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"Wow. How come we don't have breakfast like this every day?" Nathan asks, popping a grape into his mouth.
"You do. It's just at the restaurant." Dennis shoots back and whacks his son across the back of his head with the spatula.
"Ow."
"What would you like, Kylian?" Dennis asks.
"Some fried eggs, sunny side up, please." I say, downing a glass of apple juice, thirsty from all the alcohol we drank last night."
"Kiara?"
"None for me, Dad, I'm going to have some avocado toast."
"Mikey?" he finally gets to his son.
"Why am I last?"
"Because you're the host. Kylian and Kiara don't live here."
"How is that my fault? A plain omelet, please."
He serves us in short order and we eat in silence for a few minutes.
"Dad? you're not eating anything?" Kiara asks, after taking a sip of her coffee.
"Oh, um, no. Actually, I ate already, dear. That's what happens when you fall asleep at 8 p.m.," he laughs.
"Well, it was a lovely night, thank you for coming home, my children." He makes a point to look at me when he says it and if I wasn't shoving an egg into my mouth, I might have been a little more emotional. "Kiara? I'll see you next week?
"Of course, Dad. I might even drop by this weekend."
He waves her offer away. "Oh, no. That's okay. I know you're busy on the weekends."
Nathan snorts.
"What? Are you suggesting I'm not?"
His sister’s confrontational manner is not a good match for Nathan’s short temper. "It's not a real job, Keeks. How many times are we going to have this conversation?" Nathan says, his voice full of derision. This isn't the man I know. Why is he treating his sister with so much less grace than he does other people?
"It is a real job." Kiara looks at me, her eyes hurt. “Don’t say that in front of Kylian, who’s hiring me.
"It is," I say, before I can stop myself. Before coming here yesterday, I'd made a pact to myself that I was not going to get involved in any familial spats, but... I can’t let him talk to her like this. "Have you two even seen her work? Do you have any idea about her operation? She is so good. She knows what she's doing. She’s strong and resourceful, but kind and thoughtful all the same time.” I swallow, knowing that I should stop talking. That this conversation shouldn’t have a part for me in it. But I can’t let them talk to her like that, not knowing the amazing things she’s doing. “She’s in the trenches. We always talk about how much good we’re doing because we’re throwing money at the people who are out there, day in day out, doing the hard things. It’s easy sitting in our ivory tower, but she’s out there, on the ground. Don’t judge it unless you’ve seen her firsthand. Please. And Kiara, you don’t have to worry about me taking in what Nathan is saying. I wouldn't hire you and your agency if I didn't think you could do the job."
This time Nathan’s annoyed look is aimed at me. "Oh, what a surprise, Kylian being on Kiara’s side.” The way he says it makes me want to punch the smugness right off his face. “It's not a stable job, so don't pretend it is, man. And it's dangerous. You mess with people’s money and they want to make sure you know they’re not okay with it! She’s going to get into trouble."
"Come on, man. Really? Every single day, we play with people's money. And not a few thousand in poker chips. Hundreds, thousands, millions of dollars. You don't think that's dangerous? You don’t think some middle manager out there who’s put all of his savings into one of our businesses, only to have a drop right when he’s about to retire, doesn’t want to shoot our fucking brains out? If you don’t want her to do this because you can’t control her, just fucking say that! Don’t pretend it’s something it isn’t. "
His anger blasts across the breakfast bench area and burns a mark in my skin. Sure, we’ve fought, but it’s never been over a disagreement like this. "What the fuck are you suggesting? I’m genuinely afraid that she is going to get hurt."
I stand up, face to face, with him, looking at him dead in the eyes. "I'm not going to let that happen. Ever. I trust her to do her job well. And you should trust me to make sure that Kiara and her employees are safe at Baxter."
He hisses, and it takes everything I have not to flinch when he raises his hand, but then turns and storms out of the room.
The three of us glance around, reeling in the aftermath of the argument, until Kiara breaks the silence. "You'll have to excuse him, Kylian, has been making dramatic exits often lately. Must be some sort of business strategy he's trying out.”
I grimace as I address their father, my heart sinking at the prospect that he’s disappointed with me for arguing with his son." I apologize, sir. I just feel very strongly that Kiara isn't getting enough credit for the work she's doing."
He doesn’t say anything immediately, thinking over my words before he gives me a small nod. "Me, too. But Nathan is just looking out for her. We care about our girl. And, personally, I am more than happy that she's joining your company." He nods, a secret gesture to me about the deal he offered.
