Chapter Four
COLTON
Darla, my assistant, poked her head in at eight o'clock the next morning. "Hey, Colton. Mr. Browning is here."
"Tell him to come in." Browning was the only one who arrived at the office as early as I did. He was one of the board members and also my mentor, someone I looked up to immensely.
I walked over to greet him, shaking his hand as he came in. "Good morning, Browning," I said. His first name was Joel, but he liked being called by his last name. "What brings you here?" He worked from home most of the time, so it was nice to see him in person rather than a Zoom call.
"Haven't been here in a while. I wanted to see how you’re doing."
Joel was like a father figure to me. He'd been with the company for many years, long enough to have known my mom. The two of them had been close. After she passed away, he took me under his wing.
"I’m well. I'm already working on my next idea."
He clapped his hands, smiling widely. "That's what I was hoping to hear. Your mother would be so proud of you and the dedication you put into your work."
His words meant the world to me.
"Thank you, Browning. Whitley Biotech is my life's work. It means everything to me."
We chatted for the next fifteen minutes or so about pending projects, profits, and budgets Joel was inspiring, and I really enjoyed spending time with him.
After we spoke of the competition, I could tell he was ready to be on his way. He nodded and then stood abruptly. "Well done. Don't let me keep you from your work. I heard a consultant started working here.”
"Yes. You know that one of the conditions the production company had prior to working with us was that I become more responsive."
He scowled. "Everything seems to be running fine, but what do I know? If this helps you organize your time better, why not? Would you mind sending me notes on your ideas as soon as you have something finalized?"
"Sure." I often shared my reports throughout a product's development. Joel was pretty sharp in pointing out things to look for as I created the formulas. It also kept me accountable.
After he left, I went back to my desk. This was turning out to be a good day.
I hadn't seen Joel in a while, and I’d been thinking about taking him out to lunch.
If I didn't have a date with my grandmother today, I would have done just that, but I didn't want to cancel on her. I knew she was looking forward to it.
The first meeting of the day was with my lead scientist, George. I was updating him on my progress.
“Colton, this all looks great. But the team and I can do more prep work in the early stages of the research,” he said toward the end of the meeting.
“Thanks, but I like to do the brunt of the work myself. I’d rather focus on the details and not manage the team’s efforts.”
“But I think it’d be quicker, since we could create the formula and alter it as we go. See right then and there the breakdown and reformulate it. I feel like a broken record at this point,” he countered. “You know my arguments.”
“Yes. But I don’t want to change our system.”
George narrowed his eyes, then opened his mouth but closed it without saying anything. We agreed on next steps, and then he left the office.
I understood why he thought working together on the formulas would be more advantageous, but I was a hands-on guy. I didn’t like the team hovering around in these early stages.
Shortly before lunch, Darla came into my office again. "Colton, your grandmother is here."
"Show her in, please." I was surprised she'd come to the office. We were supposed to meet at the restaurant for our lunch date.
The door opened wider, and Jeannie Whitley stepped inside. My grandmother was ninety-one, but you wouldn't know it from looking at her. She was agile and sharp and liked to keep me and my brothers on our toes.
I immediately rose from my desk, walking to her and kissing her cheek. "Grandmother, did I get things mixed up? I thought we were meeting at the restaurant."
"Oh, we are," she said. "That's what we agreed on, but honestly, I got bored of shopping, so I figured I'd visit you here in your lair. I haven't been to Whitley Biotech in a long while."
Whitley Biotech was one of the original companies within Whitley Industries that my grandfather started up.
"I can give you a tour. Want to see the lab?"
She waved her hand. "No, I know you don't like many people going into your lab, but I would like to look around the offices for a bit."
"Come on. I'll show you around."
I took her arm, walking with her down the corridor, stepping in front of each office, and giving her a brief explanation of what the team residing there was doing.
She smiled and nodded and asked pertinent questions.
That was one of the things I loved about Grandmother.
She never made small talk. She always had important things to say.
"Oh, you've done such a stellar job," she said as we moved back to my office. "Your grandfather is proud of you, you know?"
