Page 19 of Untroubled Heart

Beth chuckles. “If you ever find yourself with some free time, I’ve got some things you can help with, too.”

Mason’s eyebrows dip with a hint of scepticism. “I thought you didn’t like help?”

“I’m open to it,” Beth says, dropping into the seat across from me.

“Huh, wonder what changed your mind on that?” Mason says more to himself, but loud enough for the rest of us to hear as he takes the chair beside his sister. “Callie’s not working full time, so you’ll have to work around my schedule since she’s my assistant.”

“Don’t worry, brother.” Beth pats his shoulder. “I’m well aware she’s yours.”

There’s a kerfuffle under the table, followed by a yelp from Mason.

“Come on, children, play nicely,” Steven teases, his eyes trained on the computer screen. “Don’t embarrass me in front of my new protégé.”

Mason’s cheeks turn pink as he shifts his attention back to his phone.

“Are you ready to go through your schedule for the week?” Steven asks him.

Mason nods, blowing out a breath as he stands.

“Who’s reading the latest Home Beautiful?” Beth picks up a magazine I grabbed over the weekend and starts flipping through the pages.

“That’s me,” I say, picking up my notebook and pen, following behind Mason and Steven as they move into his office. I’ve already filled five pages this morning from Steven’s instructions on how everything works. “They had a cool article on Art Deco design.”

“Are you coming to the opening for Smoke and Barrel? I did an industrial-meets-Art-Deco design for our brother Gage’s new whiskey lounge.”

“I would love to. I was working at Connors Construction in the early stages of the project, and my brother was the worst at taking photos whenever he was on site. It would be great to see how it all came together.”

Beth glances up with a genuine smile, and I decide I really like her. There’s no guessing with Beth—what you see is what you get. “Then it’s settled. You have to come.”

“Obviously she’ll be there,” Steven says, crossing one leg over the other as he settles in the chair across from Mason. “She’s the new me.”

“With a few key differences,” Beth mutters as she continues to flick through the magazine.

Mason’s eyes narrow at his sister. “Is there a reason you’re here?” He leans back in his chair, thighs spread as he makes himself comfortable. The move has me breaking out in a hot flush. He sits like a king on a throne, so commanding and imposing. Totally not attractive, my subconscious lies.

“I’ve never had an assistant,” Beth says. “I thought I’d observe and take notes. It’s very enlightening.”

“Go. Away.”

Beth sighs and turns on her heel, exiting Mason’s office as she throws a peace sign over her shoulder.

“Come get me for lunch later!” Mason shouts before she disappears entirely.

Steven goes through Mason’s schedule after that. I take note of how his calendar is split between his various tasks and the regular appointments that don’t shift, such as his Wednesday mid-morning financial and marketing reviews and Thursday morning team meetings. Tuesdays, he’s out of the office on work sites, and Friday afternoons are always left free for emergency meetings only, but mostly because he often has social engagements connected to his family’s obligations.

“Does that sound okay?” Steven asks once he’s finished.

“Yep. Can you make sure nothing else is booked for the rest of this week? Carmen’s lining up a few more houses for me to see.”

Steven adds a note directly to the calendar on his tablet screen, and I make the same in my notebook. He asks a few more follow-up questions as my phone lights up on the desk. I can see the preview of an email from my lawyer—my intent for sole custody has officially been presented to Derek’s lawyer.

“Great. Well, if that’s everything, I’ll let you two go back to telling me how to live my life.” He grins as he swivels in his chair, flicking his computer screen from his calendar to his emails.

“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t love it,” Steven fires back as he stands.

“Steven.” Mason holds a hand to his mouth as if he’s protecting a secret. “Don’t tell Callie how much I love to be bossed around. She might use it against me.”

“I hope she does. Someone needs to keep you in check.”