Chapter 3
LUKE
As I prepared to leave the office before lunch, my brothers Declan and Travis stopped by.
"Guys, you're losing your touch. I've been waiting for you to crash my office ever since Megan left this morning."
"I had an important phone call with a client," Declan said.
"Yeah, and I waited for him to come by to get me. We're better at cornering you if we’re together," Travis said.
Declan was a successful lawyer whose office was in this building, and Travis had sold his company for a lot of money and was between jobs.
He technically didn’t have an office here anymore, but he’d come by this morning for a special occasion.
Our grandmother and cousin had flown to London, and Gran insisted on bidding us all goodbye at the crack of dawn at the office.
We all indulged Gran. Tate had also been with us this morning for the send-off and then drove them to the airport.
I liked having the same office space as my brothers.
It gave us time to catch up during the workday.
We were all very close to each other: six brothers in total, and we also had two cousins, Reese and Kimberly, who were more like sisters to us.
This morning, when I saw Megan was here, Travis, Declan, and his fiancée, Liz, had witnessed my shock.
I promised to tell them the story. I had waited all morning for them to come so I could make good on that promise.
"From what I saw," Travis said, "she left after like five minutes. How did that happen? You're the fun one in the family. Running people off isn't in your repertoire. That’s Tate's specialty." After a brief pause, he added, "And Declan's.”
Declan frowned at him. "I'm right here, you know?"
"Oh, I do. I just thought you needed that pointed out in case no one else has reminded you lately."
"You remind me," Declan said. "Daily."
"We're getting off track here," Travis said, looking at me.
"I met her yesterday at the bar across the street. We had fun, uh, all night long. I had no idea who she was or that she was my employee."
"How, and I mean this in the most nonjudgmental way," Travis said, "did you not know who she was? You must have looked at her résumé at some point."
"Yeah, I did. But our résumés don’t have photos on them."
"And you didn’t look her up on LinkedIn or other career portals? I sometimes do that with future hires.”
“No.”
Travis groaned. "I can't believe this."
"Anyway, she was blindsided. But I'm meeting her for coffee tomorrow to discuss the job again."
Declan folded his arms, looking at me intently. "If she doesn't want the job, maybe it's best to leave it at that."
I smiled. "That, brother, is how you operate, not me."
Declan would always choose the path that would lead to the least trouble.
But I was just the opposite, despite being the second oldest in the family.
My grandma always said I was the yin to his yang, that I was such a troublemaker purposefully to make him work hard to keep us in check.
I liked to think otherwise. He had to become the one to keep us all in check because I caused all that trouble.
At thirty-five, I was still giving Declan headaches.
I rose from my chair. "I have a meeting across town, and I’m not coming back. I'll see you both tomorrow. Or will I see you, Travis?"
"Yeah, you will. I'm trying to focus on what I have in mind next, and I do that best here."
Declan turned to look at him. "Are you planning to let us in on what you're doing?"
"Not yet."
After selling his company, my brother spent a few good months partying like there was no tomorrow.
Declan was worried he'd waste away. I didn't have any such worries.
We all had a strong work ethic. It was the way our parents raised us.
Even though we'd grown up in a wealthy family, we all had a desire to succeed on our own.
From the office, I went across town, meeting with a potential client, Jordan.
I loved being an architect. I enjoyed creating things and, most of all, envisioning things no one else had before.
I liked taking a mere idea a client had and turning it into a reality, into something solid.
I put a lot of stock in 3D graphics that mimicked the outcome of the design as much as possible.
I focused on residential and office projects mostly, but I wouldn’t say no to a commercial project if the right one came along.
"When do you think you can start on the project?" Jordan asked.
I was sitting with his group in their conference room, discussing the building’s renovations.
They were looking not only to spruce up the office’s appearance but create a place for their workforce that added focus and comfort.
It was a tech group that employed around thirty people.
With the square footage they had, it should be a piece of cake.
