Chapter Twenty Two
JAKE
"This is so great!" Natalie exclaimed one week later at Grandmother’s party. She was running everything with an iron fist. I liked that about her. She was well organized and didn’t leave anything to chance, yet she wasn’t micromanaging either.
I smiled. “You’re talented at this.”
"Why, thank you. Are you complimenting me because you’re trying to get into my pants later?"
I tilted closer to her. "We can do that right now. No need to wait until later."
She laughed, cocking her head to look at me. "Jake, you're doing that thing again with the eyes."
"I can't help it."
"Oh yes, you can. You're doing it on purpose."
"Fine. I am," I admitted, "but you can't blame me."
"I totally can. And I am.”
“I’ve been behaving until now."
She put her hands on her hips. "The party started two hours ago."
"Exactly. That’s two hours too long."
"Don't be mean. This is a great party."
"It is. And you promised that once things are settled, you're going to sit beside me at the table."
She bit her lower lip. “I’ve already danced with you.”
"Natalie!" My voice was dangerously low.
She pointed at me. "Go sit at the table and chat with your brothers and half brothers."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "I'll make you a deal. You join me, and I'll be civil to them."
"I have a lot of things to do, to check on. I can't exactly take off. I'm running the party."
"You wouldn't be taking off. Besides, you need a break every now and then. You've been on your feet the entire time.”
“Again, just two hours.”
“Woman, why are you so stubborn?"
"That's how I am."
I looked at her expectantly. The truth was I wanted her to be by my side. The family knew about her, of course, but it would be different if she sat with us at the table, if she got to know them.
"I'll come for a snack, and then I'll get back to work."
"We have a deal." I was very proud of myself.
She tapped on her iPad and then glanced around. "I think everything is going according to plan right now. I can grab something to eat and join you at the table." She put the iPad on the small table next to the buffet where she’d set up her office of sorts.
"You can take the iPad to the table," I suggested. "That way you don't have to run back and forth."
"If I take it with me, I'll spend every moment with my nose buried in it instead of actually talking to everyone. Trust me, it's better this way."
"Okay."
She took a plate and loaded it up with chicken and pasta. As we walked back to the table, I put a hand on her waist. Whenever Natalie was around, I couldn't help touching her.
Grandmother beamed at us as we sat down at the table.
She was in a great mood today. She’d loved the present my brothers and I got for her—a photography course with one of the most renowned photographers in the country.
We’d also set her up with enough equipment that she’d never have to buy anything else.
"Natalie, darling, I have to say, you two make such a great couple."
Natalie blushed.
"I'm so happy I followed my hunch and hired you."
"What?" I asked.
Natalie straightened up, and Grandmother gave me a mischievous smile.
Grandfather cleared his throat. "Jeannie, you don't have to tell them everything."
"Oh, why not? It's all a bit of fun." Grandmother looked around the table. "Well, no one here is giving me great-grandkids, so I had to take matters into my own hands.”
I could practically see the colors of my brothers’ faces changing, and that went for my half brothers as well. Maddox, Nick, and Leo were sitting between Gabe and Grandfather. I’d made polite chitchat with them until now, but we hadn't really discussed anything worth remembering or mentioning.
I supposed this was Grandmother's way of breaking the ice, and damn, it worked.
"What now, Gran?" Maddox said.
No one on our side of the family called her “Gran.” We all addressed her as Grandmother—most of the time. It was something my mom ingrained in us as kids, and we kept it on.
"That's it, young man, exactly what you heard," Grandmother went on. "Anyway, Natalie struck me as a lovely lady, and I followed my instinct."
"Did you even want to have the party at Martha's Vineyard in the first place, or was that just an excuse?" Natalie asked. She sounded completely stunned.
"Hmm, no, I do think I wanted it there, but honestly, I just thought it would be a great opportunity for you to… see Jake in his own space, I guess."
"Wait, when you first told me about your plans for the party, you said you’d invited a friend of yours and her niece. Why would you even tell me that? Is she here?” I asked.
"I completely made it up," Grandmother said. "I wanted you to be on the lookout so you were more relaxed around Natalie."
No one spoke for several seconds.
Grandmother turned to Natalie. “I should’ve warned you. Nick, Maddox, and Leo are a handful too. But they’re good people. Friendly.”
