Chapter 22
TRAVIS
"Morning, Reese. To what do I owe the honor?"
She came over to me as I rose from my chair and kissed my cheek.
Taking a step back, she said, "I'm here to announce that I am accepting your job offer."
I opened my arms, pulling her in for a hug. "Perfect. That's great to know."
She cleared her throat, stepping back.
"What?" I asked.
"Your door is open. No public displays of affection."
I stared at her. "What are you talking about? We're cousins. Everyone knows that."
"I know, but I want them to respect me for me, not just because we share the last name."
"You're a finance genius."
"Your team doesn't know that yet. It's just hearsay. I need approximately two months and six days to prove myself, and then we can show our true colors."
"Two months and six days? That’s very specific. How exactly did you calculate that?"
"Past experience. People start relaxing after the two-month mark, so it's important to keep proving yourself for a few days more."
"But why six?"
She smiled sheepishly. “Because I can’t keep the crazy at bay for much longer.”
I burst out laughing but didn’t press it. I was happy she’d accepted the job.
"It's going to be fun working together."
"I agree," she said as we sat down at the desk.
"What made you change your mind?" I asked.
"I've wanted to work with you since you asked the first time."
"So you were just teasing me?"
"No. Honestly, I was afraid Malcolm might strike. That he'd somehow show up and ruin things if he knew I was involved."
“But we haven't heard from him in a while."
She straightened up, rolling her shoulders. "I know. And I decided I didn't want to be afraid anymore."
"Just so you know, if Malcolm ever comes near you again, we'll crush him, and he'll scurry away."
"Let's hope we won't have that opportunity," she said. "I'll be happy if I never hear his name again."
She lowered her gaze to her legs and picked invisible lint from the jacket of her suit. "Do you have the contract on hand?"
"No, but the HR manager will set you up. I told her to include in your contract that you can work from home and even from abroad as often as you want for as long as you want."
"That's very thoughtful. Why did you include that?"
"I figured you might want to go to London again. Visit your dad, your sister… and your guy."
The corners of her lips tilted up. "My guy? Have you been gossiping with Luke?"
"Not gossiping," I said, "but he's mentioned it."
She brought her hand to her ear as if she wanted to push a strand of hair back but then realized it was all up. That was a nervous tick for her.
"What happened, Reese?"
"He's not my guy anymore. It didn't work out. I'm free as a bird again." She was exuberant as usual, but I could tell she was more disappointed than she was letting on.
I leaned back in my chair, mentally reviewing my schedule for today. I had a lunch meeting, but I'd cancel it. This was more important.
"Let's grab lunch together."
"You have time for me?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“So the rumors I've heard circulating that you're back to your former workaholic self aren't true?"
"I don't know why they're spreading that around. I'm not working nearly as many hours as when I was in the process of selling the company. I do have a meeting, but I’ll clear my schedule. I want to celebrate that we’re going to work together.”
Her eyes lit up. “Let’s go upstairs. I heard they’ve introduced snacks for lunch.”
“Perfect. Let’s go now. I’ll tell my HR manager to have everything ready for you by the time we get back.”
I headed next door. Paul, the HR manager, shared an office with Marjorie.
“Paul, Reese accepted the role of CFO. Prepare her contract as we discussed. We’ll be back in half an hour.”
“Will do,” he said. “Will she need her laptop and phone today?”
“That can wait until her first official day. Probably tomorrow.”
Reese nodded in agreement.
“How wonderful that she’s joining us,” Marjorie exclaimed. “Welcome aboard, Reese.”
“I agree,” I replied with a wink before stepping out of the office.
The bar was surprisingly full when we arrived. Typically I gathered with my brothers here after work. I’d never seen so many customers. It was smart that they’d added a lunch menu.
“Let’s order a bowl. Full of healthy stuff,” Reese said.
“Sure, why not?”
I didn't really care about the food; I simply wanted to spend time with Reese. I was immensely proud that we’d work together. My mind instantly went to Kimberly.
"You look lost in thought. What are you thinking?" Reese asked.
I hesitated for a second, wondering if it was too early to tell her, but why not bring it up?
"Do you think Kimberly would like to join us? Not necessarily now, but in the near future?"
"Join us?" she asked.
"As head of international development.”
My cousin's face lit up. "That's a brilliant idea! You didn't even tell me you want to expand. I thought you just wanted this one hotel."
"You know me. Go big or don't try doing anything at all. I want Maxwell Hotels to make a mark in the industry. I've always liked the idea of as many family members as possible being involved. Part of me always regretted our parents selling the bookstores."
Reese leaned back in her chair, looking at me intently. "That's surprising. You never seemed interested."
"I was a kid when they sold it, and then the software thing really blew up, and I knew the opportunity was huge. I didn't even have time to think about the stores, but now I want to build something that lasts."
