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“I just need to speak to him for a moment. Will you let him know I’m out here?”
“I sure will,” Steven said, smiling at the woman as she stepped aside. “And who are you?”
“Astrid Taylor.”
Steven nodded to her and then turned to the butler. “Steven Devonshire,” he said.
“Of course, sir,” he said. The door was opened for him and he entered the club.
The centuries-old club was decorated in a very conservative manner and it was lined with tables and chairs in discreet groupings. There was a bar at one end of the room and he spotted Henry and Geoff sitting at one of the tables toward the back.
“There’s a girl asking for you up front,” he said by way of greeting to Henry.
The other men and he shared little in the way of looks. Geoff dressed like he was part of the upper crust of society, which he was. Henry always looked spot-on trendy, which made sense because he spent so much time with the people who made the trends that others followed.
“A girl?” Henry asked.
“Astrid,” he said. “I told them I’d let you know.”
“Thanks,” Henry said. He put his glass on the table and stood up. “Sorry to miss chatting with you, Steven. I need to go.”
“Do you?” Geoff asked. “Who is she?”
“My new assistant, Astrid Taylor.”
Steven signaled the butler and ordered a Seagram’s Seven. It was an old-fashioned drink, but one he’d always favored. The conversation went on between the other two men, talking about families and their half-siblings, and Steven felt distinctly uncomfortable. He had no family except his mum and Aunt Lucy. And he certainly didn’t want to talk about them. Steven found it interesting that Henry and Geoff’s mums had remarried and created families for their sons.
After Henry left, Steven sat back in his chair to assess Geoff’s mood. “How’s the airline business?”
“A mess. I’m not sure that this ‘boon’ from Malcolm is much of a gift. The airline is on shaky ground and the baggage handlers are threatening to strike. I have some ideas for turning it around, but it will be hard work. How about the retail stores?”
Steven had heard rumors about the airline within business circles. “The retail chain is healthy in Europe and here in the UK, but the North American division is faltering. I wonder how Malcolm let the business get into such bad shape?”
Geoff shrugged. “His obsession with flying around the globe probably contributed to it. Or, as we all know, his obsession with women.”
Steven couldn’t help but chuckle. At the end of the day that might be what had cost Malcolm the cutting edge he’d had when he was younger. That was a mistake that Steven was determined not to make.
He liked to think he’d gotten the best skills from both his parents. From his mother, Lynn Grandings, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, he’d learned to apply the scientific method to every aspect of his life and to be methodical about planning, but he’d also been introduced to some of his mum’s crazy ideas. She always said that progress was made from ideas that others thought were…whacked. And from Malcolm he’d learned that winning at all costs was the most important thing.
“I forgot to mention to Henry that I have made arrangements for Fashion Quarterly to interview our mothers and us.”
“What? Why would a fashion magazine be interested in us?” Geoff asked.
“Our mums were all very fashionable women in their day and the editor-in-chief thinks that you and Henry are fashion-forward now. She’s going to do photo shoots of each us with our mums near something related to our business units. The editor-in-chief wants to assign a writer to interview all three of us and Malcolm. I’m not sure what his health is like, so I don’t know if that will be possible.”
“I’m not too keen on talking about myself and I don’t know that my mum will agree, but the airline could use a boost. As long as they stick to that angle, I’ll do it.”
“Good. I’ll have my assistant send the details. And now I have to go.”
“Me, too,” Geoff said. “Thanks for dropping by.”
“You’re welcome. I guess it’s time we got to know each other.”
“Past time,” Geoff said.
The men walked out together and there were photographers waiting outside. Steven stayed back and watched the mayhem that surrounded Geoff. There were questions about his distant cousins, the royal princes, and questions about his mother. All of which Geoff brushed off as he walked to his own car, ignoring the photographers.
After the pack of paparazzi had left, Steven left as the valet brought his car to the front. After meeting with his half brothers, he knew he was going to win the challenge that Malcolm had thrown down, but he wondered if it would fill the empty hole in his soul.
