continue.
“Well, I think that some of your ideas, while well-intentioned, might be a little…over the top.
When you’re coming from a place where your entire day is run by someone else’s schedule, being in
an environment with no structure might feel…overwhelming.” She looks down, smoothing her hand
along the new gray pants she picked. I have a fuck ton more clothes being delivered tomorrow. Not
that she knows that.
Colton groans. “So what do we do then? Anything is going to be an adjustment for him. He’s spent
more than half of his life in there. He’s institutionalized, and I don’t know what the fuck to do for
him.”
“What does he like doing? Can he go to one of the garages?” Maya asks.
Colton frowns. “I thought it would be better for him to be at head office, with me, not isolated out
at a garage.”
Maya nods, but doesn’t look convinced.
“What,” Ransom asks her. “What’s that look?”
She blushes but looks him right in the eye, and gives it to him straight. “There are a lot of social
rules and norms in an office building. There’s a flow and rhythm that someone who’s never worked in
that environment will have to learn. I’m not saying he can’t learn it, but being at one of the garages
might be a better fit, at the beginning at least.”
She slides to the edge of the couch cushion and studies Colton. “When you started, no one wore a
suit. The business also wasn’t that big. You had years to get used to it, and to become the man you are
now. At least at a garage, he can wear what he wants, and it’s an environment more familiar to him.”
“He’s a good man, not some Neanderthal.” Colton’s voice is tight. I step forward with clenched
hands at the bite in his voice. That tone should never be directed at Maya. Or any of the women. But
Maya, once again, shocks me, showing me another side of herself.
“Do you know what it’s like to walk into a room and feel like a spotlight is on you and everyone
is judging you?” She raises an eyebrow and barrels on. “Do you know what it’s like to have people
whisper about you behind your back and suddenly not have room for you at their table? It sounds like
high school crap, but every office I’ve ever worked in was the same. Your brother is going to have to
figure out how to navigate that. It might be easier for him to do it and to find his footing in an
environment more comfortable for him. That’s all I was saying. I’m not judging him or his life.”
