“Oh, perfect. I can’t wait for you to make good on those promises.”
She blushed, licking her lips. I tugged that lip between my teeth, making her squirm.
“I hope you liked our trip. This is my secret place, by the way, so don’t go around blabbing about it,” she said.
“My lips are sealed. Thanks for bringing me here.”
When she rested her arms around my neck, I felt more connected to her than I’d ever felt to anyone. The realization should have scared me, but instead I held her closer. How was I going to handle not having her in my life?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Landon
Hailey dropped a bomb at the next Friday dinner.
“You didn’t,” I exclaimed.
“Yeah, I did. Look, you’ve been stretching yourself thin these past three weeks. I can even see some white hairs sprouting. I spoke to my boss and told him I need to take one month off. He went berserk, but I pulled on all my negotiation skills and convinced him to give me three weeks. So Monday morning, I’m coming to the office with you. We can split tasks.”
I stared at her in bewilderment. “Okay, back up. How did you come to the conclusion that I need help?”
“Your partnership with Sullivan is rocky, and Val’s project requires 200 percent of your attention. Some might even say it would have been a great idea for her to hire someone to assist her.”
She slid her gaze to Val, who was suddenly very interested in her quinoa and avocado salad. Since we wanted Val to rest, we took turns preparing Friday dinner. This had been Will’s contribution. Had I been too careless these past Fridays? Complained too much? I racked my brain but didn’t remember doing so.
“Hailey, I appreciate the thought, but this isn’t necessary. You have your own career to focus on.”
Hailey crossed her arms over her chest. “I have a lot of accrued time. It’s my right to go on vacation. My boss is like all bosses—present company excluded, I hope”—she slid Val and me a cutting look—“and he doesn’t like his employees to actually take time off, but there’s nothing he can do about it.”
A while ago Hailey confided in me that she was on track for a promotion, and I knew sharks in the consultancy world well. They wanted your sweat, blood, and full commitment. Taking this time off would work against her. But Hailey knew all this, so I needed another angle.
“You don’t know the business—”
“I’m a business consultant, Landon. I tackle unknown businesses for a living. I take everything on a project-by-project basis, and I have a good system for learning the nuts and bolts quickly. And I’ve worked with other companies in the industry.”
She held her chin up high as if daring me to question her expertise. Okay, so that had been a lousy angle. I was running out of ideas. I looked at Val for support.
“Val? You’re really going to let her do this?”
Hailey sighed. “I’m an adult, Landon. I don’t need permission from either of you to do what I please.”
My twin sister looked miserable. “I don’t want either of you putting your lives on hold for me. But Landon, you do have your plate full. I’m not making much of a dent in your workload with what I do from home. My team isn’t used to working remotely with me. I know I’m not good when it comes to delegating, and your deal needs more of your attention.”
Negotiations had reached a new low this week. Sullivan was reopening negotiations on every front, including unimportant details. He was wasting both our time, and that bothered me, because I couldn’t see his endgame. He’d seemed a straightforward person in the beginning. I would have backed out of the deal, but I had no other way of delivering the results I’d promised to investors.
I hadn’t mentioned the latest troubles with the merger to my family, though. How did they know? Had Adam called Val? I’d kill him. I looked around the table for support. It took me all of three seconds to realize I would get none. Lori, Jace, and Will were nodding appreciatively. Milo was focusing on his second serving of salad. I wished Maddie was here, even though I’d be outnumbered even with her vote of confidence.
“When I say I can take care of something, it’s because I can,” I said calmly.
“Jeez, you’re stubborn,” Lori said.
“We can out-stubborn him,” Will added.
Jace chuckled. “Let’s not get cocky. The stubborn streak runs deep in the Connor bloodline, but Landon takes stubbornness and determination to a whole new level. Need to tackle this somehow else. I’m thinking old-fashioned bargaining.”
“I can take care of this,” I repeated, but with less conviction. I remembered the conversation with Maddie from three weeks ago about not placating my siblings. I knew she was right, but knowing and doing were different things. I could start trying, though.
“You don’t have to take care of things on your own anymore, Landon. We’re grown up. And you’re our brother, not our parent,” Jace said. The table went quiet.