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Concentrating on business and only business had been his shield His saviour It had also been his vice
He’d let relationships with friends deteriorate He’d shunned any pity or sympathy It was so much easier to shut himself off from the world A wave of embarrassment swept over him as he realised he’d also shut out his mum, dad and sister
His sister had got o He hadn’t participated at all He’d hardly even been able to bear attending The occasion when he should have been happy for his sister, and dancing her around thea whiskey at the bar
Now, she was pregnant with her first child and clearly nervous Had he even told her how delighted he was to be an uncle? Howher with her child in her arms?
What kind of a person had he become?
There was a ping at the door Room service The trolley heeled in He lifted the silver platter Pancakes, eggs and bacon Unusual choice He looked in the lower part of the trolley for the coffee
But there was no coffee Instead, there was a hot chocolate, piled high with cream and marshmallows and dusted with chocolate
He sagged back into his chair Frank How did he know?
The first sip was all it took Two s and bacon He flipped open his computer and did a quick search, made a few calls
Then he made another
‘Mum? Hi Yeah Yeah I’m fine Well, I’m not fine But let me handle that I wanted to ask a favour Hoould you feel about supervising the staff fro and restoration company for me? They can be there on the sixth of January’
It was ah a huge dark cloud had been pushed off into the distance
She spoke for a long, long tiave the occasional, ‘Yesyesyesthanks’
Her final words brought tears to a grown man’s eyes He put the phone back down as Frank came into the room
The roo a yellow streak across the rooly at the e a bit more like yourself’ He bit his lip
Finlay stood up He wanted to shower and get changed The er his heart pounded For the first time in five years he had personal clarity His business acumen had never been affected, but his own life?
It was tiet started
Frank was still standing