“That’s right. They will. A display of force from time to time is necessary.”
Declan grimaced. “You scare me when you talk like that.”
“I mean it,” I said.
“I know you do, hence the scaring part. Who would have thought that having all this would require having to fight for it every day?”
I scoffed, sitting down. “It’s worth it.”
We lived by a code: protect the family at any cost. With money and power came jealousy, and we had people who wanted to take us down. I wouldn’t allow it.
Gran’s building was part of the Maxwell Trust, and no one was going to strong-arm us into anything. Gran once told me that going to the bookstore, The Happy Place, was what kept her alive. I wasn’t going to allow anyone to mess with it.
I had an extreme measure in mind... but I was going to let Declan try the gentle approach first.
“Do you want to tell Reese about the newest development?” he asked tentatively.
I looked up at him. “No, not yet.”
“She’s going to be pissed if we keep this from her.”
I groaned. “We’re not keeping it from her.”
“What do you call not telling her?”
I smirked. “Protecting her. We don’t have all the facts. I don’t see why we should worry her.”
“Maybe because it’s her shithead of an ex-fiancé who’s pulling all this, probably to get to her.”
I groaned again, dropping my pen. It was no use trying to multitask, not when I was this pissed. “Of course it’s to get back at her. The guy thought he was going to have the world at his feet, and now he doesn’t.”
I still remembered the day Reese called to tell me the wedding was off and that she didn’t have the strength to cancel everything.
Maybe it was wrong to keep things from her, but I still remembered how fragile she was those days. Even though it was months ago, I was sure this would affect her, and I wanted to protect her from it as best as I could.
“No word to Reese for now,” I said.
Declan nodded. “Okay, but for the record, if she finds out, I’ll say it was your idea not to say anything.”
“Fine. I don’t care.”
He cocked a brow, knowing I did care. I hated it when my cousins were mad at me, but I was sure Reese would understand. We’d always protected them. We told everyone we were their brothers at school so no one would mess with them, and no one did. No one wanted to pull a prank on someone when you had six angry Maxwells ready to pick a fight.
After he left my office, I tried to distract myself and not think about Reese’s reaction if she found out, but it was no use. While I made the calls all morning to stave off the fire the Halsey Group was stoking, all I could think about was what Reese would say when she eventually found out. I knew I had to tell her. I just didn’t have to do it today.
Maybe I’d ask Luke to do it.
I asked Declan to report to me as soon as he had anything, and I only heard from him twice during the day. I knew that was normal in a lawsuit, but I was still in a bad mood. I wanted to get this over with before it escalated more. Before it could hurt my family.
In the afternoon, I stopped in Declan’s office without knocking.
He looked up at me, cocking a brow. “Why do you look like you’re about to pick a fight?” he asked.
“I’m not. I wanted to check on the status of the lawsuit.”
He leaned back in his chair, brow still raised. “I don’t have any more news than what I sent already. I thought my ignoring your last five emails clarified that.”
I swore, pacing in his office.
“Oh, so I was right. You do want to pick a fight. Why does it have to be with me?”
I turned around, grinning. “Because you’re here.”
“True, but I think Luke is in his office too, and Travis is coming back later today, just in case you want a fight on a bigger scale involving all of us.” His tone was conversational.
I was being an ass. It wasn’t his fault that things were moving slowly. But when I had something on my mind, I wanted it solved on the spot. It frustrated me that it wasn’t possible.
“Dude, you need to relax,” Declan said.
“How?”
“Don’t look at me for answers. I’m even more of a workaholic than you are.”
I groaned. “I know.”
“Hey, you know who does know how to relax? Luke. Why don’t we head up to his office? I’ll tell them I—"
“No, I’m not in the mood for that.”
A knock at the open door startled both of us. Luke poked his head in.
“Good. Just in time. Tate was about to blow up for no reason,” Declan said.
“You know me. I have a sixth sense. Especially because you two looked like you had sticks up your asses this morning.”
“I didn’t,” Declan said breezily, nodding in my direction.
Luke rubbed his hands, looking around with an exaggerated tilt of his head. “Lucky for you two, I’m only a few doors away to balance everything out. Let’s go up to the bar once we’re done. Or, you know, right now.”
I cocked a brow. “It’s early.”
Luke walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Brother,” he said in a dead-serious tone, “I don’t know if anyone’s told you this, but you are the CEO of a huge-ass wine company. You’re your own boss. If you want to leave earlier, you can.”
“Don’t waste your time, Luke. He’s a lost cause. But I’m not. Let’s go up for a break,” Declan said before turning to me and adding, “if you change your mind, you know where to find us.”
I didn’t change my mind.
After the two of them left, I went back to my office. And then the day got away from me, as usual. Preparing the launch of an exclusive collection was no small feat, and I wasn’t too proud to admit that I’d underestimated the effort it would take. But it was going to be worth it.
When I’d started Maxwell Wineries, I wanted to build something my family could be proud of for generations to come. It was still what drove me to this day, even on the busiest weeks.
At five o’clock, I was restless. Out of nowhere, Lexi’s voice popped into my mind. Usually I avoided distractions, but I welcomed this one. In fact, I wanted more of it.
Taking out my phone, I brought up Lexi’s number, and I was surprised to see I had a few unread messages from her.
Lexi: We’re going on a picnic today. Beatrice is with us. She seemed a bit off, but Paisley and I have a plan to cheer her up.
The next message was from a few hours later.
Lexi: We’re still on our picnic. We’re going to be late for dinner, and I’m not sure how much Paisley will want to eat because she’s snacked the whole day.
Tate: Are you still at the lake?
Lexi: YES we are. At Oak Street Beach. I don’t think I can convince anyone to leave