Bob had been with me for years and his balding head probably reflected the amount of stress I’d put him through. No one called me son except my father, mother, and him. “So what if I’m smiling?”
“You never appear happy when we discuss the Armanellis. Not like that, anyway.”
I cleared my throat. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Bob glanced behind him to where I’d been looking. His bright-blue eyes that always seemed so damn friendly sparkled with recognition. “Ah. I see.”
“You don’t see anything, old man.”
He looked down at his laptop with one side of his mouth quirked up. “She’s whip smart and a beacon of light. I’m enjoying working with her.”
“She’s naive, Bob. We both know it. Not everything is sugar plums and lollipops like she thinks.”
“Sure, but isn’t it nice to have someone around every now and then who thinks it is?”
I looked out at the open office. Vick was flouncing around now. Like always, she shook off her anger faster than I could blink. Josie eyes sparkled at something she said, and Brey laughed when Vick gestured wildly in the air. The long petal-pink sleeves of her dress flared at the edges and Brey picked at one of them as if admiring the fabric. Vick nodded quickly, eyes wide.
No doubt those two were discussing clothing and not business. “It’d be nice, Bob, if everyone worked so we’re prepared for the Armanelli meeting.”
Bob closed his laptop as slow as a sloth would. “We’ll be fine, Jett.”
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “Get back to work, old man.”
“Like you say, I’m old. I’ve got to take my time.” He rustled around in his seat for a minute longer.
“You just ran a damn marathon, Bob. Get the hell out of my office.”
He sprang up from his chair, laughing. He might have been pushing seventy but no one would guess it by his upright stance, athletic build, and spry gait. “Get some sleep, son. You’re cranky.”
I straightened a few papers on my desk as he left, not wanting to reply. I wasn’t sleeping well. The only nights I’d gotten sleep had been the ones after a certain woman blew my mind and those were few and far between. I needed to get back to random women and regimented routines. It was the only way I was going to survive taking over this company.
Thirty minutes before the meeting, I made my way to our conference room with the team I’d assigned. Brey followed closely behind me, making an effort to stay professional and not look at her husband. Vick, on the other hand, bounced around near Bob and took a seat near him. Eyeing the projector and technology in the room, I mumbled, “They’ll just want to talk.”
Brey nodded. “I agree. I made the PowerPoints in case, but I don’t believe you’ll need them.”
“Not sure it was worth the time. Your PowerPoints are burned into our brains. We’ll know the stats if needed.”
Brey pursed her lips to hold in a grin. She knew that was as good a compliment as she was going to get from me.
“Brey, your PowerPoints were on point,” Vick chimed in.
Bob nodded, eyes damn near twinkling. “I agree. They really helped me understand the data.”
“Good job, Peaches,” Jax said as he sat down next to me and leaned around me to look into his wife’s eyes. Hers widened and she shook her head once. The woman seemed to think she could control a Stonewood.
“Babe, everyone knows we’re married. I can call you Peaches here.”
Bob and Vick snickered while two other people on my legal team ruffled through their notes, trying to make like they hadn’t heard.
“Let’s focus on preparing for the meeting, Jax,” Brey clipped out.
“Sure.” He nodded. Then looked at everyone else in the room. “Anyone have any questions for Mrs. Stonewood? She made the PowerPoints earlier this week at home. In my bed.”
Brey’s cheeks turned red with anger and embarrassment. Across the room, Vick practically sighed with giddiness before she raised her hand. “I have a question.”
Bob mumbled, “This ought to be good.”
“I’m just wondering if Mrs. Stonewood created the PowerPoints before or after—”