"Already thinking about your heir?" she mused, placing her chin in her palm.
"Something like that," I said proudly.
"You know, you always said you're not relationship material. I suspect that deep down, you're a family man through and through. You just didn't know it."
"And still you continuously warn me not to mess things up with Bonnie."
"Oh, Travis. If I've learned something in my series of romantic failures, it's that we can fail even when we have the best intentions."
I grinned. “Nothing like some Maxwell wisdom to make my day.”
“Oh, I’ve got plenty of advice to give. One of these days, maybe I’ll even follow it myself.”
We spent the rest of the lunch talking about the next steps. Reese was ready to start tomorrow. Once we finished our food, we went back down to the office. I introduced Reese to Tim, then to Paul, who had her contract ready to go.
“Perfect,” Reese said. “So that’s all for now?”
“Yes,” Paul said.
“Great. I’ll see you all tomorrow morning, then.”
Marjorie glanced at me questioningly. I said nothing.
She was probably stunned by Reese’s serious and professional tone.
In the past, whenever Reese dropped by at the office, she’d asked Marjorie about her nieces and nephews.
My cousin loved small talk. I was curious if she’d be able to keep this up for very long.
After Reese left, I returned to my office.
Marjorie had moved my lunch call with the marketing agency to two o’clock, so it was going to start in ten minutes.
Even though we had a marketing manager, we were still working with an agency for social media.
I preferred that because I liked the flow of creative ideas.
You couldn’t get the same quality in-house unless the marketing team was huge.
The department only had three employees as of now.
Tim agreed with me, making me even more confident in my decision to hire him.
I was halfway through reviewing their presentation deck when my dad called, surprising the hell out of me. He didn’t like talking on the phone, preferring face-to-face conversations. Mom was the one who usually called.
"Dad," I said, putting the phone to my ear.
"Son, how are you doing?"
"I just had Reese over. She agreed to be my CFO.”
“That’s great news. You must take her out to celebrate. You know Reese loves that.”
“We went to the bar upstairs for lunch.”
"That's good to hear." He sounded distracted.
I recognized a loaded phone call when I got one.
I knew how this was going to go. Gran baked apple pie whenever she was scheming; Mom made Dad call me, chat me up about something completely different, and then he'd pass the phone to Mom, who went straight for the jugular.
I was curious what subject my dad would pick today as the inroad.
"Son, I need some help deciding on your mother's birthday present."
"Okay," I said in a measured tone. Dad had never asked for advice on her present. Ever. "What are your options?"
"I've got this beautiful necklace with a diamond pendant, and the second option is a trip to Maui."
"I think Mom would prefer the trip."
"I think so too. Actually, you know what? I'm going to get both. Can't have enough presents."
I laughed internally, clicking the mouse, moving to the next slide. There was so little content in the presentation that I could easily multitask.
“I agree.” I was sure that had been his plan all along. Dad spared no expenses when it came to presents for Mom. He always said gifts brought her joy, and his duty as her husband was to keep his wife happy. I'd learned a lot from observing my father over the years.
"By the way, son, your mom wants to talk to you. She's in the next room. I'll pass her the phone."
And there it was. I didn't point out how obvious the scheme was. I knew Dad only got involved when something was very important to Mom.
"Darling," Mom said, taking over the phone. "Are you busy? Your dad said something about Reese when he passed me the phone.”
"She’s going to be my CFO. It's a good day."
"Great. I was hoping to catch you in a good mood."
"I'm always in a good mood," I reported.
"Not when you're buried in work. Then you're just not paying attention to anything. Or you don’t even pick up the phone.”
"I've never ignored your calls, Mom."
"Right, so I was calling because, as you know, I'm going to celebrate my birthday soon."
"I know, Mom. Your present is already on the way."
"That's lovely to hear. Anyway, it would mean the world to me if Bonnie would also be there. I thought about inviting her myself when we were at your gran’s house, but I didn’t want to overstep."
So this was the crux of the issue today. I could tease her, but I sensed this was important for Mom.
"Mom, I intended to ask Bonnie anyway if she wants to come. It's up to her if she wants to."
"Please convince that lovely girl to join us. I could tell she enjoyed spending time with us and Beatrice, but I think she's afraid of imposing. I don't think she's used to spending too much time with her family."
Damn, my mom had picked up on that?
"I'll talk to her, Mom."
I wanted Bonnie there on my mom's birthday. It was an important event. And, as Mom said, Bonnie would enjoy it. I knew just how to convince her.
She’d gone back to work today—against my wishes.
I’d wanted to keep her in my bed—tie her to it if possible—but she insisted moving in together wasn’t a good idea.
But all in due time. One lesson I’d learned in my business career that also applied to personal life was that each battle was won one step at a time.