“Nah. I have a reputation to protect. Keeps everyone in line.” My tone is teasing and light. I wink at him, and he smiles while shaking his head. I pivot my head forward and continue my climb up the stairs.
I’m aware that the four of us brothers who work here at the company full-time each have distinct reputations. Henry is the fun-loving Mr. Personality, most of the time. The only time—besides when the girls’ biological mother left—that I’ve seen him go a little off the wire was when he still hadn’t admitted to himself that he was in love with Tillie. He acted like a total fool.
Holden—well, we have a strict rule that he’s not allowed to date anybody who works for us. We don’t have a ton of female employees, but Holden always enamors the ones we hire with his good looks and happy-go-lucky personality. The man almost can’t stop himself from flirting.
My brother Hayden has always been quiet and reserved, but kind and polite. He’s definitely got a darker aura around him now since his wife left him, but prior to that, he was approachable for most staff.
Then there’s me.
Somehow, I have a reputation for being the grumpy boss. When my brothers first told me the staff didn’t want to approach me, it bothered me a lot—not that I’d tell anybody that. I don’t need to be everyone’s favorite. I’m the one who sometimes hasto lay down the law when we make decisions or if there’s an employee issue. Someone needs to do it. It doesn’t mean I’m a jerk.
In my book, if you’re not an asshole, I’m not an asshole.
When I get to the top of the stairs and turn left into our office area, Henry jumps up from a chair randomly placed at the entrance to our workspace. He’s holding two cups from Ella’s bakery, and I presume it’s coffee. He knows I love this coffee. In fact, I usually have just a shot of espresso in the morning because I don’t like most coffee, but Ella puts something in hers that makes it taste amazing.
I take the cup, but I eye him warily. I feel like something is coming. He follows me as I walk to my office.
“What’s the bad news?” I ask.
“There’s no bad news. Thanks for going to another conference. I know you hate them, but I’m pretty sure Tillie would’ve killed me if I left two days after our wedding to attend. How was it?”
I smile. Tillie is good for my brother. More importantly, she’s great for my nieces. Layla and Lena’s mother left when Lena was a baby, but Layla was about four, I think, and remembers her leaving. When Tillie came into their lives, it was immediately clear she was a positive presence.
“It was fine,” I say. “I recorded some sessions, brought back notes, and made a few contacts out west. A couple of people approached me about our log home style retreat centers — Tim Merrick was one of them.”
Henry’s jaw drops.
“Tim Merrick? As intheTim Merrick who owns, like, fourteen boutique hotels across the West Coast?”
“Yep. I set up a meeting for us. It’s in the next few weeks, but I can’t remember right this minute when. You’ll see it on your calendar marked as ‘hold.’”
Henry grins like a kid in a candy store. Then he gets that glint in his eye that comes right before he tries to sell me on a new idea.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if we had an assistant for that stuff?” Henry's face says we’re revisitingthatconversation. “You’re the company attorney. You shouldn’t be trying to coordinate schedules and making appointments.”
“Yeah, yeah. Is Ruthie still around?”
Henry releases an exaggerated groan and tosses his head back dramatically.
“Yep, for a little longer. I’m not sure if Tillie lending her to us was to help us or to give herself a break. Ruthie gave me shit the whole time you were gone—but in a disarmingly lighthearted way.”
He grins, and his eyes brighten.
“Remind me to tell you about the Whitaker meeting. Old man Whitaker asked for her number.”
I freeze in place. “You’re fucking lying.” I can’t help but smile, imagining the smoky-voiced seventy-something Ruthie. She left a job she’d held forever to work with Tillie and her friend Shannon when they opened an accounting firm. It’s on the opposite end of town from Aron Family Builders and Restoration.
“Nope,” Henry says. “Plus, she was totally herself. She wore a turquoise jogging suit and those strange fuzzy boots that everyone wears, but hers had rhinestones. Old man Whitaker must’ve liked what he saw. They flirted like no one else was in the room.”
“Jesus,” I mutter. “I don’t want that visual.”
“Anyway,” Henry continues, “She’s about to wrap up here. I’ve hired a long-term temp for the assistant position, and Ruthie will finish training her this week. She caught on so fastthat Ruthie can go back to working with Shannon and Tillie full-time, and she’ll help us cover when the temp is out.”
“So, I’m gone a week and a half, and you’ve already got someone in and mostly trained? What did you do, hire her before I left?”
I’m being sarcastic, but the guilt on his face tells me I hit the mark.
“Really? Nice, Henry. Way to be a team player.” I shake my head and lean back in my chair. “I won’t require anything of her. I can handle my stuff. I’m assuming you hired her part-time since only you need help?”
