Chapter 20
Colin
I eye my nephew Heath up and down. I never saw him much when he was a kid. I wasn’t close to his mother due to the age gap, but whenever I saw him, he'd follow me around like a shadow. When he was older, he would ask to spend time with me. My sister would leave him with me for weekends, and when I was away in California, she’d visit with him a few times per year.
Me and Heath’s mother, Marilyn Conroy, still aren’t close, but she encouraged my relationship with her son. He’d spend entire summers or school breaks with me in San Diego. The first time he did, he cried when it was time to go home. He’s always been a good kid, though I think he lacks the killer Kincaid instinct we’re expected to have.
He’s not even dressed appropriately for an office. He has on dress pants that look about two sizes too big and a blue cardigan with hummingbirds sewn on it over a plain gray tee. He puts a large coffee on my desk before he comes around to my side. I stand and take him into a hug. He’s a tall, lanky kid, but he’s strong because he lifts me off my feet.
“I’m so glad you’re back, and I get to work here.” He finally puts me down. “You and Uncle Milty are my favorites in this family.” He runs a hand through his dark hair. “Mom says hi, by the way.”
Heath’s mother and I haven’t seen each other in a few years. In that time, our interactions were limited to holiday and birthday cards and gifts.
“How is she?”
“Uptight, anxious, and scared of her own shadow. Uncle Colin the First asked me to move into the big house. He claims he’s retiring, but who knows? He asked me to work for him about a dozen times.” Uncle Colin the First is what the nieces and nephews call my older brother. “Like I would ever work for him, but my uncle Paddy Cake is totally different. I’m here for you, my guy.”
I shake my head at him, but I’m happy to have someone in my corner for the first time since I got here. And if that person is my twenty-three-year-old nephew, I’ll take it.
“I’m not Uncle Paddy here,” I warn. “I’m Colin. And no one knows you’re my nephew. Let’s keep that to ourselves.”
He rubs his hands together and grins. “I love it. We have secrets already.” He grabs his iPad and says, “Don’t worry, Colin .” He winks at me, and I wink back. “I worked as Cousin Frank’s assistant while his was on maternity leave. If I can survive six months working for that taskmaster, I will shine here. Once I have my login info, I’m going right to work.”
“Let me show you to your cubicle.”
He claps his hands like an over-eager tween girl. He tries to wrap his arm around mine, and I pull away.
“Oh, right.” He does an over-exaggerated wink. “We’re strangers.” I sigh and wonder how long it will be before everyone knows he’s my nephew.
Ernestine and Brynne come to the large conference room together. I stand at the front with Heath, and once I introduce him as my new personal assistant, Brynne and Ernestine both cross their arms. Ernestine looks Heath up and down as if trying to size him up. I think Brynne has lost all interest in the meeting and leaves before it’s over.
“As our way of welcoming Heath,” I announce, “breakfast will be arriving shortly and will be placed in the kitchen. Lunch will also be ordered today.” Everyone seems to be appeased by that. I expect Ernestine to leave immediately, but she doesn’t. She chats with another employee while eyeing Heath from across the room. After a few more minutes, she approaches him with a fake smile.
I stay close.
“I’m Brynne’s personal assistant,” she says to Heath. She looks him up and down again, and he does the same, not put off or intimidated by her stare.
“And who the hell is Brynne?” he asks.
“Brynne is who should have been running this business.”
“Well, that’s wrong because my unc—” He stops and clears his throat. “Colin Kincaid is the boss.” Heath stands straight and looks down at Ernestine.
“Hm,” is all Ernestine says.
“Hm, what?” Heath puts a hand on his hip, clearly put off by Ernestine’s attitude.
“Is there a problem, Ernestine?” I ask with my voice raised.
“No, sir,” she says, sarcasm oozing.
“Well, bye,” Heath says, waving his hand in her face.
Ernestine glares at him again but then finally exits the conference room.
“What the fuck is her problem?” he whispers.
“Don’t worry about her.”
“She should be worried about me .” When all I do is shake my head slowly at him, he says, “If that’s all, then I guess I’ll grab us some breakfast and meet you in your office, Mr. Kincaid.” He gives me a subtle and quick wink.
“Colin’s fine, Heath.”
“What is with those two?” Heath asks a few hours later. “You should have seen the way they were looking at me. You’d think I slept with their man or something.” I start to choke on my coffee. Seeing as though I’m one of the people Brynne has slept with, I’m glad that’s not the case. “Who am I kidding? Those two have no man. Little Ms. I Should Be Boss has quite an attitude on her. Not to mention her bodyguard from hell. Well, if they think they can intimidate me, they have another thing coming. I grew up under the manipulative eye of Uncle Colin the First. I went to the most elite private schools and dealt with the meanest of the mean girls. I will have those two for breakfast and wash them down with a café au lait made with my French press.”
