Page 56 of Gray Hair Don't Care
“Not necessarily. And it’s more personal than work-related.” Donovan shut her office door so they could have some privacy. Lela was bringing her parents by the office at some point today. It was the tail end of their visit and they wanted to meet Echo.
Echo plopped down on the couch. “Tell me what’s going on.”
He didn’t even know where to start, but he reminded himself that this was Echo, and he could tell her anything. “I have feelings for Lela, honey. A lot of feelings. And something at the wedding ceremony told me that I want to try to have more with her.”
“Is this because Uncle Austin was flirting with her?”
That was a separate issue, but he felt confident it was one-sided, even if at the time it had truly bothered him. “No. I’ve been feeling this way for a while. Really, ever since we brought Lela B on board. I tried to ignore it, but it’s not going away.”
“Are you asking my permission?”
“No. I mean, that would be weird.”
Echo sat back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest. “Yeah. It would. Although I suppose I didn’t really have any place telling you from the start not to get involved with her. You are a grown man.”
“And you’re a grown woman trying to run a business. That’s not a small concern. Romance gets in the way at work. There’s no question about it. It’s half of the reason HR departments exist.”
“So now what?”
He shrugged. “Lela and I need to have a conversation, which means I need to find the right time. I guess more than anything, I want you to know that I won’t get myself into a situation that could hurt you, the company, or Lela.”
“There are no guarantees, Dad. I don’t expect you to promise me a particular outcome. Plus, what about you? Did you stop to think about whether you might get hurt?”
However unpleasant it was to think about, he didn’t really care about that part. He was concerned with shielding everyone else from any collateral damage. “I did. But that’s just part of the bargain when you put your heart on the line, isn’t it?”
“I suppose so.”
Donovan made his way for the door, but remembered that he had one more thing to tell her. “Also, you should know that I’ve been having some chest pains, but I saw a doctor and everything checked out. Just to be safe, I’m seeing a specialist next month.”
Echo popped up out of her seat. “Dad. Oh, my God. Are you okay?” She stepped out from behind her desk.
“I’m going to be just fine. But I messed up by ignoring it and I want you to know that I won’t do that again.”
“I worry about you.”
“Don’t, honey. I’m just a work in progress. Like everyone else.”
Donovan left Echo’s office and disappeared into his own, diving into work for hours. Scaling Lela B was still a little rocky, but the trouble spots were smoothing out. Manufacturing had ramped up, retailers were breezing through inventory, and website sales were up 450%. Lela B was a massive success.
Around four-thirty in the afternoon, Lela appeared in his doorway. His heart lurched, but thankfully, there was no pain. “Donovan, do you have a minute? My parents would like to say hi.”
“Yes. Of course.” He got up from his desk.
In walked Deb and Ben, looking a fair bit older than the last time Donovan had seen them, but still very much the same adorable couple. Ben zeroed in on Donovan, delivering a hearty handshake. “It’s nice to see ya,” Ben said. He’d put on a few pounds and lost some of his hair, but his jovial spirit was on full display. Donovan remembered him always having a huge smile on his face.
“Hi, Donovan.” Deb gave him a sweet hug. She and Lela were the spitting image of each other, except Deb wore her gray hair in a short bob, and was donning a touristy outfit of jeans, sneakers, and an I Love NY T-shirt with a big red heart.
“I’m so glad Lela brought you two by.”
“What a strange set of circumstances that led us to this,” Ben said, eyeing Lela then returning his attention to Donovan.
“I know, right?”
“Oh, totally,” Deb said, her midwestern accent leaning on every “o”.
“What are you crazy kids up to?” Donovan couldn’t ignore how effortlessly hot Lela looked today, wearing a red sundress with white polka dots and a pair of flat sandals. Her hair was its usual glorious roll of pure silver.
“I gave them the tour of the office,” Lela said. “They got to meet Echo and a few other people.”
