sinking ships - succession

chapter twenty-five

The day after the rehearsal was the day of Connor's wedding. It was also supposed to be the board meeting that decided whether the Gojo deal went through but her father cancelled it after the rest of her siblings sided with opposition. He was going to miss the wedding because he was going to talk to Matsson.

         Lukas had already told her that he wasn't budging on price. He would only budge if ATN was involved. She thought it was smart.

         "Is your Dad going to kill me for walking from the deal?" he asked as she talked to him in the car on the way to the wedding.

              She hummed a bit in amusement, "No. But he'd really angry. Might not be able to bring you to the holidays this year or the turkey might not be the only thing that gets killed."

        He chuckled before he smiled, "Would he really, though? When I got you to give him a grandkid? I heard he's quite happy over that."

        "He is," she smiled. "You should totally start small talk with that when he gets there."

          "Ooh, mixing personal with business to get him to lower his guard," he grinned. "So diabolical."

           "Only for you," she whispered seductively.

            He smiled a bit before he sighed as he pouted, "When are you going to let me see you?"

           "You only have a couple of days of the retreat and then you can see me," she pointed out.

            He hummed but he still pouted, "Well, I'm needy."

            She giggled before she promised as the car stopped the wedding destination, "After the retreat, Lukas."

             "I have to go," she said. "I'll talk to you later, okay? Love you."

           He smiled as he uttered softly, "And I love you very, very fucking much."

         She smiled widely as she hung up the phone. Butterflies danced in her stomach as she got out of the car and entered the wedding pre-destination. It was by the water and it was a waiting area on the boardwalk until the boat arrived that would take everyone to the actual wedding destination.

          She greeted Connor with a smile and congratulated him. Then she greeted Willa who was ever so grateful and starstruck.

          "Thank you for making the dress," Willa said. "It's really so beautiful."

           "As beautiful as the bride," Rose complimented as she gave Willa a warm hug.

           "Oh, that's..." Willa looked surprised. "That's so sweet."

     Rose chuckled a bit before she said, "And I'm sure you'll completely blow away Connor."

Willa smiled, "In a dress you made, I believe it."

      Rose smiled and they talked for a moment before the boat arrived. She got on the massive boat and many people tried to network with her before she felt sick to her stomach. She went to a private bathroom where she puked from the morning sickness.

      She held her stomach as she deep breathed. She thought it had passed so she rinsed her mouth out at the sink. That was when she got a call from Tom.

She answered it absentmindedly, "Hey, Tom."

"Rose," she picked up on his grave tone immediately. "Your father...he's, um, he's really sick."