Across Eternity Read Online Free PDF Page A

the restaurant, she’d noticed a
pattern with men who had money. They had a holier than thou attitude emanating
from them. They wore expensive clothes and drove fancy cars and sadly that was
pretty much what constituted them. Amber called them money-grubbers and she
knew that while most of them were not putting up a false front of success, if
you were to dig deeper you’d find they were hollow and lacked a sense of
self.
    Logan was extraordinary because he belonged nowhere near those types of men.
He was in a class all his own simply because he wasn’t like the others.
    "So you’re a businessman?" she asked.
    " It’s how I earn a living but I devote
very little of my time to business. It’s not a title that I claim."
    "Why?"
    "For me, business is really an uncomplicated job. It’s an easy
way to make money. I like to put my energy into things that are a little more
elusive and challenging." He smiled a quiet smile. "You seem
surprised."
    "Frankly, I am." She glanced around at the men in the room who
were wearing expensive suits and drinking even more expensive whisky.
"Most of these men are entrepreneurs of some sort." She looked back
to him. "Would you agree?"
    He glanced around and nodded. "Yes."
    "You have everything they have."
    "Monetarily, yes," he agreed.
    "How did you become so different?"
    With a slight smile he asked, "You think I’m different?"
    "Absolutely. You are nothing like
them."
    "I’m glad you noticed." He watched her for a long moment before
he finally said, "Most of these men want to dominate something. They
control with their power, or their money, or even their intelligence, which is
all part of the industry and most likely what made them successful. However, I
have no desire to do that."
    "But yet you’re still successful," she pointed out.
    "Fortunately I am." He winked. "When I opened my first
business and success was imminent, my mom pulled me aside and told me
"now no actin ’ ugly". She shook her
finger at me when she said it, too."
    Amber laughed in surprise as he waved his finger in front of her. "I
like that."
    "As you might imagine, my mom has no use for complexity. She can
convey more in a simple phrase than in a thousand words. Don’t get me
wrong, she’s extremely animated and loveable but she never wanted us to
get too full of ourselves no matter how successful my sister or I
became."
    "Well, I think they are words we can all live by. Besides, no one
should strut around like they are better than someone else. We should treat
people the way we want to be treated."
    "I agree. It’s very rare that I act ugly." He grinned a
little. "And when I do, I like to think it’s because I have a good
reason. What words of wisdom did your mother pass on to you?"
    She looked away from him, quiet as she glanced out into the breeze and the
darkness. "The sage advice I received was not near as wise as your
mom’s. Actually, I can’t remember any good advice that she ever
gave me."
    Logan stared at her quietly in the weak candlelight.
    "She was much too wrapped up in herself to bother."
    "You seem like you did well without it," he said softly.
    Amber looked back at him. "I muddled my way through, though it would
have been nice to have that guidance to fall back on. She did really good
things for other people from time to time but she just never extended that to
me." She shrugged her shoulders. "I’m not sure why but now
that I am older I realize that she just didn’t have it in her to give to
me."
    "I’m sorry."
    "Don’t be. I got over it a long time ago."
    "Some people do the best they can and still fall short," he
offered.
    She nodded in agreement. "I think she fits into that category. I guess
in a way it’s a comfort to know she did her best." Reluctantly, she
looked down at her watch. "I don’t want to do this—"
    "Then don’t."
    "I have to. My shift is going to end soon," she pointed out.
"Rachael and Sandy have been covering my tables and I think it’s
best if I get back to