Page 49 of The Workaholic Down the Hall

“Is he right?” I asked. I knew my sister was talented, knew she was one of the only reasons the company hadn't folded long ago, but I thought she liked working here.

Jill, who never hesitated or second-guessed herself, hesitated. “Of course, it would be nice to be at the helm of a company that had some actual assets to play with. I could —” She sighed. “But it doesn't matter what I want, Noah. This is the family business, and we can't allow it to fail.”

“It should matter,” I said, the realization dawning even as it hurt to admit it. “It should matter what you want. Would you even choose to work in the hospitality industry if you had a choice?”

She twined her fingers together in her lap and shrugged. “I've never given it a lot of thought, but I know this market and I enjoy the industry. There's no reason for me to leave. Alex Owings is just trying to scare us because he wants to buy us out.”

She wasn't wrong, but Alex Owings wasn't wrong either. We were in trouble and selling the Brantley properties wouldn't solve anywhere near all our problems. Even so, selling to Owings wasn't a decision I'd make alone. “We need to talk to the family.”

Jill's eyes widened. “You can't be serious, Noah. You can't honestly be considering selling to him.”

“I am.” As much as I hated Alex Owings, his suggestion to take the company off my hands had filled me with an undeniable sense of relief. I'd given so much to the company, but maybe there was a way I could get something for everyone, make everyone happy, and change my life, my future. “I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. I've been putting everything off, putting everything on hold so that I can devote every moment of my time to trying to save this company. I'm tired of it. I want to find that passion you went on about the other day.”

“We could get another CEO.”

I shook my head. “What kind of CEO are we going to convince to take on this mess?” I stood and crossed to kneel before her. “Just think about it, Jill. Think about it and then run the numbers. Figure out what the future of the company is if we manage to sell the Brantley properties for fair value, if we have to short-sell them, or if we sell the whole company to Owings or someone else. God knows I'd rather anyone but him take over the company. I'll do my own research and, in a week or two, we'll go to Catalpa Creek and we'll present the information and the options to Mom and the others.”

Jill nodded, her eyes damp with tears. “I hate this.” She straightened her shoulders and shook her head. “Honestly, I've been so focused on saving this company, for Dad and for the family, I haven't considered the possibility of doing anything else.”

“So, figure it out,” I said. “We've given enough to Dad's dream. It's time we figured out our own.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Aubrey

It had been three weeks. Three weeks since I'd seen Noah. Five days since I'd spoken to Noah. Two days since I'd received a text from him that said he was coming back to Catalpa Creek for some big family meeting he'd told me nothing about. He'd stopped trying to convince me we should be together, had stopped asking about anything but my health and the baby's health. I knew it was over, and I looked forward to having some closure almost as much as I dreaded it.

I logged off the computer at the sound of laughter from the front of the house. Business had been good at Nora's Inn. In my free time, I'd been working on planning events for the house, and coming up with ways for us to get more involved in the community, to make guests feel like Nora's Inn was a destination, not just a place to sleep. I tried to imagine what my ideal vacation lodging would offer and figure out a way we could do it without raising rates or going bankrupt. Not all my ideas had panned out, but most of them were feasible and it would be up to the guests to say how well they worked. The planning kept me busy and kept me from dwelling on Noah and how much I missed him.

I smoothed my wrap dress over my enormous baby bump, in the last few weeks it had expanded at an alarming rate, took a deep breath and left the safety of the office. I followed the sounds of laughter to the front of the house and found May, Cody, Nora, and Carrie welcoming Jared and Jenna.

“Hey, Aubrey,” Jared said with a warm smile. He looked so much like Cody, he could have passed for his twin if it weren't for the extra laugh lines around Cody's eyes. “You know what this family meeting is all about?”

I flinched at the question. I should know what the family meeting was about, I should have at least received a phone call to let me know when Noah was going to be in town. As the mother of his unborn child, I figured I deserved at least that much. “I'm as much in the dark as the rest of you,” I said. “You'll have to fill me in on the secret after the meeting.”

Jenna shifted in her seat and frowned. She was rail-thin with thick dark curls that fell to midway down her back. “You'll be at the meeting, won't you?”

I bit back the urge to scream in frustration. “My understanding is that this is a family meeting.”

Jenna's lips thinned. “And you're part of the family.” She shook her head and smiled. “I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. Congratulations on your pregnancy, by the way. I was thrilled when Mom told me about it.”

“Thank you,” I said, my hands immediately going to my belly.

“Yes,” Jared said. “Congratulations.” He stood and gestured to his seat. “You should sit.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I should make sure lunch is on track. The others will be here soon.”

“I'm sure it's fine, dear,” Nora said. But I'd already turned and left the room. I walked to the kitchen wishing I could just go home, curl up under the covers, and stay there until this was all over.

“Noah's an idiot,” May said, following me into the kitchen. I stirred the chili in the crock pot. Nora had made it, had been cooking all day. There were several loafs of bread from a local bakery. There was nothing in that room that needed to be done. No use for me. Maybe I could escape.

I turned to face May, hating the pity in her eyes. “I'm not feeling that great,” I said. “I think I might take the afternoon off.”

May narrowed her eyes, but she wasn't about to argue with a pregnant woman. “Okay, honey. Of course you can go if that's what you want. Noah will be sorry to have missed you.”

“I doubt that,” I mumbled under my breath.

May wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “I don't.”

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