"Thank you." That was very important to me. It was one of the big motivators behind everything I did. I wanted both my grandparents to be proud. They deserved to know that all their hard work paid off despite the fact that my father nearly ran everything into the ground.
"Want me to make you a coffee?" I asked her.
I had a coffee machine in my office. I consumed so much of it that I didn't want to go to the communal kitchen every time I needed a cup.
Besides, that place was more of a gossip center.
I took after Grandmother and despised small talk.
"We still have time before we have to be at the restaurant. "
"Thanks, but I already had two today." She looked around again, then back at me. "You know, your grandfather would probably enjoy it here too," she said. "He's getting bored at home."
"Boring is good," I replied. "It'll keep him sane and safe."
"Well, safe maybe, but I'm not sure about sane. It’s driving him crazy."
Almost a year ago, Grandfather gave us a scare when he took a trip to the emergency room.
His health problems started when our father left us all, years ago.
Grandfather had been retired by that time, but he came back to work, overseeing Whitley Industries right up until he had a heart attack.
Doctors absolutely forbade him from working again after that, and he slipped back into retirement.
My brothers and I did our best, taking the reins of the companies as we grew older.
The only business that didn't have a Whitley leading it until recently was the advertising branch.
It nearly went bankrupt. Grandfather decided to run it himself for a while, right up until his health scare.
After that, my brother Jake moved from New York to Boston and took it over.
Ever since, we'd made sure Grandfather had absolutely nothing to worry about.
But the man didn't know how to take it easy. Of course he was bored. I would be too.
"Ready to go to lunch?" I asked. "I'm sure they can accommodate us earlier."
"Oh no, it's fine. I don't have to rush. I like being out of the house. I’m so glad that you're making time for the family now, Colton. We’ve missed you, you know."
I sensed her starting to guilt-trip me, but where could she possibly go with this?
"I apologize that I've been absent these past few years, but you know how I am when I'm working."
"Colton, you'll always have work. Especially with what you do. It'll always be easier to prioritize the development of a new product over your personal life."
"I'm getting better at balancing it," I said even though I wasn't.
Sometimes you had to tell people what they needed to hear. I didn't want Grandmother to worry about me.
"Your brothers have been so much happier lately."
I narrowed my eyes. I was starting to suspect where she was going with this.
"Everyone finds happiness in their own way," I said in a measured tone.
"Well, yes, but you have to admit that ever since they each found their better halves, Jake, Cade, and Spencer are much happier."
She was right, but if I openly agreed with her, I’d be digging my own grave.
"I'm glad things are working out for my brothers" was all I said.
Grandmother shook her head. "Colton, do I really have to spell it out?"
"No, I would prefer it if you don't, actually."
"My darling boy, when's the last time you brought home someone to meet us?"
"I don't even remember."
She nodded. "Exactly. Don't you think it would be good to have a woman by your side? Someone who can shake some sense into you?"
"Colton? I need—” Zoey said, stepping into the office before stopping in her tracks. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had company."
She looked at Grandmother, who rose from her chair with much more agility than I thought she had.
"Don't mind me. You can come in for whatever you need."
Zoey looked at me, and I nodded. She walked with quick steps toward my desk. She was insanely attractive in her pencil skirt and high heels. The sway of her hips did not go unnoticed.
"I’ve got a report with suggestions that will help you improve communication with your team and others. I thought you might like to review it.”
I only took a glance at the stack before looking back up at her. "That’s a big stack for one report. It might take me some time."
She cocked a brow. "We can go through it together if you want. I'll send you a calendar invite for an appointment to review it."
She was persistent. I liked that. Damn it, I liked her even though I disliked the fact that she was here at all.
"You’re the new consultant, aren't you?" Grandmother asked.
I whipped my head to look at Grandmother. How the hell did she even know about this? One of my brothers probably blabbed.
"Yes," Zoey said. She sounded as stunned as I felt. "I've only started here, so forgive me, but I'm not sure who you are."
“I'm Colton's grandmother, Jeannie Whitley. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand, and Zoey shook it.