WICKED GAMES | COMPLETE

FORTY FIVE

Andie

Andie wrung her clammy palms against the steering wheel. She kept her eyes trained on the road, trying to refocus on the route to her parents' house.

"You'll be fine," Miles soothed her, placing a comforting hand on her thigh. She inhaled slowly.

"I'm not worried about me, I'm worried about you. They'll be over the moon when I tell them I'll be stepping back from my cafe and returning to the family business." She sighed. "I don't know how they'll react when they find out I'm dating you. They really liked my ex. I think my father's more heartbroken than I was."

Miles chuckled. "That bad, huh?"

"The worst," she groaned. "Alright, here we are."

They pulled up to the driveway and handed the car to the butler. Miles grabbed the box of champagne and took her hand, his warm palm enveloping hers assuringly.

They entered the double doors, and were greeted by the sight of a gentleman in a suit shaking William Craven's hand.

"Dad?" Andie called.

"Andromeda, there you are. Apologies, allow us to just finish here. Patrick, you'll take care of it for us?"

"Dad?" Miles gasped.

Patrick Mason turned around. His eyes widened as he saw his estranged son, standing at the doorway of the Cravens' mansion.

"Michael," he uttered slowly. "What brings you here?"

Andie felt Miles' hand clench tightly onto hers. She placed another palm gently over his.

"Mr Mason, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Andie Craven. Your son and I are seeing each other."

Patrick Mason's eyes landed on Andie in surprise. "My girl, you have grown so much. And how did you come to meet Michael?"

"We met at a gaming convention. I run a cafe in town." She looked up at Miles dotingly. "And Miles was there to talk about his award-winning work."

The older man gave a small nod. "I've seen. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Miles replied. "Dad, I'm with Andie now. And I'm going to release my third game in the Summer."

Patrick Mason nodded again, before turning back to William. "I'll take care of it immediately. See you next week." He strode towards Miles, placed a hand on his shoulder, before exiting out the door.

"Well, I can see where you get your emotional range from," Andie joked. Miles let out a small smile that weakly masked his nerves.

William broke the silent anxiety as he guided them into the dining room. "So, Michael, what awards did you win?"

╳◯

Andie clinked her glass, drawing stares from around the table. She cleared her throat.

"Mum, Dad, I have something to tell you. I've thought long and hard about it, and I've decided to take a step back from my business. I still own the cafe, but I'm letting my staff run the show from now on."

She glanced up at her parents. "I was hoping you could let me rejoin the company."

They broke into a smile, and Hilda Craven placed a hand on Andie's back. "Of course we would, darling. You will always have a place with us."

William chimed in. "In fact, Andromeda, we have the perfect placement for you. The meeting we just had with Patrick was to open a small office in his city. Which, I can imagine, is the city that Michael is in?"

Andie whipped her head around to Miles. He nodded. Her heart fluttered.

"We would like for you to head that outfit and get the ball rolling there," William offered.

Her mother placed a hand on her back. "It will start small, but we believe it will grow quickly under you," she said.

"Thank you, Mum and Dad." She beamed. "I would be honoured."

From her left, Andie heard Miles clink his glass and clear his throat as well. They turned to fix their gaze on him.

"I would also like to share something with all of you. I will be placing an investment in Andie's cafe. We will expand it to include an exclusive retail section for my studio."

Andie knew that her parents could only understand half of that announcement, but she completely appreciated Miles' grand and heartfelt gesture.

"Miles," she whispered, tearing up. "Thank you."