Page 24 of Enchanting the CEO

"No problem. Glad I could be of service. Are you sure you don't need any help unpacking?"

"No, I need to do it myself. Feel the energy and all that."

I stared at her. Energy?

She smiled sheepishly. "You think I'm a weirdo, huh?"

"No, I just think you're different than anyone else I've ever met." And I liked it.

She laughed. "I happen to think different is good."

"It is," I said. "It definitely is."

She went past me on her way back inside the house. Her arm almost brushed my chest, which she seemed to realize at the last second, because she took a step to the side. Was she avoiding me on purpose? Was it because I made her uncomfortable or because she was attracted to me? I needed to know, and I was going to find out.

Once Diane went inside, I returned to my construction site across the road, but I only spent half an hour there, since there really wasn't much I could do. I had no clue about construction in general, but one thing I realized was that the crew was much more productive if they knew I stopped by regularly. I didn't believe in micromanaging, but some things needed more attention than others, and my house was important to me.

I headed to my half-brother Nick’s gym afterward. I always asked if he was around when I was here, but today he wasn’t. I did my usual routine at the weight section and then my cardio exercises. Some people preferred to jog outside, and I could definitely do it in my neighborhood—it was quiet, and there wasn't a lot of traffic—but I wanted to focus on my workouts, and I did that best at the gym. But I also had an entire workout room at home for the days when I couldn’t make it here.

After finishing the workout, I saw a missed call from Maddox and immediately called back.

“Hey!" I said when he answered. "I’ve been training. Are you at Nick’s gym too?”

“No. Need to blow off steam in the middle of the day?”

“Something like that.”

“Right.”

I frowned. He wasn't being his usual self. Usually by now he would have already cracked a joke or given me shit about something.

"Brother, why do you have a stick up your ass?" We didn't do subtle in our family.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes. What happened?" I asked, going into the juice bar.

"I heard through the grapevine that Dad wants to return to Boston and open up a business here."

Every muscle in my body tightened. "Fuck no!" I exclaimed.

"My thoughts exactly," Maddox replied in a clipped tone.

“Define grapevine.”

“After we bought him out of the company, I started keeping track of his moves.”

Dad had held minority stock in Whitley Industries until recently. We bought him out—at his request. We figured it would get him out of our lives for good. He'd claimed he needed the money to settle some debts, but apparently there was plenty left for him to start a new business.

“Do you have details?”

“Not yet.”

"Let's not share with the whole family until we know more."

"Sure," Maddox replied. “But Nick and Leo know. I asked them to help me keep an eye out for him."

"Thanks for staying on top of this. I have to admit, I never thought it was necessary."

---