“I didn’t want to take the company from him. I just wanted us to be brothers—to build it up together. I guess I’ve always just craved having that true brotherhood, and I suppose now I’m realizing that was what this was really about. It was about him seeing me not only as an equal, but as someone that he loved—someone that he wanted to go through life with. And I guess I realize that was a pipe dream. He doesn’t see me as someone he wants in his life like that, and it kind of hurts.
“I think I have been chasing something that was perhaps never going to exist for me, and I don’t know that I ever really realized that what I wanted more than beating Rex was actually having a relationship with him, actually having a bond with him.
“I don’t think I was doing all this to prove that I was the better brother to my dad. I was trying to prove that I was his equal, that I was good enough.”
I smile at her. “Really crazy, the things we figure out about ourselves, huh?”
“Yeah, it makes sense now that you put it that way. He’s still your brother at the end of the day—even though he’s a big jerk. India and yoga?” She raises an eyebrow. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him at the beach, doing yoga. Ever.”
“I have no words,” I say, and I can’t stop myself from laughing. “I’m realizing that, obviously, he’s got his own insecurities coming from somewhere, and he needs to grow up. And I think I’m going to reach out to him. I’m going to just tell him that if he ever needs to talk or if he ever wants someone, I’ll be there for him. I think that’s the only thing I can really do at this point.”
“You’re so great, Luke. How did you get to be so understanding and calm and warm? I would’ve been like,Fuck you, bro. Don’t bother calling me again.”
“No, you wouldn’t have, Mia.”
“I know. Maybe I wouldn’t have, but I would’ve been thinking it for at least a day.”
I smile. “So, we’re really going to do this, right?”
“I think we have established that we’re really going to do this.”
“So, it’s no longer fake?”
“It’s no longer fake.”
“I want you to—” My phone rings, and I look down at the screen. “Shit. It’s the office. It’s New York. Do you mind if I take this?”
“No, not at all,” she says, smiling at me.
“I’m going to put it on speakerphone.”
“Okay.”
“Hey, this is Luke.”
“Hey, Luke. This is Johnson. We need you back in the office—like, now.”
“Sorry, what?”
“The deal is about to fall through, and you’ve been gone long enough. Look, I know you’re there for your brother’s wedding, but this is a multibillion-dollar deal. It’s more important than that. Throw your brother another fucking wedding next year to make up for it, but we need you back now.”
“I can’t do that.”
“It’s not a request. It’s a demand. You get back now, or the deal is off.”
“What do you mean, the deal is off?”
“You are part of the deal. If the deal is off, you’re out. Out, as infired, Haverbrook. So, you’re on the next plane back to New York, or you’re fired.”
The phone hangs up.
I look over at Mia. There’s a concerned expression in her eyes.
“I guess you should go,” she says softly. “Do you want to drive to the airport?”
I stare at her, my heart thudding. I nod slowly.
“I’ll come back in a couple of days. I’ll fix this, and I will be back. And then we can discuss what we want to do—if you want to move to New York or if we want to go to England, or?—”
