Jay's POV
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Listening to your wife's voice notes over and over again is a sign that you miss her. Sighing I collect my stuff up and place some files in my suitcase, my mother isn't working today and so it's just me heading home alone. I send Taylor a quick voice note telling her just how much I miss her and earnestly I do, before I decide upon which restaurant to take myself out for dinner too.
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A small tap on my door has me looking up briefly from my phone as I beckon for who ever it is to come in. John peeps his head around the door, a small smile on his face as he looks up at me. His salt and pepper hair scooped back and his glasses on.
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"Bunch of us are all going out for food and non business related talk" he laughs as I smirk.
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"Now I know I'm an oldie, but lots of members go and you should definitely ingratiate yourself" he smiles.
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"John" I laugh as he shakes his head and sighs slightly.
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"Just because you're a CEO doesn't mean you cannot socialise" he quips and I laugh grabbing my blazer jacket and the keys to the Ferrari. Following him out to the elevator as we talk a little about my dad and how he never used to come out with the team, despite being invited. He presses the button for the elevator and I smile to myself as we descend imagining my father being straight forward in his response to any invitation to a social gathering.
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The white Ferrari awaits me as I cross the lot to my vehicle and John suggests that I follow him to the restaurant. I watch him climb into an Aston Martin, navy blue and sophisticated. Perfect for an older gentleman of class, I watch his headlights turn on before he accelerates over to the gate and I follow him. Losing track of the roads and highways that we pass over and the glistening lights that highlight all of the tall buildings surrounding us.
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Palms line the sidewalks as we pull into a large circular building with a water fountain outside. I park up alongside him and climb out of my car pulling my jacket over my shirt and tie. Scooping my hair back as he comes to join me.
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"You know you're the image of your dad in his early days" he says with a tone of endearment to his voice.
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"Before all of the business" he begins as we walk in step together over to the large glass doors, gazing up at the tall buildings and the chandeliers that decorate the ceilings as we enter. I notice faces that I recognise at the bar. And not just board members, a whole host of staff.
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"He was pretty chill and we used to joke that any boy he had, your mom always wanted kids...Any boy he had would be a surfer dude that all the girls liked" he giggles heading over to the bar. I cannot imagine my father ever being chill, quite simply I cannot imagine him before being a father or a businessman.
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"Weren't wrong were we!?" He laughs ordering me a brandy.
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"I'll never forget the day he brought you into the office at nine years old" he begins as a few board members smile along. Older men whose names I haven't remembered yet, long standing members that my father would have known.
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"There you were with a surf board under your arms, clad in a Hawaiian shirt" he laughs as I cringe slightly sipping my brandy.
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"Yeah Jay, you were a sweet kid though" a female announces smiling over at me. Her glasses are wire rimmed and she has short cropped hair.
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"Thanks" I laugh slightly not realising that this was going to be reminiscent of a family party where everybody has seen me as a toddler.
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John leads us over to a large table, set for food with various tableware, glasses and champagne flutes. I pull my phone out as I take a seat checking for any messages from Taylor, pushing my blonde hair back and leaving my blazer to hang over the chair. I down the rest of my brandy trying my best to socialise with mostly men who are much older than myself.
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The mains arrive and my steak, fillet mignon none the less, hits the spot as John laughs announcing that I've picked exactly what he imagined my father would choose.
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"I figure like father like son" I laugh and he smiles genuinely.
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"You know your father Jay" the lady begins sitting to his right in a business suit. I've learnt that her name is Josephine.
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"He would be ever so proud of you" she finishes with a smile and I stifle the shake in my voice as I thank her. Desperately wishing that he was still here to this day, so that I could sit with him and be his son rather than the CEO of his company.
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"You've only been CEO for a short time, but you've remedied the panic" she explains as John laughs.
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"You haven't sodded anything up yet" John laughs and I smile looking down at my cleared plate and a notification on my phone from Taylor.
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"I will not be sodding anything up" I laugh wryly as he winks at me before turning to Josephine and talking with her about sometime they all lost a huge deal of money because of a deal gone wrong. I listen in loosely guessing exactly where they must have gone wrong before they’ve even mentioned it. They laugh now but I'm sure that at the time it was a very stressful experience.
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"Andrew Gilbert Scott's face when we told him!" John laughs as I open up my messages and read the ones from Taylor.
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I miss you. Lying in bed with Henry as he sleeps soundly. Hope you haven't had a stressful day. Just know that I wish that I could snuggle up to you in bed and kiss all of your cares away. Matthew and Ross are back too, just thought that you should know. Taylor xxx
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Snuggling up to my wife in bed would be favourable to lounging back on my leather dinner chair watching board members get drunker and drunker whilst discussing my father and my upbringing. Reliving my childhood isn't my idea of a great evening out and so charmingly I excuse myself from the party grasping my keys and jacket and shaking hands of countless board members. All of which seem pretty happy with me, the boy who turned into their boss. I've nursed one brandy and so I stroll out past the water fountains and over to my Ferrari intent on getting myself back home.
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The moment I'm on the freeway back to the penthouse apartment I dial up Taylor's cell anticipating the sound of her voice before she even answers.
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"Love of my life" she says breathy and sleepily down the phone as I imagine her lying in our bed.
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"Just thought I would say good night before you drift off mon amour" I smile down the phone
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"And that I miss you terribly too" I announce indicating into the garage and parking up the roaring engine.
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"Mhmm I wish you could jump into the phone and kiss me" she smiles through the phone as I giggle.
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"Mhmm me too" I smile and she giggles down the phone, a sound I never want to be without.
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"You're late Mr CEO" she teases me, inquiring tone behind her statement.
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"John and I went out for steak with the board members." I begin heading into the penthouse and lounging on the white sofas in my suit and tie.
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"Was like a family get together the amount they went on about my childhood" I laugh as Taylor scoffs.
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"How's everybody back there" I ask curiously wondering whether Matthew has said much about New York. I'm sure that he has paraded around her like a hero.
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"Rachel is her normal loud self. Chris loves your idea of car roulette. Matthew is well..." she begins as I wait for more tapping my fingertips on my thighs.
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"Matthew is pretty hurt, you didn't mention he had a busted leg and arm" she comments as I nod.
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"Had I of mentioned it all you would have been on a plane to New York" I tease her as she scoffs. As I look out at the sea, the waves rolling into the distance and the moon just beyond the water I notice how she doesn't deny it. It’s true that they have showed up for each other in any moment of distress during their lives, this was no exception in her mind. Matthew will always be there for her especially in times where she is feeling vulnerable and it’s something I cannot get my head around. I had thought he would eventually move on once we marry. Now we’re on baby number two and he is still ever present in our lives.
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"Goodnight my Jay baby" she whispers as I yearn to hold her. To feel her close to me, knowing that she is in our home with him makes me feel even more needy, all be it that her mother and our friends are present.
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"Goodnight mon amour" I whisper slowly wishing that I could kiss her.
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"I'll be back to kiss you and hold you soon I promise" I tell her before we end the call. I strip myself of my suit and dump it in the dry cleaning pile. Resigned to sleeping alone and without her. The sheets are cold and messy since I didn’t even make them this morning, the crib empty of my child. Tomorrow will be difficult, I’m not scheduled to work on a Saturday, but I will most likely end up sitting at my desk anyway to pass the time.
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