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“Listen, Granddad, we can all leave so that you two can have some privacy,” Antonio said as he helped Lucy up from the leather recliner seat.
“Very well,” Toni responded. “And, Pamela, please let me go over the draft before you make your announcement to the media.”
“I will, of course, sir,” Pamela said before leaving the study with the rest of the clan.
“Hey, Lucas! Are we taking the chopper into town or are you driving?” Zack called out from the foyer after exiting the study.
The Romero family was one of the few residents of the town that had access to its own spacious helipad right out near the east entrance. It would take a couple of hours to drive through the morning traffic to Toronto but the chopper would get them there as the crow flies. Lucas was already running behind and had several meetings to attend during the course of the day.
“Sure, I won’t be long,” he assured his cousin. Zack winked and grinned before turning towards the corridor of the left wing.
“Okay, let’s have it, Gramps! What’s this all about?” Lucas probed as he turned to his grandfather. He eyed Toni skeptically at first, then by looking at the elder patriarch of the family something inside him melted. He resisted the urge to grin. He didn’t know if he should be annoyed or amused at what his grandfather was about to do. He could almost predict every little scheme he had up his tailored sleeves.
“You almost say it as if you expect something awful, my dear grandson.” Toni sat back down on the recliner.
“Because I know this is about something I’m probably not going to like.”
“You see, Lucas, how do you expect to achieve positive results if you expect negative ones?”
“Aren’t those my words, Gramps?”
“Yes, and I’m giving them back to you, grandson, because sometimes we all need reminders.”
“Fine.” Lucas’s lips melted into a grin as he pulled up a chair and sat opposite Toni. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and looked into his grandfather’s tired, dark brown eyes.
Lucas had to hand it to him. The man looked great for his age. Lucas hoped he would look as fit when he reached that age. Except for the fine, silver strands of hair on his head, you’d never know Toni was pushing eighty in a few years. He barely looked half his age. He had smooth olive skin, a family trait that was a blessing…and sometimes a curse.
“Do you remember Maxine Summers from Dream Weddings, Inc.?” Toni asked casually as he dusted imaginary lint from his tailored blazer sleeve.
Lucas’s gut reacted. He didn’t know why. But it just did. The sound of her name. Maxine Summers. There was something about that woman that switched him on and he wasn’t all that pleased about that right now. Why would his grandfather bring up Maxine? What did she have to do with anything? Funny thing was that Lucas was thinking about Maxine earlier. In fact, she crossed his mind with naughty thoughts on a few occasions.
“I remember Maxine. Why?” Lucas got up and shoved his hands in his pockets again. He often did that when he was compelled to pace or think. Right now, he wanted to get the heck on out of there if he knew where his grandfather was headed with this.
“Well, as you know, she’s a good friend of your cousin by marriage, Lucy.”
“I know.” Lucas gazed out at the garden outside. “And?”
“Well, she needs to revamp the business. The Dream Weddings business to make it more interactive for a new generation of clients. Most people prefer to interact online these days and well…she needs a bit of help.”
“Okay. So what does this have to do with me?”
“The Healthy Start Program is interactive, isn’t it?”
“But it wouldn’t apply to her business.”
“Oh, it just might. I thought maybe you could tailor it for her. Spend some time with her and-”
“Oh, no! Wait a minute. If she’s looking for new software for her company, she can have one of my tech guys come in. I’m way too busy-”
“Lucas! Let me finish!”
Lucas rolled his tongue in his cheek and decided to let his elder carry on. “Fine. What is it that you have in mind, Grandfather?”
