Page 36 of The Usual Family Mayhem

“I’m impressed.” Celia smiled. “I like it.”

Gram walked over and kissed my cheek. “Well done.”

She put a hand on the side of my head in the same loving gesture she’d done since I was a kid. I leaned into her touch because nothing matched love from Gram. I didn’t know what had happened at church to cause this change in attitude, but I liked it. I certainly wasn’t going to question it.

“I told you I could be helpful.” I felt the need to point that out.

Celia laughed. “We should have had more faith in you.”

Contentment flooded through me. Then it shut off. This was great but it would all come crashing down when Micah got to town.

My time was almost up.

Chapter Eighteen

Meet me at the hotel.

Five words you never want to hear from your boss. Apparently when Micah said he and Brock were coming to town he meanton the first plane with available seats. They provided two days of lead time before their arrival, which was far too fast. They took an early morning flight and cut my prep time even more.

There would be no reprieve. No way to hold them off. No time to plan or fix my mess.

I’d barely finished a muffin this morning when Micah texted over the details of where he and Brock were staying. The whole scene would have been bad enough without Brock. His presence guaranteed a bloodbath.

They’d checked into the historic Graylyn Estate, minutes from downtown. No bargain hotel for these two. They shot right for the top and snagged two suites because of course they did.

The estate included numerous buildings and acres of beautiful grounds with a stone mansion at the center. Talk about a flawless pedigree. The manor house had been built and owned by a tobacco millionaire. Though, to be fair, those words described many places in Winston-Salem.

I’d been there on a few occasions to help Gram and Celiawith deliveries and itched to get upstairs and look around. Now that I might have my chance I didn’t want to go anywhere near the place.

When Micah texted a second time, I raced to get to him. He expected that reaction to his presence. He opened his mouth and people scurried about to make him happy. Me included.

I met them at a table under an umbrella on an outside patio. They both drank wine, the perfect beverage for eleven in the morning. Micah looked at home here, surrounded by waitstaff and expensive furnishings.

We quickly moved through the welcome chat. Micah made sure to mention that he was staying in the same suite Oprah had used on visits to Maya Angelou when she taught at nearby Wake Forest University. Micah’s name-dropping hit expert levels with that one. I didn’t have much to offer after that revelation, so I waited to see what verbal grenade Brock would launch in my direction.

He didn’t wait more than three minutes to throw it. “You’ve failed to keep us informed of your activities and progress.”

Micah signaled the waiter for more wine before focusing on Brock. “Progress?”

I hadn’t missed Micah’s question thing at all.

Brock continued. “I’m not sure where we are. She hasn’t returned my calls.”

“I told her she had two weeks to get the company under contract, so she’s still within the time frame.” Micah switched conversation targets without taking a breath. “Where are we, Kasey?”

Absolutely nowhere. “It’s taking some time, as you wouldexpect. These women are savvy and don’t trust everyone who promises to make them rich.”

Brock’s satisfied grin telegraphed incoming trouble. “When I didn’t hear from you, I did a little investigating about the company and the women who own it. You forgot to tell us you were related to these ladies. That’s pertinent information we should have been privy to up front.”

Micah waited for the wine refill before chiming in. “Was that an oversight?”

I really didn’t have an answer to any of these questions. I bought myself a few seconds by drinking water, but the glass was almost empty.

“Business is business.” Nothing about the sentence made sense in the context of the conversation. Hell, it wasn’t even a sentence. I didn’t have anything more productive to say but the phrase made Brock’s jaw clench, so mission accomplished.

Micah nodded. “True. To be successful you need to keep your heart out of these decisions.”

Is that what I said?

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