“Gabe isn’t coming by for dinner,” Jonathan said.
Rhys snorted. “Yeah. I bet it’s ’cause he’s still sulking.”
Stefan chuckled. “I’m sure he’ll love to hear you say that.”
I looked between them. “Gabe? That’s your oldest brother, right? Why is he sulking?” I hoped I wasn’t being too forward.
“Yep, he’s our oldest,” Jonathan replied, voice filled with pride.
“Yeah, oldestbaby.” Rhys rolled his eyes before looking at me. “He’s a little ticked off because of the whole changing the logo and update thing.”
My eyes widened. “Because of me?”
Jonathan patted my arm where he sat to my left. I looked his way and saw him shooting Rhys a look before meeting my eyes. “Actually, he’s upset because that one over there”—he used his chin to gesture at Rhys—“only gave him so much of a heads-up.”
“Thirty minutes, to be exact,” Stefan supplied.
“Yeah, because Gabe takes forever to—”
Stefan interrupted Rhys before he could finish his sentence. “He takes care of everything and everyone.” His look to Rhys was pointed, and for some reason, it felt like I was missing something.
“What they’re trying to say,” Jonathan chimed in, “is once he sees your amazing work, he’ll forgive his brother for springing everything on him.”
I knew that Jonathan was trying to make me feel better, but suddenly, a pit formed in my belly. I knew I could do good work, but it felt like more pressure knowing that the person in charge hadn’t wanted to hire me in the first place.
My appetite disappeared, and I couldn’t help wondering if that feeling of rightness had been premature. What if this Gabe person was just counting down the moments until he could give me the boot?
A hand wrapped around my wrist, and I looked up to find Rhys beside me. He’d moved from where he sat next to Stefan at the round table.
“Trust me, I know Gabe will love your work. The moment I thought of the rebrand, I knew you’d be perfect. You’re so talented, Kian.” Rhys’s voice was firm.
“My son is right,” Stefan said, and I turned to look his way. “Rhys may be impulsive, but he’s usually spot on.”
“I didn’t just hire you ’cause you’re my best friend and lost your papa.” Rhys’ voice was kind.
And I swallowed because the thought had crossed my mind.
“I know you can do this, Kee. Trust me, Gabe would have vetoed this if he didn’t trust me to make the best decision for the company, even with only thirty minutes’ notice.”
“He’s right,” Stefan agreed.
The words helped, but it still meant I had something to prove. But I could do this. I had to. Because now that I was here, I really didn’t want to leave.
I swore to myself I would give this my all…not that I wouldn’t before. But Iwouldwin Gabe over if it was the last thing I did.
4
Gabe
“Is he there today?”I asked my assistant, Bailey.
I didn’t have to see her to know she was rolling her eyes. “No, I believe he won’t be in today.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied, “For Urs’s sake, don’t you think you’re being just a little bit stubborn about this whole thing? He’s actually quite lovely if you just gave him a chance—”
“Bailey.” I made sure my lack of patience was clear in my tone. We’d been friends since we were kids, and I honestly couldn’t have done the job of running our company and the den without her, but right now…I just was not in the mood.
