Page 56 of Lush

Under the chandelier, the table gleamed—all polished and cold as ice.

Dad sat at the head, and Conrad sat across from him, relaxed, cool. They looked like they belonged, like this was all perfectly natural. Me? I felt like an intruder.

Jennie cleared her throat, looking a little unsure. “I’m almost done with my MBA, and Truman Capitals offered me a job running their business. But I got them to team up with us instead—we’re opening a new resort in Vancouver.”

“Good,” Dad said quickly.

Jen slumped back, relieved, and gave me a “good luck” look.

I started to speak, but was cut off.

“Asia’s our next market,” Dad stated. “Conrad, you really knocked it out of the park with that Shanghai deal.”

Conrad leaned back, a little smirk playing on his lips. “It’s a done deal, but did you really doubt me? I’m thinking Japan next? There’s a really niche market for whiskey there.”

Dad wasn’t just interested in the deal; he was interested in Conrad. It was always Conrad. Dad gave him his blessing like a king.

“So, Reese,” Dad said, looking over his glasses at me. “Now that you’ve finally come to your senses, Conrad told me he gave you something to do. What was it?”

“Yes, it’s?—”

Conrad cut me off. “He’s working on revamping our whiskey line. Not too big of a deal if he screws up.”

They chuckled, and I narrowed my eyes on Conrad. Jennie gave me a sympathetic look.

Dad said, “What are your thoughts on the new product line? Anything we need to tweak before we finalize the plan?”

I wasn’t only doing whiskey. I was the one who’d spent sleepless nights brainstorming new branding concepts, researching the market, tweaking the formulas. Conrad minimized it, saying it was “no biggie.”

I swallowed, my jaw tight, and said, “I’ve—I’ve actually been working on a few new angles. The packaging needs to stand out more?—”

“Yeah, sure, but honestly, Reese,” Conrad said, leaning back in his chair, hands folded casually in front of him, “you know the branding stuff doesn’t really matter until we finalize the price points. Don’t waste time on packaging details if we don’t even have the margins right and you can’t keep costs down.”

I made fists, stopping myself from snapping back.

“This is a money-making business, son.” Dad scowled at me. “What do you think pays for that motorcycle of yours?”

“Product design matters, Dad,” I said, my voice tense. “If the bottle looks like shit, the product won’t sell. That’s?—”

Conrad just shook his head. “Language, Reese, Jesus. Dad is trying to school you on the right thing to do. Thank God I’m running thiscompany because where would we be with you? Don’t worry, Dad, I’m keeping an eye on him. I won’t let him screw things up.”

My pulse roared in my ears, and I felt a heat rise in my face, but I bit back the words that screamed inside my head.Where would we be without me, Conrad? Where would we be if I hadn’t been the one to come up with half of this shit, the ideas you stole from me? That are making us money?

Dad was staring at Conrad now, nodding like he was the one with all the answers.

“See? Now this is the kind of vision we need. A good head on his shoulders. You could learn a thing or two from your brother.”

“Dad—”

“Your brother is in charge, you listen to him. You can only dream of being half the man he is.”

I was frozen. My throat felt tight, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.

“Enough for today,” Dad said, dismissing me with a wave of his hand. He didn’t even look up as he gathered his papers.

Conrad flashed me another one of those perfect smiles, the ones that made me feel like a fucking joke. “You’ll figure it out,” he said. “Just try not to fuck it up too much, okay?”

Conrad had stolen plenty from me over the years—ideas, credit, opportunities—but back then, I let it slide. That was just how it was with him. You fought him, or you accepted it. How stupid I’d been thinking that something would change between us. That Conrad would be my brother.

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