One Last Chance

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Alex sipped his coffee, which was still too hot to comfortably enjoy, but he needed the caffeine. He was checking his emails and hoping that Sam had written him back when his phone rang again. He quickly rejected it. It was his uncle, and he was not wanting to start this day off on a sour note.

Unfortunately, just the one call wasn't enough, and his phone rang twice more before he set it to do not disturb. A run would help clear his mind, so he changed and headed for the door. Turning on his music, he went out into the chilly December day to go for a run.

He ran around the small neighborhood twice before he'd had enough and headed back for home. The trees were almost completely bare now, and he had been able to see more of the landscape than ever before. The ground was covered with dead leaves, and for a brief moment, he considered running through the woods just as a break from his normal routine. However, he couldn't see anything on the ground but leaves, and the last thing he wanted to do was trip over a stick or fall in a hole and injure himself, so he stuck to the road.

He made another mental note as he arrived at home to check with Mary and Bob to see how far back the property line went, so he could clear some of it out. It wasn't as though he was doing much else at the moment. He had no job and quite literally nothing else to do. He didn't need the money, but he knew he would end up bored quickly if he didn't come up with a project.

After he showered and got ready for whatever the day would bring, he finally checked his phone. Fifteen missed calls from his uncle! Fifteen! Three missed calls from his sister too. Alex took the easy way out and called his sister back first.

"Alex! He's livid."

"That's nothing new. What's his deal today?" His uncle had been angry with him since before he decided to move to Westbeach.

"He says he's cutting you off for real this time and is yelling at everyone."

"Once again, I don't care. Let him. I want nothing to do with the resort, Jess; that includes the money."

"What are you going to do for money with your time then?" It was a fair question, one he didn't have an answer to yet.

"Nothing right away. I have plenty set aside for me to decide what I want to do and take my time doing it."

"It won't last that long, Alex."

"One, you don't know what I have. Two, I don't live the lavish lifestyle. Three, butt out."

Alex sighed and leaned back in his recliner and listened to Jessica tell him what she thought was different this time. His uncle must be finally accepting that he's not coming back, because from the sounds of it he was making plans to put someone else in Alex's place. Alex stressed to Jessica, again, how much he didn't want anything to do with the family business. She spent a solid five minutes going through every emotion and trying to guilt him into coming home for her.

"I told you, come out here. You'd love it, so much less stress."

"I would be bored, besides this is about family more than business."

"No, Jess, it's about family business, and I'm out."

"You can't just be out, Alex. This is ours, and you need to step up."

"I love you, sis, but I disagree, and I think it's time for me to go."

"You can't avoid him forever, Alex."

"I don't intend to."

He hung up with Jessica and skimmed through his emails one more time before pulling up Uncle Harrison's contact in his phone. It wasn't that he was avoiding him; he just didn't want to repeat himself anymore. Saying the same things over and over got tiresome, both to do and to hear. Harrison would complain about family loyalty and how he was breaking some sacred bond and disappointing his father. Alex would tell him he wasn't coming back there no matter what, and back and forth they would go until one of them got angry enough to hang up the phone.

He pressed send and waited for an answer.

"It's about damn time! I've been calling you, Alexander."

"It's Alex, and I noticed."

"You need to get back here. I am ready to retire."

"So retire then. You don't need me for that."

"This company is yours! It was supposed to go to you years ago!"

Alex pictured him now, sitting in his suit and turning a fiery shade of red as he yelled.

"Let someone else do it. I am positive there are people more qualified than me." He wouldn't even know where to begin with what to do.

"You can be trained. And other people aren't family!"

"So let Jessica take over."

"She's too nice, and you know it. The resort would lose money."

"Well, I guess you have a reason for everything. I'm still not coming back."

"You will or I will cut you off. I mean it, every cent from this resort will stop!"

"Do it!" Alex slammed his fist into the counter as he felt his own anger rise. "I don't need it, and it's absolutely not worth this headache."

"That's not a headache. That's guilt from abandoning your family!"

With that last outburst and attempt at guild, Harrison hung up on him. Alex stood in the kitchen looking at his phone for a long moment, just wondering what the big deal was.

Alex grabbed his keys and headed out. He wasn't going to sit around and dwell on it like his uncle wanted. He got in his truck and headed for the one place he would be guaranteed to get distracted, Sweet Treats. Sam would be in. She had a manager, but Sam was always there. The annoying, micromanaging boss, but no one really seemed to mind, except to tell her to take a break.

He would go there, and she would pick some stupid reason to fight with him, and he would let her and argue back, because he could. There, he would be distracted. If he played his cards right and kept the argument small, he might even be able to talk her into going to lunch with him. Sometimes they could get along just long enough for him to convince her to let him be nice to her.

The ride into town was quick and uneventful. He waved at a few people as he crept down Main Street headed to Sweet Treats. It was busy today; people must be out shopping for the holidays. December always seemed to bring more people out than any other time of the year.

He pulled in and put it in park. He sat for a moment in the truck, debating what to say to her to get her attention and yet not get her started in a huff.

He opened the door and hopped out of the cab and headed inside. With no sign of Sam, he approached one of the clerks. "Where's Sam?"

"She's in her office." The girl gestured toward the back.

He'd been here enough that it was understood that he had permission to go in the back. A few employees had even thanked him for organizing the storeroom that one time. Last he'd been here, it was still organized too. She might have fought him on it, but she couldn't deny that it was smart to have it straightened up.

He cut to the back of the bakery and into the kitchen, waving and nodding to those that spoke to him as he went. He was trying not to be rude, but also not to get held up in a conversation with anyone. Alex made it to the kitchen and turned toward the office by way of the storeroom. Popping his head in, he saw that it was still perfectly organized.

Smiling to himself, he knocked on the office door and waited for Sam to answer. It wasn't until just then that it crossed his mind that he should have asked the girl out front what kind of a mood she was in before coming back. He also needed to learn her name; she wore a nametag, and he still couldn't remember it. Too late for should haves now, he would just need to push forward and hope she wasn't already upset about something.

When she answered him to come in, he realized it may not have been the best time. She looked frustrated, and the office was messier than usual. He took a deep breath before stepping in. He couldn't stand the chaos, and it would take a lot of willpower to keep from saying anything, not to mention to physical restraint to keep from cleaning it up. He wasn't a neat freak by any means, but the complete disarray, that drove him insane.