Mason Walton

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice Mr. Walton."

"No problem Robert, you can start working on that project of yours." I nodded toward his file before taking a sip of my coffee.

"Shouldn't I run it by Mr. Yilmaz first?" He asked unsurely. And who could blame him? Every project had to be approved by him only no matter what my thoughts on the matter were. But that was before he appointed me co-CEO.

"Don't worry about it Robert, if he asks, tell him I approved." Robert was still hesitant but gathered his things and left my office slowly, maybe waiting for me to call him back in and change my mind.

Yesterday when I landed, I went straight to see my sister Helena and told her about everything. She listened as always and offered me a few pieces of advice, one of them being to give Kat some space. It wasn't easy to do. I still hadn't answered her last text and it felt weird not to. I kept remembering the few encounters I had with her and knew it in my heart that we were meant to be together. But I couldn't force her now could I?

I finished my coffee looking down at my phone as it lit up with Celine's name on the screen. With a heavy sigh, I rejected the call for the hundredth time today. I distracted myself with more work and papers to sign before there was a knock on my door and it opened slowly. I looked up from the contract I was reading to find Elise Walton walking in with elegance and serenity. She said nothing at first, just stood there watching me like a hawk. A beautiful hawk. I stood up and joined her leaning down to peck her cheek when she stopped me.

"I'm so mad at you right now!"

I frowned taking a step back "What have I done now?"

"You and your father have your differences but that doesn't concern me! You are to come to visit me at least twice a week! And I'm not kidding Mason!" She walked further into my office and took a seat, "Why should I learn from your sister that you're now co-CEO?"

"Mom... I wa..."

"Don't mom me Mason! I've been wanting this for you for so long, and you don't even call me to inform me of the good news! You don't even call to check on me! What have I done to you, Mason?"

I scratched the back of my neck feeling uncomfortable; she was right about everything she said. I sat across from her and reached out to take her hand in mine, "you did nothing mom. That's exactly what you did. You let him tell me how incompetent I was over and over and said nothing. You saw how little respect he had for me and did nothing. You saw how he looked at me and the way I felt and still... nothing." I rubbed circles on her palm with my thumb "I'm not mad at you. I can never be mad at you. I'm just upset you did not defend me, not once. Not even when he told me I wasn't capable of running the company because I partied too much in front of many colleagues of his."

"Mason..."  She said softly.

"It's okay, mom, I love you, and I always will. And even though dad is putting me through hell I still love him. I owe you both everything. I'm sorry I didn't visit... I just don't feel welcome in that house anymore."

"Don't say that Mason, we both love you so much and want what's best for you. Your dad just... he..." She sighed "He was a playboy as well before we got together. We even pretended to be dating because your grandma wanted to marry him to Ashley Wells." She rolled her eyes "He had his pictures on page six every morning, and sometimes on page one. He just doesn't want you to make the same mistakes."

"And you're defending him." I got on my feet shaking my head "Have you ever seen my face anywhere?" She shook her head "That's because I'm very careful. And I don't always sleep with the girls I meet. I'm not that much of a playboy, it's just a front I put up to hide the pain I've been feeling. Trying to act tough instead of the guy who got his heart as well as his ego shattered into pieces and who sometimes has panic attacks! But none of you ever noticed!" She was staring at me blankly with her lips parted "I haven't seen Katrina since graduation, I've never been close to her, and yet, I spend a few hours with her and she notices things my own family hasn't! How do you want me to feel about that?"

I was fuming by now, letting all my hidden feelings resurface. All I could see was a volcano erupting but instead of lava, it was emotions. That's how I felt, like a volcano. Celine called again and that sent me to my peak I answered the phone with shaky hands.

-What the fuck do you want Celine! - My mom gasped at the mention of her name

-Mason? I just want to speak to you-

-Well I don't! Stop fucking calling me Celine! - I hung up and threw my phone to the wall so hard it broke into pieces.

Elsa came rushing in "Mr. Walton? Is everything okay?"

I nodded "Yeah... I just need a new phone please." I told her more calmly. She nodded and scurried out when my mom walked up to me and touched my cheek.

"I'm sorry I didn't read through your acting. I'm sorry I didn't see the pain you were in." she leaned in resting her head on my chest and wrapped her arms securely around my waist. "I'm your mother Mason, you can always talk to me. And our home is your home and you'll always be welcome in it. Never think otherwise."

