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To Bryce’s relief, his brother had the good sense to simply reply. “Yes, sir,” before leaving the room. As soon as the door closed, Bryce turned to his father. “I wasn’t seeking to undermine you in the main meeting, Dad.” He didn’t want to be another problem his father felt he had to fix. “Just tell me what you need me to do.”
“Actually nothing, son. Take a few days off. Your mother is right, you work too hard. It wasn’t fair of me to drag you all the way back from Scotland and drop you into this mess. But now that you are here, I think you should take some time for yourself. Go relax.”
His father was telling him to relax, while at the same time sending one of his brothers out to California with the proverbial flea in his ear. The notion didn’t sit all that well with Bryce.
“You didn’t have to defend your brother, Bryce. He’s not fifteen. He needs to be the one to deal with this, no one else. You went to California, you did what you had to do, and now you need to step back. Let me close this out.”
“Alright. I will stay out of the way. But are you sure about me taking time off?”
Edward nodded. “Yes. The next year or two for you is going to be very busy. I’ve been discussing things with the board, and we are seriously considering moving the timeline up.”
Bryce’s brows furrowed. Timelines were always moving. “I don’t quite understand.”
“I know you were planning on spending another year in Europe, but I think it’s time you returned permanently to New York. I am standing down early in the new year, and the CEO position is going to be offered to you.”
They had talked about Bryce maybe one day taking over from his father, but in his mind that was years away. Edward was in his late fifties, a long way from retirement.
Bryce’s stomach dropped. He had been toying with the idea of coming back to the States, but he hadn’t seen this career change happening anytime soon. He searched his father’s face for answers. “Are you well? Oh, god, please don’t tell me you are ill.”
Edward shook his head. “As we say in England, fit as a fiddle. No, I just want to focus on other projects. I can’t do that if I am in charge of the US operations. And to be honest your mother wants us to travel a bit more, to be guests of our resorts, not have me working in them.”
Bryce let out a sigh of relief. In his mind his father would live to one hundred. While coming home had always been in his long term plans, he had hoped to complete his secondment to the European branch. “What about the Paris acquisition?”
Edward winced. “I was wondering when you would mention that little project. I’m sorry but it’s no longer yours.”
Royal Resorts had been in private negotiations to buy a mansion in the middle of the French capital for close on four years. The current owners, two elderly sisters, seemed to be enjoying making a major luxury house jump through the hoops.
“I know you wanted so badly to be in charge of the Paris project, but the company needs you here in America. And while you might see it as a bit of a loss, I want you to think about how this change fits in with your future. If you are based here, then you could look to other aspects of your life. To finding a wife.”
He gave a nod to his father, then headed for the door. If he let Edward get started in on one of his long fatherly chats about family and life balance, he wouldn’t get the chance to catch Jordan before his brother left.
“Let’s talk again about the CEO role. And yes, I will take a couple of days off…soon.”
If he was going to be a success as head of US operations, one of the first things Bryce was going to have to focus on was finding a way to help his brother find his place within the company. He couldn’t begin to do that while Jordan was on the other side of the country.
And what about those other relationships?
The little voice had started up again. Guilt over what he had written about Vivian on the dating app had been tapping a steady beat in his brain for the past hour. He pushed it away. Right this minute, he only had the energy to deal with one troubled relationship.
I have to speak to Jordan before he leaves.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
His brother was waiting for Bryce when he returned to his office. Jordan was perched on the edge of the desk, arms folded, and huffing with frustrated disgust. The only thing missing was a pout.
Jordan pushed off the desk and began to protest. “I can’t believe the old man is sending me commercial. The jet is available, but I have to go and sit with the great unwashed on an airline.”
I thought we were past all this, for fuck’s sake. Come on Jordan, give me a break.
“You will be flying business class, which is better than most other people ever get to experience. In the spirit of our brotherly pact, can I offer you some advice?”
It took all of Bryce’s willpower not to reach out and give his younger sibling a clip over the ear, as he met Jordan’s hardened eyes.
I can’t believe you are giving me this bratty attitude.
This wasn’t a backyard game of football where you tried to stare your opponent down as you came for him, this was business. At stake was a billion dollar resort.
“What?”
