Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
IRIS
I have pre-interview jitters, and I have no idea why. I don’t even know if I want this job, yet at the same time, Astor Conglomerate is an amazing company. I did a little more research into them. I always knew them as our competitor, but I never actually looked into how they were as an employer.
I know we offer an amazing package at The Williamson Group, but I think Astor Conglomerate has us beat. I couldn’t find one negative review on LinkedIn about them as an employer. Even people who have been let go have said they wish they still worked there.
I feel like the universe is trying to tell me something. Like maybe this is the place I belong.
My stomach sours at the thought of leaving The Williamson Group, though. It has been my home for ten years. The people there have become my family. I don’t know if I want to leave that all behind and start again.
No matter the perks Astor Conglomerate can offer, I know Max would gladly match, if not beat, any package they could offer.
So why am I here?
Before I can think anymore on it, a well-dressed man who I know from photos walks toward me.
“Julius, it is a pleasure to meet you in person. Thank you for taking the time to meet me today,” I tell him, keeping my professional facade up.
“Of course, Miss Howard.” He holds out his hand to shake mine. “We are happy that you decided to give us a chance. I know it must be hard considering leaving a company you helped build up to where it is today.”
“Please call me Iris. It is scary, I won’t lie. The Williamson Group is important to me, but I can’t lie and say that the idea of being based out of London wasn’t an appeal for me.”
He starts walking, motioning for me to follow.
“You like our city here?” he asks.
I laugh. “That is an understatement. There is something about London I love. It could be the history. Maybe even the people. The shows, the food, the vibe. I don’t know. I love it all.”
“Not everyone feels the same. I know some days I hate this place.” He chuckles as he steps into a conference room, gesturing for me to enter as he closes the door behind me. “Maybe I need to see it with new eyes.”
“It could be because I only get here every couple months or so. Sometimes once a month if I’m lucky. It feels as much like home to me as Boston does. If it weren’t so expensive, I would already have a second home here.”
He pulls a seat out for me before going and taking the one next to it.
“I mean, we are offering a competitive package, but even I’m not sure I could afford one of the homes here in London.”
“Yeah, I was browsing places to live, and I would be renting for sure,” I tell him, thinking about the two-bedroom flat I looked at that was being sold for over 1.3 million pounds.
“I think once you move here, you will see why most of us commute from outside the city to work.”
I smile. “I see what you did there. I’m not sold on the job, you know. Besides, I thought this was interviewing me.”
“Oh, we know we want you. We have seen the things you have done. I have had my eye on you for quite some time. I’m sure you don’t remember, but we actually met once before.
I didn’t work for Astor Conglomerate back then.
I was a young lad looking to get my foot in the door.
I thought Maximilian was the man to talk to, but you put me in my place.
I realized then that no one got to Maximilian without first passing your test. I knew you would amount to way more than the assistant position on your résumé. ”
I think back to when he is talking about, but he’s right, I don’t remember.
The number of people who try to get to Max is astronomical.
I don’t have to deal with that much anymore, but in those first few years, it was crazy.
Everyone thought the best way to get in with The Williamson Group was to visit the first established hotel and put in some time.
Under Max’s father and grandfather, that might have been true, but when Max and Mason took over, they changed it up.
Sure, you could still promote into the group from the hotels, but more often than not, you still had to start at the ground level once transferred over.
It made the playing field even for everyone.
“I’m surprised that I impressed you. I was only doing my job.”
“You did more than your job. I saw what you were working on that day. I watched you for several minutes before I got up the nerve to approach. You were the woman behind the scenes. I knew then that I would kill to work with someone like you,” he says.
“Or for you,” I mutter.
“Not at all. We would be equals. You would be the head of liaison between the hotel and guests. We would be partners. I would be handling the behind the scenes, and you would be the woman out there showing your face. It does require travel, but if you ever cannot take a trip, I would step in and cover you. We would make mutual decisions about the team,” he promises.
It is much like what I do with Max now, except I wouldn’t have to handle the financial aspect. I wouldn’t be responsible for making sure no one was stealing from the company and that all the numbers added up.
I could do what I love. Visit all the properties and make sure things are running smoothly. I would help with design aspects. Hire all the people who make it magical for our guests.
It’s my favorite part of the job without having to do the other stuff.
It’s tempting. So tempting.
“I’m still not sold,” I admit.
“Well, how about I give you a tour and we talk to some people? We can even go out tonight and do karaoke with a few. What do you think?”
I mean, I did stay to give them a shot, so I should do that. Shouldn’t I?
“Show me what you have,” I tell him, knowing that I am walking a dangerous line.
MAX
“I’m surprised you are here,” Mason tells me as he takes a sip of his beer.
