Page 31 of Baby for My Enemy Billionaire

Kenny sighs.

“Look, Finn, you’ve been working too much. Maybe you should take a step back.”

“What?” I turn around. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been worrying about this woman Jade, her bookstore, and your daughter with her broken arm. You need to move back and focus on yourself.”

It takes me a moment for me to understand what he’s saying. I fold my arms as I watch my brother.

“You make it sound like I can’t think about just me. I can do that.”

“Bullshit. You think about work and Katie. That’s about it. Before that resort weekend, when was the last time you took a proper break.”

“I know exactly when.”

“Then tell me.”

That’s when I falter. I keep forgetting that Kenny is not someone who is so easily backed down by my position and title. He knows me too well.

“Okay, fine, I can’t remember when. But when you’re the boss…”

“When you’re the boss, you should know how to set an example for everyone else. It won’t make anything better if the boss gets burned out before the employees.”

“I’m not burned out.”

“I think you are. You’ve been like this for a few days now. You’ve plateaued, forcing yourself to work, but it’s not happening.” Kenny shook his head. “Honestly, Finn, you really need to get your work-life balance sorted out better. You should have time where you think about just yourself. Be selfish for once.”

“But I thought...”

“Finn, I'll tell you what. You don’t look after yourself as well as you think. Sure,” he gestures at me, “you look after your body, but your mind? It’s exhausting. You need to set aside time to look after that part of yourself.”

I can see what he’s saying, but I can’t do that. There’s just so much to do. Katie is still in her cast, I’ve got Mom to worry about—although she’d scold me for doing that—and then there’s Jade and her bookstore. How will I face her and say that I’m her landlord now?

I really don’t know what to do with that. And I don’t like that she’s on my mind so much.

“Look,” Kenny indicates my desk, “as soon as it gets to five, you will clock out and leave with me. You and I will go to a restaurant and have dinner together. Then we’ll go back to my place and have a few beers. In the morning, you’ll be taking the morning off. I’ll go to work and ensure things are running smoothly, and you can come in after lunch. Nobody’s going to care that you do it every now and then.”

I frown. While it does sound tempting, Kenny seems to have forgotten a few things.

“You do recall that I’m a single parent, right? I know Katie is thirteen, but I can’t leave her alone for that long, certainly not overnight.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already told Mom. She will be there tonight to look after Katie while you chill.”

“What? You spoke to Mom before speaking to me.”

Kenny spreads his hands.

“Well, she’s just as concerned about you. It was her idea, actually, and I can see how good this can be for you. She’ll look after Katie, I’ll take you out, and you can rest. Sounds like a good idea, right?”

It did, but Finn still wasn’t sure. These problems would still be here in the morning, something for me to handle. I’m just delaying the inevitable.

Then again, if I can do something different and it helps me relax, maybe it will be useful. I might have a solution for my current problems.

Or I might not. But there’s no harm in finding out.

“Okay.” I nod at my brother. “So, where are we going later?”

Chapter 8

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