For The Love Of The Game

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I have never been so utterly furious at my mother. Yes, she was intrusive. Sure, she could be overbearing. But all of that has always been overshadowed by the respect I had for her. Yet, at this moment in time, all I wanted to do was scream at her. For being short-sighted. For being cruel. For hurting the woman that...

I stood by the elevator for quite a while after Riley had stormed out. Part of me hoped that the doors would open once more to reveal her. That never happened.

"It's better this way, Noah. That girl is not any good for you."

My mother's voice came over my shoulder, causing me to turn around. "How can you say that? You don't even know her?" I demanded. Her words had left a sour taste in my mouth.

"Apparently, you don't either. Don't tell me you are still interested in the snake after learning about this?" My mother crossed her arms and tapped her right foot in displeasure.

"After what exactly, mother? After you barged in here and ambushed her. You didn't even allow her a chance to explain anything?"

"Explain what? That piece of paper tells me all I need to know." She slammed her fingers into the pages in my hands. "She is a gold digger. Plain and simple. Honestly, I am just surprised you went for someone like that."

"This piece of paper." I took the pages from her hand and ripped them to pieces. Thein on this page meant nothing to me. It changed nothing. "Riley is more than a piece of paper. So much fucking more."

In front of me, I did not see my mother, but someone who had hurt the woman that I...

"If you had taken just a minute to trust me. To trust my judgment. If you had asked me about this? I would have told you not to jump to conclusions. That Riley was one of the most astonishing people that I have ever met. That she does not have a selfish bone in her body. That, if what this piece of paper says was true, there had to be a reason. But no, instead, you come in here and hurt and demean the woman..."

The words got caught in my throat at the implication of saying them out loud. But fuck did I not care anymore about hiding it.

"...the woman I am falling in love with."

It felt freeing to admit it out loud.

For the first time since my mother had walked in, her hard exterior cracked. Her eyes turned from a businesswoman into motherly ones, even if just for the briefest of seconds.

"Noah." Her voice was far more gentle now, yet its undertone was still stern. "I am just trying to protect you. I made a lot of mistakes, getting where I am. As a mother, I can't let you make the same ones."

"If I have ever been sure of one thing in my life, mother, it is that Riley is not a mistake." I grabbed my jacket and began walking out of the office.

"It will be if you leave this office. I won't let you fuck up. Will you really throw your dream of building your company away for a woman you barely know?"

I took a deep breath and turned around once more.

"You have been wondering for so long why I suddenly dropped everything. Because it was thrown in my face, the job I so proudly held was only given to me because of who you were. My dream was to achieve something that was not just given to me. Something I could be proud of. Something that would make you proud of me. So I am not giving that up by going to Riley. Because you made damn sure I never had it in the first place."

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I grunted for what must have been the 30th time. I hoped to find Riley when I rushed home. Yet, when I arrived, she was not there. So I tried the same technique as before. I waited for her by the staircase. But, it had already been two hours, and I grew restless.