The doorbell rang, and Jeremy opened the door, ushering in a tall, thin woman.
“Hi, darling.”
“Hi, Ma.” Jeremy kissed her cheek. “You’re looking beautiful as usual.”
“I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me, so I went to the beauty parlor and had a blowout.” She handed Jeremy her coat, then faced Blake with a wide smile. “Hello. I’m Elyse, Jeremy’s mother.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Blake.”
My God, the woman looks as young as Michelle. She certainly wears more makeup than Michelle, Blake thought, remembering Jeremy telling him she’d wanted to get into modeling but got married and had a baby instead. Her bright blue eyes were carefully shadowed, her lashes long and thick with mascara. Blake wondered how much time it took her to do her face every day, then shook his head free of those thoughts. Who was he to judge?
“Why don’t we sit down and have some coffee, and you can tell me everything about yourself.” Without waiting for an answer, she went into the kitchen and took the coffeepot. “Jeremy, sit next to Blake. And I’ll sit across from you both.”
Surprisingly, Jeremy did as he was told and sat down without a word, but Blake knew him now and saw the tension in his stiff shoulders.
“So Jeremy tells me you’re a CPA. That must be very hard work. I know the exam is difficult.”
“It was, yes. But I took a study course and was lucky to pass it on the first try.”
“Very impressive.” She sipped her coffee. “I thought Jeremy would do something with his degrees as well.”
Bewildered, he darted a glance over to Jeremy, who, for all his bravado about not allowing his mother to rule his life, sat hunched over his coffee, his fingers tight around the mug. Having never seen Jeremy stymied and at a loss for words, the need to defend him rose strong within Blake.
“I think running your own business, especially in New York City, is incredibly difficult, and from what I’ve seen, Jeremy has made a huge success of it.”
As if she hadn’t heard him, she rattled on. “Both my boys don’t seem to want to strive to the top. Jeremy could’ve been a financial analyst with his education. And Noah.” Here she shook her head. “Noah could be at the height of his career in the modeling world if he wanted.”
“That’s just it, Ma.”
The sharpness of Jeremy’s voice startled him. He’d never heard him lose his temper. But Blake knew how much Jeremy loved his brother and worried over him.
“He already was there. Maybe he doesn’t want it again. Have you ever thought of that? Noah’s happy now—he loves what he’s doing. And maybe I’m happy with my one gym and trying to make it great. I’m not interested in the corporate rat race.”
“Noah loved modeling. And I’m proud of you owning your own business—it’s only that I hate to see you struggle when you don’t have to.”
Cautious, Blake inched into the conversation. “As I see it, it’s all about pursuing your passion. I think Jeremy’s wonderful at what he does.”
“Of course he is. That’s exactly what I mean. When my children set out to do something, they are the best. He should—”
“Do exactly what he’s doing,” Blake said firmly. He caught Jeremy’s surprised yet grateful smile. “The business he’s running is doing remarkably well in a very competitive field.”
“He should expand into the city.”
“It’s not that easy. I see businesses fail all the time because they move too quickly to expand. I deal with larger accounts now, but when I started out, I worked on small businesses, and I can tell you, within five years, if they didn’t have a solid business plan like Jeremy has in place? They all failed.”
Jeremy’s foot nudged his under the table, then ran up his leg as if acknowledging thanks.
“Blake’s being modest when he talks about his job. He’s in charge of all these multimillion-dollar accounts and is on track to being partner.”
He was?He shot a nervous glance at Jeremy. They’d never discussed his place in Shipman and York, but Blake doubted he’d ever make partner.
Her food ignored, Elyse pushed on. “Jeremy knows I only want him to be successful. And I’m sure with someone ambitious like you to help, he can do it. I believe in partners supporting one another. Noah’s another story. I don’t understand him at all.”
“Ma. Enough already. How about a bagel?” Jeremy pushed the plate toward her. “I got sesame—your favorite.”
“Thank you.”
He and Jeremy waited until she took her bagel, then filled their plates. They sat for a while, enjoying the food, when she asked him, “Tell me about yourself, Blake. Jeremy told me you have a sister and a nephew?”
