Page 6 of If The Shoe Fits

“A mess. There are health hazards, it was literally on fire a few months ago, and a few hippies want it to save kangaroos or something. On the flip side, it’s cheap. Might be worth the hassle, but it’d take hands-on management.” James scratched his chin. He looked reluctant.

Cade could guess why. Leaving for a week or two in order to oversee a project was different from moving to the other side of the globe for an extended period of time. A few years ago, he wouldn’t have hesitated—he’d done it plenty of times—but now that Pen was back in the States, things had changed for the poor guy.

“Hey, I can always do it.”

James’s eyebrows reached his hairline. “You would? I thought you were married to your townhouse.”

Cade rolled his eyes. He did like his home more than the office, but that didn’t mean that he would mind traveling. “Whatever. If you think it’s worth it, I can do a stint abroad for a while.”

James paused. “I hadn’t considered you’d be willing to do that. If you’re serious, that changes the game.”

Cade considered it for a moment. He’d made the offer too fast, without thinking about the implications. Then he nodded, slowly. He didn’t have much pinning him to the city. He loved New York, and he liked being close to Richelle, but his sister was a twenty-nine-year-old heiress. She could sort herself out. “I’ll do it.”

“All right, then I’ll put in an offer. Things might move fast from this point. Will you be ready to come here in a month or so?”

“I don’t see why not.”

The beauty of having no wife, children, or pets to think of was that he could leave tomorrow, if the need arose.

“Perfect. Anything to report stateside?”

“The board met last week. They’re pleased with the quarterly report, and excited about expanding. Nothing exciting here.”

James chuckled. “That’s because you need to get out more. Speaking of, are you free tomorrow?”

Cade sipped his scotch, and grimaced. He should get some ice in his office. “Why, are you inviting me on a date? I don’t swing that way, Montgomery.”

“You couldn’t handle me. Anyway, Harris is throwing a charity benefit. I was going to attend, but if I’m staying here to finish the sale, can you swing by?”

“Harris…” Cade scanned through the few names he knew around the city. “Carter Harris? Harris Toys?” He frowned.

Their company built innovative chips to run cutting-edge robotic interfaces—they weren’t in bed with Carter Harris. It wasn’t like James to pay attention to any benefit that wasn’t directly related to their company.

“He’s close to Slade Tech.”

Ah, that explained it. William Slade was one of their competitors, but so far, they’d stayed out of each other’s way. Slade was interested in computers, houseware robotics, and other smaller games, while they worked on spacecraft and deep-sea mechanics. Still, they should try to sit down with Slade someday. Scratch each other’s back, and ensure they stayed in their respective lanes.

“I can make it. Forward me the invite.”

“I’ll have my assistant RSVP for you.” James hesitated. “Keep an eye on Pen, will you?”

Cade snorted. “Me, and the roster of Knight Security you hired to watch her back.”

“A man does what he needs to do.” James grinned, unapologetic as ever, before cutting the call short.

Cade laid back on his chair, and closed his eyes.

If there was one thing he hated more than his sister’s girls’ night in, it was charity benefits.

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