Brotherly Competition
. . .
Cade
Despite the call with Tokyo going well, that nap haunted me the rest of the night and into the next morning.
I had a hard time falling asleep, which I blamed on Ellie the Unicorn and her magic nap-whispering. Maybe I wouldn’t have spent hours staring at the ceiling and thinking about the next deal if she’d stuck around.
Even after swimming my morning laps, taking a shower, and eating a quick breakfast, I still couldn’t stop thinking about how well I’d slept during that damn nap. It wasn’t until I was brewing a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen that a text from my brother finally distracted me.
Harrison
Had a weird dinner with Grandfather last night. Did you two have a fight? He asked if I’d be interested in the UK position.
My eyes narrowed at the screen.
The old man had offered Harrison my promotion?
I pulled up my grandfather’s contact and smashed the call button. It rang before going to voicemail. So, I tried again. And again.
He finally picked up on the fifth ring while I poured a cup of coffee. “Caden, I’m at breakfast—”
“Did you offer the UK position to Harrison?” It took effort to keep my tone even.
A heavy sigh drifted through the phone.
“Relax. There wasn’t any offer,” he said. “I’m just exploring all my options.”
“No, what you’re doing is losing your mind,” I said, even though he wasn’t.
The scheming bastard was pitting us against each other on purpose.
“Tell me you’re not seriously considering this.
I just spent months convincing Pembroke to sign his company over to us.
An acquisition everyone said couldn’t be done.
What did Harrison spend that time doing? ”
“Well, he was probably enjoying life with his new wife,” Tobias said. “That’s important, too.”
The coffeepot’s handle strained under my grip, and I set it down. “If you’re implying I’m being punished because he’s married and I’m not, that’s discrimination.”
“I’m not implying anything. This is about him having a work-life balance while you’re burying yourself in projects.
” He gave a small cough. “I built Westbrook Capital so our family could be comfortable for generations, not so work could overtake our lives. You grind harder than I ever did, but what’s the point of building wealth if you don’t take time to enjoy it? ”
I frowned. “Building it is the enjoyable part.”
Soft grumblings came from his end of the line.
“I love your ambition and how much you’ve done for the company, but you’ll drive yourself to an early grave at this rate,” he warned. “We’ve always been about family first, and you’ve lost sight of that. Fortunately, it’s not too late to course correct.”
I paced the kitchen. “So, it’s not about pitting me against Harrison?”
“Not unless you want it to be,” he said smoothly. “If I could combine both of you, you’d be the perfect candidate. With his networking skills and your dealmaking? You’d be a shoo-in. But individually, you both have areas to improve in before taking on a position like this.”
My grip tightened on the phone. “And my room for improvement is to work less?”
“It’s to spend time with your family and reconsider joining your brother on his trip.
” The clinks of plates and silverware being cleared carried through the line, and Grandfather raised his voice.
“I haven’t made any decisions yet, but there’s a lot to think about.
I strongly suggest leaving your work at the office and getting on that yacht if you’re serious about the promotion. ”
Pinching the skin between my eyes, I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Harry’s trip has nothing to do with the UK position. It’s just a hoop you want me to jump through that doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me. Show me you can have a work-life balance, and the position’s yours.” He hung up.
I lowered the phone and stared at the screen.
Because it wasn’t a request.
He was ordering me to take a vacation.
It had to be the strangest ultimatum I’d ever heard of.
But that itch inside me—the one that wanted this promotion more than anything and knew how much harder I’d worked for it than my brother—could play along.
For now.
It took a minute to swallow my pride, then I called Harrison.
He picked up immediately. “Hey, bro—”
I cut to the chase. “Did you put yourself up for the UK position?”
Harrison barked a laugh. “Heck no. You think I want that much responsibility? I was as surprised as you are.”
Maybe that was true, but if there was one thing that’d always motivated Harrison, it was competing against me in anything he could. Even if he didn’t want the job, he couldn’t resist doing something sure to annoy his big brother.
I exhaled slowly and rubbed at my jaw. “What’s he even thinking? There’s no chance you’re more qualified. While I was working internships and co-ops and taking classes, you partied your way through college.”
“Thanks for the support, bro,” he muttered dryly.
“He’s lost his mind,” I said, ignoring my brother. “He’s never had a problem with my work ethic before, but suddenly not taking PTO is a crime and you’re getting rewarded for a two-month honeymoon?”
“Hey. Don’t take this out on me. He’s just worried about you,” Harrison said. “Especially when you blew us off last night for work.”
I gritted my teeth to stop myself from correcting him. It wasn’t blowing off when I never said I’d be there.
“What happened to rewarding hard work?” I asked. “He built this company from nothing, and I’m doing everything I can to add to his legacy. Instead of seeing that, he’s complaining because I missed one Christmas.”
Harrison coughed. “Well, three Christmases.”
I paused. “What?”
“You missed the last three Christmases. Not just one.”
Huh. I could’ve sworn it’d only been one.
“Grandfather sees everything you do for the company,” Harrison added. “He just wants you to take more time off and see your family outside the office. … Unless you hate us all now and that’s why you’ve avoided anything family-related outside of my wedding?”
My lips thinned. This was the first I’d heard he felt that way.
“I don’t hate you.” My relationship with our mother might be strained with her hopping from one husband to the next faster than anyone could keep up with, but they were my family.
I loved them. … If I needed to go on a little vacation for my grandfather to see that, so be it.
“Fine. Guess I’m doing this yacht thing. How soon do we leave?”
Harrison snorted a laugh. “As lovely as it would be to see you martyr yourself by taking a luxury vacation on a superyacht, you don’t need to. I know you want to run the UK division, and you don’t have to worry about me stepping on your toes. I’ll tell Grandfather I’m not interested.”
“I don’t need a pity promotion.” I scowled, knowing my brother would hold that over me for decades if he thought he had a hand in letting me get anything. “If the old man wants to see me take a vacation, then I’ll get on the damn yacht. When do we leave?”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, about that. We ship out tomorrow, but it’s not a boys’ trip this year. Madison turned it into a whole romantic getaway thing with some friends. She’s spent weeks curating a ‘small, intimate guest list.’ No party crashers allowed.”
“Then just add me to the guest list,” I said. “There’s plenty of room on board.”
He blew out a long breath. “It’s couples only. Sorry, bro.”
My brows rose. “Couples only?”
“Afraid so. Madison follows an influencer who raves about how ‘life-changing’ it is to travel with other couples. She has a week of stuff planned out and made at least two dozen inspiration boards while putting it together. Honestly, the number of pink flowers involved makes me nauseous.”
Part of me wanted to throw in the towel and tell Grandfather I’d tried, but he’d never liked half-assed attempts. I had to see this through.
“That’s fine,” I said as an idea sparked. “I’ll bring someone.”
“… You’ll what?”
“I won’t be solo. I’ll bring a date.”
He groaned. “Come on, man. Maddie’s only inviting a couple friends in serious relationships. She’ll kill me if you show up with some hookup and ruin the vibe. Sorry, but we’ll do a guys’ trip this fall or something.”
That wouldn’t be soon enough. After Grandfather’s bizarre ultimatum, I needed to be on that yacht. If that meant pretending I was in a long-term relationship, so be it.
“She’s not a hookup,” I lied, thinking about what I’d do if this were a company decision—which it basically was. “We’re serious.”
He snorted. “Bullshit. You’ve never had a serious girlfriend in your life. If you expect me to believe—”
“It’s not a joke, Harry.” A spike of hunger to get that promotion surged, and suddenly I knew exactly how to play this. Closing my eyes, I said the stupidest words that would ever leave my mouth. “I’m marrying her.”