when she stood to face him. His mother was tall for a woman and in her heels was only about five inches shorter than he. It was still not enough to have them seeing eye-to-eye, but, then again, they’d never done that metaphorically, either. “Seriously, what do you want from me?”
“I don’t want anything from you, child.”
“Hard to believe when you’ve toyed with me the whole time, my whole life. I only started at the bank because someone needed to fix the mess Uncle Gustav made.”
“True, and you did that, but then you got obsessed. You were isolating yourselves, making all the mistakes Gustav made.”
“Huh?”
“Before he got senile and had to be replaced, he was the sharpest and best businessman in the country. However, he only ever worked. It ran both of his wives off, was the reason his daughters stopped speaking to him at all. He died alone in the throes of dementia and your cousins never even came to his funeral. I saw a cold and lonely future for you if you couldn’t get past your ego and, worse yet, your workaholic nature. I could only think of kicking you out. Then when you started making the same mistake with Rostov Investments , I knew I had to interject again.”
“ What? ”
“Oh darling,” she said, her voice soft and gentle, and he almost remembered being five and sitting up in her lap when he was sick. Once there’d been comfort with her but it had been so very long ago. “I never wanted you to feel tortured or alone. I just didn’t want you to die the way Gustav did---isolated or unloved.”
“I am loved.” He shook his head. This was crazy. What was she saying?
“I know. I saw Paula speak here and she’s even more lovely and poised than I remembered. I’m so glad you were able to be the man she needed. In fact, I’m so proud of what you’re building.”
“I…thank you, Mother,” he said, not sure of how else to respond. This wasn’t their usual script, and he was a bit at a loss for how to proceed. “I thought I’d disappointed you pretty much always.”
She stepped close, put her arms around him and hugged him close; Xavier let her, taking in a deep breath and reveling in her tea rose perfume, its sharp fragrance bringing him back to childhood and long summers spent playing chase in the palace when he was a preschooler. “I just wanted you to find love, my son.”
“And I have.”
“Then,” she said, smiling as she pulled back from him. “I want to do anything to encourage that. Consider the royal family and our coffers and connections at the disposal of Rostov-Reynolds .”
“I’m…you… What? ” Xavier couldn’t come up with anything else to say.
“You’re doing admirable work and Ruminea stands with you in that, Xavier.”
“I…” He trailed off and stared down at her.
She kissed his cheek. “Now, let’s head back out. It’s been far too long since I’ve spoken with Paula, and I have the high hope that she’ll be the mother of my grandchildren someday.”
That, he had a response for. “Me too, Mother, me too,” he said, letting her hook her arm through his as they stepped out and into the party, broad smiles on both of their faces.
Epilogue
Paula clapped and hollered heartily as Xavier burst through the finish line. The limo was waiting for them, and she was more than happy to get back to their penthouse apartment. They’d had a long week organizing for the 5k---God, had it been a year already?---and so much more to do this week to finalize the merger of their charity bank and some holdings from The
“One who wants to prepare you for the world. Besides it was Natasha’s idea to exile you, Raymond and Alexander. Your behaviors all got you here and, frankly, all three of you have done extraordinarily well and grown into the men we always knew you could be.”
“How very Hallmark of you,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest when she stood to face him. His mother was tall for a woman and in her heels was only about five inches shorter than he. It was still not enough to have them seeing eye-to-eye, but, then again, they’d never done that metaphorically, either. “Seriously, what do you want from me?”
“I don’t want anything from you, child.”
“Hard to believe when you’ve toyed with me the whole time, my whole life. I only started at the bank because someone needed to fix the mess Uncle Gustav made.”
“True, and you did that, but then you got obsessed. You were isolating yourselves, making all the mistakes Gustav made.”
“Huh?”
“Before he got senile and had to be replaced, he was the sharpest and best businessman in the country. However, he only ever worked. It ran both of his wives off, was the reason his daughters stopped speaking to him at all. He died alone in the throes of dementia and your cousins never even came to his funeral. I saw a cold and lonely future for you if you couldn’t get past your ego and, worse yet, your workaholic nature. I could only think of kicking you out. Then when you started making the same mistake with Rostov Investments , I knew I had to interject again.”
“ What? ”
“Oh darling,” she said, her voice soft and gentle, and he almost remembered being five and sitting up in her lap when he was sick. Once there’d been comfort with her but it had been so very long ago. “I never wanted you to feel tortured or alone. I just didn’t want you to die the way Gustav did---isolated or unloved.”
“I am loved.” He shook his head. This was crazy. What was she saying?
“I know. I saw Paula speak here and she’s even more lovely and poised than I remembered. I’m so glad you were able to be the man she needed. In fact, I’m so proud of what you’re building.”
“I…thank you, Mother,” he said, not sure of how else to respond. This wasn’t their usual script, and he was a bit at a loss for how to proceed. “I thought I’d disappointed you pretty much always.”
She stepped close, put her arms around him and hugged him close; Xavier let her, taking in a deep breath and reveling in her tea rose perfume, its sharp fragrance bringing him back to childhood and long summers spent playing chase in the palace when he was a preschooler. “I just wanted you to find love, my son.”
“And I have.”
“Then,” she said, smiling as she pulled back from him. “I want to do anything to encourage that. Consider the royal family and our coffers and connections at the disposal of Rostov-Reynolds .”
“I’m…you… What? ” Xavier couldn’t come up with anything else to say.
“You’re doing admirable work and Ruminea stands with you in that, Xavier.”
“I…” He trailed off and stared down at her.
She kissed his cheek. “Now, let’s head back out. It’s been far too long since I’ve spoken with Paula, and I have the high hope that she’ll be the mother of my grandchildren someday.”
That, he had a response for. “Me too, Mother, me too,” he said, letting her hook her arm through his as they stepped out and into the party, broad smiles on both of their faces.
Epilogue
Paula clapped and hollered heartily as Xavier burst through the finish line. The limo was waiting for them, and she was more than happy to get back to their penthouse apartment. They’d had a long week organizing for the 5k---God, had it been a year already?---and so much more to do this week to finalize the merger of their charity bank and some holdings from The
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