Page 132 of Opposites (Never) Attract
The founder of Berkley and Brothers was a germaphobeand didn’t care for people in his personal space. Fun fact, he didn’t have any brothers, either. The brothers were how he characterized his first partners.
Naturally, they were all men.
“Mr. Berkley,” I nodded, respectfully.
“You’ve certainly adjusted to your environment,” he murmured, taking in my jeans, boots and cowboy hat. “That speaks to adaptability. A quality I very much admire.”
“Is this your first time visiting my home state of Wyoming?” I asked, as if we were having a breakfast meeting and not staring at each other over two hired bodyguards.
“Oh, gracious, no. I own a home in Jackson Hole.”
“You ski then?” I asked.
“Hmm?”
No. Of course, Mr. Berkley didn’t ski. Mr. Berkley simply collected properties.
“What do I owe the honor of your visit?” I asked, keeping up the pretense that this was nothing more than a casual stop.
“Kaitlyn,” he said, with a smile that showed no real emotion. “We’ve missed you. Although, I understand this loss has hit you hard.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. Mostly, because I had been low key lying about the whole situation. Yes, technically I had lost a family member, which constituted a family crisis, but my feelings for Old Man McGraw were tenuous at best.
What had hit me, was the sense of coming home to something I hadn’t even realized I was missing.
“When Jared said you were doing some trading for personal gain, I was concerned that your grief and emotions were starting to override your logical thinking.”
“Just helping some family members out of a jam,” I said, casually. As if I hadn’t just orchestrated the single biggest pay off of my trading career.
“Yes, of course. A once in a lifetime talent like yours, it’s hard not to use your skills for those you love, but as you’re aware, as an organization, we frown on too much of that. You understand why. At Berkley and Brothers, we strive to put our clients first.”
I nodded. This was all code for the fact that my time away from Berkley was over.
Or else.
“Of course, sir. I accomplished what I needed to do here,” I admitted.
“Excellent,” he mused. “Then you’re ready to come back into the fold?”
I nodded. There was no getting around it. I’d procrastinated here long enough. It was time to go back to New York. Back to my job. Back to my life.
That was reality.
Last Hope Gulch had just been a detour. Maybe the best one of my life.
“Yes. I’d planned to fly back to New York as soon as tomorrow. You didn’t have to come all the way out here.”
“Kaitlyn, you underestimate your value to us. You must know you’re on the short list to make partner.”
“How short is that list?” a voice over my shoulder asked.
I swung around to see Tag standing right behind me. His cowboy hat rode low over his forehead and his aviators showed nothing of his expression. For the record, he wore his aviators far better than Mr. Berkley’s bodyguards.
I couldn’t imagine what Mr. Berkley saw when looking at Tag. Probably, that he was an entirely different species of man.
It wasn’t lost on me that Mr. Berkley’s bodyguards, men he never traveled without, given his considerable net worth, both stood taller once Tag approached us.
They recognized a threat.