“Okay, Heath,” I say with a chuckle, but I’m just so happy to have him here. “You’re here to assist me, not take down my employees.”
“All I’m saying is, with that attitude, it’s no wonder Uncle Milty didn’t—” I clear my throat.
“It’s no wonder Mr. Kincaid didn’t put her in charge. All she does is scowl, which is unfortunate because she’s kind of pretty.” I don’t answer. She’s beyond pretty and hasn’t looked at me all morning. “In a movie villain type of way. The type of villain we should hide our dogs from.”
“Enough of that. Get your laptop and sync my calendar to your desktop. You can sit in here with me until you’re ready to be on your own.”
We work until lunch is delivered to the office. Since it was his first day, I let him choose where to order from and let him make his first order. Now, he’s in the kitchen setting it up.
My stomach growls, having been neglected since I was training Heath. He spent the last three hours talking nonstop about his mother and other family members, none of whom he can stand for various reasons. One includes a cousin his age over a slight that happened when they were eight. Due to my stomach's constant growling, I decide to get up and follow my nose to the employee break room. Everyone is filtering in, and a few stop to thank me for the lunch.
“I’m looking forward to your input at today’s meeting,” Joel says. “The notes you sent back were helpful. Much more helpful than anything Brynne would have contributed.” He walks away before I can say a word.
There’s a long line, and I decide to run home and make myself a salad since I hate eating food that’s been picked over, but just as I step out of the breakroom, I see Ernestine and Heath having what looks like a hostile encounter.
“Is everything okay, Heath?” I ask.
“Oh, it’s all good in the hood,” is all he says.
“Ordering lunch is my job,” Ernestine says, turning to me. “Mr. Kincaid, I was explaining to Heath what his duties are, and I suggested that—”
“I don’t understand why you’re explaining anything to me. I report to Mr. Kincaid, not you,” Heath responds with more hostility needed for the occasion.
“Why are you so rude?” Ernestine asks.
“Why are you so bossy?” Heath counters. “Older women like you always try to—”
“ Older ?” Ernestine whispers in outrage.
“Heath, that’s enough,” is all I say. “Ernestine, if you have any issues with Heath, talk to me. Whatever he does, it’s at my request. I’d appreciate it if you made him feel welcome.” Before I fire your ass because you’re not going to stress out the only person I can count on in this fucking office.
“Mostly everyone has been extremely nice, Mr. Kincaid. And for the one who hasn’t been, I won’t lose any sleep over them tonight.” He walks away without another word.
“Rude,” Ernestine says.
Not wanting to deal with her right now, I walk away, too.
I should have timed my exit better because someone sticks their boot in the door right before they close. I know those boots. She’s the only one who wears heels that high in this office.
She seems shocked when she sees me standing there but gives me her back and looks straight ahead until we get to the lobby. A man is standing there waiting for her. I recognize him. It's that same fucker she met at the lounge on Saturday. The asshole who sat next to her the entire night. She even slow-danced with him twice. He left soon after, and I was relieved, but I see things didn’t end on Saturday like I thought.
He greets her with a hug, and she looks into his eyes. I let out a derisive snort, and her head whips back to look at me.
The guy’s short. She’s looking down at him. Maybe she should have thought twice about wearing those high heels to go on a date with a stump of a man. I turn away and go through the front door before I do something I might regret.
Good luck to him for dating a combative witch who jumps to conclusions without a shred of evidence. I feel eyes on me as I cross the street and approach my building, but I don’t look back. I’m over it. I’m over her. And if she wants to fight with me about everything, she’s in for a rude awakening. I remove my coat and toss it on the couch before violently yanking my fridge open.
I’d like a drink, but I never drink during the work week, so I make myself a chicken salad sandwich from the leftover chicken in my fridge.
My phone starts to buzz in my pocket, and the name Francesca flashes. She lives in this building, and we keep running into each other at the gym. I’ve avoided her until I ran into her on Sunday.
Malcolm’s words came to mind. Maybe I need to let Brynne go and move on. He’s right. I’m her boss, and after the mess with Esme, the last thing I need is another mess. At least with Esme, I was able to escape her at the office. I even moved across the country. I don’t need to create more drama for myself.
“Hey, Francesca,” I say into the phone.