Taming The CEO: An enemies-to-lovers romance (The Whitley Brothers)

Chapter Six

Maddox

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”I passed Cami. She seemed upset,” Gran said, walking up to me.

I blew out a breath, trying to rein myself in.

She tilted her head at me. ”Darling, you look upset too.”

”Come on, let”s go,” I said, keeping my voice as calm as possible. It wasn”t her fault that I kept misfiring when I was around Cami.

Why the hell am I screwing up so badly?She was never going to agree to a deal now.

”What did you do?” Gran asked.

I jerked my head back. ”Excuse me?”

”You scared the poor girl off again, didn”t you?”

”Gran...,” I said in a measured tone.

”Oh goodness. I knew I shouldn”t have left the two of you alone.”

”So that wasn”t a setup?” I asked.

”No, that was just my bladder getting in the way. Sorry for being so graphic, but being ninety-two isn”t all they make it out to be.”

”I should have done my homework better.”

”Or,” she said, ”I should have left earlier, after she told us about running this place right after college. That seemed like a very good bonding moment.”

”You don”t have to treat everything like a play.”

”I find that most things in life can be treated that way. I can”t believe we didn’t make progress today.”

”Let”s go,” I said.

”No, you should go after her and—”

”Gran!” I sounded determined enough that she didn”t interrupt me. ”I appreciate your help, but going after her isn”t an option. I need to think of another way to approach this.”

”She stormed off. That”s bad.”

”I am very aware of it,” I assured her.

She narrowed her eyes. ”And you are 100 percent sure that going after her won”t at least improve things?”

”No.”

”You know, it’s a good thing you’re meeting your brothers tomorrow,” Gran said.

We played tennis on a weekly basis at one of Nick’s gyms.

”How come?”

”Maybe they’ll talk some sense into you.”

***

The next morning, I was in a bad mood when I woke up, but I didn”t cancel the tennis session. It was a good way to blow off steam. I”d spoken to Gabe before I went to bed, keeping him up to date about the newest mishaps. He”d promised to join us today.

Usually I played with Leo, Cade, and sometimes Spencer. Nick joined us but wasn”t always part of the game. Since he owned the place, he was usually needed by one of his staff members, so it was difficult for him to get a whole game in.

I was damn proud of Nick. He’d grown the fitness branch’s business by leaps and bounds since he took it over.

”Hey,” Cade said with a shit-eating grin.

”Bad night?” Spencer added.

I stared at them. ”You spoke to Gabe?”

Spencer rolled his eyes. ”Yeah, obviously.”

”What am I missing?” Leo said. ”Dude, why do they know more than me?”

I scoffed. ”Don’t blame me. I spoke to Gabe, who apparently thinks you”re a second-class citizen, considering he shares things with Spencer and Cade first.”

”We were with him,” Spencer admitted.

”Yeah,” Cade added. “Believe me, we know we’re not something special.”

We all chuckled at that.

”And he might not have wanted to share what”s happening, but we have ways of coercing our youngest brother to tell us stuff he doesn”t want to,” Cade continued.

Just then, Gabe joined the room.

”Speak of the devil,” I said.

He turned to Cade and Spencer. ”Oh, come on, you”ve already started talking about this without me? I told you that”s not how it works.”

I frowned at him. ”You had to discuss this with them before you talked to me?”

He groaned. ”It seems I did, bro. You got us in deep.”

”Fine, let”s hear it. What’s the answer?”

”Maybe you shouldn’t meet with Cami anymore.”

I cocked a brow. ”How am I supposed to fix things, then?”

Gabe shrugged. ”Let”s put it this way: You fixing it somehow just keeps making it worse. At this rate, Samuel will toss us out on our asses too.”

I shook my head, running a hand through my hair. ”He won’t. I have a plan.”

He grimaced. ”That involves talking to Cami?”

”Yes. Look, things just...” I paused, searching for the right word. ”Escalated.”

”I heard you loud and clear. I just can”t figure out why.”

I couldn”t explain. I”d rehashed our encounter yesterday numerous times and still couldn”t pinpoint how things got out of control again. Part of my problem was that her beauty just overshadowed everything. I lost my train of thought and then ended up pissing her off. These weren’t the type of negotiations I was used to. I”d just have to calculate every move beforehand.

”I have a plan,” I said.

Gabe narrowed his eyes, then nodded. ”All right. Then let”s not waste our weekend with this anymore. Let”s blow off some steam, and we”ll fix it next week.”

He was like me—work was work, and fun was fun. I didn”t like to mix one with the other either.

”Hold it,” Leo said just as we were about to resume our places on the tennis court. ”I still don”t get why Gran went with you. I figured she’d... I don’t know. Do her thing.”

Nick tilted his head. I knew him well enough to tell that he was holding back a snarky remark.

