Chapter 31

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It was the original tail end of the Alodia's trip to the island, but Leo and Gavin did not know what to do. They were swarmed with papers, money, and no clear answers about next steps. It was hard to figure out with a deceased mother and felon father. The options were either they went to NYU and Chapel Hill for the fall semester coming up, stayed on the island, or did something drastically different. Neither of them knew what to do.

The lawyer suggested Gavin finish his Bachelor's at Chapel Hill. He was a finance major, so he could take over Wayne's business with some education behind him. There was also the option to sell the business, which would be Gavin's choice.

"What if I keep it and change it?" Gavin asked the lawyer. "Nobody's going to want to take his company? I don't even know if I want it."

"Actually," the woman said as she faced his computer screen towards Gavin, "a lot of business owners have already started unofficially bidding for it." Gavin scrolled through the names. "It's only an option."

By the end of the week, Gavin would sell the company to an accredited business owner, Jack Hudson. They signed papers, with the same lawyer present, and Wayne's business was out of Gavin's reach. Hudson let him be a part of the changes. The name would be different, as if their family was never there, and the walls would be white instead of navy. At a lunch meeting, the new owner offered Gavin to be his financial analyst after he graduated. The primary location would still be the Long Island, but there would still be the secondary one on the island. Hudson said Gavin could work remotely and come to either location twice a month. After some thought, Gavin took up the offer and became Hudson's financial analyst for the company after he graduated from Chapel Hill.

Before that all would even happen, after the meeting with their lawyer, Gavin and Leo drove to the diner for breakfast. There were maybe four people there and all four of them stared at the boys as they sat. EJ finished taking an order, then walked over to them.

"We'll have two Hungry Whale sandwiches," Leo told her. He rubbed his eyes to get the tiredness out of them.

EJ scribbled down the orders, then handed the note to the chef. She still had a limp from the bullet wound and gauze wrapped around her thigh. Mary glanced at the boys from the kitchen, seeing how drained they were. Particularly, she studied Leo and saw pieces of his mother in him, along with his father in his facial structure. They had the same jaw, nose, and cheekbones. It made her recall seeing the young couple walk around their high school together. Mary blinked herself out of it and faced EJ, who was getting two glasses of water ready.

"That's the boy, right?" the woman asked her employee.

"Yeah, it is," she responded. "Why?"

"Does he know who his father is?"

EJ shook her head. "I'm assuming not. He's never mentioned anything about it." Mary's eyes were on Leo again. "Do you?"

His green eyes were iridescent in the light, the same way Lisa's would. His face was a replica of his father's. EJ stopped filling the second glass with water and directed her full attention to her boss. "He'll figure it out."

After EJ's shift, Leo brought her to the beach. They did not swim, or do anything crazy. They just laid on her large towel, staring at the sky. His hand collapsed on top of hers and he turned towards her.

"I can't decide what I want to do, EJ," he told her.

EJ copied him and laid on her side, facing him. "What are your options?"

"I can either stay here, go to Long Island, or go to NYU," he said. He sighed. "Gavin is selling the company, so does that mean I should sell the mansion?"

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