Page 26 of Billionaire Unexplained: Kaleb

I swallowed a sip of coffee before I answered. “You’re probably going to think this is crazy, but my dad handled a lot of my investing and my business finances. He was good at it. Financial management isn’t one of my strong points, and I’m always so busy that I almost never have a chance to sit down and try to understand it more. Ray says I need to tour, so I tour.”

Kaleb shot me a troubled frown. “Your agent is handling all of your business finances now?”

“Ray was my dad’s friend,” I told him. “Or maybe you could say that my dad was like a substitute father to him. I’ve known Ray since I was a kid. He lived next door. When his own father died, my dad took him under his wing. He’s been helping me since the beginning of my career. He handles a few other artists now, but he got his start by handling my gigs for me. I didn’t have an agent in the beginning. My father was good with financial stuff, and I was eighteen.”

Kaleb nodded distractedly. “I get that, but didn’t you ever think about getting a financial manager once you started making more money?”

“Dad always consulted me on the things he was doing, and he liked handling my financial stuff,” I mused. “After he died, Ray said he had it handled. I know I need to find someone, but I haven’t started looking for someone yet. Honestly, I’m not sure where to start or who to hire.”

“You trust Ray,” Kaleb stated, his expression still somewhat concerned. “I understand that he’s a personal friend, too, but I wouldn’t mind taking a look at your portfolio just to make sure your gains are being optimized. Maybe I can help reassure you that you can stop doing big tours if it doesn’t make you happy. It never hurts to have more than one set of eyes on a portfolio. Finance and investments are my specialties.”

I shot him a grateful look. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d happily accept that offer. I have a ballpark figure of how much money I have invested, and my dad used to be meticulous about my financial records. I never really had to dig into those investments, and I never seemed to have the time. I do trust Ray, but I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do about all of the things my dad used to handle for me yet. Now that he’s gone, I know I need an expert working with my money and investments. I have the latest portfolio and records that Dad sent to me right before he died.”

“Perfect,” Kaleb said. “Send them to me and I’ll look things over for you.”

“I feel like an of idiot that I don’t handle my own financial—”

“Don’t,” Kaleb interrupted firmly. “Most people in your position don’t handle the everyday business stuff or investments. It’s complicated for people in your field. That’s why wealth managers and business managers have a job. You’re incredibly creative, Anna. You have an enormous amount of responsibilities on you. Don’t beat yourself up because you don’t have the time or the energy to be an investment and financial expert, too.”

That made me feel a little better. “I always hated math in school,” I confessed sheepishly.

“Yeah, well,” he grumbled. “If it makes you feel better, you have more artistic talent than most people could ever dream of having. I certainly don’t have that. My mother is a renowned artist, and I can’t even draw. Tanner inherited her talent, and Devon is musical, but I’m not exactly a creative guy.”

“You make some incredible furniture,” I reminded him.

“That’s all I can create,” he said in a self-mocking voice.

I laughed because he looked so disgruntled. The man was a billionaire and a business tycoon. That was his special talent.

It would be completely unfair if he was good at everything.

He was hot.

He was rich.

He was a business genius.

He was thoughtful and generous.

In my mind, he didn’t need to have artistic talent, too.

“Will I get to meet your mom and your brothers before I leave?”

Kaleb smirked. “Do you honestly think I’ll have a choice in whether you meet them or not? My brothers have a very bad habit of dropping in whenever they feel like it, so I’ll have to tell them I have a guest. If my brothers know you’re here, my mother will eventually find out. I’m not saying my family is intrusive, but they make themselves at home here if I let them. Mom won’t be able to contain her curiosity. Especially if she knows I have a female guest. She doesn’t complain too much, but she makes it perfectly clear that she wants us married and having her grandchildren. She finally gave up on trying to set us up with nice women, but she’s still hopeful. Mom will find some way of finagling her way into the house. Knowing her, she’ll thaw out some of the huckleberries she has in the freezer and make a pie to bribe her way in.”

Kaleb’s annoyed comments didn’t match the look in his eyes.

He obviously adored his family, even if they did invade his space sometimes.

“Oh, God,” I groaned as I rubbed my belly. “I love huckleberry pie. It’s been a long time since I’ve had some. I’m afraid that kind of bribery would definitely work on me.”

Montana had the most amazing wild huckleberries, a berry that didn’t grow in that many states. Thinking back on it, I probably hadn’t had a huckleberry since I’d left Montana seventeen years ago.

“Fair warning,” Kaleb said drily. “My mother makes the best huckleberry pie in Montana, and she’s not ashamed of using that to her advantage to get what she wants.”

I laughed. “I’m sure that your family is just as amazing as you are. I can’t wait to meet them all.”

“Yo! Kaleb!” a loud baritone bellowed from the living room.

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