Page 16 of The Grump

After the two of them left the room, my brother Julian took the spot Celine had vacated. His girlfriend, Georgie, then sat on his lap. These two were inseparable. I still couldn’t believe thathe’d actually gotten engaged. He’d been determined for so long that he was a bachelor for life that I’d actually started to believe him.

Georgie kissed the side of his neck and said, “I’m going to let you talk to your brother, okay? Bella said she wants to show me something in the kitchen. Your grandmothers apparently taught her some new trick.”

“Sure, babe, you go,” he said, his eyes following her as she left the room.

Then he turned to me as Anthony and Beckett joined us too. Our youngest brothers ran the bakeries and music venues and an assortment of other things. They were very good at splitting their focus among the various branches. Unlike them, I was very good at one thing only: numbers. They tended to take everything in stride and always said that being so rigid would be my downfall. I didn’t think my way was better than theirs, just that different things worked for different people.

“We need updates. You managed to successfully brush off the grandmothers but not us,” Julian said.

“Updates on what?” I asked, confused.

“I can’t believe you’re obsessing over the confectionery business. It’s not even a business,” Anthony said.

“That’s the problem. I don’t like that we’ve got so many side things going on that don’t make money. It’s making us lose focus.”

Julian cocked a brow. “Dude, the Orleans Conglomerate’s been around for decades. A pet project that doesn’t make money isn’t the end of the world.”

“Besides, the pralines are damn good,” Beckett chimed in.

“That’s beside the point,” I said. “And this is where you and I differ. I like the numbers to be as clean as possible. Making a profit makes us all happy.”

“You’re hopeless,” Beckett said. “Why don’t you relax a little? Christmas is around the corner. Don’t be so tense. Bad for the heart, I heard.”

“Dude, seriously,” Julian cut in. “Some things aren’t supposed to improve. For example, when I realized that my decision to change the supplier for our float’s decorations would actually put Georgie’s business in danger, I just changed course.”

I cocked a brow. “What do you mean? You didn’t check all the suppliers and prices to choose the best?”

“Jesus Christ,” Beckett muttered.

Anthony just shook his head. “Dude, it’s a float. We sponsor it for Mardi Gras.”

“You’re too much of a control freak for your own good,” Julian continued.

“You met Avery and Bailey, right? They do a good job,” Anthony said. “I like them.”

“Of course they do a good job. I’m not questioning that. And I haven’t met Avery, only Bailey. She’s doing things she shouldn’t even be doing. It’s a waste of her time.”

Anthony fixated on me. “Why don’t you just shut down the operation, then?”

“I promised the grandmothers that I’d leave it running for this Christmas,” I instantly replied.

“There’s more to it,” Anthony said. “You’re just not saying it.”

“I think a new owner would bring on a different team. I don’t want to leave Bailey and her sister out of a job before Christmas,” I admitted.

“Aha, heishuman!” Beckett exclaimed. “You know, I was doubting that for a second. Thought he might be a robot or something.”

Anthony stared at me and then threw his head back, laughing so loudly that most of the room turned to look at him.

“What’s so funny?” Zachary asked. He was stoking the fire.

“We’ll fill you in later,” Anthony said before focusing on me.

Beckett pointed a finger in my direction. “You wouldn’t usually give a rat’s ass about any of this. Am I totally wrong to think that Bailey’s gotten under your skin?”

“You’re very off base,” I told him in a blasé tone. “If I deem it necessary, I will shut down the business.”

“Ha! No, I’m not off base. Damn, I didn’t expect this.”

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