The room descended into silence. It felt like five minutes, but it was more like two minutes of tense, uncomfortable quiet while we waited on Granny to say anything.
Jackson cleared his throat. “Do you need water, Granny?”
Granny shot him a sidelong glance. “If I needed water, I would have water.” She sighed. “I’ve made some decisions about your future that I felt you should be aware of.” Once again, Jackson opened his mouth to speak, but Granny shushed him. She glanced at each of us again, but her gaze lingered on mine a little longer than the rest. “I’m not getting any younger. I thought I raised my children to revere the sanctity of marriage, love, and family. Yet, my only living son thinks it’s acceptable to have side chicks in multiple area codes. And my daughters … One is content sleeping with the boy toy of the month and the other doesn’t have any children.”
“What does this have to do with us?” Jackson’s sister, Amelia, asked.
Granny shot her a glare. “Do you have somewhere to be?” she challenged.
Amelia sunk low in her chair and shook her head. “No, ma’am.”
“That’s what I thought.” Granny rounded the table and stopped behind me. She reached out and massaged my shoulders. Hard. “Since they couldn’t be what I want, I decided it’s up to you. I want all of you to settle down and get married.” She dug her thumb into the back of my neck. “I thought about making it a contingency upon my death, but I decided to make it a contingency while I’m alive.” Granny gripped my chin and turned my attention to her. “I hope you’ve had all your fun,” she whispered.
“Granny,” I mumbled, “I—”
But she walked away before I could get anything out. Once she made it back to her seat, she planted both hands on the table. “It’s simple. If I don’t see you walking down that aisle, you won’t be walking away with any of my money.”
The room erupted then, cousins talking over one another, all vying for the opportunity to be heard. I just sat there, staring at Granny.
“I’m not ready to get married,” Erica said, panic in her voice.
Granny sliced a hand through the air, effectively signaling to everyone to shut the hell up. “This isn’t up for a discussion. I said what I said. You’re dismissed.”
As my cousins scrambled to exit the room, I let out a sigh of relief. There was no way Granny would’ve dismissed me if she’d seen the post. So I grabbed my shit and practically sprinted out of the office, only to nearly collide with someone in the lobby.
“Sorry,” I grumbled. But when I glanced up, I was face-to-face with the one person I hadn’t expected to see. Albany Keyes. I stared into beautiful eyes that I’d seen in my dreams more times than I’d ever dare to admit. She was stunning, from her long, boho braids to her black oxford flats. Every part of her was perfect—her smooth brown skin, full hips, long legs…. It had been years, but she still had the same effect she’d always had on me. With my heart beating out of control, I struggled to find words, to bring myself out of our shared past and into our distant present, but I couldn’t speak.
Albany spoke for me, though, when she averted her gaze and walked past me without a word.
Behind me, I heard Erica’s high-pitched, “Albany!” and nearly tripped over a chair that I swore wasn’t there a minute ago, in my haste to get the hell out of there.
Granny’s voice stopped me in my tracks. “One more thing …”
Shit. I sucked in a deep breath and turned to meet Granny’s hard glare.
She approached me slowly. “Fix it or find another job.”
Chapter 2
Wesley
Choosing to move in silence and being rendered speechless were two very different things. I had barely escaped the family-slash-business meeting with my job, which was bad enough.
Yesterday, I would’ve left that meeting with an idea.
Yesterday, I would’ve formulated a plan to win Granny’s trust back before I’d even entered the elevator.
Yesterday, there would’ve already been meetings on the calendar, irons in the fire. Something to mitigate the crisis thatI’dcaused.
But today …
So many thoughts were running through my head, too many questions that needed answers. None of them had anything to do with Batchelor Corp. None of them had anything to do with Granny or her approval. All of them hadeverythingto do with Albany.
Who asked her to come?That answer was obvious. Granny. Because once Albany greeted everyone except me, she’d disappeared into my grandmother’s office.
What did Granny want with her?No one showed up on that floor without an invitation. And Joyce Batchelor had never wasted time on meaningless meetings.
“This is some freakin’ bullshit.” Erica slammed my door, kicked off her shoes, stomped over to the love seat in the corner of my office, and slumped down onto the cushion. “Who the hell makes their grandkids get married?” she shouted, frustration rolling off her in waves. “This isn’tBridgerton. I’m not walking around here in floor-length dresses, short-ass bangs, and long gloves up to my elbows. I’m not some chaste maiden waiting to get deflowered and knocked up by an ugly-as-fuck man with a title. This is toxic behavior.”
