I Do

Chapter 2

Ethan Beckett was the poster child for what most people termed a perfect man. He headed a successful company and had been rated as one of the richest men in the world multiple times by the likes of Forbes and Times magazines. Apart from his healthy bank account, Ethan was also one of the most attractive men alive. His looks were so perfect that he had done some cameos in a number of Hollywood films. Perhaps it was the fact that he was on a first-name basis with several A-list celebrities that landed him parts in movies but it was not like he really minded it. That was as social as his life got.

As a powerful man, Ethan did not have a lot of time to make friends or cultivate relationships. Everyone knew exactly who Ethan Beckett was and that made him a target for opportunists. The only person he could trust was his brother, Noah, but lately, his brother had been less present in the office than Ethan was comfortable with. It was not something he could have avoided either. Unfortunately, his brother’s marriage had hit the rocks and he was going through a divorce. To make the situation worse, he had two young kids to take care of now that their mother was no longer in the picture. Noah’s wife had taken off and settled on living the high life as Noah took on the role of both parents. It was not exactly easy for him to navigate the reins of the business without making his family feel like they were losing out.

It was almost half past eleven when Noah walked into Ethan’s office.

“This is a new record,” Ethan said as he looked at a tired Noah.

There were dark circles around his eyes and the bloodshot whites of his eyes made Ethan conclude that he had hardly slept the previous night.

“You look terrible,” Ethan said bluntly as Noah sat down.

“I feel terrible. I think I might have to take some time off.”

Ethan looked at him.

“Everything okay?” he asked and Noah ran his fingers through his hair.

“No. Liam got the stomach flu and sometime during the night his brother also got sick. I have been elbow deep in poop and vomit all night long.”

“How are they doing right now?” Ethan asked and Noah exhaled loudly.

“Well, the fluid expulsion stopped and I need a case of Red Bull.”

“What about the nannies?” Ethan asked. “I thought you had two of them.”

Noah nodded.

“I do, but they are day nannies… Zoe was the one who always insisted on having full-time nannies.”

Ethan shook his head.

“What’s the point of having two nannies if they cannot be there when you need them to be? It kind of defeats the purpose. Don’t you think?” Ethan shook his head. “It is not like you don’t have the space to house them or anything of the sort.”

Noah sighed loudly.

“My kids are already around so many strangers at home. The maid, the chef, the driver, pool cleaners… I just need them to be around some sense of normalcy, you know.”

Ethan leaned forward and looked at his brother.

“You don’t have to be here today,” he pointed out. “You should go back home and get some rest. You are no use to me like this.”

“No, I can’t…” Noah started before Ethan gave him a stern look.

“Noah, listen to me. As your big brother I have to be the voice of reason here,” Ethan started. “You are carrying the whole weight of this divorce and it is taking a toll on you and my nephews. You need to face the fact that you need help. You got a chef because neither you nor Zoe could boil an egg without calling the fire department to deal with the aftermath. You got the cleaners were all because you could not deal with all that square footage on your own. I mean, look at me, my place could fit into the right wing of your house and yet I have a maid who comes in twice a week.”

Noah shook his head.

“I don’t understand. What’s your point?” he asked.

“The point is that you are a great father to those two boys and getting help is not a sign of weakness. If anything, it is just a sign of strength,” Ethan said in a soft voice.

“But I do not want to be like our parents,” Noah protested. “I want to actually have a relationship with my children.”

“You are already better than our parents ever were. You know your kids’ schedules. You put them first in everything.” Ethan shrugged. “Honestly, you are the benchmark for the perfect father figure.”

Noah smiled.

“Do all your top managers get this pep talk?” he asked and Ethan smiled.

“No, just my brother, the CFO and my right hand.”

“If I am going to take your advice then I will have to take some time off and you should also take your own advice and get yourself some help. Maybe a capable assistant.”

Ethan forced a laugh.

“Those two words do not go together.”

“Which words?” Noah asked.

“Capable and assistant.”

“Well, you will never know until you try,” Noah pointed out. “It is not like you have ever had an assistant.”

“Neither have you,” Ethan said defensively.

“I know that but I have a whole finance team behind me and the assistant CFO is thorough, almost compulsive, which means that anything I would miss, he sees.” Noah shrugged. “I’m solid as far as I am concerned but then again we have always leaned on each other. You need someone else to take over where I left off.”

Ethan sighed loudly.

“Yeah, you are probably right.”

“I am not probably right. I am right, period. Point blank.”

Ethan leaned back in his chair and clenched his fist. He was very particular in how he ran his affairs. The person who would come in as his assistant had to be impeccable. He was no sure that such a person existed.

“So, aside from work, how’s everything?” Noah asked just as they heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

The door opened and Amanda, Noah’s secretary walked in carrying a disposable coffee cup.

“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Beckett,” she said as she walked to where Noah was. “Double espresso just the way you like it.”

“Thanks, Amanda.”

Ethan waited until she left before he turned to look at his brother.

“I don’t know how to answer that. I mean, apart from work, I don’t really have much going on.”

“What about Leslie?” Noah asked. “I thought that was going really well, wasn’t it?”

Ethan shook his head.