The CEO's Rose

Langston’s POV

Langston Terrell was a man with a very refined palate. Having lived as long as he had, and given that he was wealthy enough to afford even the rarest of delicacies when he wanted to eat them, that was not surprising at all.

His chefs often made him the tastiest meals from the best organic ingredients on offer. Foods that had never been touched by chemicals at any point in their production. He even had certain ingredients that he would not touch unless they were flown in specifically from their country of origin, the frozen store bought stuff just not doing it for him. He was used to quality, and he always made sure that he got it.

But as great as that was, there were some types of food that Langston had often found himself craving and had not been able to get. Food that his chefs could never quite replicate because at the end of the day he was paying them to make meals for him. No matter how good the dishes had been, the fact that they were only there because he paid the people who made them had always made them not taste as good. But now without even knowing that Langston had been craving such a thing, Vivian Rose had fulfilled one of Langston Terrell’s wishes.

It had been decades since he’d had a meal made by a person who did so simply because they cared about him, not because there was money being exchanged. Every single thing that Vivian had made had been made with love, and that resulted in all of it tasting amazing to Langston Terrell. She had actually taken hours out of her time to cook for them, and now as they all ate, Langston could not help but watch the youngsters, warmth blooming in his heart.

The dinner party had only a handful of people in attendance. There was Langston himself, then Ryan, his friend Mark, along with Vivian and her friend. There was soft laughter, easy conversation, and just the general happiness that often came when a group of people who cared about each other shared a meal together. He had not been in an atmosphere like that in years. The last time it had been shortly before the death of his son, and daughter-in-law. It felt good to be part of something like that again, and it was all thanks to Vivian Rose. The woman truly was remarkable.

***

A family meal, that was what they were having thanks to Vivian Rose.

After years alone, and countless meals taken without any company, Langston Terrell wanted to find a way to capture not only the moment, but also the warm feelings it brought and keep it close. He wanted to always remember the soft smile on Ryan’s face, the way he could not seem to go more than a few seconds without brushing his shoulder against his girlfriend’s. He wished to bottle Vivian Rose’s kind laugh, and the way she kept stealing looks at Ryan and smiling each time that their eyes met. He never wanted to forget the pure delight on Mark’s face at everything that he tasted, and he wished to hear more stories from the young Amy.

It was all so vibrant, so...alive, and Langston loved every moment of it. Being a part of the happiness made his heart feel full in a way that he had forgotten it could, He never wanted to lose the feeling again.

***

Over the years he had not made it secret that he did not like the fact that Ryan was living all alone in the city. He had wanted his grandson to come back home. As great as the city was for making money, it was not the best place to forge deep bonds. There were just far too many people willing to step on each other in order to get ahead. So naturally he had worried that Ryan would meet people who only wanted to use him.

Another reason he had not liked Ryan constantly being there was because he worried about him being lonely. So he had not wished for his grandson to be in such a cold and unforgiving place 24/7.

But now as he sat at the dining table and let conversation flow all around him, Langston realized that he no longer had to worry.

Despite having been on his own for so long, Ryan was no longer lonely, and he had not surrounded himself with pit vipers. His grandson had managed to find people who genuinely cared about him. Now as he sat amongst the people that had become his grandson’s family, Langston felt himself breathe a sigh of relief. A weight that he had always carried with him when it came to his grandson’s well being finally falling off.

His grandson was fine. Ryan’s home was wherever Vivian Rose was, and so long as she was there, his grandson would never feel lonely.

As the evening began to wind down, Langston managed to get a moment alone with his grandson and he used it to give Ryan his blessing.

"From the way that you are looking at her, I can tell that you have already made a decision when it comes to Vivian Rose,"

"Grandfather, what are you talking about?" Ryan asked, but from the look in his eyes, Langston knew that his grandson was well aware of what he was talking about.

"Just know that you have my blessing in this," Langston told him. Reaching out, he placed a comforting hand on his grandson’s shoulder before letting his hand fall away. His eyes suspiciously shiny, Ryan nodded and went back to the table where dessert was being served. Huffing a soft laugh, Langston returned as well, being sure to give Vivian extra compliments as he was once again treated to food made with love. She would make a wonderful addition to the family, he hoped that Ryan popped the question soon.