”At this point, I’m not even sure myself,” I admitted. ”But we’ll figure out her plan soon enough.”

”Oh, good. At least you”re prepared for the fact that she has a plan,” Leo remarked.

”Yeah, I wouldn”t want to be blindsided,” Nick said.

”Come on, let”s stop yammering and start playing. I”ve got a lot of adrenaline to get rid of.”

I teamed up with Nick, and Leo was with Cade. Gabe was only watching. Spencer was on the sideline until Nick had to return to work after one set. I pushed the issue with the hotel and Cami to the back of my mind and gave 100 percent to the game. That was my motto in life. But even with all of that effort, Nick and I lost.

”All right, this one is yours,” Nick said to Spencer as he joined the next game.

Leo and Cade snickered.

“We’re gonna beat their sorry asses for sure today,” Cade said.

”Why would you say that?” Spencer asked. ”Are you implying that I”m the weak link?”

”No, just the exhausted one.”

”Yeah, you look horrible, bro,” Leo added. “Even worse than Maddox.”

Spencer frowned. ”Dude, I”ve got a small kid. Sleepless nights are part of the package. You”ll see if you ever have your own kids.”

Leo cringed. ”That”s a firm negative from me.”

”And me,” Nick said, clearly having overheard us even though he was almost at the edge of the court.

I started to laugh, and three sets of eyes focused on me.

”What”s so funny?” Leo asked.

”Nothing. I just think Gran”s got other ideas for us.”

”You know, I didn”t want to say anything,” Leo said, coming closer to the net, ”but you have to take one for the team. I think she”s got her eyes on you and Cami.”

”I”m fucking sure of it,” I agreed.

Leo started to laugh and called loudly, ”Hey, Nick.” Every player on the neighboring courts glared at him at the interruption. ”You were right. He knows about it.”

Nick just gave us a thumbs-up.

”So you did know about yesterday,” I countered.

Leo shook his head. ”Just bits and pieces.”

I laughed. ”Glad to know my personal life is such a source of conversation.”

”Hey, better yours than ours. I”m happy with my bachelor status. I just have to find a way for Gran to get the memo.”

”All right, who”s ready for round two?” I asked.

There was a chorus of yeses, and we took our positions. Spencer was truly exhausted, but the guy was also 100 percent happier since becoming a dad and finding Penny. Not too long ago, I would have sworn that none of us were going to have a family. That the Whitley legacy would die with us. I didn”t even know if it was a conscious choice, but we”d all had enough marriage drama with our parents to last for a lifetime.

Despite the fact that Spencer moved in slow motion, we won the second set. That meant a third game was necessary because it was a tie.

”Come on, I want a drink before this next one. Let”s head to the juice bar,” Gabe said.

I laughed. ”Want to break our winning streak?”

”Maybe, but I”m thirsty too.”

”We could all do with a drink,” Cade said as we headed to the juice bar.

It served alcoholic drinks, too, but it was far too early in the morning for that. We sat at the bar. The place was busy with people sitting at tables, some in the comfy armchairs, others on bar stools like us.

As we ordered a variety of refreshing drinks, Spencer groaned, checking his phone.

”What”s wrong?” I asked.

”Penny just texted that Ben”s now afraid of the teddy bear he liked yesterday. Fuck, I wish parenthood came with a handbook. It would make things so much easier.”

”Damn right it would.” If there were, maybe I’d contemplate having a family. But as it was, the probability of messing things up like Dad had was too big.

”Dude,” Leo said seriously, ”if you need to go, don”t worry about the game, okay? This is supposed to help you wind down, not cause more anxiety.”

Spencer shook his head. ”No, it”s fine. Penny and I have an agreement. We have certain times when we do things on our own.”

”That”s a very healthy way to take breaks,” I said.

He nodded. ”Some days I still can”t believe I was such a lucky bastard to meet her. That she wanted me and Ben.”

I understood where he was coming from. Penny was a great partner. In fact, all of my brothers” women were great. They were lucky.

After we all finished our drinks, we headed back to the court. The place was filling up. Nick had done an excellent job at creating an environment where people wanted to spend hours here. It was far more than a gym.

This had been one of Dad”s pet projects that he”d opened on a whim with no clear plan for profitability. It had been in shambles when Nick took it over, but he”d done a spectacular job. I especially liked that they had both outdoor and indoor courts.

”By the way,” Gabe said to me before we started playing again. ”I saw on the calendar that you’re meeting the architect Monday morning at the location.”

”We’ve got some details to iron out.”

”I”ll join you.”

”Are you sure? I can handle it.”

”No, I want to be involved in every step,” he said.

My brother had more on his plate than I did. He”d added a bar to his distillery a while ago, and it was booming, which was great. But a growing business was time-consuming. We all liked to make fun of our grandparents overdoing it, but truth be told, none of us were good at scheduling downtime.

