“I guess they did.” I watched as the four men and two women who would be serving the food finished arranging things to make the buffet easier to access for the guests. “The dance floor looks pretty,” I said. An artificial wooden dance floor had been brought in and put on one side of the overly large backyard. It was in a perfect spot to overlook the river and a place for the band to play was set up on one end. Twinkly lights had been strung through the trees from one end of the yard to the other and tables and chairs with white linen covers adorned the lawn. There were outdoor fire pits set up around the perimeter as well, to take the early autumn chill out of the air.
“What time will the band be here?” I asked him.
“They said at eight. That gives us an hour to eat before the entertainment begins. I’d also like to make our announcement before that.”
“Have you spoken to your father?”
He smiled and said, “Not since the last time you asked me… about two hours ago.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just wondering if he’ll show up.”
“I don’t know. I do believe if he shows up that he’ll be civil. I think if he’s not in a mood to be civil after all that has happened, he’ll stay at home.”
I nodded. I was worried and I couldn’t help it. “I’m going to put on my dress before the guests start arriving,” I told him.
He kissed my cheek and said, “I’ll put on my suit soon too. I have one more thing to see to.”
On my way upstairs the doorbell rang and I stopped to let in the bartender and two waiters he’d brought with him who would circulate, taking orders and serving drinks. I went up to mine and Seth’s bedroom. It still felt strange to call it that. I hadn’t brought anything over yet besides my clothing, shoes and basics so it still looked like a man’s room as well. It was nicely decorated, but it was sparse. Only one photograph hung on the wall and it was an ocean scene with a sailboat in the background. We made plans to pack up my things and have the movers pick them up several times, but with the plans for the party and our new project at work, things had been a little hectic.
I’d chosen a whimsical crewneck dress by Ralph Lauren for the party. It was a dark green and it had a full, flirty skirt and a pointelle-knit mesh yoke and sleeves. It was very nice without being overly formal for a back yard party. My shoes were a pair of strappy suede 4” heel sandals with dark green and navy blue beads across the straps. I put on the dress and shoes and then slipped on my gold bracelet and necklace that Seth had bought me. I’d done my hair earlier, leaving most of it down, but just braiding the top like a crown around my head. My make-up was done and I was ready. I heard the doorbell and wondered if Seth had put on his suit. When I got downstairs I saw him greeting the early arrivers and he was indeed in his suit.
He glanced at me as I came down the stairs and his eyes got wide. I smiled at him and I could feel my own heart pounding in my chest at the sight of him in a charcoal gray Hugo Boss Jacket and pants and a navy blue tie and pocket square. He looked good enough to eat. I stood next to him and we greeted our guests one by one as they arrived. At six o’clock, dinner was announced and we went outside to eat. Harlan and Russell and their wives sat at the table with Seth and I and the conversation was lively and, thank goodness, had nothing to do with work. We had sent out almost two hundred invitations. As I looked around now, I could see that most of those people had already arrived. The one person that was conspicuously absent was James.
Seth didn’t mention it, but when he went up to the bandstand to make the announcements, I could see him glancing around again. If James wasn’t fully on board with Seth and I being together, I was glad he didn’t come. But I was still upset for Seth. I knew that he had held out hope his father was changing his views on life and that having a real relationship with him was a possibility. The more time clicked by tonight without James showing up, the sadder Seth’s eyes looked.
“Hello everyone,” Seth said over the microphone. “I’m Seth Hunter for those of you I haven’t yet met and I’d like to welcome you to my backyard.” There were rumbles and laughs throughout the crowd and Seth went on to say, “Tonight is a celebration. It’s about two unions. The first one most of you may have been present for. It was the union of Hunter Corp. and Morgan Corp. We are now, Morgan & Hunter Inc. as you all know. Tonight is the first chance that we’ve had to put the work aside and celebrate that union. I can assure you that great things will come of it and it’s likely the most exciting thing to happen to Manhattan in decades.” There was more laughter and applause. When that died down Seth said, “And now the announcement that I am most happy about. Last week I asked Miss Adele Morgan to marry me. She accepted. Adele, stand up, honey.” Against my will, I got to my feet. The crowd clapped and cheered and when they finished and I sat down, Seth said, “I’d like to make a toast.”
People either grabbed a new drink or held theirs up. Seth waited for them to settle down and then he said, “I’d like for us to all raise our glasses in honor of two great businesses, founded by two very different men, coming together to fulfill the dream that each of these men had for a legacy that would last generations. To Morgan & Hunter Inc.” Seth raised his glass and there were “here-here’s” all around. Then everyone drank and clapped and Seth said, “If you’ll allow me one more?” The audience answered in the affirmative and he held his glass in my direction and said, “To my beautiful fiancé and co-CEO. I’m so happy that she came into all of our lives.” I felt my face color, uncomfortable with the attention, but grateful to Seth for his acknowledgement. By the time he came back over, the dancing had begun and our table partners had gone out to the dance floor. Seth looked around one more time before sitting down.
“Very nice job co-CEO,” I told him.
He smiled, “I prefer co- fiancé,” he said.
“Me too. I’m sorry that your father’s not here,” I told him.
“Yeah, so am I. I had hoped… but that’s okay. You and I are here together and everyone seems to be having a great time. I’d be having a better time if you would dance with me though.”
“I was waiting for you to ask me,” I said.
“Since when do you wait to be asked to do anything? My baby does what she wants,” he said.
