Twenty Three
Francis
My head was buried in my computer, running numbers for a meeting I had tomorrow with Viktor Bykov’s accountant. We’d almost secured his daughter’s account, but there were a few unresolved issues between us and the owners of the Syndicate. I hoped to have them sorted soon.
I was so busy, I didn’t notice my office door open, nor the two people who walked inside until they were right up at my desk. My head whipped up, my eyes falling on my parents.
“Hello, Francis,” Mum said with a smile. Her grey eyes that matched mine were full of joy.
It had been months since I’d seen them. I hadn’t been expecting them to just walk in here.
“Oh shit, I completely forgot about lunch,” I blurted out, smacking my hand against my head.
My dad chuckled and shook his head.
“Always busy, I see.”
“I’m sorry.”
I got up from my desk and came around to embrace both of them. I’d mostly taken after my father. We were matched in height and stature, with dark brown hair. Mum was willowy with blonde hair and I’d got her eyes. Eliza and Jasper Beaufort were the most normal parents a person could have. Mum had been a stay at home mother until I flew the nest, and Dad worked for a gas company. She worked a part-time job in an office now. They were proud of me for what we’d built with Fortuity. I’d paid off their mortgage when we made our fortune, but they’d refused to take anything further from me. Instead, I spoiled them on their birthdays and for Christmases. It was my way of giving back. And probably why I liked to give Scarlett everything I could. I wanted her to know how much I loved and needed her.
“Don’t be,” Mum said. “We wanted to surprise you, so we asked them not to call up. And we know you boys are always working.”
I shrugged as I let her go.
“How are they, anyway?”
“They’re fine,” I said as I walked back around my desk to save what I was working on.
“May tells me Drake has a girlfriend.”
I paused what I was doing to look up at her.
“Um, yeah, he does…”
Drake had told me about his conversation with his mother. No surprise she’d blabbed to mine, considering the two of them were best friends. I was going to get the third degree over it, no doubt. Not something I particularly wanted to deal with considering they were both wondering when I would settle down too.
“Frankie, do you need me to arrange that meeting with Mr Knox? He said he’d be bringing Mr Nelson this time… oh, I didn’t realise you had… oh…”
My eyes went to Scarlett, who was standing in the doorway with a tablet in her hands, staring at the three of us with wide eyes. I left my desk when I saw the fear in them. This was completely my fault for forgetting my parents were coming to lunch. Now I was going to have to explain why Scarlett was here.
Fuck.
Yet, the person I was most worried about was my girl herself. I ignored my parent’s shocked expressions and went straight over to her. My first instinct was to cup her cheek and stroke it to soothe her.
“I didn’t know your parents were here,” she whispered.
“It’s okay. We’ll deal with it together, okay?”
She nodded, leaning into my touch as if it was grounding her. Scarlett might be strong as fuck but seeing people from her past couldn’t be easy. Especially when they happened to be my parents.
I dropped my hand from her face and turned to my parents, taking a breath before I dived in.
“Mum, Dad… you remember Scarlett, right?”
“Well, of course we do, Francis,” Mum said, looking between us and trying to guess at our relationship and what was going on.
“But the last we knew, she was missing,” Dad put in.
Scarlett tucked the tablet up against her chest and sought out my fingers, gripping them tightly between hers.
“I can explain… sort of.”
I felt Scarlett take a breath next to me before giving both my parents a smile.
“It’s so nice to see you. I’m afraid I only just remembered the past, so you have to excuse my shock at seeing you again.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Dad said, but he smiled back at her.
Scarlett let go of my hand and went over to them, shaking my dad’s hand, and Mum gave her a hug.
“We never expected… well, that’s neither here nor there. It’s good to see you again, Scarlett,” Mum told her as they drew apart.
I fidgeted, then Scarlett looked back at me with eyes full of fucking love and I knew what I had to do.