She was sick of being laughed at, dammit.
“We’re getting weird looks, you guys. Shut the heck up,” Hannah said, frustrated.
Her brother and James shared a look then snickered silently as they retreated to their meals. She huffed. “Look, I’m not a feminist. I just believe in equality. Why should two people who do the same job, work the same hours, and put in the same amount of dedication have different salaries simply because one has a penis and the other doesn’t?”
“You’re preaching to the converted,” James retorted sagely.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hannah retorted back.
“It means you don’t have to preach to us about equality. We already implement that in all our contracts.”
She jerked her chin at him. “What about maternity leave?”
James barely bothered to blink. “Three months for the mother, six weeks for the father.”
“Paid?” she retorted again.
“Of course,” James said with a frown, then clammed up when he took a bite of his own steak.
She cocked a brow at her brother. “Why is this the first I’m hearing of it?”
Aidan merely shrugged, but it was James who said, “Because it’s no big deal.”
No big deal?
She out and out gawked at James now. “Are you being serious? Your PR company needs shooting. C’mon guys. This is huge. A company like you, trolling out equal salaries and implementing them, and maternity/paternity leave as well? It should be shouted about!”
James shrugged. “We don’t need to shout about it. It’s exactly how it should be in our book.”
“From your perspective, I know what you mean. You have to see that it’s a massive deal, though. And not just for public opinion on Arias. But because people need to hear this is happening. You’re too large a company to let this get swept under the rug.”
To her brother, she batted her baby blues—well, greens—and pleaded, “Please, Aidan, throw out a press release or something.”
“It will just invite scrutiny, Hannah,” Aidan sighed. “That’s the last thing we need at the minute with the contracts we’re juggling.”
She huffed, but before she could say another word, James butted in, “You never did tell us what you’ve been doing this last year at your firm, Hannah. I meant it when I said I was interested.”
Aidan shot him a suspicious glance, but it wasn’t half as suspicious as hers. “Why do you want to know? And don’t think I’ve dropped this particular subject.”
“Because we know very little of what happens when you’re in Florida,” James remarked.
Her brother’s grin was rueful. “He’s right, sis. It’s like pre-cell phone tower days when you go south. We hardly hear from you at all until you visit.”
She grimaced. Was he right? She called, didn’t she?
“I didn’t mean for it to be like that. I’m just busy,” she said after she processed that. Trying to remember the last time she called Aidan was too hard, which was proof in their favor.
“But that’s my point,” James slotted in silkily. “Busy doing what?”
“Marketing,” she rebutted, clucking her tongue. “I picked up an athletic clothing company last week. The account’s going to be incredible by the time we’re done with it.”
“That your biggest catch?” James asked, but there was no sarcasm in his tone. Nothing that said, ‘is that all?’
Still, she reacted like it was.
“No. I’ve hauled in three more accounts these last six months. I managed to hook them because of some slogans I crafted for them. I’ve brought in contracts worth thirty million alone this past eighteen months,” Hannah announced.
“Well done, sis, that’s awesome.” Aidan’s pride was evident. “I always knew that smart mouth of yours would get you far.”