Chapter 15
Isaac
Tip #15: When seeking romantic advice, remember: Your lawyer cousin will prioritize avoiding lawsuits over your love life.
I ’d barely shrugged off my suit jacket when the doorbell erupted in a frenzy of chimes.
Seriously? On a Saturday night? It could only be one of my dear family members.
I ignored it, focusing on rolling up my sleeves with military precision.
The ringing continued, an unrelenting assault on my eardrums.
With an exasperated sigh, I trotted down the spiral staircase to the first floor of my home and stalked to the front door, which I yanked open. “This better be good.”
“Took you long enough!” Samuel declared in a whirlwind of expensive cologne and manic energy as he nearly bowled me over. “What, were you hibernating in that fancy infrared sauna of yours?”
I rolled my eyes. “Good evening to you too, Samuel.”
Natalie followed behind Samuel with a cheerful, “Hi, Isaac!” Her smile was as bright as her floral dress.
Logan silently brought up the rear, ghosting in behind the couple. His dark eyes met mine in a look of silent commiseration.
Extroverts. Ugh.
I shut the door, resigned to my fate. “Let me guess. You’re all here to stick your noses into my personal life and interrogate me about my date with Charlotte?”
Samuel dramatically clutched his chest. “Is that any way to talk to your loving family who have invested so much time and effort into your romantic pursuits?”
Natalie snorted, ignoring her husband’s theatrics. “Of course we are. And I am not impressed with your attitude—you were the one who came to us first. Remember? Now, spill, please!”
“Fine. But I refuse to stand in the front doorway like neighborhood gossips,” I said, shutting the door.
I led them through the foyer, their footsteps echoing on the polished hardwood. We entered the living room, a space that my interior decorator had informed me was Oxford but I personally thought resembled an upscale library from a period drama. Expensive carpets and posh furniture mapped out the area, while the walls were either covered in bookcases or floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a view of the moonlit lake, its surface rippling like liquid silver.
As the trio settled onto the plush leather sofas, I remained standing, feeling like I was about to give a board presentation rather than discuss my love life.
Samuel tucked an arm around Natalie’s shoulders. “You know, we wouldn’t have had to ambush you like this if you’d reached out to us. You’ve been ignoring our texts and calls all day. Where have you been?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “At the office.”
Samuel and Natalie exchanged troubled glances.
Logan merely shrugged, as if to say, Called it .
Natalie cleared her throat. “Why on earth were you working on a Saturday?”
I straightened my glasses. “If I’m going to follow your advice about Charlotte during the week, I need to make up the hours somewhere.”
Samuel let out an exasperated groan. “Isaac, if you’re so swamped that you need to work weekends just to free up a few hours on weeknights, your team is beyond overloaded. Clearly we need to restructure your people, if not the department.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Everything is under control. I have it exactly how I want it.”
“But—” Samuel started.
“As CFO, I need to double-check everything anyway,” I added. “Our finances have to be perfect.”
Samuel shot Logan a desperate look. Our cousin merely shrugged again, his expression clearly saying, ‘What can we do? (Logan was very good at speaking with very little body language.)
Natalie rolled her eyes. “Alright, we’ve reconfirmed that Isaac is a certified workaholic and it would be best for his life expectancy if he changed that, but the date! Can we please get to the juicy details? How did it go? How did Charlotte react?”
I sank into a nearby armchair, the buttery leather enveloping me. “I suppose it went adequately. For a first step.”
“Adequately?” Samuel echoed, eyebrows raised. “That’s about as enthusiastic as a tax audit.”
I ignored him and focused on Natalie—the only real romantic guide I had. “Your advice to be blunt and focus on clear communication was rather helpful. It turns out Charlotte was unaware we were even on a date. I had to clarify the situation halfway through our meal.”
“I’m glad you were up-front! Clear communication will make romancing Charlotte easier, I promise.” Natalie paused, shooting Samuel an annoyed look. “It’s refreshing to see a Warner man actually express his romantic intentions clearly.”
Samuel feigned innocence, suddenly very interested in adjusting a nearby throw pillow. “So. How did Charlotte react when you dropped the date bomb?”
