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"Baby girl, you do other things that make up for that. I don't know and I don't want to know what Nathan is like in bed.”' I scrunch up my face. "I lied.”
“You do want to know?”
He gives me a look. “Absolutely not. No, I mean, I do know. That apartment we had in Philly had very thin walls. He’s a grunter."
"Ewwwwww." I cover my ear with two cushions.
"You're telling me."
"Are you avoiding the question about your favorite brother?"
I'm not. I just don't have an answer. "I... like each of them for different reasons. Damien understands me better than the others. He's closest to me in age, but he's a totally different animal. He's careful and measured, cares so much but pretends he doesn't. So sometimes he alienates people with his intensity."
"Maybe his fiancée will change that."
I think about that for a moment and then nod. "I think what she does is help him translate that intensity into actions and communications that people can understand. For example, he used to glare at people when they came onto the elevator because he felt like it was wasting his time to stop at each floor. My-Linh helped him see that they're wasting just as much time waiting for another elevator and who the fuck is he that his time is worth ten of his employees’ time."
She giggles. "That's funny. How did she do that?"
"She literally said it straight to his face."
"I like her. Okay, what about Matthias?"
I shudder. "Matthias and I have to live on different continents for the good of mankind."
She sits up, her face alive with curiosity "Oh, why?"
"We're the same person but he's like ten times worse. You think I talk a lot. I'm basically a mute when I'm with him. And he has no concept of propriety or fear. He will wake up one day and decide that he wants to jump out a plane and will do it himself. And he is a shit stirrer. When you meet him, do not let him bait you into saying anything you don't want to say. He will use it against you with no mercy."
She sees right through what I’m saying. "You sound proud of him."
"I want to be him when I grow up."
"And your eldest brother? You said he is going to be the CEO of Baxter Enterprises when he turns forty-two?"
"Yeah, that's the plan."
"Is there a reason why that might not happen?"
"Based on Kingsley's track record, absolutely not. He is hands down the absolutely best person to head our company into the next decade, for sure. But not everyone is worried about that; they're just worried about their own self-interest. The thing that Kingsley worries about is Baxter and that means alllll of Baxter, from the janitors, to the middle managers, to the workers in the cafeterias and the lunchroom in our headquarters. He lives, breathes, and bleeds Baxter Enterprises. He is more intense than the rest of us put together."
"I guess that's what happens when you were always raised to be the heir."
I get up and grab two bottles of water from the fridge. "After our father left when he was sixteen, Kingsley has known what his future is."
"Is he talkative like you?"
I loosen the lid of her water bottle and hand it to her. "You will be lucky to get a word out of him if you're not Damien, Matthias, or me. He does not trust anyone, but cares about everyone, if that makes any sense."
"It does. Did your grandfather have a favorite?" She takes a sip of the water.
"Maybe, but not that we would know. He would work a room of strangers and every single one of them would leave thinking that they were now a part of his family. He's the one who took the company to where it is today."
She gets up and wriggles, shaking her legs out before she climbs back on the couch, tucking her legs under her. "So, you talk about Kingsley and your other brothers and their work with Baxter, but you haven't told me much about your work. You probably know more about my work than I do about yours, and I don't think there is another person on this earth that I can say that about."
Her confession feels good. I’m not going to lie, there’s something special about someone trusting you enough to share their deepest secrets. I owe her the same. "Does your family know about what you do? I didn't want to out you to Nathan when he came to see me yesterday.”
I also didn't want to tell her that her father knew about her apartment where some of the woman she rescued were staying. I didn't know what else he knew and I didn't want to say anything unless that's all it was.
