Page 4 of Caden's Situationship

“Not a damn thing, but let her tell it, I’m rude as hell, uneducated on proper southern etiquette, and apparently, I’m too damn nosey for my own good.”

Houston blinked. “Wait, you? You ain’t any of those things. How did she conclude that shit?”

I shook off my annoyance. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s just get out of here. Folks got too much shit going on.”

Houston nodded. “Besides us landing this deal, that’s the best decision you’ve made since we got here.”

Two

CORDELIA

“Well, color me pink and call me bunny, because I’m as lost as last year’s Easter egg,” I said, crossing my arms and pinning my cousin with a stare that I hoped he felt in his bones. My southern drawl was in full effect, but I didn’t care. He could hear me loud and clear.

It was bad enough that men had been pissing me off all month—just like that rude man who argued with me in the parking lot last week—but the fact that my own family was topping the list really ruffled my glitter feathers.

“I know it’s your territory, but Reggie has a better rapport with these clients,” my cousin, Lance, said. “Now that our fathers have retired, it’s up to us to make sure we secure new clients and hit our target margin.”

I sighed, annoyed that the start of my work day was already going so horribly. I worked at Red Rose Investment Firm, which was founded by my grandfather and later taken over after his death by my father, my uncle, and my aunt. We were the largest investment firm in the south, and my family was proud of the business they’d built. Dallas wasn’t that big, so everyone in and around town knew us. However, the only thing harder than being born into a family of mostly men, was trying to convince these so-called male family members that I deserved an equal partnership.

My cousin, Lance—current CEO and president—understood me more than his brothers and most our family did, but every now and then, even he could make a preacher curse.

“I get that,” I told him. “I just don’t understand why I’m the only goat being sent out to pasture right now when we have the back-to-school party to finish planning.”

“Myself and the rest of the team can handle that, Cordelia.” Lance shook his head and began straightening the papers on his desk. “Besides, after the last party you planned, I would think you would want to lay low.”

Rolling my eyes, I reminded him that, “Oh come on, the Valentine’s Day party was a hit. It’s really not my fault that things went sideways.”

Lance stopped what he was doing and pinned me with a look of disbelief. “You announced to the entire company and our top clients that Meagan—one of our best financial analysts—was no longer engaged to her high school sweetheart.”

I shrugged. “I was trying to congratulate her, and then her friend told me her fiancé had broken off the engagement while I was giving my speech. How was I supposed to know I hadn’t covered the microphone that well?”

“You didn’t need to repeat what you heard at all,” Lance stated. “She ran away in tears because all eyes were on her.”

“Lots of people break off engagements,” I explained. “Duh, I had someone break off an engagement to me years ago, or did you forget?”

“That was different,” he defended. “And Meagan was already embarrassed because of her situation and the added unfortunate layer,” he continued, ignoring my comment.

“What added layer?”

Lance’s eyes widened. “You are aware that she’s six months pregnant, right?”

“What?” I asked in disbelief. “I just thought she’d gained a little weight. How was I supposed to know she let him bake a pie in her oven before putting the house up for sale?”

Lance sat down in his desk chair and dropped his head to his hands, his voice muffled when he asked, “Cordelia, for once can you just agree to do something without making it such a big deal, please?”

When his eyes reached mine again, I noticed how much my cousin had aged since taking over the family business. Growing up, Lance had always been so carefree, but now, life was beginning to take its toll on his features. Worry lines were evident around his eyes and overall, he just looked …tired.

“Okay,” I finally stated after realizing that, in this case, I was indeed being difficult. “I’ll do the potential client visit.”

Relief washed over his face. “Thanks, Cordelia. But keep in mind that I’m pretty sure this is a done deal. He’s old school, so you’ll be bringing the contract to him.”

“Wait, so there’s a chance he won’t want to invest with us?”

“I don’t think that will be the case,” Lance said. “When we talked, we shook hands on it and I got the distinct impression Red Rose is his first choice.”

I nodded. “Understood.”

“We need you on this one.” He shuffled around his desk a little more and pulled out a file. “Here’s everything you need to know about Wild Valley Ranch.”

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