“You could tell her that,” Hayes suggests. “There’s a world of difference between you do as I say, and here, I think this might be the perfect place for you.”
“I can’t do that,” I explain. “The insurance I got her through Merkel covers her parents as dependents. Even with that insurance, she still has to pay for her mother’s therapies and medicines that are not covered because they are homeopathic, experimental, or they’ve exceeded the annual coverage. Her father doesn’t work, and he is his wife’s primary caregiver. She supports them. None of her siblings have the means to help, not the way she does. We, meaning Aldry’s Sweets, can’t afford to match the salary and benefits she earns. She has to stay on my payroll so I can justify her salary.”
He glances at me, and his mouth opens wide. “You are actually taking care of her and to cover the gesture you are a major asshole to her. Fuck, I think I’ve seen everything.”
He runs a hand through his hair and before he speaks, I order, “Don’t tell anyone.”
“Because god forbid anyone finds out that you have a heart,” he concludes and rubs his face with one hand in desperation. “I won’t lie to you, Henry, this is fucked up.”
“More than you can imagine,” I agree. “Being my assistant is the only way I can justify her salary and benefits. Any other position within the company has a determined package that can’t be changed just for one person. Everyone else will demand to be compensated equally. Merkel is one of the few places where we work hard to pay fairly and according to the position, not the gender, race, or any other factor.”
“You’re giving your assistant more than you give to any other assistant,” he counteracts.
“Yes, but she’s the CEO’s assistant. Plus, I have other ways to pay her salary,” I claim, not disclosing what I do to keep everything under wraps. “No one is like her, you know. She could do my job, and yes, for a second I thought she could be the interim CEO. I didn’t give a fuck about the backlash I’d get from some of my executives. But then Aldry’s came into the picture and… Her dream is to have her own company.”
“You want to make her dream come true?”
I nod once and finish my beer. “Before she became my assistant, she was working three jobs and living in Queens with her parents. With the raise she got, she was able to afford to quit one of the jobs. She was bone tired. Still, she was never late and worked her ass off like no one else I’ve ever seen.” I smile as I remember Sophia’s first weeks with me. She was terrified, and yet she wouldn’t take any crap from me. “She stood her own ground, even when she knew I fired assistants on a daily basis. It was refreshing to have someone confident, doing her job without waiting for my approval. Once I learned she had a second job, I raised her salary so she could quit. That’s when I found out about her mother’s bills. I got her the special insurance and a spending account that she can use to buy everything she needs. I moved her to the presidential suite of Merkel's Ambassador Hotel and have a car service for her.”
Hayes tilts his head toward the main house. “Blaire, Leyla, and our brothers would be a lot less judgmental with you if you explained that to them.”
“But I won’t do it, and neither will you,” I say with a warning tone. “This stays between us. I trust that even when you swear not to keep any secrets from Blaire, you won’t tell her about this.”
“It’s your story to tell, not mine.”
“Just help me with her parents, please,” I request, running a hand through my hair. “She needs them around. The last thing I want is for her to suffer, and maybe this might help her relax.”
“Being close to you makes relaxing impossible,” he states. “You have to calm the fuck down. Try to sleep more. Maybe learn how to fish.”
“You mean, sit on the dock and wait like an idiot until I get bored?”
He laughs. “There are other hobbies if fishing is not your thing,” he states. “You work too much.”
“It’s impossible while there’s still a lot to do around here. The Lodge is starting to look better than it did when we arrived. The guests are happier, and so are the employees,” I say, trying to explain why I can’t just sit back and smell the fucking roses. “We have a lot more to do, but it’s the beginning. I’m thinking about buying the bed and breakfast down in Happy Springs.”
“Why would you do that?” He asks with a worried expression. “Sometimes I feel like you’re trying to develop both towns and create some modern metropolis.”
“Not exactly,” I say, taking another beer from the case. “Just think about the possibilities. You expand both towns, make sure they are self-sufficient, and add enough attractions so we can become the number one tourist spot in Oregon—or the Northwest.”
“Fuck, I’m just planning on building a small house, growing my practice, and enjoying my kid and my woman. In the meantime, you are creating a conglomerate,” he says, with a chuckle.
“Am I still going to be the godfather of the child?” I ask because Blaire isn’t a fan.
He pats my shoulder. “Right now, she hates you.”
“Understandable.”
“It’d be easier if you explained to her what’s really happening. Just think of everything you’d achieve if everyone knew the truth,” he suggests. “Blaire loves you. You’re like her big brother. She’ll forgive you once Sophia does.”
“Probably, but I won’t do it because… This is new to me,” I explain. “I don’t know what’s happening or what to expect. Having someone like Blaire meddling might just confuse me, and the situation.”
“I meant talk to Sophia, but maybe you can get Blaire on your side,” he recommends.
“Your woman is going to boss me around. She’s not going to understand how I function.” I shake my head just imagining her waking me up at six in the morning to coach me on how to be a good boyfriend. “Do you know that my dates sign a contract before we start anything, and it even has an expiration date?”
He laughs. “You’re kidding?”
I shake my head. “No. My grandfather instituted it when I graduated from high school. I’m pretty sure he thought that while I was attending boarding school, I had no access to women.”
We both laugh.
“He probably thought I was a virgin until I got his blessing to use my dick,” I joke, kind of, because really the man thought I did only as he said.
“You never mentioned any of that before. I remember the crazy orgies during study hall, but never a contract,” he jokes, but he’s closer to the truth than he thinks. I just don’t tell him.
“It was lame. Why would I tell you about those arrangements?”
“Because we used to talk about shit like that,” he says.
“My life didn’t sound cool. Every date I had back then was fixed by Cyril or my mother. It was nothing like the stories you and Pierce told.” I focus my attention on the lake and take a couple of breaths before I look at him. “Martina Edelstein.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?” he asks.