After the words are out of his mouth, Parker backs away from Owen so far that he nearly knocks Noell over.
Noell snarls and sidesteps him.
I can’t see Parker’s face, but I’m pretty sure he winks at her, which only causes her scowl to grow.
Parker turns his attention back to his brother. A dangerous smirk that speaks of violence graces Owen’s face.
Parker sighs, relenting. “I’ll take the position, but you could have given me more of a warning.”
Noell grunts her agreement, causing Owen to glance in her direction, but Parker pulls his attention back by saying, “I assume this has to do with Nova.”
I scoff, but Owen answers. “We’ve been through enough.”
No one argues, and though the last year has been wonderful, putting the company back together was more work than either of us anticipated. We found ourselves working day and night to keep everything afloat. As a result, our happy ending didn’t turn out quite like we’d planned.
“What do you need me to do?” Parker asks, his voice softer now.
“We’ll make a formal statement next month. We need to inform the board and secure their votes.”
Noell snorts.
Parker turns to her. “You don’t think I can win over the board?” His voice is full of challenge.
The two of them couldn’t be more different, and the last year proved that they don’t exactly see eye-to-eye in business either. But no one can deny that Parker is hard-working and wants to succeed.
“We’ll see” is all she says, but her response has Parker beaming at her like he’s won something.
Owen ignores whatever is going on between them and steps to my side, squeezing my hand. “Also, I’m cashing in on my company stock and giving the money away.”
This doesn’t surprise anyone, but Noell rolls her eyes.
“We’ll keep enough to hold us through retirement, but no more,” he adds.
This also doesn’t surprise anyone.
Parker’s smile grows, and he rubs his hands together conspiratorially.
Owen eyes him. “No private jets.”
Parker pouts, and I almost laugh.
“It will be your company, nimwit. Your brother can’t stop you from buying a private jet,” Noell chimes in from her corner, her arms still locked across her chest.
“See, she gets it,” Parker says, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at her.
“Not hard togetyou when there isn’t muchtoyou,” Noell replies, which has both me and Owen trying desperately to hold back a laugh.
Parker frowns, but there’s a flash of challenge in his eye.
Noell’s mouth twitches.
“Are there any more questions? Or can I get out of here now?” Owen asks everyone.
Noell and Parker shake their heads, and Noell marches out of the office before anyone dismisses her. Parker follows her with his gaze until she’s out of sight.
“Well, let’s hope there aren’t any other CEOs that need to be”—Parker stops and runs a finger across his neck—“while I’m in charge.”
“You aren’t the murdering type,” Owen says, grabbing his jacket from the back of his office chair and rejoining me by the door.
