Every Shade by Nora Phoenix

2

“Istill don’t understand why you’re back,” Langley’s father muttered as he sipped his coffee and stared at Langley from across the breakfast table. “Thank you, Di,” he said to their housekeeper, who came to collect their plates. “Delicious as always.”

“Don’t you like having me here?” Langley asked.

“Of course I do, but you were crystal clear on how much you hated Northern Lake. I have vivid memories of detailed rants about the weather, how isolated you were here, and that no decent college recruiter would ever come here to watch you play.”

Langley grinned. “It is still cold as fuck here, I do object to the fact that there’s not a Starbucks in a fifty-mile radius, but I did get a football scholarship…”

“And now you’re back.”

“For now.”

“You’re not staying?”

Langley sighed, avoiding his father’s scrutinizing look. “I haven’t decided yet what my next step will be.”

“Langley, you have your MBA…and with phenomenal grades, I might add. What the fuck are you doing here rather than accepting one of the dozen job offers you received?”

Langley couldn’t look away anymore, not when his father’s concern for him was so genuine. “I need a little break, Dad. Just a few weeks, maybe a month or two, three. I’ve worked my ass off the last five years. I just need a breather.”

His father’s eyes softened. “Okay, I can understand that. You have worked hard to graduate this quickly, and you know how proud I am of you. It’s not that I don’t love having you here because I do.”

Langley and his father had always been close. His dad had raised him after his mom had walked out on her marriage and her son when Langley had been four. “I know, Dad. And I’m happy to spend some time with you as well. Maybe look over your shoulder in some of your business dealings here. I’m sure I could learn a lot from you.”

His father laughed. “Smart move, young man, buttering me up.”

Langley winked at him. “I learned from the best.”

“You sure did. Speaking of business dealings…” His father checked his watch. “I have a meeting coming up, so I’m heading to my office. A businessman in town who’s asked for my advice.”

“Who?” Langley asked, more out of habit than anything else.

“Alexander Wingard, the owner of the gas station.” Langley’s quiet gasp went unnoticed when his father frowned. “Didn’t you have him as a substitute coach in high school?”

“Yeah.” Langley cleared his throat. “Coach Meyer had that accident, remember? And Alexander…Mr. Wingard…played for the Red Sox for a season as a shortstop.”

His father snapped his fingers, his face lighting up. “Of course, now I remember.”

“What does he need your help with?”

“I don’t know yet, but I’ll be able to tell you more after.”

“Maybe that could be a good case for me to have a look at…” Langley tried to keep his voice as casual as possible, and it seemed to work because his father nodded.

“Sure, but let me find out what he needs first, okay?”

Langley didn’t leave the living room, passing the time by playing games on his phone and checking the news while keeping an eye on the front door. As soon as his father walked in, he jumped up and greeted him in the hallway. “Hey, Dad. How did the meeting go?”

His father looked taken aback for a moment. Oops, he’d been a little too eager, maybe? “Erm, good, but why the interest?”

Shit. His father couldn’t know why Langley was so involved in this. The man was absolutely no homophobe, and he’d barely blinked when Langley had come out, but if he found out about Langley’s crush, he’d never allow him to consult with him on whatever Alexander had asked for help with. “Oh, just curious… You know, not much else to do here, so…”

“Right.” His father shot him a last probing look, then seemed to accept Langley’s explanation and hung up his coat. “He’s in deep financial trouble. It’s a sad situation, since most of it isn’t even his fault but the result of a crushing debt his father left behind when he died seven years ago.”

Financial trouble? That didn’t sound good at all. “How serious is it?”

“Serious enough that he swallowed his pride and asked me for help. He’s asked for a loan.”

“Are you gonna give it to him?”

His father sighed and walked into his office, Langley on his heels. “I don’t know, to be honest. I’ll need to study his numbers in more detail, but I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to pay it back, not with what little profit he’s making.”

“So what he really needs is to increase his sales.”

“Yes, but that’s not an easy feat in a town this small. The market is limited.”

“Dad, can I take this case from you? As, like, something to help me get real-world experience?”

His father put his briefcase on the floor next to his desk, then slowly turned around. “Why this case? I can think of at least three projects I’m working on that would be far more interesting to you, including the expansion of the ski resort.”

Langley waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, but with those, I’d be working under you. This is a small enough scale I could do it on my own. Get my feet wet.”

“Mmm, true. Good point.” He seemed to think for a moment, his brow furrowing, and Langley waited with bated breath. “Sure, why not. I already informed Mr. Wingard one of my associates would most likely contact him, since this project is below my scale, so I don’t see why that couldn’t be you. You’re on the payroll anyway, so all you need to do is sign an NDA, and we’re good.”

For tax reasons, Langley had been an employee in his father’s firm since he was old enough to work. It had been a tax-friendly way to pay for his college, and now it came in handy even more.

“Thanks, Dad. I’m excited.”

His father reached for his briefcase again and pulled out a file. “Here are my notes from this morning. Mr. Wingard’s contact info is in there as well, so make sure to give him a call to inform him you’re taking over from me.”

“Will do.” He took the file, barely able to hide his glee. Working with Alexander on this project was divine intervention, if nothing else. He’d be able to keep him from going bankrupt while at the same time spending time with him and convincing him they’d both waited long enough. Fuck knew Langley was done waiting. Five years was enough.