“Except to each other. For instance, when they discover they have the same girlfriend, like Maddox and Leo,” Spencer volunteered.
Natalie blinked rapidly. “I’m so sorry.”
Leo waved his hand. “It was in college. We got over it eventually. After not speaking to each other for about six months. Nick tried to play pacifier, but Spencer was better at it.”
Nick nodded. “Yeah. The original pacifist in the family. Why did you bring it up now?”
Spencer shrugged. “I like switching from the peacemaker to putting gasoline on a fire from time to time.”
Everyone burst out laughing.
"So, Natalie," Nick said finally, "we've heard a lot about you."
I stared at him. He had, now, had he? Gabe was suddenly very busy cutting his steak. I guess I knew who spilled the beans. I wasn’t mad, simply surprised. I hadn't realized my half brothers were interested in my life at all.
"And this party is great," Nick continued. "It's elegant but not stuffy."
Natalie perked up. "Exactly."
"Yeah. Gran tells us you’re new to the party business," Maddox added.
"I am. I'm only doing it temporarily. My mother was a professional party planner, and I helped a lot over the years. I'm actually really enjoying it."
"That's good," Leo said. "I always say we all should do things we enjoy.
" He turned to me. "And hats off to you, Jake, for actually coming to Boston and taking over Whitley Advertising.
Must be harrowing to try to turn around a company that you've got no interest in.
I don't think I could do it." There was no trace of sarcasm in his voice. He really meant it.
"It's not as bad as I thought," I replied honestly. "But the workload is too much."
Leo grimaced. "As I said, hats off to you."
"Can you even turn it around?" Nick asked.
I looked around the table, wondering if this had been Grandmother’s plan all along. I hadn't had a conversation this long with my half brothers in years.
"I think it's possible." I was choosing my words carefully because I knew how important this was to Grandfather.
I didn't want to give him false hope. I didn't like to oversell my capabilities.
It was what made me one of the best in the business.
Many clients came to me, claiming they'd heard I would give them the truth, no bullshitting.
And that was exactly what I did. I never overpitched myself just to get a project.
If I thought I could get the job done, I told them so.
If I thought it was beyond saving, I told them that as well.
"But it's too early to give a verdict," I said.
"Good luck to you. Tell us if there's anything you need help with. Although, it's not exactly our area of expertise," Nick added.
This was yet another surprise. I assumed they hated my guts, but they didn't. What else had I been wrong about? They all had their own companies to focus on.
Leo ran Whitley Real Estate. Nick was in charge of the fitness center branch of Whitley Industries.
He’d also opened an online security company recently.
Maddox ran Whitley Office Designs—they specialized in designing custom office spaces.
He’d radically changed the company since he took over; with the rise of coworking and shared spaces, he’d had to keep up with the market.
Natalie smiled at me, then at Maddox. "Jeannie tells me all three of you are quite busy too, but it's still great of you to offer help.”
Cade cleared his throat. "I think this is a good time for me to interject and point out that neither Colton nor Jake is exactly the type who would admit needing help.”
“Just so you are all aware, keep your eyes open and read the signs, but don't expect them to come out and say it," he added.
Colton laughed. "I’d contradict you, but you have a very good point. But I can't remember a time when I actually needed help."
Cade rolled his eyes. "Yeah. You know how now you're working from early morning to late in the evening to get that drug through? This would be the time to ask for help. Not from us because neither of us are brainiacs, but you know, hiring someone else would probably do you good."
Colton lowered his arms, crossing them over his chest. "Interesting. We went from analyzing Jake to me."
"Are you going to do it to every member of the family?" Natalie asked.
Maddox whistled. "Natalie, I like that idea. Might give me a chance to find out more about these brothers. Not that Gabe isn’t a good enough source."
"Hey, dude," Gabe said. "You weren’t supposed to tell him that. Besides, Spencer and Cade are valuable sources of information too."
"True," Maddox said. "But Gabe takes the cake.”
I’d always had a feeling I was missing out on a huge part of my life because I wasn't in Boston, but I'd never felt that as intensely as I did now.
I'd never seen my younger brothers interacting like this with our half brothers—there was so much ease and banter. I hadn't even known this type of relationship had formed between them. What else was I missing out on?
"By the way, Natalie," Maddox said, "Gran said you want to add more clients."
"Oh yes, I do."