Page 27 of Fireworks & Forehead Kisses

“Declan, no. Declan would never…he’s…” She shook her head without finishing the sentence.

It made me wonder what he would never do. What was he?

“What do you need to email him?” she asked.

“I send him daily updates.”

“Yes, that sounds like him.” She took a breath.

“I’m sorry about Derek. If there’s anything I can do, just let me know.”

“Thank you.” She blinked and rolled her shoulders back. “I spoke to the board on Friday, and the funding for the new line has been approved. Not that there was ever any doubt; it is mycompany, but it is nice now that we have the full support of the trustees.”

“Great.”

I’d done some research and was trying to play catchup. I now felt about five percent more qualified on the business side of things, but this was definitely going to be one of those thrown into the deep end and find out if I can swim sort of situations.

As we went through fabric texture, colors, and styles, I lost myself in the creative side of things. I was so engrossed in our session that I didn’t even notice my phone ringing.

“I believe that’s you, dear,” Stella pointed to my purse.

“Oh, sorry. Right.”

I pulled it out and saw a number I didn’t recognize. I was going to put it on silent, but Stella excused herself to go and get an iced tea.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Hi, is this Ashley Thompson?”

“Yes.”

“Hi, Ashley, this is Carmen from Married by a Matchmaker. We loved your tape and would love for you to come in for an interview.”

“Really?”

“Yes. In two months' time, you could be walking down the aisle marrying a stranger! How does that make you feel?”

Excited. Scared. Happy. Anxious. Sort of like I did when I looked at the toast my niece made, but there was no way I was going to say that.

Instead, I just went with, “Great!”

10

DECLAN

“Goodnight, Declan.”

“Goodnight, Jack.”

Jack Tennon was the head of security for the building. He’d worked for Wolfe Enterprises for twelve years. He was the first person I’d been involved in hiring on my first official day after graduating college. He started as a night guard and worked his way up.

Wolfe Enterprises’ employee retention rate was above the national average by a significant margin. Most of our employees stayed until retirement. Not only on the corporate level but also in the production at our tequila distilleries and warehouses, at our hotels and resorts, at management, service, and entry-level positions, and also in our retail, warehouse, and garment factories.

My grandfather had his flaws as a man, but in business, he created a work environment built on respect from the top down. A big part of that was the trip he took every year, which I was about to leave for in two days. I didn’t feel great about leaving the company vulnerable to my brother. He was going to bereleased from the hospital tomorrow and had charges pending for reckless endangerment and his second DUI.

I’d decided today that I was going to speak to my grandmother about buying both Derek and Raquel out of the company. I’d already cut off their company credit cards and access to any company assets. I wasn’t sure how she would feel about my plans for Derek; he was family, he was blood, and if history was anything to go by, that seemed to cover all manner of sin. Considering she’d already demoted his wife and put someone in her position with zero experience, I doubted she’d lose too much sleep over Raquel. But no matter what her feelings were, I didn’t feel I had a choice at this point. I didn’t want either of them to do anything that would jeopardize everything my grandfather had worked his entire life to build.

The stunt Derek pulled right before the board meeting was the final straw. I’d managed to handle the situation without the trustees being any the wiser. My grandmother began the meeting while I spoke to the police officers. Then, I was able to join and wrap it up. When we concluded, my grandmother and I went to the hospital. It was clear Raquel was on something as well. They both needed help, which I was going to try and get them, but I knew from witnessing both my grandfather and grandmother try and persuade my father to go to rehab that if a person didn’t want help, you couldn’t force them to get better.

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