Page 84 of Corrupt Game

“People always assume that because I run a company the size of Holdt Tech, that I’m a social person. I fucking hate people. Like seriously, I can’t stand them. They’re never what they say, and while I can be generous with employees, I’d rather go out on my boat and not speak to anyone for an entire day.”

“How on earth do you manage to work with others all week?” This wasn’t what I’d expected at all.

“When my mother died in my younger years, I didn’t have much interaction with people. There were servants around to do my bidding, but no one that I could talk to or confide in.” He finished his food and put the dishes into the take-out bag.

“My father was a horrible person. From the things he did, I learned not to trust people. Even now, I assume that they’re going to stab me in the back. Having someone in my home is a huge step for me, but even an introvert gets lonely.”

The look on his face was so sad.

“How did your mother die?” I knew it was a personal question, but it might help me understand where he was coming from.

“He killed her.” He hurried to reassure me. “Not literally, but he was the cause of why she died.”

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry.”

Words couldn’t convey how bad I felt for him. While I had lost my parents as a baby, I understood that it would have hurt to have had them and then lost them.

Andy might not have been a parent to me, but he had been the only family I’d ever had. I was always going to miss him and want to text him. He’d been my person.

As a child, the effect would have been devastating. I couldn’t imagine having to deal with that, and I had imagined a lot of things over the years.

“She wasn’t eating properly. He wasn’t monitoring her. There was no way to keep up with her illness.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“If he’d had proper technology back then even though he had her under lock and key, it could have been prevented.” He noticed my horrified expression.

“Yes, I’m a lot like my father in some ways, in others, I’m very different. She could have left if she’d wanted, but after years of being in her room, she withered away. From what I could figure out when I questioned the staff, she quit eating and nobody noticed.”

“It’s why I’m trying to make wristbands that monitor glucose through perspiration. There needs to be an affordable way to monitor sugar levels without pricking fingers all the time.”

“Most people can’t afford the test strips or other ways to stay on top of it. I’ve got a design with R&D to make a watch that will connect to a phone and send reports to the doctor or emergency agency when things go dangerously low.”

I stared at him. That was so much to take in, and nothing I’d ever have expected.

“You’re trying to make sure others don’t go through what your mother did.” It all became a little clearer. He took care of his assistant in the way he would have taken care of his mother’s needs. Watched over her so that she wouldn’t be left alone to die.

It made me understand him in a little different way. Maybe better in that I could sympathize with him. The problem with that was that it made him seem a little more human.

Against my better judgment, I was starting to like him more and more each day. Even respect him as a person, but certainly as a businessman.

He knew what he wanted and went after it. Making things better for others was one of his goals even though he didn’t like people.

We gazed into each other's eyes, then he picked up the dishes.

“Back to work,” Ian commanded gruffly.

The rest of the afternoon was spent working on the problems that needed to be taken care of.

Instead of staying there, I was surprised when Ian had us wrap it up before ushering me to the limo.

It was as if he’d let down enough of his guard and didn’t want to take a chance on letting me in more.

We drove in silence back to the cabin.

I wasn’t sure if I’d done something wrong, but it was obvious something had changed. I didn’t speak on the elevator ride down, running through the past day and all the other days in my head.

Ian walked me inside the basement room, but instead of leaving, he went to sit on the couch.

I automatically took a seat next to him. I craved his touch and wanted to find out how he would feel in real life.