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The long-distance thing wasn’t something Braylon thought he could do, but West and he were two different people.
“You know,” Braylon said. “Not to be a jerk, but you’re acting a little bit like you did before Abby came into your life.”
“You mean a grumpy asshole?” West asked with a smirk on his face.
“That would be the one,” he said, laughing. “Everything okay with Abby?”
“I think so,” West said. “She’s been quiet. Or I’ve been busy. We haven’t talked much.”
“Is that normal for you?” he asked. West was always private about his personal life but had opened up much more in the past several months.
Actually, his older brother became more like he was when they were kids before their lives took a turn for the worse.
West shrugged. “It ebbs and flows. I try not to bug her too much and she does the same with me. We are both working.”
“You didn’t spend the weekend with her, did you?” he asked.
Abby would often take the private jet for the hour trip from Albany and stay with his brother at his Hamptons home, but Braylon tried to stay out of it.
If he was jealous his older brother was finding something that none of them in the family had been able to yet, he’d held it in.
It wasn’t only Abby. He’d always been jealous of his older brother but never let it show. What good would it have done anyway?
Braylon was the second oldest of eight kids. West got the most attention as the oldest and the one who had to step up when their father died. Braylon was the oldest left at home while West was in college and he helped his mother the most, but at fifteen it’s not like he had a car or driver’s license and spent most of his time babysitting and breaking up fights. He could be the peacemaker of the family in some people’s eyes.
“No,” West said. “Maybe this weekend. Not sure. We’ll figure it out.”
“Figure what out?” his sister, Laken, said, popping her head in. “Your door is open. Is there a meeting I don’t know about?”
Laken worked for West also. She oversaw all the new acquisitions that West invested in. Braylon took care of most of the legal work, but it’s not like he was the VP of Legal like Laken was of acquisitions.
Nope, Thomas Draken had that responsibility. Though Braylon understood he needed more experience, that at thirty-three, West was more or less having him groomed, it still hurt he wasn’t the head honcho like his brother was.
“No meeting,” West said. “Just had my door open because I hadn’t shut it. Braylon stopped in to say hi.”
Laken looked at him. She was the oldest girl, and just two years behind him. He’d have to say he was the closest to West, not just in age but also in their relationship, but no one ever got that close to West he’d learned.
Laken and he were close too, but there were some things you just didn’t talk to your sister about.
Not that Laken was even around much, as she was on the road more times than not.
“Aren’t you leaving today?” he asked.
“Yep,” Laken said. “I came in to get a few things and then I’m heading to the airport. I’ll be back on Wednesday. So if there is no meeting, I’m out of here.”
He watched his sister leave. West went back to work so Braylon took that as a sign to go too and turned.
It felt as if there might be something going on with his brother, but if West wanted to talk, he’d do it. Or at least he’d like to think so.
“There you are,” Thomas said when he turned into the legal wing. “We’ve got a few issues in Utah.”
He hated when Thomas said that. He’d say the state and not the company. It’s like it was a test of sorts for Braylon to know every single one of his brother’s business ventures, where they were located, when they were purchased and how many windows were on the building. Stupid shit.
He continued to put his stuff away and hang up his jacket. He wore a suit to the office but didn’t leave his jacket on most times if he wasn’t leaving.
It gave him time to think of the business Thomas was talking about. “Are we running out of granola in the plant?” he asked. Protein bars or other snacks on the go. That came to him fast enough.
“No,” Thomas said, shaking his head. The guy had no sense of humor. “One of the stores we ship to is wanting to cancel the next shipment due to packaging issues. Someone needs to fly out there and find out what is going on because I don’t trust the plant manager running things.”
