Page 137 of An Engagement for Erica

She gave her brother a huge hug. “I owe you. I just don’t know that I could handle it. I’m not sure how you did.”

“That’s what big brothers are for.”

43

A FEW STEPS BACK

“You’ve been keeping things from us,” Joel said the following Tuesday when he walked into his office for their scheduled meeting with Catherine.

Tucker lifted an eyebrow up.

One thing he hated was being accused of anything.

The second was games.

The first...moles.

They were the last two that had the right to say that to him.

Not that they knew he was aware they were reporting back to his grandfather.

“Excuse me?” he said, leaning back in his chair.

Joel and Catherine both took a seat across from him.

“That you’re dating Erica James,” Joel said.

He frowned. “I wasn’t aware my personal life had anything to do with the two of you.”

Catherine looked at Joel and then back to him.

“It wouldn’t if you didn’t just hire someone to come in here and try to fix the mess your father left. But since you did hire that person and now are dating her, the staff are talking that you’re no better than your father,” Joel said.

He felt the anger fill his face.

The fourth thing he hated.

Nope, not fourth, should be the first.

Nevercompare him to his father.

He took a deep breath rather than go off in a rage.

“I’m not my father and have proven that in the past few months. I will never be my father. But even if I were my father, it’s still my business and I can do what I want, when I want, and date who I care to.”

“We know that,” Joel said. “But you’re trying to right a bunch of wrongs with the staff and it was going well. Now, you probably took a few steps back.”

“Because I’m dating Erica,” he said. “That makes no sense at all.”

“Not so much to us,” Catherine said. “Or other senior management because we work closely with you. But the bulk of the staff are on the floor and they see or think differently.”

“What are they seeing or thinking?” he asked. He had to approach this logically before he made any decisions.

Not that his personal life was going to change one bit based on what his staff may think.

“That you brought your girlfriend in to talk to everyone and feel they could trust her and it was all for show since it is your girlfriend,” Joel said.

“If it was all for show, then I wouldn’t have made the changes that I have,” he argued.

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