Truth is, so am I.
I was meant to be in New York, but when I arrived at the airport, leaving Iris behind, I paid way more than I should have to switch to Boston. I texted Chad and told him to rearrange all of my meetings and that if anything was pressing, to change it to a video call.
I needed to be home. With my family.
“I wanted to visit. Is that a crime?” I mutter.
“Oh no. It isn’t, but it is still a surprise. We usually know when you are coming into town. Instead, you sent out the bat signal to get us all here,” Brantley jokes.
Here happens to be our favorite bar. The place where we go when we need to get away and be guys for a little while.
Some days I miss when we were barely old enough to drink. We spent many nights at this bar talking about our future. Brantley was planning to go pro. He wanted to play hockey, not own a team. An injury ended that dream, but here he is. Still finding a way to be part of his passion.
Eli wanted to be the math genius he is. He never wanted to be anything but a CFO. I don’t think he realized that he would end up the CFO at the foundation under his girlfriend, but he seems happy. I have never seen the grump smile as much as I do when Adrianna’s name comes up.
Then there’s Mason. He always wanted to be CEO of The Williamson Group. He was the CEO. He had everything he wanted, but then his dream changed. Now he has the girl and the princess. I couldn’t be happier for the guy, but him getting his new dream meant me not getting mine.
I always wanted to be part of the family business, but on a small scale. It’s why the hotel was perfect for me. That is until some shit went down and things were crashing around me. I know now that it was my mother meddling in the business, but it doesn’t matter. It changed everything.
I would never take it back. It gave us Ari. Still, I wonder sometimes if I am where I am supposed to be. I enjoy being CEO more than I thought I would, but with Iris acting off lately, I wonder if I could still do it without her by my side.
Maybe it’s her that I really want for my future.
“London was gloomy, and I wanted to see Ari. I plan to stop by tomorrow,” I tell Mason.
Ari was already in bed by the time I arrived.
In fact, I woke these three assholes up to meet me here.
It’s nearly midnight, but I didn’t want to go back to my cold, lonely place.
I wanted to be with people, which is such a contradiction to what I normally like.
I hate social interactions, but today I needed it. With my boys.
“Where is Iris?” Eli asks, his eyes taking me in.
He is ever the observant one. I both hate and love it. He pushes me like Iris does to an extent.
“She wanted to stay in London for a few days,” I tell them. “She works hard enough, I figured it is the least I could do.”
“Better be careful. I swear the woman would move there if she could,” Brantley jokes.
“She looks like she could fit in there,” Mason adds.
Eli only stares at me as the dread settles in.
I’m scared that Iris is on a date over there.
Maybe not right this second. It’s like five in the morning there, but that she went on one last night, or maybe she is going on one tonight.
If this is the guy she really likes, what if she does decide to move?
It wouldn’t be such a hardship for her. She truly does love the city.
“She does love the city, but she loves Boston too. Speaking of which, have we found a building yet?” I ask Mason, changing the subject.
“The old Mercury building down on Howard. It looks promising. It’s big enough for a majority of what we would need moved here.
All the rest could be remote work, or they can work out of the New York office.
With it only being a four-hour train into Boston, we could pay compensation if we need them to come here, or you could go down there,” Mason says.
“Did you tour the place?” I ask him.
“I did. I can probably set up another one for tomorrow if you want to see it,” he says.
“Yeah, that would be great.”
“So the prodigal son wants to come home,” Brantley jokes, slapping my shoulder.
“I never wanted to leave, asshole. Besides, I think it’s about time the four of us are all in one place once more. It’s been far too long,” I tell him.
“The kings of Boston,” Eli snorts.
“That is what the girls used to call us back in school, wasn’t it? I forgot about that,” Mason says, rubbing his jaw.
“Oh yeah. I got laid so many times because of that title.” Brantley smirks.
“Better not say that too loud. You have Chloe, and she’s crazy. She will cut your dick off,” I remind him.
His smirk grows. “I know. I love that. My little psychopath.”
I shake my head. “Anyway, how are things at the foundation?”
Eli looks down at his beer. “We have had our best quarter ever. Adrianna has a way of convincing even the tightest wad to open his wallet and hand over his precious fortune.”
“She does have a way of tugging heartstrings. She got me for fifteen K the other day for some poor dog who needed surgery. I don’t even know if that’s what he needed, but it was either write the check or start crying,” Brantley admits.
As we all start teasing Brantley, I look around and realize that I should have moved home far before now.
I know Dad moved the office to New York to get away from Grandpa controlling things, but that isn’t working for us. I don’t want to miss out on my family like this. I want to be home.
I want to bring her home.
If I give her back her home, will she stay?