I tilted my head as I consulted my memory. “She was surprised. Perhaps even stunned.”
Logan finally chimed in. “Shock is better than horror or disdain.”
“True,” I admitted.
Samuel grinned, his teeth gleaming in the soft light. “No one could react to you with horror, brother. Not when we share this flawless face.”
Natalie waved her hand dismissively. “Ignore him. What happened after you told her?”
I scratched my jaw. “I informed Charlotte of my feelings for her, and she rejected me.”
Samuel winced. “Ouch. That’s rough.”
Natalie narrowed her eyes and studied my face. “You don’t seem too dejected. Charlotte must have given you an acceptable reason.”
“She did,” I admitted, remembering the earnest look in Charlotte’s gorgeous and expressive honey-brown eyes. “She’s concerned she’d always come second to Warner Print if we were in a relationship. She doesn’t want to compete with work for my affections.”
Samuel leaned forward, his brow furrowed. “What did you say to that?”
“I informed her I wasn’t giving up. And she accepted my challenge,” I said.
“Wait.” Samuel held up a hand to forestall me. “You didn’t tell her you’d prioritize her?”
I scoffed. “I’m not going to lie to Charlotte.”
Logan nodded approvingly. “Wise choice.”
Samuel looked taken aback as he shifted uncomfortably on the couch.
Natalie’s brow creased with concern. “Isaac, would you really put the business before Charlotte?”
“No,” I said, perhaps slightly defensive. “At least not exactly. I see both Warner Print and Charlotte as nebulous top priorities, with no clear rank.”
Samuel’s face went flat. “That’s a fancy way of saying Charlotte isn’t more important than Warner Print.”
My jaw clenched.
Warner Print wasn’t just a business; it was our family’s legacy, and our father had charged us with expanding it and making sure we did right by our employees before he died.
“Warner Print is important,” I said. “It has so much of our grandfather and father in it. Of course it matters to me.”
Samuel grimaced, scratching his jaw. “Yeah, I can see why Charlotte rejected you.” He twisted on the sofa so he could address both Natalie and Logan. “Is there any hope Isaac could love Charlotte more than Warner Print?”
I rolled my eyes. “I can hear you, you know.”
“I’m not sure,” Natalie said. “Normally, I’d champion the idea that love conquers all, but….” She trailed off, shooting me an apologetic look. “The Warners do have workaholism in their bloodline.”
I scowled. Was I really that bad?
Logan, ever the pragmatist, chose to bestow us with actual words, using as few as possible. “Fifty-fifty chance.”
I drummed my fingers in an irritated rhythm on the arm of my chair. These were my family members, but sometimes they acted like I was an emotionless robot.
Samuel nodded—still ignoring my presence. “I think we should still advise him. There’s hope his feelings for Charlotte will win out.”
Natalie nodded. “Agreed.”
Logan nodded his assent.
“Great.” Samuel straightened himself on the couch so he once again faced me. “We’ve decided to keep helping you, twin. Even though Charlotte does have a very, very valid point.”
“Thank you for your sacrifice. However will I repay you?” I said, my voice dripping with acid.
Samuel, immune to my sarcasm after years of exposure, plowed on. “Your challenge to Charlotte was the right move. Your only option is to keep seducing her in hopes of eventually winning her over.”
Natalie piped up, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. “That means you need to continue asking her out on dates and being thoughtful.”
I raised an eyebrow at Natalie. “Being thoughtful? Could you elaborate on that?”
Natalie leaned into Samuel’s side as she frowned, thinking. “Well, you knew Charlotte’s favorite restaurant was 99 Tanuki, right? That’s why you took her there?”
I nodded, the memory of Charlotte’s delighted smile when we’d entered the cozy Japanese restaurant flashing through my mind.
“It’s exactly that sort of thing,” Natalie said. “Keep doing things like that to show her you pay attention to her likes and dislikes.”
I frowned, my brow furrowing. “That’s not likely to impress Charlotte. We’ve been coworkers and friends for years. We already interact that way.”
Natalie’s enthusiasm dimmed slightly. “What do you mean?”
