"I told Grandfather that," Gabe added. There was no humor in his voice.
"It's going to take a lot, but I'm going to give it my best," I assured them.
"We have no doubt about that," Gabe said. “And in your free time, we're going to make sure you enjoy everything Boston has to offer.”
"I won't have any time for that."
"I wonder if you would say the same thing if Ms. Natalie were part of the package as well." Cade grinned.
I sneered. "Brother, this is the second time you’ve being disrespectful toward her."
He clapped me on the back. "God, I forgot you’re so proper. Welcome back home, brother. We’ve missed you."
***
My brothers stayedat the office for two whole hours as we went through the report. Things went from bad to worse, but my brain was already in problem-solving mode. I had a few ideas I needed to test, but first I'd have to thoroughly study the books. After Gabe and Cade left, I pulled them up on my laptop.
I spent the afternoon assessing the accounts and realized Gabe had been completely right. This place wasn’t just bleeding money, it simply had none left. That was our roadblock.
Half my brain was working on a solution to bring in income right now. The other half was on Natalie. I was tempted to tell Cade to forward me the contact information from the security companies. From what I'd seen outside Natalie’s door, she didn't even have cameras. Had she ever thought about installing some?
Fucking hell, I can’t believe I’m obsessing over this.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, I texted her.
Jake: Natalie, this is Jake. Is everything okay?
I tapped my pencil against the stack of papers I had in front of me. I'd printed out some crucial parts of the accounting documentation. I thought best when I had information printed in front of me.
My phone buzzed. I grabbed it the next second.
Natalie: Yes, why wouldn’t it be?
Jake: Do you have any security cameras? I've asked my brothers, and I have recommendations for companies that can take care of it.
Natalie: No, I don't. Relax, Jake, I don't need any.
Is she serious? Some guy’s giving her headaches, and she just waves it away, saying it’s fine?
Instead of letting it go, I called her. I couldn't explain why this was haunting me, but I needed to keep her safe.
"Natalie, it's Jake," I said the second she answered.
"I figured." Her tone was impossibly sassy again, but I preferred it to the small, scared voice I heard yesterday just after she saw the letter.
"I don't think you should minimize this issue. You should get an alarm system."
"By all means, please boss me into what you think I should or shouldn't do."
"This isn't about bossing anyone into anything."
"Mm-hmm. That is not what it sounds like to me. What did your brothers say when you told them about it?"
"I apologize. I shouldn't have shared this with them. They made fun of me, obviously."
"You're more relaxed around them, you know?"
"I like being with my family,” I admitted.