"I’ll speak to my team and send you a proposal. I’ll let you know the dates as well. I don't like to make promises on dates before consulting with my team."
"Fair enough," he said.
We shook hands as I got up.
"Can I just say that you’re doing an excellent job? I've looked at a lot of architecture companies, but no one comes close to your design ability or your customer service."
"Thanks, I appreciate that.” And I did. Praise like this was music to my ears.
As I left his office, I became acutely aware of a problem.
When I’d pitched for this project, I had counted on Megan joining our team.
We were short-staffed as it was, and I would need to bring on more people.
But if she didn't start the job tomorrow, I was going to be in a position I didn't like.
Even more reason to convince her to come on board.
Honestly, I got the whole shock of it all—maybe it was embarrassment on her part.
I was thrilled to have her in the office for lots of reasons.
I hadn’t planned on our relationship ending after just one night.
She’d given me her number, and after a day or two at most, I’d certainly planned on calling her to schedule dinner. I really liked her.
Professionally, she was a great fit for the team. She had good credentials and a demeanor I thought would work well with clients.
And I really liked her.
Really.
I went straight home after that. My penthouse was a few blocks from LaSalle Street.
It was lavish, I admit, and I hadn't spared any expense.
The property itself had been outrageously expensive, but the location was worth it.
I had completely remodeled the inside, broken down walls, and erected others so the whole space would be to my taste.
All the walls had floor-to-ceiling windows.
The amount of light it got was incredible.
Originally, it had three bedrooms. I'd opened up the first one into the living room because I wanted a huge space.
I could think better in big spaces. I had an enormous couch in the shape of a half circle with armchairs at the end.
It accommodated big groups, and I had friends and family over often.
I also had direct access to the rooftop, where I had a private pool.
I liked overlooking Chicago from above. I had a fantastic view of this city.
My city. I was proud of myself and my family.
Growing up, everyone called us the Maxwell heirs.
My parents and my grandparents before them had owned a chain of Maxwell bookstores, and they sold it successfully when I was younger.
After that, the expectations changed. Most people thought we'd just live off our trust fund and probably party hard for the rest of our lives. But that hadn't happened.
We’d all paved our way in life. A friend once told me we were trying too hard to show the world we could succeed on our own, but the truth was, we were proving it to ourselves. Self-worth went a long way, and each of us was proud of our accomplishments.
There was nothing wrong with continuing a legacy. If my family still owned the bookstore business, I would have stepped up to take it over and done so with joy. But I also derived great pride from the fact that I’d built a successful business by myself.
I glanced at the clock, deciding it was time to call Reese.
My cousin and my grandmother should be settled in London by now.
I’d waited for them to get to the hotel before calling them so they'd be comfortable.
They weren't going to London just for fun.
My uncle, Reese's dad, had blindsided our family when we found out he had a new family and hadn't told anyone about it.
My uncle's wife had passed away years earlier, which threw him into a long depression. That was the reason why Reese and Kimberly were more our sisters than cousins. We'd practically grown up together at my house with my parents and Gran.
Reese answered on the second ring, but she promptly hung up. What the hell? A few seconds later, she called me back, using WhatsApp.
"What did you just do?" I asked.
"No calls when we're overseas, right? It's free through WhatsApp."
I burst out laughing. "Honestly, Reese, who cares?"
"Hey, don't be like that. It's good to be careful with money, even when you have a lot of it."
Out of all of us, Reese was the most conservative with spending.
"Yes, I remember that… most of the time. How was the flight?"
"Oh, it was good. The seats were comfy."
"And the hotel?"
"It's amazing. I have to say, when Kimberly showed me the pictures, I wasn't convinced. It seemed a bit old-school and stuffy.”
That was my opinion exactly. I liked modern structures.
“But it's wonderful and elegant,” she continued. “I feel like I'm a princess or something. I can already feel myself relaxing, even though we have yet to meet with Dad."
"That's good, Reese. Make sure you have a great time while you’re there, okay?"