"Great to see you, man!" Cade said, and Spencer nodded.
"How much time do you have?" Colton asked. No bullshit. Straight to the point as usual.
"Two hours, and then the plane goes back." I slid him the keys to his car before I forgot. “Thanks, man.”
“She drive good?” Colton had a Mercedes AMG GT, and it was a damn good car.
“Great. I need to get me one of those.”
Spencer and Gabe nodded in agreement.
We were all relatively close in age. Colton was thirty-four, and I was younger by a year. Cade and Spencer were both thirty-one. They were twins, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at them; they shared neither the same appearance nor the same personality. Gabe was the youngest at twenty-nine.
"What did Grandmother ask you here for? Was it about her birthday, or was it to remind you that it's a pity you're not passing on those blue eyes and that thick hair to future generations?" Gabe asked. "Don't worry. We get the same speech from time to time."
"They asked me here to be the CEO of Whitley Advertising. Why didn't any of you tell me Grandfather went back to work?" I asked.
Colton and Spencer exchanged glances. Gabe frowned.
Cade cocked a brow. "We tried to solve the issue by ourselves. Would it have made a difference if we told you?"
"Yes. Obviously. I offered to help them find a CEO."
Cade snorted. "You think we all didn't try that? Grandfather too? It's not like you can pick up one off the street.”
“I know how recruiting works. I've assisted companies in searching for new CEOs."
"And how long did that usually take? The job market is tough right now," Cade countered.
"Months, sometimes up to a year," I admitted. "There’s always somebody who’s looking for a job, or a different one. Regardless, someone has to lead the company in the meantime."
"None of us have time, so Grandfather did it," Colton explained. “He seemed to be enjoying getting back into the fray again.”
Although that may have been the case, he should have been enjoying his retirement years with Grandmother, not worrying about some failing advertising company that had been the bane of Whitley Industries for years.
"Someone should’ve told me," I said through gritted teeth. It truly pissed me off that they didn’t share this with me.
"Why? So you can give us attitude?" Gabe countered. "Cheer up, man. Grandfather is in great shape. And between us, I think going to work is good for him. He told me he feels better than ever.”
Colton and I were in the room with Grandmother when the doctor told Grandfather that he should avoid stress under any circumstances after his heart attack.
"So, there’s no possibility of you actually taking up the role for a while?" Spencer asked.
"None.” I didn't even hesitate. “I don't have time for a second job.”
“No," Spencer said. "We all considered taking the position ourselves."
“You did?” I was stunned.
“Yes. But we don’t have your expertise when it comes to turning around businesses. It’s what you do day in, day out. Besides, you could probably replace yourself in your own company, better than any of us. Your work is project based, and you can divide them among your team. That’d be easier than it is for Grandfather to find a new CEO.”
I hated that he was right. My vice president of operations, Ben, was a genius, and I was grooming him to be Co-CEO in a couple years. But he wasn't ready yet.
"Did she tell you about a party too?" Gabe asked.
"Just that she wants it to be huge. Have you decided what we're buying her yet?"
"No," Gabe said. "But Maddox, Nick, and Leo have something in the works. They just won't tell me."