Jason cracked a half smile, “Yeah, I’ll be conferencing in. But, just admit it you’re trying to get back to Sandy.”
“She’s actually flying here today. She should probably be here anytime. We’ll fly back together tomorrow.”
Mr. Rutherford’s cell phone rang, “I’ve been waiting for this call. I’m going to take it in another room. If you’re not here when I’m done Franklin…have a safe trip.”
“Thanks Mr. Rutherford.”
After they shook hands, he left the room. Jason poured himself another drink.
“Jay…you’re going pretty heavy on the drink today. It’s not like you, what else is going on?”
Jason sat his glass down on the bar and sighed, “I’ve got to tell Vicky that Ryan arranged an emergency hearing for this Friday to establish some sort of visitation rights. So, we’ll be flying to Minnesota too.”
“Jay, you do know that even if Ryan is unsuccessful in his full custody battle that he will probably get some form of visitation with Angel.”
Jason slammed his fist down on the bar, “He doesn’t deserve it! Where the hell has he been all of her life? He’s never been there for Vicky or Angel. We damn near had to black mail him to save his own daughter’s life.”
“Look man, I can’t even imagine what you guys are going through but you’ve got to keep it together. They need you.”
Jason closed his eyes for just a moment, “I know. I’m doing my best but I’ve got to be honest this is really starting to get to me.
“It would get to anybody. You’re doing your best that’s all you can do.”
“I just hope my best is good enough. Anyway, I need a time-out from this nightmare. If I haven’t said it already thank you for handling things for me at the office. I know it’s been stressful for you too. I’m just glad you’ve at least got your love life together and that Sandy is there for you.”
Now it was Franklin’s turn to pour himself a drink. “I think it might be an overstatement to say I have my love life together. As a matter of fact to say my love life is complicated is an understatement.”
Jason tipped his drink toward Franklin, “You better put a ring on that woman’s finger before someone else steals her out from under you.”
Franklin laughed sarcastically to himself, “I’m not like you, Jay. I was engaged once. It ended in disaster. I’m in no rush to travel that road again; if ever. There is no wedding in my future.”
“Look, I couldn’t be happier with my choice. I love my wife and would do anything and everything for her. But, I hope you don’t let whatever happened with your last engagement to cloud this relationship.”
“April called me a couple of weeks ago.”
Jason raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
“We’ve been talking on the phone lately and have had dinner a couple of times.”
“Seriously? I can’t say I expected that. You’ve had dinner a couple of times? Why?”
That was a really good question that Franklin didn’t know how to answer. Initially, he thought it would help him get some type of closure. But, after having dinner with April he wasn’t sure if closure was what he ultimately wanted.”
“I…can’t answer you. April and I were together for a long time Jay. I can’t just turn my feelings on and off. I thought I could stay angry with her forever. I couldn’t and I didn’t. However, I didn’t realize that until she text me. When I finally heard from her, after she text, it was just good to hear her voice.”
“What really happened between you two? You only said the engagement was off. You didn’t offer any more details so I didn’t pry.”
Franklin took a long sip of his drink before answering, “Honestly, I don’t know. She went to visit her sister and when she came back she decided she no longer wanted to get married. She said it was her way of trying to get my attention. She never intended for things to get this far out of control. I’m not sure if I believe that.”
Jason took a seat behind his desk, “Me either. But, what surprised me the most was your reaction to the broken engagement. I thought you would be angry or hurt but you didn’t seem to be either.
“I wasn’t. I felt…nothing.”
“Hmm…that might be telling you something. Honestly, I never expected you to marry her. You dated for what…six years and I barely knew her. No offense but, you seemed more married to CkR International. So when you told me you were engaged to April…I was kind of shocked. But, I knew if you were going to take the plunge…you had to really care for her.”
“April and I have this unexplainable connection. Granted it’s no passionate love affair but that shit is over-rated and eventually fizzles out. She gets me and all of my issues. I don’t trust emotion. That’s why I’m a numbers guy. A fact is a fact is a fact.”
“Well there seems to be a lot of passion between you and Sandy? Is that why you never committed to her? Are you waiting for it to fizzle out?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it; Maybe? I didn’t really have to think about commitment because we were just enjoying our time together when we were together.”
Jason could see the strain on Franklin’s face. “Obviously, there is some unfinished business with April…and Sandy. Sandy does deserves to know what’s going on. From the looks of things, she might have some strong feelings for you. You’ve
