Happy Ever After

Chapter 12

Matt finished the report he'd been reading and making notes on when Alana called. It was close to midnight and he hadn't wanted to sleep until he heard from her. He figured that since he would be up late anyway, he might as well get some work done. For the past ten years work had been the one constant in his life. First from necessity as he'd pulled the company back from ruin and then because he'd gotten used to the pace.

Plus running a global company meant there was always something going on somewhere and he was responsible for it all. He delegated when he had to do, but as the CEO his presence carried more weight when closing deals. Which is also why he found himself traveling more than ever, especially since Tony had cut back after baby Samantha was born.

Tonight, he'd arranged a call with his research team in Australia to discuss their report and get their impression on the next move. It was a golden opportunity and he would need to fly down to Sydney soon to meet some people and get the ball rolling. He needed to take those steps before going to the Board. He'd passed off the Global deal to Tony who was even now conferring with their legal team on the terms and conditions. Tony was in his element discussing contracts, clauses and what-not while Matt preferred the wheeling and dealing. Together they made an unbeatable team.

His mind still on business, he answered the phone with an absent, "Hello."

"Hey. Did I wake you?" Alana's voice came through on the other end. He put the report down and sat back on the couch, resting his feet on the coffee table.

"No, I was up. Just finishing up some work."

"You work too much. You know that, right?"

"If you were here, I guarantee I wouldn't be working."

She laughed and he felt his heart getting lighter.

"And what would we be doing, Mr. Delaney? Playing Monopoly?"

"Only if it was strip Monopoly. I could get behind that," he couldn't stop smiling. "I'd especially enjoy watching you lose."

"You wish. You may rule the boardroom, Delaney, but I'm a Monopoly champion."

"Care to make a wager?"

She laughed, not taking him seriously. "What're you working on?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Just reading a report from my team in Australia. We're looking to enter the market and there's a possible target. It would be a great expansion for us if the deal works. It would be a new and challenging market, but it would give us a toehold in the Pacific Rim. I might have to go down in person," he added.

"You actually enjoy this, don't you?" she sounded surprised. Matt knew why. When they were together, he was determined to stay as far away from the family business. Sometimes it felt as if he'd spent his entire teenage years defying his father and throwing all his privileges back in his face. It wasn't until Matt had stepped into the role that he realized how privileged his life had been.

"Yes, I do enjoy it," he acknowledged. "It doesn't have the same thrill as sailing, but maybe that's a good thing. I need something to do when I'm away from the office."

"Do you still sail as much?"

"No, but once a year I'll sail down to the Carolinas or the Caribbean. No phones, no emails, just blue skies and the miles and miles of water."

"Remember the time we sailed to Nantucket during Spring break? I almost capsized your precious Marianne."

"I remember. I had to sell Marianne to pay off the debts, along with the house and everything in it. But I bought a beauty of a sloop a few years ago. Someday I'll take you on board." She was silent and he wondered if she missed him as much as he missed her.

"When are you coming home, Laney?" His voice gruff from longing.

"Soon," she said. He heard rustling in the background, and it sounded like she was lying down.

"Tell me something. Where did you go after you left the Hamptons?"

"New York first and then London," he stretched out on the couch, his head resting on the armrest. "There was a bigger mess to clear up than we had realized. The lawyers recommended bankruptcy for the North America division to stave off the worse of the losses. Our London division was solvent, barely, and I decided to move there to keep it from tipping over the edge."

He continued to tell her about the steps he had taken to bring the company back bigger and better than ever, first alone and then with Tony's help. Looking back, he wondered about the audacity of everything he'd done. There he was, his degree from Yale not quite dry and responsible for an empire in tatters. He'd taken bigger risks than he'd normally take now, but the rewards had also been higher. It had also meant travelling at the drop of a hat, flying across the world and working round the clock when needed. It was no wonder he needed to escape on his boat sometimes.

"I moved back to New York last year," he said ending the story. "It was time to come home. Did I put you to sleep?" he teased when she stayed silent.

"I'm here," she said quietly. "You said in France that you felt smothered by me and that's why you left. Did you mean it?"

"Alana, I..." he stopped to think. He had said it and he'd felt it. Back then it seemed as if his father had his whole life planned out for him and so had Alana. But it wasn't really why he'd left, at least not the complete reason. He'd been frustrated when he said that and wished he could have taken back the words as soon as they left his mouth. It wasn't a simple answer.

He remembered how angry he'd been when his father had insisted he go to Yale instead of NYU as he'd wanted to in order to stay close to Alana. Even Columbia hadn't been good enough for his father. Generations of Delaneys had gone to Yale and Matt would not be an exception. Freshman year in college he'd come home every Friday, counting the hours until he could be with her again.

In a way, going away had been good for him. He'd gotten a taste of life outside the Hamptons and away from his father. College had been an enlightening experience, but he'd missed Alana until he thought he couldn't breathe unless he saw her again. He tested himself to see how long he could go without her, starting with a weekend and then two. The most he'd managed was three weeks and then he'd jumped into his car and driven through the night to be at her door when she woke. He'd seen how hurt she'd been by his absence and promised himself he'd do anything to erase the pain he'd caused her.

It got easier when she moved to cooking school in Hyde Park and they could see each more often, but summers were the best because it meant he could be with her all the time. It had meant defying his father who had wanted Matt to spend summers in the city working at the firm. Still, there were times he'd seen his life mapped out and had wondered when he could be who he wanted to be.

"I never meant to hurt you, Alana," he said after a while. "Please believe that if you don't believe anything else."

He stared out the window as he waited for her to say something, anything. He had hoped to have this conversation face to face, not on the phone when he was three thousand miles away and couldn't see her face. Her eyes always told him what she was thinking, and he regretted not seeing them now.

"Matt?"

He released the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Yes?"

"I'm all in."