The Path to Love

Chapter 56 - Sam's POV

"Hello?"

"Hello Samantha. It's nice to hear your voice again."

"Um, why are you calling me?"

"I have a proposition for you."

"Um, what?"

"Listen to everything I have to say first before you assume anything, okay?"

"Sure..."

"I know of your current um...predicament let's say." My face whitened to the colour of a ghost, knowing what he was talking about. "I am also aware that my son is the father of your child."

"How?"

"Hunter told me, Samantha."

"Okay, but what's that got to do with my current situation?"

"Your father met with me a few weeks ago. He came in and had a meeting with me and Hunter sat in on it."

"Okay, and.... what's that got to do with me?" Why is he being this weird?

"Your father is officially retired from Dawson Enterprises."

I gasped in shock. "Really? He is?"

"Yes. He had two conditions in order to combine his company with mine."

"My father can be a vicious man, Mr. Thomas. What were the two conditions that he asked of you?"

"The first one was, I make you CEO of the company, when you're ready."

"That's fine, you can have it. I want nothing to do with it."

"We'll come back to that point in a minute, Samantha." There's nothing to come back to, I don't want the company.

"What was the second condition?" I asked him, changing the conversation.

"He wanted Hunter to tell him who the father of your baby was." He flat out admitted, no beating around the bush, no hesitation, no warning to prepare me, nothing.

"What?!" I gasped in horror. "Please tell me he didn't tell him it was him?! My dad will kill him!" I freaked out.

"Relax, Samantha. I protected my son. I got the company and I didn't tell him who the real father was."

"Who did you tell him the baby belonged to then?"

"I made up some name, don't worry. I took care of it."

"I don't mean to sound rude sir, but that will come back to bite you in the butt. No one lies to my dad and gets away with it. He will go find the guy whose name you said."

"I wish him all the luck in the world. He won't find anything."

"This isn't the only reason you're calling me, Mr. Thomas. What about that proposition you were referring to?"

"I would like you to come out here, to Connecticut, to start training for a couple months to take over your company."

"No," I replied, not even having to think twice about it. There is no way in hell I want the company that took my parents from me.

"No?" He stated, more like a question.

"I don't mean to be rude, sir. I have been the child that has been constantly disappointed by her father because he chose work over her, he missed birthdays, holidays, school events, and other important events for a child. I grew up without a father, because that job consumed all of his time. I am not being absent from my daughter. I have the choice to take this company, my dad may want me to - I'm glad he trusts me that much with being the heir to his company, but I want to be there for my daughter. I'm sorry."

"I know it's hard being the child that misses their parent constantly. My father was the same way with me. Maybe that's why I was absent with Hunter; we act how we learn. But, Samantha, you have the power to be different."

"Excuse me?" I asked him.

"You know you don't want the late nights, or the extremely early mornings. The perks of being the CEO, is you have the power to make your own schedule. You could even work from home if you really wanted to. You have all the power to do as you want, being the CEO."

"Really?" I asked him.

"Yes. And, I'm well aware that you need the money. You'll have a great place to stay while here and you'll be getting paid. You will not have to worry about anything."

"This all sounds very nice, Mr. Thomas, but why are you doing this?"

"You're carrying my grandchild, that means something to me."

"I wish it meant something to your son," I muttered. I gasped in horror, realizing what I said. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud."

"He thinks what he is doing, is right. Don't worry about him. He'll come back, I know he will."

"I wish I could be as sure as you." I wish I had the faith he has in his son.

"I know I was never a proper father to my son, and I wasn't there to properly raise him. But my son thinks what he is doing will keep the two of you safe. That is the good representation of a father figure. As much as it may hurt, he has yours and that baby's best interest in mind."

"Thank you for that, Mr. Thomas, I needed to change my thought process of him leaving."

"So, what do you say, Samantha?" He paused. "Will you come out here to learn how to take over your company?"

"Will Hunter be there?" I was secretly hoping he would be, but also hoping he wouldn't be.

"No, he will not be." He sounded kind of sad. "He is gone away on business for the next couple of months."

"What will I be doing with you?" I asked him, I wanted to know what I would be doing before I went. I don't want to sign up for something I will hate.

"You will be shadowing me. You will learn the ropes of my business because it is similar to your fathers. You will be coming to business meetings, meeting some business partners and prospective business partners, you will be learning how to manage money while running a big corporation such as this, and the possibility of travelling to other places in the world, if I decide to expand my company."

I started to weigh the pros and cons in my mind. There's nothing left for me here in Toronto, besides Xavier, but he's probably dying not to have to watch me all day, everyday anymore. I'll be making money – the steady income would be beneficial for me and Kira or Mae, I'll have a future job lined up, I'll get to travel, I'll be learning something new, and I won't have to see Hunter.

Taking this job, could lead to a well prepared and funded future for me and my daughter. So, the decision kind of made itself. "You know something," I paused, creating emphasis. "I would like to come out there and be trained to learn how to run my own company. I would like that a lot. Thank you so much for this opportunity to better my child's life, Mr. Thomas."