Chapter 4 Mace
MACE
As always, I woke up the next morning at five thirty. Routine was important. I led my younger brothers on a run around the large estate. They trailed behind me in two lines of twelve. My eldest brother Remington, Remy for short, ran with us, wearing a big weight vest.
"Top of the morning!" he said through his huge bushy beard.
The big ex-marine had let his hair grow out after he left the service.
He looked wild, but the kids loved him. I loved him, too, though he was more like a kid himself than any real help with our younger siblings.
Still, he was probably one of my favorite brothers.
Jack Frost was in the dining room when we returned from the run. On the table was another box of baked goods
"My girlfriend, Chloe, made breakfast muffins," he explained. "It's not sugary. They can have that, right?"
Nate and Billy clasped their hands together, silently pleading.
"I guess so," I relented. "Though I can't believe you all don't want vegan nut bread."
Jack laughed as my little brothers clamored for a muffin.
"Line up!" Hunter ordered, looking over his newspaper. "Act civilized, and say thank you to Jack."
After the kids were sitting nicely at the table, Jack offered me a muffin. "It's a steak and potato soup muffin. Chloe is developing a new line of breakfast muffins."
I shouldn't. It wasn't health food. "Come on," Jack cajoled. "Take it from a reformed Grinch whose soul was saved by the wonders of baking. This will change your life."
"It does smell good," I said, relenting.
"It's all protein. There's so much cheese and steak in it it's basically keto."
I peeled back the paper and took a bite. It was like eating a big plate of steak, eggs, and hash browns at a small-town diner. "That's really good," I mumbled around the food.
Remy picked one up and took a huge bite. My hand twitched. Crumbs were in his beard. "She should open a franchise in Harrogate," he said.
"She's still swamped with the one in my tower," Jack said, smiling.
I walked into the office at exactly seven thirty a.m. Yesterday had been a bust, but today was going to go exactly as planned. I dropped Henry off at the in-office daycare.
Adrian, who had been acting as my assistant, said, "Jack and Liam, as well as several executives, are here for the Platinum Provisions meeting at eight thirty."
"Perfect," I said. "Liam's actually early."
"Bro!" someone shouted down the hallway.
It was Archer, my identical twin. I could see the tattoos on his collarbone and on his forearms as he wrapped me in a hug, half climbing on me.
"You're messing up my suit," I complained, pushing him off. "Why are you here?"
"Harrogate is the hot spot," he replied. "Besides, I came to see you. Hunter said you were wigging out."
I resisted the urge to find a comb and tamp down his hair.
"You should come to the meeting," my older brother Greg said, pausing before he went into the conference room. "It might benefit you to learn something."
"I can't believe he's even up," I remarked.
"I never went to sleep!" Archer said proudly. "Though if Mace is giving a presentation, I'll doze right off."
"I don't know," my CFO and brother Garrett said, walking up, laptop under his arm. "He's been experimenting with PowerPoint effects. It's going to be very entertaining."
"Presentations aren't supposed to be entertaining. They're supposed to be informative," I retorted.
"Cramming a paragraph of twelve-point font on one slide is not helpful," Liam said. He threw an arm around my shoulder. "You need a girlfriend. Look at Jack! He used to be as uptight as you. Now he has a baker."
The Platinum Provisions executives and some of their marketing team were already in the room. Adrian had put out the nut bread I had brought as a snack.
"Throw that in the trash," Liam hissed to him. "That stuff is disgusting."
"I think it tastes great!" Adrian said, picking up a piece and chewing it.
"Adrian's a sycophant and a liar!" Liam announced. "You should have come to work with me. Mace is a bad influence."
"Yes, he is," Greg said and turned to give me an icy glare. "Adrian is not here to make copies and lay out snacks. He's here to learn how to run a business, not be your coffee boy."
"Aww," Liam cooed, wrapping his arms around Adrian and picking him up. "Adrian's trying to be a serious business man."
"Stop it, Liam!" Greg said irritably as Liam put Adrian down. "Adrian, has Mace been teaching you anything?"
"I got the whole office smoothies, and they were still frozen!" Adrian said proudly.
Greg shook his head slowly. "Why am I not surprised?"
"He's learning logistics," I protested.
"This ends today," Greg said.
I cut off the tirade that I knew was coming.
"I need to start the meeting. Don't want to get behind schedule.
" I walked to the front of the room, pleased to see my PowerPoint was loaded onto the screen.
"Good morning, everyone, and a warm welcome to the representatives from Platinum Provisions.
I'm glad that our two companies are able to partner and branch into medical device development.
We're currently in the process of locating a site for the new light manufacturing plant.
We will also be building more research and development facilities. "
I heard a thunk and looked over to see Henry, face suctioned onto the glass door of the conference room. He wasn't wearing any pants or shoes.
I shook my head at him, but he pushed the door open and came in, looking around. Some of the attendees giggled.
Go to Liam. Go to Archer, I chanted silently, willing him to hear my commands. Henry made a beeline for me and clambered up my pants leg.
"We offer daycare here, and obviously one escaped," I said, picking him up and glaring at my brothers. Not a single one moved. Adrian finally came over to drag Henry off me.
Henry did not want to go. "I don't like it! They're mean! It's prison!" he wailed. There was more unintelligible shrieking as Donna, one of the daycare workers, ran in.
"I'm so sorry," Donna apologized. It took her, me, and Adrian several minutes to peel Henry off of me. I had to pry each of his fingers out of my hair, all while he screeched in my ear.
My ears were ringing when they finally left.
"My apologies." I checked my watch. "The schedule has a break now anyway. This PowerPoint will be emailed to everyone." Annoyed that the timetable had been disrupted, I walked over to the table and grabbed a bottle of water.
Through a mouthful of cookies that he procured from who knew where, Liam said, "Thank God for the interruption. You really outdid yourself. That has to be the worst presentation you ever gave. I particularly liked it when each letter of 'research and development' came in like a hail of bullets."
Garrett snickered. Then he and Greg exchanged a look.
"I'm going downstairs to check on Henry," I said, scowling at my brothers. "I'm sure he needs his clothes at least."
Greg followed me as I walked through the office. "What are you plotting?" I demanded, picking up Henry's pants. "It better be about finding me help with the kids. I'm the only person who cares about them."
"You're hardly the only pillar holding this family together," Greg retorted.
"Yes, I am! Hunter was supposed to help, and he's never here. He's off running his latest scheme. None of you guys who live in Manhattan ever show up to help. And now you and Garrett are plotting something."
"I don't plot," Greg said, picking up Henry's shoe.
"Garrett plots."
"Garrett has expressed concern about your mental health."
"My mental health?" I snarled at him. Greg raised an eyebrow.
"My company is doing great. We're branching into a new sector. We've never been more profitable. Tell Garrett my mental health is fine. You know how he is when he starts fixating on something. I don't want to be his target." I found the rest of Henry's clothes behind a plant.
Greg followed me down to the daycare to return the clothes. "I know you need help," Greg said, "so I have a surprise for you."
"I don't like surprises," I said as we cut through the lobby to go back upstairs to the conference room. But Greg stopped in the middle of the atrium.
"I know that. That's why I wasn't going to tell you. I hired you an assistant. She was supposed to be here by now, though." He looked around the lobby.
"That's a good sign," I said with a sigh.