Dad had yelled at both of us, but I’d taken most of the blame. That had been our pattern. But I loved him anyway. I always had and I probably always would. That was likely a twin thing.
Or maybe just aJesse-and-mething. It was really hard to say where one ended and the other began. Either way, he did belong here with all the rest of us. Things just didn’t feel quite right without him.
“Yeah, he would be good here,” I finally agreed. “He would be terrible at operations though. Disastrous at logistics. Probably anightmare in finance. Nate would never survive, but sales? He’d be great at that.”
“Exactly,” Alex said, smirking now. “Jesse could sell water to a drowning man. He’s just that charismatic.”
“Yeah, but he can’t make the sale unless he actually showd up.”
“He will.” Alex said it with absolute certainty, like reality would rearrange itself to suit his timeline.
He was so confident that I found myself thinking about what it would be like, having Jesse back in the fold. Showing up. Actually stepping up.
It wasn’t impossible.Unlikely as hell but not impossible.
“In the meantime,” Alex said. “We’ll maintain the arrangement. James Roderick has money. Old money. It’s tied up in the estate, of course, but that’s not the point.”
“Then what is?” I asked.
“He has that old family mentality when it comes to his daughters. He’s dead serious when it comes to them marrying well.”
I barked out a laugh. “How much do you know about those daughters? Especially Eugenie. Do you haveanyidea what you’re dealing with there?”
Alex frowned slightly. “I’ve done my research.”
“Did that research include Eugenie?”
Alex waved a dismissive hand. “It did, but she’s not really relevant.”
I snorted. “Eugenie isalwaysrelevant. Trust me on that. She’ll make sure of it.”
“Well, let her try. I only have a few weeks to set this up before the baby comes and I want it done by then. I doubt she’ll be able to cause too much drama in such a short amount of time.”
My eyebrows shot up, Eugenie suddenly the least important thing on my mind. “A few weeks?”
“Yep. That’s our hard deadline. Jesse has to be married in one month, before the baby arrives. Period.”
“That’s not a timeline, Alex,” I said. “It’s a threat.”
He rolled his eyes at me. “What is it with you and the dramatics lately? Look, all you have to do is pretend to be Jesse and stay in James’s good graces until I can bring Jesse back to his senses.”
I groaned. “Does Winnie even know about this?”
Alex shrugged as ifshewas relevant either. “That’s on James.”
Of course.I scrubbed my palms over my face and inhaled a deep breath. Of course, no one had even bothered to tell the people who were actually involved what the plans were, and somehow, I’d become the glue holding this entire disaster together.
I slumped back in my chair as Alex left.
When Jesse had first suggested we switch places, I’d laughed him off, and then, very firmly, I’d talked him out of it, but now, he was getting what he’d wanted and I wasn’t so sure he was ever going to come back once he knew.
CHAPTER 4
ELIZA
Iwoke up alone in the suite. The instant I came to and registered the lack of sound filtering through the door, I knew they weren’t here. Neither Father nor Winnie were prone to silence.
It probably should’ve bothered me more, but for a few minutes, I just lay there, enjoying the luxury of not having to race out of bed for a change. Without them here, I didn’t even have to worry about breakfast.