That was probably the first time I had an outburst like that in the past year. Let alone in front of my mother. It just bothered me that she asked what she had done to me... she of all people should have noticed what I was going through. Now I wasn't putting all the blame on her, I was great at hiding my feelings, and all they saw was a guy who had a breakup and was now going from one girl to another. But it still hurt none of them noticed it was all an act.

I regretted my outburst and I hated fighting with her; she was the most attentive and most caring woman I knew. I hated hurting her.  She didn't deserve that. But Celine's calls just fueled my anger even more and I couldn't control myself anymore.

It took me another hour to calm down after my mom left, and it was only then, Elsa came in with my new phone. I set it up and raised an eyebrow as she stood still in front of my desk not even blinking.

"Yes, Elsa?"

"I've postponed the meeting you had when your mother came for tomorrow. But you still have two meetings for the day. Should I reschedule?"

I shook my head as I would never bring my problems to work. "No, don't. Who am I meeting though?"

She looked down at her tablet "Mr. Connelly, the owner of the Italian spa you're working on with Dahlia at 2:30, and we have a meeting with the Richards' Group. We've never met them before, new clients, they are working on hotels or something, at 3:30."

"Richards' Group? I've never heard of them, did they give you a name?"

"No sir, they haven't but I looked them up, they exist for thirty-five years now."

My meeting with Mr. Connelly went by smoothly as usual. He had seen my work a while back and came to our firm asking for me by name, wanting me to work on his Italian spa. Of course with the approval of Adam, I took the project and have been working on it since then. We were almost done with the constructions and he was very pleased with the outcome.

I only had five minutes before my next meeting and I took that time to check my phone. There was a time when I wished Celine would call or text, not necessarily to get back with me but just to talk or check on me. But that felt like ages ago, now seeing her name in my call logs or messages would just frustrate me or anger me. I didn't have time to process my feelings over hearing her voice, but now that I was staring at my screen I realized I felt nothing.

I was startled by my phone vibrating in my hand as Kat's name flashed on my screen. I felt like a teenager all over again and grinned from ear to ear, even though I knew there was a possibility that it was work-related.

Before I could answer her call, I heard a commotion at Elsa's desk. Great! Just in time for my meeting. Way to go Elsa. I muttered to myself as I walked outside to see what it was all about. I saw a familiar figure leaning down on Elsa's desk in a threatening posture. I couldn't see her face but I would recognize that hair and that body everywhere. Celine looked back and froze when she saw me standing in the doorway with my hands in my pockets and a raised eyebrow. Employees were starting to gather, even Adam was standing by his door looking at the scene in front of him.

When he met my eyes he took a step forward "Everyone to their post! Now!" He barked his order and everyone scattered back to their cubicles. He waited for a few seconds before retreating as well, knowing I needed to take care of this myself.

"Move away from Elsa's desk please and stop terrorizing her."

She moved away and took a step toward me "Hello, Mason."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you."

"I can't see you, I'm busy. As a matter of fact, my client should be here any minute now." I said staring at her coldly.

"I'm your client Mason, I'm from the Richards' Group."

I froze glaring at her not understanding what the hell she was trying to do. I forced out a chuckle shaking my head, "You've got to be kidding me! Out of all the constructions companies, you had to choose this one? And out of all the architects we have, you had to choose me? Are you insane Celine?"

"Oh, but on the contrary, I chose your company because you're the best in New York."

I saw Kat walk in all her beauty and felt my heart do a backflip. She stood in the corner watching the exchange in confusion.

"And I chose you because you're the best Mason!"

"I do not want to work with you, Celine. You can take your project up to your old friend Adam. He's the best here."

"It's a huge project Mason, you should take this opportunity..."

"I don't want it. I told you to take it up to Adam, and if he does take the project, I won't be involved in any way."

"Adam doesn't know me like you do Mase," She said softly making me sick.

"I don't know you at all. And don't call me that." I looked back at Kat who was about to leave and remember my mom's words. She and my dad pretended to be together before actually falling in love. Elsa had also mentioned to Celine I was dating someone and was serious about her. Maybe it was destiny that brought her here...

"Kat, wait."