I rested my elbows on the arms of my armchair. “I’d be a terrible friend and boss if I didn’t already know things like her coffee order or favorite dessert. Obtaining those for her is bare minimum friendship, let alone courtship. For goodness’ sake, I even know her dress size, as I’ve gotten her outfits for company events to spare her the expense.”
Silence fell over the room. I looked up to find Natalie, Samuel, and Logan exchanging meaningful glances.
Samuel spoke first, his voice tinged with surprise. “Well, well. It seems our dear Isaac is surprisingly thoughtful, considering he normally has the emotional capacity of an Excel spreadsheet.”
Logan nodded silently, his dark eyes appraising me with newfound respect.
Natalie’s face lit up with excitement. “This is actually a good thing, Isaac! It means you’ve already got some powerful building blocks in place.”
Samuel snorted, his sarcasm cutting through the air. “Sure, combine that with his messed-up priorities, and that means we’re effectively working from zero instead of starting in the negatives.”
Natalie glared up at him. “Romances in glass houses shouldn’t throw grenades.”
“That’s not the saying at all,” Samuel said.
“Quiet,” Natalie barked.
Logan cleared his throat, his deep voice rumbling through the room. “Isaac, being more thoughtful than what you’ve established as the base level will likely mean you have to verbalize your feelings for Charlotte more.”
“Yes!” Natalie exclaimed triumphantly. “As I said earlier, communication is key. You’ll probably have to do a couple of grand gestures too.”
I blinked. “By grand gestures, do you mean similar to buying The Mad Picnic Party?”
(I’d been forced to tell the trio when a work meeting with Samuel had been interrupted by a call from the bank to confirm the wire transfer.)
Natalie nodded. “Exactly like that!”
“Yeah, use your money to do the heavy lifting,” Samuel joked.
“No, no!” Natalie corrected Samuel, then leaned toward me. “I didn’t mean that! I meant doing something only you can do to show that you care about her.”
I nodded slowly and internally started sifting through my memories to see if there was ever anything Charlotte had expressed a wish for that I hadn’t gotten her or we hadn’t done.
There was that time four years ago when her car died, but she’d had a heart attack when I’d offered to give her a car, and she’d bought a new one then, so that didn’t seem to be a good choice.
Samuel’s playful smirk faded, replaced by an uncharacteristically serious expression. “You know, the fact that you and Charlotte already care for each other like this also explains why everyone thought you were married, but that’s a different conversation for a different time. In addition to grand gestures, you should use your looks to your advantage and push for more physical touching—but always respect Charlotte’s boundaries!”
My mind wandered to when our legs had brushed under the table at 99 Tanuki. I’d always been aware Charlotte was pretty, but so were artworks in museums. That brush, though, had evoked an entirely different level of admiration in me.
Natalie nodded eagerly. “Absolutely. Sam’s got it. And if you want to know if she’s OK with something, just ask her.”
“That seems reasonable,” I said slowly. “Although I’m not sure Charlotte’s boundaries will allow more than we already have.”
“I’ve seen you two together,” Natalie said. “She’s already more physically comfortable with you than a coworker would be, so she’ll likely be OK with more.”
“How can you know?” I asked.
“You pointed out yourself, you know her dress size,” Natalie said. “Sam knows my dress size, but that’s something even my brother doesn’t know. It’s very personal!”
Samuel nodded. “It’s true.”
Logan cleared his throat, his voice taking on that clipped, precise tone he used in the boardroom. “I feel compelled to advise that any increased physical contact should be strictly limited to nonwork hours.”
Samuel burst out laughing. “And there’s our family attack dog lawyer! Always looking out for the company’s interests.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry, Logan. I’m not so far gone that I’d risk bringing the wrath of HR down upon us all.”
“You jest,” Samuel said, wagging a finger at me, “but one day you’ll thank Logan for telling you to keep your hands to yourself during office hours.”
“I’m sure Charlotte will be devastated to miss out on my scintillating physical expressions of affection while we’re reviewing quarterly reports,” I deadpanned.
Samuel shrugged. “You say that, but one never knows with you math-minded folks.”