“That was different.”
“How?”
“Maxwell intentionally fucked with Dad and tried to ruin Lawson Steel. The Hendersons are as much victims in all this shit as we are. And from the look in Brice’s eyes, I’m not sure they didn’t suffer more. At least Aunt Audrey wasn’t around to torment us for long.”
Dylan knew Gareth was speaking logically, but he needed something to focus on besides Sofia. She was beginning to fill his thoughts day and night. Something had to give to let out all this built-up frustration.
“I’ll let it rest for now. But if I find out any of the Hendersons are digging into our lives again, the gloves come off.”
“I’m with you on that,” Gareth said. “But I don’t see how putting this on hold for six months or so is going to change anything. And besides, we have other things we need to focus on. With Charles off playing daddy, and you playing….well let’s just say I’m not sure what you’re doing right now, but you’re preoccupied too, but that means the weight of the workload is falling on us four. I even had to blow off a date last night to finish reviewing a contract that had to be signed today.”
“Oh poor Gareth, a night home alone. Did you want me to call Dad and tell him you need his help after all?” Dylan said sarcastically.
“Fuck no! That’s the last thing we need.”
“I thought so. And by the way, I’m not playing around. I’m managing Grayson Corp, and still maintaining my job here at Lawson Steel. If something is falling behind, don’t look at me.” Dylan didn’t give any or take any excuses for shit not getting completed on time. The success of Lawson Steel was first and foremost on his mind. Most of the time.
“You want to go grab lunch?”
“No. I’d better go see Rosslyn before she hears it from someone else,” Dylan said, giving Gareth a warning look.
“Hey, I wouldn’t tell her.”
“No. You’d tell Seth, who’d tell Jordan, who’d tell Ethan, who would somehow let it slip. I know how this works. The only secrets are the ones you don’t share.”
“Hey, right now the only talk is about the baby, so talking about your love life is exactly what we need,” Gareth said. “Well, go tell her you hired your girlfriend. I’ll keep my ears open for the repercussions later.”
Getting up to leave Gareth’s office, he said, “You’re a real ass sometimes.”
Gareth laughed. “Wow, that’s an improvement. I must be getting soft in my old age.”
Dylan shook his head and left. There was no winning with Gareth today. And really, there was no point in arguing. Dylan wasn’t retracting the offer. And that’s how he was going to present it, too.
He spent the next two hours updating Rosslyn on everything he’d learned so far, and what he believed Grayson Corp. was missing.
“I totally agree with you, Dylan. My uncle wasn’t a very…charitable person. The more he had, the more he wanted. I’d like you to dig deeper into A Fresh Day. There are several others that might need help as well. Charles let me know all the things Lawson Steel has been doing over the years. I don’t want to duplicate their, your, efforts. I think bringing someone on full time who can be on the streets, talking to the people, will help me get a better understanding of where Grayson needs to be.”
On the streets?That wasn’t where he wanted Sofia to be. How would he protect her? Granted, she’d probably love the idea, but he wouldn’t. “I was thinking more like an office job.”
“Anyone could do that. Heck, I could have my assistant Liz do that instead of playing on social media. No, I want to get up close and personal with people, make sure we’re not being sold on only what some agency wants us to know. All businesses, non-profit or not, have their own agenda.”
That was true. And Rosslyn impressed him. Grayson Corp. was in good hands with her at the helm. Now how was he going to explain to Sofia that the job was no longer available? Because there was no way in hell he was allowing her to take it.
Dylan walked over and gave Penelope a kiss on the forehead before leaving. Things definitely weren’t the same around here. Business meetings were being held with babies around. Decisions were changing as often as diapers. What the hell was next? Was this the new norm? If so, Dylan wasn’t sure how he was going to adapt.
When he got outside, he took a few deep breaths and tried to prepare himself for the next half of the day. Unfortunately, what he thought would be easy, wasn’t.
How do I keep getting myself into this shit?The answer was Sofia’s honey-brown eyes. They were going to be the death of him. A slow, painfully sweet death — one he couldn’t seem to walk away from, either.
Sofia took more notes than Dylan seemed to. Had he meant it when he said he wanted her to take the job, and this was day one? She hadn’t accepted the job, then again, she hadn’t declined it, either. Listening to Patty talk filled her with an excitement that she hadn’t expected.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad taking a break from Mama’s Place to try something new. It’d give her a chance to use her degree, as well. It all sounded perfect, but she knew nothing was. Making this change would come with difficulties, if not for her, then for her parents. They counted on her, too much. That’s why she was still there. Was it time to have the conversation about leaving? She’d tried it several times before, but they wouldn’t sit long enough for her to make them listen. With Dylan in the picture, they might be expecting it. They might be expecting me to say we’re getting married, too. Always a complication.
Sitting there tapping her notepad with her pen, Sofia looked up and noticed Dylan was staring at her. “What?”
“You seem…distracted,” he said.
“I was thinking about the meeting. I thought it went well. But as you know, I’ve helped out there one day. It doesn’t seem to be enough now. Not after learning all the details.” She had told herself she’d go back. But lack of time was the only obstacle. She couldn’t imagine how she’d be able to fix that. If anything, it was about to get worse since rehearsals start.