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“As much as I would love to stay and hear the rest of this conversation,” Jensen said, kissing Emery’s hand, “I need to steal Jordan and Isaac for our announcement.”
“Fine,” Emery said. “But you owe me big later.”
“Tacos,” he purred.
“Don’t act like you know me.”
“Oh, but I do, baby,” he said, nipping at her ear.
“And this is why I’m pregnant, ladies and gentlemen,” she said as Jensen walked off with Isaac and Jordan.
“I don’t think I’d be complaining.”
We both giggled as the boys disappeared through the crowd.15Isaac“Peyton seems nice,” Jordan said.
“We actually dated in high school. She’s here for The Nutcracker season.”
“Oh, wow.” Jordan laughed and ran a hand back through his hair. “If I saw one of my high school girlfriends, I think I’d run.”
I snorted. “Yeah, but you have girls falling at your feet.”
“Nah, not all the time,” Jordan said with a wink.
We laughed and came to a stop at the side of the stage, where Morgan was already waiting for us. Morgan was the most capable person I knew. Jensen was a brilliant mind. Jordan was a bulldozer. But Morgan…she ran everything. And she did it damn well.
“Oh good, you found them,” Morgan said, looking up from her iPad. “Are we ready?”
Jensen crossed his arms over his chest and grinned at his sister. “Are you ready, Mor?”
She rolled her eyes. “Always.”
“Should we wait for David?” Jordan asked after the CFO.
“I’m here,” David said, jockeying for position in the circle.
“About time,” Morgan said, skipping back through her notes. “I’ll leave the iPad on the podium. Feel free to use it as much as you need. David is going to take the closing statement. Any questions?”
We all tried to keep a straight face. Morgan was the best, but she treated everyone with kid gloves regardless of the fact that both Jensen and Jordan had done her job before. It was just who she was.
Morgan stepped up to the podium first. She quieted the crowd and thanked everyone for coming. Then, she went into a speech about how well the year had been and how lucky the company was to have each and every person in attendance.
“Now, we want to make one more special announcement before all of you go back to your cocktails,” Morgan said and then gestured for us to come onstage.
I followed behind Jensen and Jordan, feeling the momentous occasion. It didn’t feel possible that I was here right now with three of the most important people at Wright. Three Wrights at that. But I’d been included, and no one seemed to blink that I was as valuable to the team.
“Thanks, Morgan,” Jensen said, taking the mic. “We do have an exciting, new announcement. Thanks to Jordan’s hard work and connections, we’re officially bringing a professional soccer team to Lubbock.”
The crowd cheered at this news.
He waited a minute before raising his hand. “That’s right, and Wright Construction got the contract to begin building the stadium in the new year. I’m already working on the designs with the league. Jordan is going to be on point for the stadium, and Isaac is going to be the head project manager. I can’t wait to see this come to fruition and see what else Wright has in store for us in the future.”
The crowd applauded again and began to talk among themselves about the new soccer facility. It felt incredible to be privy to such information, to even be standing here as the announcement was made.
My smile stretched ear to ear as I stared out at my sea of colleagues. And then I found Peyton. She was clapping softly with her own wide smile. Her eyes glowed with pride. This wasn’t what I’d planned when I graduated high school and went off to play soccer, but life had a way of guiding you onto a new path. This was mine. And somehow, it had put Peyton back on it.
We stepped offstage as David gave the closing remarks. I entered a sea of Wrights. Jensen and Morgan stood with the rest of their siblings—Austin, Landon, and Sutton. Their cousins, Jordan and Julian, had disappeared out of the main circle, and I moved to step aside but was drawn into the Wright circle.
“I see you brought Isaac in to do the real work,” Landon said, shaking my hand.
He’d been the star quarterback when I knew him in high school, but he was a professional golfer now.
“Always here to make sure things get done,” I told him.
Austin laughed and crossed his arms. “Do you ever get sick of making the same speech over and over?”
Morgan arched an eyebrow. “Do you ever get sick of the sound of your own voice?”
“I do!” Sutton said, raising her hand. “Austin’s voice is obnoxious.”
“Whose side are you on?” Austin grumbled.
Landon just chuckled into his drink. “Classic.”
“Listen here,” Morgan said, playfully pointing her finger at her brother. “If you think you can do better—”