As we continued the game, I thought back to my visit with Gran at the park and Samuel telling us about Cami”s favorite trees. I needed to talk to him and understand more about it.

Even though I was only half focusing on the game, we still won.

”Damn, this is a good day,” I exclaimed, not even bothering to hide how smug I felt.

Spencer was grinning from ear to ear. ”Nothing like winning to make my day better.”

Cade shook his head. ”I’d tell you to stop rubbing it in our faces, but I know we’re going to do the same thing next week.”

I burst out laughing. ”Sure, keep thinking you’ll beat us.”

This playful rivalry in our family was all in fun, and I liked that. It motivated us to give our best no matter what.

After I”d freshened up and left the club, my mind went back to Samuel. I called him as soon as I got in the car. He answered after a few rings.

”Hello, Maddox,” he said.

”Samuel, good morning. I hope I”m not interrupting anything.”

”No, not at all. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

I decided to be completely honest with him. ”Look, you probably know that Cami and I didn”t exactly hit it off.”

”Sure didn”t, son. My daughter was not a fan of the sale before talking to you. But after that, and especially your second visit, she”s even more determined to convince me to keep the park.”

”I”ll be honest. I screwed up.”

He chuckled. ”I like someone who can admit that. I was stunned when I heard that you two got into an actual fight at the restaurant. Cami didn’t even tell me.”

She didn”t, huh? That”s interesting.But Essex was small. Word more than likely got around.

”I”ll have you know, my daughter is usually very calm. I don”t think I”ve ever seen her combative with anyone.”

Fantastic! I”d managed to piss her off more than 99 percent of the people she met.

”I came on very strong,” I admitted. ”I thought she was holding back because she wanted to negotiate a higher asking price.”

”Son, you”re barking up the wrong tree here,” he said as I stopped at a red light.

”I figured that.”

”Cami...” He paused. ”This wasn”t even what she was planning to do with her life. After my wife passed away, I shut down for months. If she hadn”t taken over the reins, this place would have gone bankrupt right then. It”s been my life”s work. My wife and I took this over from my parents. Cami practically grew up here in this reception building. We all spent more time here than in our actual house. This place is important to both of us, but I think it actually might mean more to her than to me. My wife loved those trees just as much as Cami.”

”I understand.”

”Hmm... not sure you do. My wife journaled while sitting against that big tree quite often. And sometimes she took Cami there too. They played fairy games and whatnot. Even now, Cami sometimes spends time there by herself.”

When she”d accused us of wanting to level the park, I’d figured she was simply looking for a reason to pick a fight. I’d been wrong. Cami wanted to preserve the park, the trees, and the vegetation as much as possible. This was nostalgia to her, memories of her childhood and the loss of her mother. No wonder she was passionate about keeping the business. And here we were planning to knock down many of the trees. The architect insisted it was the most efficient way, but now that I could finally put two and two together, I was certain he could come up with something else.

I was about to ask Samuel if he had any other tips for me, but my phone beeped with an incoming call from Gran. Maybe it was for the best because I didn’t want to push Samuel too much, and he’d shared enough with me already.

”Thanks a lot for your input, Samuel. I”ve got to go. Gran is calling on the other line.”

”It was wonderful to meet her,” he said. ”Tell her I said hi and that she”s welcome to come here again anytime she wants.”

”I”ll tell her that,” I said.

After finishing the call, I immediately accepted Gran”s.

”Maddox, darling,” she said.

”Hi, Gran. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was talking to Samuel.”

”How come?”

I decided to fess up yet again. ”I figured he could give me some insight on Cami, since I’m obviously reading her all wrong.”

”Did you find out anything interesting?”

”Yes,” I said just as I reached my house. After getting out of the car, I added, ”She cares a lot about the property and preserving the forest.”

”Yes, I got the same impression. She”s not unlike you, you know.”

I frowned, walking around the house and sitting in my backyard. ”How are we similar?”

”Legacy is important to the both of you.”

I swallowed hard but didn’t reply. Gran had a point.

”I”m sure that if you would put your differences aside, you’d get along splendidly,” she continued, her voice changing slightly.

I laughed. ”I know where you”re going with this, Gran. Don”t.”

”I didn”t even say anything,” she replied with mock affront. ”Well, we can chat a bit more during our lunch next week.”

I laughed again, knowing she wasn”t going to back off. That was something we had in common. When we had a goal, we pursued it. And Jeannie Whitley was apparently determined to get all of her grandsons married.

“I can”t wait to see you, my boy.”

“You won’t give it a rest, will you?”

”Well, sometimes you boys need a hint or two, and I”m more than happy to give it. And a push, too, if necessary.”

”It”s not, Gran,” I assured her.

I was already fantasizing far too much about Cami anyway. And I had to stop if I wanted to seal this deal.