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Gabe whistled. "But that doesn't mean he won't try, Zoey. You've still got a few things to learn about our brother.”
Cade straightened up. "You know what? I'm with Colton on this one. We should all crunch numbers and see how much liquidity we actually need. We're talking probably something close to two hundred million."
Zoey stiffened next to me. I knew she wasn't used to this kind of conversation about money. I put my arm around her shoulders.
"Why don't we all check finances while everyone considers where they stand, and then we regroup?" I suggested.
As much as I wanted to get this over with, it wasn’t something we could decide on the spot.
"Anyone else feel like we're rewarding him by giving him what he wants?" Jake asked in a tight voice.
“They arehisshares,” I pointed out.
Gabe looked at me. "That's his way of nudging us in the direction he wants."
"Yes, he's got a lot of skill," Zoey said. "I'm starting to learn that."
Leo winked at her. "You and us too."
Nick and Leo hadn't given an opinion either way. "What’s your instinct telling you two?” I asked them.
"I've got to think about it," Nick said.
"I don't like to make big decisions before considering it," Leo added, "but your approach is good. We should check finances first. If that won't work out, then we'll have our answer."
I frowned, looking at Jake and Gabe. All of my brothers were doing spectacularly, but Whitley Biotech was a front-runner. Pharma had always been extremely profitable.
I cleared my throat. "Listen. Don't feel pressured. This doesn’t have to be split equally, okay? Everyone just check how much cash you can spend, and I’ll come up with the rest," I said.
"Now, wait a second,” Jake began.
Everyone started protesting at the same time.
I was starting to learn more and more about my half brothers with this one conversation alone. They liked to have fun and mess around and sometimes seemed to not take things seriously, but that was only a first impression. They were cerebral, weighing pros and cons, and I appreciated that. They were very much like Gabe.
“For now, let’s forget I brought it up,” I said. “But keep it in the back of your minds.”
There was a murmur of agreement.
"Maddox, thanks for doing this," Cade said.
Maddox nodded. "No problem. I won't tell him anything for now. I'll wait for all of us to decide.”
“By the way,” Leo said, “we should discuss this with our grandparents too.”
That had crossed my mind as well. “I know.”
Everyone else nodded.
It was one thing to protect them from Dad’s antics, but buying him out of Whitley Industries was another thing altogether. They had a right to know and to veto it if they so desired.
"All right. Who wants to go play tennis again?" Nick asked. “I just got confirmation from my team that we can use one of the courts.”
Leo, Nick, Cade, and Spencer immediately rose to their feet.
Gabe said, "No, man. I'm out. I'm sorry. I don't find watching so fascinating.”
"Yeah, not my cup of tea either," Jake agreed. "I need to go, anyway. I promised Natalie I'd take her out after meeting you guys. She’s at our grandparents’ house with Meredith."