“I can’t even deny that’s true,” I said, smiling. “Your baby wants to dance… with you.”
He stood up and with a very gentleman-like bow at the waist he said, “May I have his dance?”
“Why of course, sir,” I told him, playing the southern belle. He took my hand to his lips, kissed it and then escorted me out to the dance floor. There were six or seven other couples already there, but they gladly stepped aside to make room for us. Seth put one strong arm around my waist and took my right hand in his as the music began. It had been a long time since I danced like this, but as I held onto him and he led us in beautiful waltz, it felt like my feet weren’t even touching the floor as Seth held onto me and I rested one hand on his shoulder while the fingers of my other hand intertwined with his. I felt like we were gliding about the dancefloor as the band played a soft melody and Seth hummed in my ear. “This reminds me, you never played the piano for me the night we had dinner.”
“I didn’t? I seem to remember making beautiful music with you.”
I laughed, “Yes, you did. It just wasn’t on the piano.”
“You want to do it on the piano?”
I smacked him on the shoulder and he laughed. “I will play for you the first chance we get to be alone together. I’m really not good in front of an audience.”
“Okay, but no distracting me with your muscles and pretty smile and getting out of it this time.”
“I’ll try to keep them in check,” he said. As the dance came to an end, he tipped his face down towards mine and let his lips hover just above my own. He was so close that I could feel the warmth of his breath. I felt his tongue snake out and swipe across my bottom lip and then for the sake of the crowd, he gave me a sweet, soft kiss that left us both w
anting more. He took my hand to lead me off the dancefloor and then he stopped so suddenly that I bumped into him from behind.
“What is it?”
“My father is here.”
“Really? Where is he?”
“He’s talking to Bob and Russell, see him over there?”
I looked where Seth indicated. “Oh yeah. He looks nice.”
“He usually always looks nice,” Seth said. “Let’s see if he has an attitude to match his “nice” looks tonight.” He grasped my hand again and we walked towards him. We were about two feet away from him when he looked up.
“Hi Dad,” Seth said when James looked at us. He looked at his son, then at me, then down at my left hand.
When he looked back at Seth he said, “Hello Son, nice party.”
Seth looked at Russell who must have gotten the hint or felt the tension. He suddenly said, “Oh, there’s Roger. Nice seeing you, James.” He scurried off and that was when James turned to me.
“Adele, you look lovely tonight.”
“Thank you, sir. You look nice also. I’m glad you could make it.”
James nodded at me and then he looked back at Seth. “I hear congratulations are in order. I’m sorry I was late for the announcement.”
I felt Seth’s hand tighten on mine as he said, “Yes, I asked Adele to marry me and she said yes.”
“Congratulations,” he said again. He looked at me that time.
“Thank you.” I felt more awkward at this moment than I had the day we went to his home and asked him for help. He was being polite and saying all the right things, but his posture was rigid and his facial expression hard to read. I finally wondered if he was hoping to talk to his son without me being there.
“Seth, James, if you’ll both excuse me a moment?” James nodded, but Seth acted like he didn’t want to let go of my hand. I felt bad, but they had things they needed to face as father and son. I gave him a look and he let go. As I made my way across the yard towards the house, I glanced back over my shoulder and saw James put his hand on his son’s shoulder. They walked away from the crowd, over underneath one of the canopies. I turned away and let them have their time.
~
CHAPTER EIGHT
~
SETH
I watched Adele walk away, leaving me standing there awkwardly with my father. I had no idea what was going through his head. His mood seemed almost melancholy today. It was one I don’t recall ever seeing. I wasn’t sure what to say but after he’d walked me over to one of the canopies overlooking the river, he hadn’t said a word. Finally, breaking the silence I said, “I didn’t think you were coming.”
He was looking out across the river thoughtfully. Finally he said, “I didn’t know for sure if I was until I was here. Do you remember when you were little how your mother and I would sometimes sit out here for hours after you went to bed at night?”
“I was in bed…”He stopped me with a look and I had to smile in spite of myself. “Yeah, I remember. I used to watch you both out my bedroom window.”
Dad smiled then. It was a whimsical smile like he was wishing things were different. “We saw you,” he said. “You were never subtle. Anyways, we did most of our best talking out here. I sat here, almost in this very spot and told her what my plans were for taking over Morgan’s company.”
“You told her? Did she know about Adele?”
He looked at me and said, “Your mother and I never kept secrets. No matter how devious I got with business, I talked to her about what I did, before I did it.”
“She was okay with it?”
“No. She wanted me to “just be an attorney,” she said. She told me that my ability to not appreciate what we had and be happy about all the blessings that were bestowed on us was going to someday make me very miserable. She predicted my life,” he said with a wry chuckle. “I didn’t listen to her about Morgan Corp. or many other things. But after she died, I found out that she was more involved in it all than I ever knew.”
“What do you mean?” I hoped that he wasn’t trying to tell me my mother was actually okay with him stealing from a thirteen year old.
“I found out that although I did tell her everything, good and bad, she didn’t do the same. After she died I found papers in her private things. She had bought stocks that I wasn’t aware of… and she had bought a house.”
“She bought a house? Why? How would she do that without your knowledge?”
“Your mother had her own money. Your grandfather was wealthy in his own right. She had a trust fund account that was only hers. When she died, that passed to you as you know. She used that fund to buy the house.”
“So where is this house?”
“In upstate New York. She paid someone to take care of the upkeep and