Page 90 of Matchmaking the CEO

No one on our side of the family called her “Gran.” We all addressed her as Grandmother—most of the time. It was something my mom ingrained in us as kids, and we kept it on.

"That's it, young man, exactly what you heard," Grandmother went on. "Anyway, Natalie struck me as a lovely lady, and I followed my instinct."

"Did you even want to have the party at Martha's Vineyard in the first place, or was that just an excuse?" Natalie asked. She sounded completely stunned.

"Hmm, no, I do think I wanted it there, but honestly, I just thought it would be a great opportunity for you to... see Jake in his own space, I guess."

"Wait, when you first told me about your plans for the party, you said you’d invited a friend of yours and her niece. Why would you even tell me that? Is she here?” I asked.

"I completely made it up," Grandmother said. "I wanted you to be on the lookout so you were more relaxed around Natalie."

No one spoke for several seconds.

Grandmother turned to Natalie. “I should’ve warned you. Nick, Maddox, and Leo are a handful too. But they’re good people. Friendly.”

“Except to each other. For instance, when they discover they have the same girlfriend, like Maddox and Leo,” Spencer volunteered.

Natalie blinked rapidly. “I’m so sorry.”

Leo waved his hand. “It was in college. We got over it eventually. After not speaking to each other for about six months. Nick tried to play pacifier, but Spencer was better at it.”

Nick nodded. “Yeah. The original pacifist in the family. Why did you bring it up now?”

Spencer shrugged. “I like switching from the peacemaker to putting gasoline on a fire from time to time.”

Everyone burst out laughing.

"So, Natalie," Nick said finally, "we've heard a lot about you."

I stared at him. He had, now, had he? Gabe was suddenly very busy cutting his steak. I guess I knew who spilled the beans. I wasn’t mad, simply surprised. I hadn't realized my half brothers were interested in my life at all.

"And this party is great," Nick continued. "It's elegant but not stuffy."

Natalie perked up. "Exactly."

"Yeah. Gran tells us you’re new to the party business," Maddox added.

"I am. I'm only doing it temporarily. My mother was a professional party planner, and I helped a lot over the years. I'm actually really enjoying it."

"That's good," Leo said. "I always say we all should do things we enjoy." He turned to me. "And hats off to you, Jake, for actually coming to Boston and taking over Whitley Advertising. Must be harrowing to try to turn around a company that you've got no interest in. I don't think I could do it." There was no trace of sarcasm in his voice. He really meant it.

"It's not as bad as I thought," I replied honestly. "But the workload is too much."

Leo grimaced. "As I said, hats off to you."

"Can you even turn it around?" Nick asked.

I looked around the table, wondering if this had been Grandmother’s plan all along. I hadn't had a conversation this long with my half brothers in years.

"I think it's possible." I was choosing my words carefully because I knew how important this was to Grandfather. I didn't want to give him false hope. I didn't like to oversell my capabilities. It was what made me one of the best in the business. Many clients came to me, claiming they'd heard I would give them the truth, no bullshitting. And that was exactly what I did. I never overpitched myself just to get a project. If I thought I could get the job done, I told them so. If I thought it was beyond saving, I told them that as well.

"But it's too early to give a verdict," I said.

"Good luck to you. Tell us if there's anything you need help with. Although, it's not exactly our area of expertise," Nick added.

This was yet another surprise. I assumed they hated my guts, but they didn't. What else had I been wrong about? They all had their own companies to focus on.

Leo ran Whitley Real Estate. Nick was in charge of the fitness center branch of Whitley Industries. He’d also opened an online security company recently. Maddox ran Whitley Office Designs—they specialized in designing custom office spaces. He’d radically changed the company since he took over; with the rise of coworking and shared spaces, he’d had to keep up with the market.

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