Draft version - Russian Roulette - Family secrets

Ch. 74: Have a safe flight

He was bored out of his skull. Sometimes Gareth had no idea why he bothered to sit through lengthy meetings listening to self-important asshats tell him shit he already knew.

In the end he would get it the way he wanted, they could try to negotiate and think they made a hell of a deal, they only got that deal because that was where Gareth wanted it to end in the first place. He always made outrageous demands and the numbers were staggering when he was negotiating; he had no intention of closing the deal like he presented it, he wanted to negotiate it down to where they thought they had outsmarted him but where he knew he was getting a deal to his advantage.

It was not exactly rocket science that everybody wanted the best deal possible. He was just in a position to walk away if he did not get what he wanted.

He usually did.

Being in Switzerland for 5 days negotiating and being shown what he already knew he wanted was not his idea of fun, it was necessary, he needed that deal to expand his empire. Which meant he had to play ball and be patient.

So, there he was listening to some pompous suit talking. At least the coffee was excellent, and the chocolates were little mouthwatering Swiss masterpieces.

He noted he had to bring some back for Mackenzie. She would love them and maybe give him that smile she made when she was overly excited about something. Gareth missed seeing that smile.

He had done any and everything to get into her good graces after their little talk Saturday night. Had taken all her ranting shit with as much calm as he had been able to muster.

It was natural, he got it, she needed to vent because it had been too much for her to handle. Finally knowing why they had lost contact and why he was pursuing her. Deep inside he thought she had forgiven him for ghosting her and she had understood that he was genuinely interested in a life with her.

What she was battling and what she had needed to rage on was the fact that he could have died, and she would not have known, and she hated herself for not having been there for him. Hated that she had accepted his disappearance and not come to bust his balls for not answering her.

Then again his ball were being busted more than they needed at that time.

So, he had granted her the liberty to act out.

The entire first half of Sunday she had been ranting at him and slapping him out of the blue. After the 16th time he had had enough. Sure, she was mad at him but enough was enough. So, he had slapped her ass once and hard at that. Mackenzie had grinned at him with a knowing nod. She knew just as well as him that he did not take any shit and that he had taken so much from her before he gave back was enough to prove to her, that he was sorry.

That little grin had given him some hope. The fact that she had told him that she loved him gave him even more.

They had come to some sort of truce Sunday evening because he had told her he needed to go away on business, it had been planned for a while and Gareth had mentioned it to her, but neither of them had really remembered or given it much thought.

It was not until he had gotten a text from Cracker asking about their flight he had realized. And knowing Mackenzie she did not have it in her to be mad for a week. Gareth did not want her to be mad for even a day.

Politely he had asked if they could talk.

They had taken some time to talk and come to an agreement that she should go visit her mother and relax a little and then hopefully they would both be in a better place after.