Page 14 of Taming the CEO

Once I started the engine, she said, "Well, whenever he has friends over, he likes to pretend he doesn't have any food or alcohol restrictions. And I can't help but nag if I'm at home. That’s why I got out—so that he can have some fun."

"Since when are you so cavalier with his restrictions?”

She cleared her throat. "After I myself saw what it’s like to have someone hovering over you, I decided to relax a bit."

I started laughing. She'd gotten a taste of her own medicine. Both their health scares had been quite a while ago. The doctor's orders for my granddad had been clear. He shouldn't under any circumstances return to the office again, and there was no need for him to do that. We had all branches of Whitley Industries under control. And they were thriving.

"It's so good that it's only a short ride," Gran said.

"Forty minutes. Not bad," I said, especially since I planned to travel there a few times a week.

“I’m so glad you and Gabe are doing this together. I'd always hoped to see my grandsons from both sides of the family build something together.”

I stiffened at her words. Usually she didn't differentiate between our half brothers and us. Most of the time you wouldn't even know we didn't all grow up together.

She looked at me and smiled. "It'll bring you closer.”

"It's a great opportunity. In time, maybe we’ll open even more new branches."

My brothers and I were careful when it came to expansion. Dad had a huge ego and had opened new companies within Whitley Industries purely to make himself look good. He nearly ran them all into the ground because he hadn't paid attention to profits. We were doing things differently.

"So, tell me more about Cami. What exactly do you know about her?"

"Nothing," I said truthfully.

Gran turned to me. "Oh, that can't be right. How do you go into a negotiation without preparing beforehand?"

"I thought I was going to deal mostly with her father."

"Then tell me about her father.”

"Why?"

"Because that’s going to tell me a lot about her too. Sometimes people resist change for the wrong reasons. That might be the case here.”

"The guy has run the business for nearly forty years. He’s looking to take it easy. Gabe and I are offering him a lot of money, which will make for a fantastic retirement.”

"And the daughter works with him?"

"Exactly.” Why is she making me repeat everything? We'd already discussed all this at Sunday dinner.

"And what exactly would she do if her father sells the business?”

I shrugged. "Probably find another job. She's a college graduate. She's got management skills under her belt. I'm sure she's going to have no problem finding other employment."

"In Essex?" Gran asked suspiciously.

I was starting to see what she was getting at. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye before focusing back on the road.

"We don't know that she wants to stay in Essex."

"I'll find out. You just give me enough time alone with her. I need about an hour."

"Gran, you said you want to help. You can’t interrogate her for an hour.” I’d figured she’d want fifteen minutes or something.

"Oh, don't be silly. I’m very good at what I do.”

Alarm bells rang in my mind. What did Natalie warn me about? Fuck, I should have paid better attention. She might have been onto something.

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