Back Heartbreaker
Chapters (21)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover Text
  3. Introduction
  4. Dear Reader
  5. About the Author
  6. Cast of Characters
  7. One
  8. Two
  9. Three
  10. Four
  11. Five
  12. Six
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Twelve
  19. Thirteen
  20. Excerpt from Forbidden Promises by Synithia Williams
  21. Excerpt from Jet Set Confessions by Maureen Child

Or at least what they had been doing the last couple of months. When Jamison first told Luke about his idea to scale back the tech division, Luke had argued until his head throbbed. He’d presented his case against the idea, which Pop had quickly dismissed. It hadn’t been the first time they’d locked horns and fought it out, but somehow that argument had felt more...final than any of the others. When it was over, Luke had taken a stand and left the company to go out on his own. If nothing else, he was going to prove to his grandfather that he had faith in his own plans. Prove that tech toys really were the wave of the future.

“That’s it? We just part ways? That’s your final word on this?”

He met his grandfather’s dark green eyes. It felt like the chasm between them was getting wider by the second. For now, Luke was going to concentrate on building his own tech toy company, Go Zone. “It is, Pop. The past can’t build the future.”

“You can’t have a future without a past,” Jamison pointed out.

“And the carousel keeps turning,” Luke muttered. “Every time we talk about this, we say the same things, and neither one of us is convinced. We’re on opposite sides of this, Pop. And there is no bridge. For me, it’s better if I stay out on my own.”

“Your grandmother cried last night. Over all of this.”

Instantly, a sharp pang of guilt stabbed Luke but, then, he thought about it. Loretta Barrett was as tough as they came. His grandfather was sneaky enough to try to use his wife to win the argument. “No, she didn’t.”

Jamison scowled. “No, she didn’t,” he admitted. “She yelled some. But she could have cried. Probably will.”

Luke blew out a breath and shook his head. “You’re impossible.”

“I’m doing what I have to do. You belong here, Luke, not running your own place.”

And honestly, Luke had thought that Barrett Toys was his place. But things had changed with Pop’s change of heart. With what felt to Luke as his lack of faith. His grandfather had always pushed him, believed in him. Trusted him. This felt like a betrayal, plain and simple. Luke’s new company was small, but he had some great designers, just out of college, filled with ideas that would shake up the toy tech business. Luke was hoping to get manufacturing up and pumping out his new line by the end of the year.

This had all started because he’d been frustrated with his grandfather—but now, Luke was committed to making this work. Jamison might be willing to turn his back on progress, but Luke was greeting it with open arms.