“Really?” I ask her. “I just saw Drew last night, and he didn’t mention anything about coming to the Blaze today. I wonder what that’s about?”
“I have no idea why they are here; it wasn’t on my schedule and your father’s secretary did not call over to let me know he would be coming,” she tells me. “Also, I had Cindy check for any pictures from last night’s game. She said that you and your date were photographed but it’s the back of the girl’s head. There’s no face in the shot. In any of them, for that matter. They weren’t looking at you, actually; it was more focused on Drew.”
I nod. “Good, I was hoping that no one caught her face.”
“Are you going to tell Cindy who you are dating so that she can help you if something should come up where the girl’s face is seen?” She stares at me pointedly like she’s trying to tell me what to do without actually telling me.
“Cindy likes surprises.”
“She most certainly does not. And she would appreciate a heads-up on these kind of things, not a notification of it the day after it occurs,” Nancy says, her tone attempting to be scolding but the smile on her face makes it fall flat.
“Noted.” I rise and get ready to head into the conference room. “Any idea what this is about?”
She shakes her head as we make our way there. “No idea. Like I said, I was not aware he was even coming to see you today.”
“Great, I love surprises,” I say, sarcasm heavy in my tone.
“Be nice to your father, August.”
“Since when I am not nice to the man?” I turn to grin at her. “I’m nothing if not the most dutiful, loving son that he has.”
It’s Nancy’s turn to laugh. “More like the one who lives to give the man heartburn.”
“I’ve been good lately.”
“Define good?” she throws at me before stopping at the entrance of the conference room.
I just grin and wink at her as I make my way inside.
“Dad, Drew, it’s good to see both of you. What exactly brings you to the Blaze?” I ask.
“Thanks for coming,” my dad says like I’m a business associate and not his son.
“You’re welcome, Dad, but it’s my conference room,” I remind him.
Drew shakes his head at my comment, but I get no reaction out of Dad. I choose one of the chairs across the table from Drew and sit down, waiting to see what this is about.
My dad is already seated; of course he chose the head of the table for himself. He sits there in his grey suit with a white collared shirt and blue tie, like he’s ready for a board meeting. And not a meeting with this sons. Drew is more casual just like me, both of us in khakis and polos that represent our respective organizations. He looks tired though; his grey eyes look a bit puffy, like he hasn’t been sleeping. I want to ask him about it, but I know he’ll just brush it off and remind me that it takes hard work to run the Cromwell empire. So, I don’t bother. I’ve spent too much time getting chastised by him before to make that mistake again.
I sigh, looking over at my father. He’s playing his usual game, waiting to spring the news on why he’s here until he’s ready. I think he enjoys keeping me on the edge of my seat.
“Sons, we’ve just completed a pretty lucrative business deal. We are adding another sports team to the Cromwell empire,” he announces, looking from Drew to me for dramatic effect.
“Well, Dad, don’t keep us in suspense. What team did we acquire?” I ask him. “Are we diving into hockey now? Or perhaps you’ve decided to buy a football team?”
I know that’s not the team that he would buy. He made that perfectly clear when he bought the Blaze. I told him that I thought I would be better suited for running a football team, but he said that wasn’t in the cards. He had no desire to run an NFL team, since he didn’t even like the sport, a fact that cut deep since I had spent so many years playing it. Not that he had ever really watched.
“No, August, you know how I feel about that,” he reminds me.
“Oh, believe me, Dad, I do,” I say, a bit of hurt finding its way into my voice.
“August,” he warns me.
I just nod, rolling my eyes.
Drew shoots me a look, which I don’t acknowledge.
“What did you buy this time, Dad?” I ask him, hoping that he just gets to the point. I have a ton of work that I want to do, and this meeting was not planned but I am expected to drop everything when Maxwell Cromwell wants a meeting.
