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I groaned. "Dude, come on. I thought this would motivate you to take today off. Let’s get a drink or bite to eat."
"No can do."
"Do you have an Off button?" I asked in exasperation. "The world won't stop if you take a break."
Colton swallowed hard. His eyes turned cold. "No, but some people might unnecessarily lose their lives."
"What are you talking about?" I asked. My brother was losing it.
"This is medicine, Cade, not coffee."
"I know. Don't be a jackass about it," I snapped back.
"Ever stop to wonder what would've happened if there had been a good medicine for Mom?"
His words were like a punch to my gut. I always knew Mom's illness made him get into biotech, but I never realized it was what still drove him to this day. I chose my words carefully.
"I did. I still do. Sometimes. Not all the time, Colton. It's not healthy."
"That's not what I meant. I feel a responsibility for getting a good product on the market every time."
"That’s admirable. But if you work yourself into the ground, you won't be able to help anyone at all."
"See, now you almost sound like Grandmother."
"Well, Ihavebeen attending her lunches more often than you. By the way, she invited Maddox, Leo, and Nick for Thanksgiving too.”
Colton set his jaw, glancing away. “Fine.”
This wasn’t news. Grandmother insisted we all get together a few times a year, but Colton always needed a warning. In the past, so had Jake, but he’d changed his attitude toward our half brothers as of late. As of Natalie.
“Colton, it’s not their fault—”
"I know. I have no time for a lecture again. See you when I see you," he added as we both went to our respective cars.
Our grandmother was right about Colton. Almost unwillingly, I wondered if she was right about Meredith and me too. This intervention of hers was working. It was reverse psychology at its best, and I knew it. We often used it for our coffee ads, and now my grandmother was using it against me.
People weren't meant for each other. I was sure of that. The concept didn't exist. Grandmother was wrong on that one. But attraction was a real thing. I felt it every time I was around Meredith.
I'd teased her enough about catching up on old times. Now I just wanted to hear her voice, to be around her.
Once I got to my brownstone in Back Bay, I poured myself a glass of whiskey, sitting in the huge armchair I had in front of the fireplace. On instinct, I called her.
"Hi, Cade." She sounded uncharacteristically shy.
"Meredith! Are you alone?"
"Yeah. I’m driving to my parents’ house. You?"
"I went boxing with Colton."
"Oh wow. Talk about the unexpected. I thought you’d be a tennis guy or something like that."
"I am. I play with my half brothers on weekends."
"Your half brothers? They live here?" She sounded surprised. Then I realized that happened after I changed schools, so she wouldn’t have known.
"They moved here after college. We grew closer over the years."
