Page 7 of Waiting for You

She nodded. "Understood. I'll go through our portfolios and see what the move needs on my end."

She traded her fork for her water glass and took a sip. As usual, she'd heard a logistical hurdle and started building the strategy before I'd finished the sentence.

We finished the meal in silence.

Outside, the night air was biting and still. I walked her to her sedan. She turned toward me, and I leaned down to press a polite kiss to her cheek, catching a waft of her familiar floral scent. She studied my face quietly for a second, her composure in place, then slid behind the wheel and drove off into the city.

I went to my own car and idled in the driver's seat, watching the deserted dark street. Half a block away, a traffic light cycled red to green. My phone lit up the center console with an incoming video call from my parents' private number. I sighed, answered, and propped the device against the dashboard mount.

My mother's sharp features filled the screen, and she went straight at me about my health. I told her I was fine.

"It's been a while since we heard from you, Xavier," my father said, leaning into the frame.

Ever since Violet cut ties with them, they'd redirected all that suffocating attention onto me—a relentless frequency I still hadn't figured out how to deflect without making a scene. They had one child left orbiting their sun, and they were desperate to fill the space the other one left. They were proud people—both of them—but Violet had finally quit waiting for that pride to crack.

And now I fielded the interrogations.

"How's the hospital network doing?" my father pressed.

"Expanding on schedule," I said. "The Columbus facility's nearing completion."

"Good." He nodded. "That's good news. And you're keeping up your health? Eating right?"

"I just finished dinner."

"Good." He cleared his throat. "And how's Eliza?"

I sighed. "She's doing well."

"She's a good match for you, darling." My mother's voice pitched up. "Brilliant, accomplished, and she understands the demands of your world. A man of your stature won’t find a woman like that twice."

"I'm aware of her resume."

"We need grandchildren," my father said bluntly. "We're not getting any younger, Xavier."

"I'll think about marriage when the timing's right."

"You aren't getting any younger, Xavier," my mother said.

"Noted."

"We just don't want you ruining a good partnership," my father warned. "She's a unicorn in your tax bracket. Don't do anything foolish and drive her off."

I rubbed my temples. "I won't."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." I grabbed the phone and angled the camera so they could see the dark street through my windshield. "We just finished a date. Tonight."

My mother squinted and leaned close to the lens. Her eyes raked over me, and her chin dropped.

"What on earth are you wearing?"

"A button-down."

"Oh, Xavier!" she huffed. "You could've put a little effort in. You look like you’re just out of the surgical ward."

I rolled my eyes. "I showered and changed before I met her."