Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
She snarls. “I never want to see a soup again.”
I laugh, hopping on a barstool.
“Why are you here midmorning?” she asks, pouring hot water into a tea mug. “Want some tea?”
“No, thanks. I’m here to check on you and Ivy. And I wanted to discuss something with you and Gannon. Is he around?”
“Yeah. He just got out of the shower. He’ll be out here in a few.”
I glance around Gannon’s house and can hardly believe it’s the same bachelor pad it used to be. It used to feel cavernous. And blank. It was always cold, too. But now that Carys and baby Ivy are here, it’s completely different. There are bright colors and furniture that you can sit on. Pictures and mementos hang on the walls and are propped up on side tables, and baby toys are everywhere.
It’s a home.
I can’t help but wonder how Aurora will change my house, and how many times she’ll redecorate it. What will our kids play with? Will we have a playroom or just let them take over the whole house?
“Hey, Tate,” Gannon says, his hair still wet from the shower. “Didn’t know you were here.”
“Didn’t know you were here either,” I say. “Do you ever work anymore?”
Gannon and Carys exchange a look. I feel it in the pit of my stomach.
“What?” I ask, looking between them.
“I guess we might as well start with you,” Gannon says.
“The last time someone said that to me, I was in the principal’s office.”
He takes a mug from Carys and pauses to kiss her. “I’ve been thinking a lot about businesses, work, and life itself.”
“Are you getting philosophical?”
“And I’ve decided I don’t want to do this shit anymore.”
What? “What shit?”
“All of it.” He shrugs. “I don’t want to be the head of Brewer Group anymore.” He sips his tea, moving around the kitchen. “I don’t care about it anymore. Not sure I ever did.”
I take a deep breath and let this admission sink into my brain.
I can’t say I’m shocked to hear this. Gannon was never the one poised to take over after our father. It was always Bianca. But he stepped into the role after she stepped aside and kept things going while we struggled to keep our heads above water.
Now that we’re above deck on everything but the Raptors, I can’t blame Gannon for wanting to walk away. I would’ve done it way before now.
“My blood pressure is going up,” Gannon says. “I’m on a pill to lower it now. For what? To keep something alive that is a testament to our father’s legacy? Fuck that, and fuck him.”
“Amen.”
“I want to be here with Carys and Ivy. I don’t need to go to work. None of us do. Our kids won’t have to work if they don’t want to. So why are any of us doing this if it isn’t what we want to do?”
Carys watches the back-and-forth from the other side of the island.
“I know why I do it,” I say.
“Why?” he asks.
I grin. “Because you do.”
He balks.
“Gan, I don’t give one flying fuck about Brewer Group, and I couldn’t care less about preserving Dad’s legacy. What I do care about is you, even though you’re a prick, and I couldn’t let you do it alone.”
Carys covers her mouth, but I can still hear her giggle.
“I couldn’t abandon you when you were trying to pull it all together for the rest of us. Hell, I knew you didn’t want to be doing it from the day Bianca left to go to Florida.”
His face softens.
“I respect the hell out of you, brother. And I respect you even more for doing what’s right for your family.” I glance at Carys and wink before turning back to her husband. “You need to be here, taking care of our girls.”
Gannon groans. “You always have to blow it.”
I laugh.
“What do you propose we do?” I ask, releasing a breath.
“First, I want to see if any of you want to take the reins at Brewer Group.”
“Again, not a hard question to answer.” I shift in my seat. “Me? No. If you go, I go. Ripley? I love him, but he’s not smart enough to do your job.”
Gannon’s lips twitch.
“Jason won’t. Bianca will laugh in your face. And Renn will likely pass, but he’s the wild card.”
“That’s about how I see it, too.”
I fold my hands on the counter. “So what do you do? Sell it? Because while no one is going to want to spearhead Brewer Group, Renn will want to keep the Royals. Ripley might want the Arrows, although I’m not sure. Jason will keep Brewer Air, but that’s not under the umbrella company anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
“I’ve talked to our attorney over the past couple of weeks. We can separate anything we want from the Brewer Group and sell what’s left.”