“And here is the man of the hour!” Nancy said, waving Grant over.
“You seem like you’re finding your feet,” Nathaniel said as Grant came up behind Kate.
Grant put an arm around her and gave her a hug then let his hand slide slowly down her back afterward. Kate shivered.
“Yes,” Grant said. “Kate’s been a big help in the transition.”
“I need her back at some point,” his father said.
“Is it difficult being an assistant, Kate?” Linda asked. “Now that Brandy’s not doing the dog grooming, not that she ever really was, I was thinking she would make a good executive assistant.”
“It’s a lot of work,” Kate said. “You also need to find the right fit with your boss since you will be spending so much time with him or her.”
“That’s something to think about,” Linda agreed.
Brandy better not be trying to land a job with the Holbrooks,Kate thought. She knew she couldn’t end up with Grant, but she would burn New Cardiff to the ground before she let Brandy nab him.
Chapter 32
Grant
Kate did not look happy when the Fitzhughs suggested that Brandy become an assistant. Grant hoped she was jealous. He wanted her to want him. He didn’t understand why she was fighting it. His mother’s lackey, Luigi, had said his father was a bully. He hoped it wasn’t true. If it was, he needed to be as valuable at the company as his father was. Then he couldn’t push him out.
I’m going to own this town,he thought,and win Kate.
He sipped his pre-dinner drink, and Margaret wrapped an arm around Grant and led him over to be introduced to the couple that he didn’t know. Grant stiffened and resisted.
“Don’t act so surprised,” Margaret said. “I’ve accepted that you will be in my life for the foreseeable future. I’m too old to hold grudges. Not that you aren’t still under probation with me. If you end up marrying my granddaughter, then you need to be respectable.”
Grant smiled. He had one person in his corner. Sort of.
“Don’t act so smug,” Margaret said, hitting him lightly. “Ow! I just about broke my wrist!”
The elderly couple looked up at them.
“These are the Burbanks,” Margaret told Grant.
He shook their hands.
“The military, eh?” said one man. “I wish my son had chosen to do something useful with his life.”
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Grant said.
“Howisyour son?” Margaret asked. “I remember when he and his sisters were little children!”
“We’re having him enlist in the Marine Corps, but he doesn’t start for a few months. I told him we would cut him off if he didn’t. He just couldn’t settle down and do something, anything. He would rather just flit around. He’s a bit younger than you, Grant. He’s never seemed to fit in. We adopted him, you see.”
“That can be difficult for a person,” Grant said, thinking of his own experience.
“I don’t see how. We did everything for him. He should be grateful!” Mrs. Burbank said loudly.
Grant was starting to become annoyed with the couple. It was giving him flashbacks of dealing with his own adoptive parents. He knocked back his drink and tried to resist the urge to throw the glass at the woman’s head.
“When he comes back into town, maybe I can convince you to set him straight,” Mr. Burbank continued.
“I was only an enlisted marine,” Grant said.
“That’s better than nothing. At least you were making a contribution to society.”
