CHAPTER 8: LOVE

JASPER'S POV,

“The sales are down by seven point two percent this year. We need new plans for our…”

Henry was giving reports on our annual sales record to make sure we invite the right people to the Gala. There have been numerous times in the past when the Gala saved our company from huge losses.

The sale wasn't doing well that year because several new small businesses were opening right, left, and center. I was well aware of the fact that we needed to move away from our old business practices and find new alternatives that spoke to the current market, and buyers.

However, I could hardly think about the sales or whatever they were saying in the meeting. Elizabeth had my head since she left my office the day before. I couldn't figure out what was the right thing for me to do in that situation.

I liked her.

No, I was in love with her.

And I didn't want to lose her, but at the same time bringing her as my date to the Gala meant a great deal. My family and some of the staff knew well about her and Tyler. They also knew about the canceled wedding, so in that situation, me bringing her as my date would only create unnecessary drama and gossip.

I wasn't ready for that, and I knew she would be hurt in the end.

“Dad…” I looked up when I heard Tyler's voice. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” I asked, looking around the room and noticed they were staring at me.

“Are you not feeling well?” Tyler asked once again. “We can have this meeting later if you are not feeling well.”

“No, no, it's okay. I zoned out for a bit,” I confessed, giving them an apologetic smile. “Sorry for that, I was just thinking about the Gala. It had been a stressful few days with the dates so close.”

“You don't have to worry about it; everything is going well.” My closest friend and the COO of the company, Daniel, spoke from my left. “I have the best people working on it. You focus on the sales.”

“Yeah, Dad, we have to find a way to compete with these small businesses,” Tyler added, pushing a folder toward me. “Our other branches are doing good, it's only the sales of home essentials and automobile parts that are going down. We need a new strategy.”

I took a deep breath and told them that I agreed with them; we needed a new marketing plan. There were a few suggestions, but none of them made much sense, so we agreed to meet again in a few days with better plans.

At the same time, Daniel suggested we ask the marketing department to run a survey to see why people are moving away from big names and towards small businesses. Cost couldn't be the only reason for that because we were offering similar prices.

After that, one by one everyone started to leave the conference room. Daniel was the only one who stayed and once everyone was out, he came to sit next to me. I knew he wasn't going to let it go, but I was hoping he wouldn't force me to talk about it so soon.

We usually had these kinds of conversations in a bar, after he got me a little drunk.

“Don't just stare at me like this.” I closed my eyes and relaxed in the chair.

“Start then,” he said, rolling his chair closer to mine. “I know something's bothering you and the whole me asking and you denying routine is quite old at this point. You know I'll get it out of you anyway, so just speak.”

“I am not drunk,” I reminded him and he snorted. I opened my left eye to look at him, and just as I thought he was leaning over my face. That man had no concept of personal space. “You might have to try more.”

He sighed when I didn't give him anything. “I am having this conversation with you here instead of at a bar because I know it had to do with Elizabeth, and I need you to have a clear head.”

“Why?!” I sat up straight and turned to look at him, trying to figure out what he meant by that. “What's the difference?”

“You are in love with her, that's the difference,” he said and I couldn't agree more with him. “And sleeping with her was probably the stupidest thing you could have done.”

“You still think I shouldn't go after her?” I raised my brow. “Even when she is single.”

“Yeah, because that's the time she's at her weakest,” he said, rolling his eyes because he mentioned the same thing when I told him that I was going to give it a shot now that she's single. “And Tyler looks almost the same as you.”

“So?”

“So, she either told you to fuck off or mentioned that you look like Tyler while you were inside her, right?”

“Wrong! I mean, she kind of told me to fuck off, but then she came to my office yesterday,” I said and fixed my eyes on his face because I wanted to see his expression when I mentioned what happened after. “She told me that she was thinking about me the whole day, and then she blew me.”

“WHAT?!” He sat up straight and his eyes were about to fall out of the socket. “You are not making up things, are you?”

“No, she sucked me and it was the best thing in the world.” I was getting hard just thinking about the way her lips felt wrapped around me.

“So, I guess it's the second thing. She's using you as a replacement for your son,” he said, looking a little proud of his theory. “You will only get hurt at the end. You should stay away from her.”

“Come on Daniel, don't talk nonsense.” I stood up from the chair, ready to leave. “I don't need these theories right now.”

I was already worried about her being mad at me because of the whole Gala thing, I didn't want anything additional to worry about. So, I turned to walk towards the door when he grabbed my hand to stop me.

“You are not a teenager, Jasper. You are a man with an adult son, think it through. Why would she want to be with an old man? She is young, beautiful and smart.”

“There are many girls who date older men, and before you say it,” I knew what he was going to say, so I stopped him before he could open his mouth. “Not all of them are gold diggers.”

He sighed once again, “You are fifty, Jasper. I am hoping you can make wise decisions about it.”

He left after saying that, but I noticed the way his eyes were down. He didn't want me to go after her from the beginning. He had always been against relationships with big age gaps, and while I agreed with almost all of his ideas and opinions, it was one thing I never agreed on.

I have always believed that you don't fall in love with a person but with who they are inside. As long as they can consent, age, sex, skin color, race, country, religion, and culture don't matter. When you are actually in love with a person, you don't notice these things; you just love.

And it's not love if you can plan it. Love just happens when you meet the right person.