I stare out of my office window and watch as dusk settles in the background on the North Shore Mountains. This is one of my favorite times to be in the office since it’s quiet due to most of our employees already gone. I take this time to reflect on how things are going, the beauty of the sunset calming me from the hustle of the day.
Today was a big day for Wilson Enterprises as the first batch of bottled ice wine was exported. We were blessed with the perfect hard freeze this winter, which enabled us to produce a larger than normal production of wine. Due to our extensive marketing and advertising campaign featuring our celebrity endorsers, demand for ice wine was on the rise. We also were able to increase our radio and telecommunication coverage, courtesy of our newly signed investor, Roger Davis, which helped reach new customers. Because of the heightened visibility, our orders for ice wine were the highest in Wilson Enterprises history.
Our hockey team, the Kelowna Lynxes, are only six points away from clinching a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Rhys has been working closely with their sales and marketing departments to increase advertising and promotions in order to sell out these last remaining home games that are left in the season.
There has been a buzz of excitement within the office these last couple of months. Employee morale is at an all time high due to the positive changes we have made for the company, which has included the importance of employee development.
Professionally, this has been one of the best years in my career, even more rewarding since Rhys and I were officially named co-CEOs of Wilson Enterprises.
Personally, this has been one of the worst years of my life.
I was spiraling out of control, trying to numb the pain of the loss of Layla with alcohol any chance I could get. I was physically present at the office, but was mentally unavailable. I was barely functioning and not making any headway in my personal relationship with my family or getting Wilson Enterprises back on track. One day, Ellory showed up at my office to take me to lunch, when in reality she drove me to the airport where my mother and brother were waiting to take me on a week long family therapy retreat in Salt Spring Island. That week of closing off the outside world and just hashing out our family problems kickstarted the journey to emotional wellness. We were able to have closure on the subject of my father and forgive one another for all the wrong doings and blame we had placed that stemmed from his actions. I left all of my emotional baggage that had my father’s name on it on that island and haven’t looked back since. When I do think about my father, I try to feel gratitude toward his hard work at setting up Wilson Enterprises in Canada and leaving that legacy to us.
Rhys and I have continued going to therapy to work on our relationship. We have forgiven each other for our past mistakes and have agreed to start on a fresh, clean slate. The change in each of us toward the other is night and day. Stoic, emotionless Rhys has not reared his ugly head in months. Instead, I have an energetic, enthusiastic partner in crime who is ready to conquer the business world with me. We are closer than ever, something I would never have imagined possible.
“I think Wilson Enterprises needs to step up our game and get back into the venue business,” Rhys says, as he enters my office with a stack of papers, interrupting my quiet time.
“Depends on what venue you have in mind. If it’s in a desirable location and we can keep it occupied, then it could be lucrative.” I consider, remembering the times when we were successful in the past with our former venues before we had to sell them all in order to gain cash flow.
“I already have interest in a certain property.” He throws down a stack of papers of what looks like to be a contract drawn up between Wilson Enterprises and Castle Entertainment, the owners of the House of Royalty night club. I look up at my brother in shock, my reaction only causing his smile to widen.
“It’s time for you to go back to Chicago and claim what’s yours, brother. Castle Entertainment was looking to sell and their lawyers have already reviewed the contract and are ready to sign.”
I shake my head in surprise, not believing what my brother is suggesting. “She won’t want me. I said some horrible things to her that night.” Bile rises up in my throat as I recall the deplorable words I had said to her, despite her being right all along. I did need this time to be alone and work on me. If we did try to make long distance work, I don’t know if I would be so far ahead with myself and how well we have Wilson Enterprises running. “Besides, she has already moved on to someone else,” I say with bitterness.
Three months ago I hired one of my old paparazzi buddies to follow Layla around. Despite the hurt and betrayal I had felt, I still missed her and wanted to know she was doing okay. I knew that it was probably a bad idea, but I thought it was worth the torture to just see her face one more time, even if it was in black and white photos. Nothing could have prepared me for the devastation I felt when seeing photographic evidence of her holding hands with Torrin Richards. I burned those photos, stopped having her followed, deleted all Google alerts on Cal and Jenna, and closed myself off from any mention or situation that would remind me of her, them and the city of Chicago.
“You, of all people, should know that pictures don’t always portray reality. Read these in order and come find me when you’re done.” He hands me a file folder and walks out of my office.
I stare in confusion at the green folder before opening it up to reveal a stack of emails. I take a closer look and see that the email communication is between Layla and my brother, starting one week after she left. I can’t help but to start reading, each page igniting the roller coaster ride of emotions in my heart. Betrayal, hurt, longing, wonder and finally, awareness. One hour later, I sit back in awe after reading her last email to Rhys, dated only four days ago with the news of Jenna’s pregnancy and how her heart ached that I wasn’t there with them to hear it. With Cal still being one of our investors, our staff was on cloud nine after he won the Oscar for Best Actor and even had a congratulatory full page ad created to appear in a couple of major newspapers in Canada and the United States.
I should’ve been in Los Angeles with her.
These emails tell the story of the last seven months of our lives — hers from her perspective and mine from my brother’s. It was difficult reading his earlier emails to her, detailing out my struggles. But reading them makes me proud of my accomplishments. I sighed in relief to read that she’s not dating Torrin Richards, only trying to be his friend through a difficult time in his life.
I’m amazed that Rhys managed to keep this a secret for so long. Two people who I care about developed a friendship, with the common denominator between the two of them being their love for me. Hope starts to fill me as I get up to go and talk to Rhys about what the implication of these emails mean.
All this time she has been inquiring about me.
All this time she has been missing me.
All this time she has still loved me.
“Rhys…” My voice cracks, thick with emotion and at a loss of words when I see him sitting at his desk. He stares at me for a brief moment, love and pride shining in his eyes. He recognizes my struggle to talk and holds up his hand.
“The acquisition of an existing night club is going to take some time to manifest to get up and running to our liking. Staff morale is going to be shaken up due to the changing of hands. It seems that an unspecified amount of time is going to be needed in Chicago.” He clears his throat and tries to act serious, but he’s having trouble containing the smile that keeps appearing on his lips. “Looking at the Lynxes’ next away games, we conveniently play Chicago this Friday night. I have one available seat open on the team charter, but no available seating on the plane ride home. You’ll have to figure that out on your own once our new club is running to standards.” He rises up and walks around his desk to stand in front of me. “So, are we going to Chicago, Chase?” he asks with a knowing smile on his face.
“We are going to Chicago, Rhys!” I command in excitement.
“Well, then let’s get this contract signed.” He extends his hand for me to shake, but I surprise him by hugging him instead.
“Thank you for saving me… for saving us,” I whisper and send a silent prayer of thanks for my incredibly strong baby brother.