Read KNOT: A Wake Family Novel for Free Online

papers and sending them off.
    “Are you going to the InformaTrade thing Friday?” he asked as we strolled closer to the Price Room. Justin was only about five years older than me, but he was still young enough to know how I lived. He was a sharp dressed, fit man married to a knock-out woman who was an accountant for Lurie Children’s Hospital.
    He understood what it was like to be in my position, having only been there a few years before me, but wondered if the partners weren’t also using this project to get a feel for me and my loyalties.
    Justin wasn’t rude or snide but had done what he was told while we worked late on the project. When he’d asked me about my plans for the future, I’d been honest with him. I was excited about the future. Driven to work hard and find success. Make a name for myself.
    I’d considered skipping the party, but I knew the wiser move was to go. The higher-ups were all attending, and since only a select few from Price-McClelland had been invited—myself included—it couldn’t hurt to break bread and have a drink or two with some of the biggest players outside of business hours. Maybe they’d see even though I wasn’t as settled down as some of the other MBAs in our group, I was definitely serious about my job and the future of our company.
    It was an anniversary celebration for one of our firm’s biggest clients— InformaTrade . They were a massive company that dealt globally with fair trade equities. It was a fascinating business model, and they too were growing.
    “I wouldn’t miss it. I haven’t been out in a while,” I answered.
    That was a white lie, but he knew and replied, “Right. Reggie the Recluse.”
    The meeting ran on script. After signing my name on the line under Justin’s, as the second point of contact on their contract, I clicked the pen shut and set it on the table.
    I looked at my watch. Only ten thirty on a Monday, and already it was a good fucking week.
    The afternoon was spent indoor golfing and smoking cigars.
     

     
    The week flew by, and although it was a work function, I was beginning to look forward to the party Friday night. InformaTrade was one of our biggest accounts. Certainly, the better they did, the better we all did.
    Lately, we’d done well enough that I’d bought a condo in the new Lunar Building, the newest downtown. I’d been a part of the project since it began because one of my clients was the general contractor, and initially, I’d used our relationship to get me on the initial list of potential buyers.
    Tuesday that week, I’d closed on the property, and was formally invited to sit on the home owner’s association board as one of the pilot residents. The unit was finished, and, to my liking, it was flawless. Very contemporary. Very minimalistic. Very my taste.
    I was pleased to get one of the larger end units that I’d wanted from the beginning. It had great views, and so far I was the only tenant on that hall, but I knew it wouldn’t last long, as the building already had plenty of interested buyers and leasers alike.
    Surely, buying a nice piece of property in downtown Chicago would mean something to the shareholders at Price-McClellan.
    It was one way I could show I was committed to staying, or at least that I was able to commit at all. If the subject came up, I’d take full advantage by divulging such personal information.
    I showered and put on a new suit. There was something about the way a custom suit, tailored to perfection, just fit. Then, I fastened the second platinum cufflink—the pair a gift from my father—before I grabbed my wallet and phone to head out and gave myself one last look in the mirror to make sure my tie was straight.
    The older I got, the more and more I looked like my dad had when I was younger.
    Dark hair.
    Dark eyes.
    Tall. Broad shoulders.
    He was a professor and had always pushed me to do well. Not in a way that made me resent him, but in a way that made me proud he had so much