Page 2 of Business or Pleasure

“I’ve got to call my mum.” The girl released me and ran off.

With everyone else returning to what they’d been doing, it left me with my new wingman. For a moment, I wasn’t sure what to say, but then I held out my hand.

“Baylen McFann.”

He smiled and gave me a firm shake. “Alec McCrae.”

I knew that surname. “McCrae? Any connection to the McCrae International Research Institute?”

“Aye.” His eyes widened with surprise. “I’m Patrick McCrae’s eldest.”

I looked harder at him and realized that I’d seen him before, though it’d been over ten years. We’d been children at some event with our families.

I gestured toward a table. “I’ve yet to eat. Care to join me?”

“You should get the girl’s number first,” Alec suggested. “Play the hero.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re not interested?”

He shrugged. “Not at the moment.”

The waitress was on the phone. She was a pretty little thing. “Maybe later. She’s had a rough evening.”

“Aye,” Alec said. “Later then.”

After ordering, we settled around a table and spoke of our families. I learned the reason I hadn’t seen him in a decade was that the McCrae family had been living in America all that time. As he spoke of the move, the shadow on his face prevented me from asking why they’d left. Instead, I teased him about sounding American and coaxed out another smile. I intuitively knew it wasn’t an expression he wore often.

I leaned forward. “Can I ask why you came back to Glasgow for university if your family is in California?”

Alec didn’t answer right away. For a moment, I worried I’d crossed a line.

“We moved because Da remarried,” he said, his eyes fixed on his food. “I remember my mother better than my siblings, but sometimes it’s like I’m losing the memory. But here…whenever we visited, I could…see her better.”

I understood. Alec wasn't just here to remember his mother but also to share that experience with her.

“Will you be takin’ the business route, then? Plan to head the family business here?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t decided where I’ll locate, but aye, I’ll be takin’ over MIRI one day, so I’m going the MBA route.” He cleared his throat. “And you? Do you know what you’re going for?”

“An MBA as well for me,” I said. “My parents expect all of us to grow the family empire.” I gave him a wry smile.

Alec’s forehead furrowed for a moment. “McFann? Would your parents be Charles and Elsa McFann? One of the wealthiest families in Scotland and contributors to medical research?”

I nodded. “Aye. That’s them. My eldest brother is already following in their footsteps.”

“But you’re going in your own direction?” The shrewd expression on Alec’s face led me to believe that he saw far more than what most people would realize.

“That I am, in a way.” I gave him a rueful smile. “Unlike my father, I want to be involved, help people become successful and thrive, rather than just invest, take over, and then sell the business in pieces.”

I rarely spoke of my family’s money with such candor. To consciously draw notice to such things was the height of vulgarity. Alec, however, came from the same background and understood our world.

I hadn’t been sure if I could find a person here with whom I could relate.

A friend.

I had no faith in signs and only the barest belief in the validity of intuition, but for once in my life, I had a flash of insight with no logical basis.

Alec McCrae and I were going to be great friends.

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