Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
I winced, waiting to see if Bennett was going to lash out. Few people ever spoke out against him. And no one spoke out against his father. Senator Forsythe was one of the most influential politicians in the country. Every year, he proposed new laws, most of them draconian, and headed powerful committees. Grant’s father was a well-known and well-regarded lawyer with countless connections in Washington, DC, but the unspoken bylaw was that he didn’t ever cross or challenge his brother.
When Grant was a child, he’d had a similar message drilled into him. Be more like Bennett. Play nice with your cousin. Let him have his way. Grant’s family had only allowed him to care about the things they cared about—and as a result, these days he pretended he didn’t care about anything.
Ian and I were also connected to the Forsythe family in some ways, but my father was one of the best architects in the world. That gave me some freedom to speak my mind, but I’d received the same message when I was younger. Play nicely with the Forsythe boys. And for the most part, I had.
We spent most of the rest of the meal in silence—a rarity for us. I was beginning to wish I hadn’t dragged Nelson along. He would’ve been happier in his room. Hell, I might’ve been happier in his room, too. I hated seeing Hailey treated so poorly.
She appeared about twenty minutes later. “Are you ready for dessert?”
“Clear the plates first,” Bennett said. “Then ask again.”
I winced, and Ian did, too.
Hailey nodded and came to get Bennett’s plate first. Then Grant’s. She was learning—but I wished this kind of classist crap was something she didn’t have to learn.
After she’d taken the plates and the serving bowls, she reappeared. “Are you ready for dessert now? I made pie. And would anyone like coffee with their dessert?”
“We’re not eighty,” Bennett said. “We have better things to drink.”
Shit, it was her second day on the job. Couldn’t he cut her some slack?
Hailey nodded and slunk back into the kitchen while I whirled on Bennett. “Jesus, would you lay off? She’s trying to do what you told her to.”
“She’s failing.”
“She—”
Hailey came out, holding two small plates. It looked like she’d made apple pie. The strips of crust on the top were slightly burnt. She didn’t speak as she brought in the rest of the plates. Then she retreated to the kitchen, and I didn’t blame her.
Nelson ate his slice. Matt and Grant had a few bites. Ian ate about half of his, even though he normally steered clear of things with added sugar.
I tried it, and it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great, but it was good enough to eat a couple of bites of.
Apparently, Grant didn’t think so. He pushed away from the table and stood up. “I’ll go talk to her.”
“Let me.” I got to my feet.
He looked irritated. “I’m not going to shout at her. The only thing worse than a bad cook is a bad cook who’s crying.”
Since I was pretty sure that both of them had made a lot of women cry over the years, I tried again. “I’ve got a good rapport with her. I’ll talk to her.”
“Yeah, good idea,” Ian chimed in.
But Bennett still didn’t look happy, and Grant spoke up.
“It’s not that big of a deal. Either she’ll get better, or we’ll fire her.” Grant got to his feet, and I wasn’t sure if that was wise. Bennett had always seemed to resent that Grant had a few inches on him. But Grant knew how to play it. “It’s no big deal. Let Theo take care of it.”
“He’s got this,” Ian added.
I watched Bennett’s face and saw the moment he gave in. Grant had played it perfectly—he’d made it seem like talking to the poor girl in the kitchen was a task that was beneath Bennett.
Bennett nodded and threw his napkin down on the table. After he left, I exchanged glances with Ian and Grant. They’d both had my back.
Now I had to go explain Bennett’s expectations to Hailey—while at the same time, making sure she knew I had her back.
8
HAILEY
That went horribly.
The kitchen was an absolute disaster. I was exhausted. All that work, and nobody even really ate much of it.
All I wanted to do was to climb into bed and cry myself to sleep, but I had to clean up all this mess. And then I had to prepare for my class tomorrow.
It all seemed like too much.
Then Theo walked in.
“They hated it, didn’t they?” My voice was flat and weary, even to my own ears.
He shook his head, looking at me with kind eyes. “Hate’s a bit of an overstatement.”
“Nobody even ate anything.” The evidence of that was right there on the counter. Six plates, none of them empty, sat there mocking me.