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He glanced up. “The doctor said I’ll heal faster at home. I already agreed to lighten my workload. Besides, I highly doubt my job is what caused the stupid heart attack in the first place.”
I raised my brow but held my tongue. I knew exactly what he was doing. He was blaming me. Deciding to let that go, I looked around the room. It was filled with expensive furnishings and artwork. I knew my grandfather was much wealthier than the Shaw family, but they were still rich by anyone’s standards. They just didn’t flaunt their wealth like Granddad did.
Letting out my breath, I stood. “What is it you need me to do?”
“Go to the office and meet with my assistant.”
“Which one?” I asked.
He didn’t bother to look up from his morning paper. “Joyce. She has a contract she’ll need you to go through with a fine-tooth comb. We need to make sure everything is in order before April first, or this particular deal is off.”
“What’s the deal for?”
“I’m trying to acquire some land in west Texas. The family’s playing hardball because I think they know they have oil on their property. The offer we gave them is a good one, so make sure they take it.”
Confused, I said, “Granddad, I don’t work in the real estate arm of the company. Why isn’t Lenard handling this?”
That time, he did look up. “Because I don’t trust Lenard, I trust you. You’ll have another partner on the deal to help with things, but the faster we get that land, the better. I have a feeling they’re about to change their minds.”
All I could do was nod. Once I got to the office, I’d make sure someone from the real estate side was handling things and let them continue to do so. That was one area I hadn’t ever worked, and with Rachel working over there, I wasn’t going to touch it with a ten-foot pole.
“While you’re at it, get that woman back to help you.”
“Whom are you speaking of?” I asked, slipping my hands into my jeans pockets.
He shot me an annoyed look. “Kelsey.”
“She’ll be back from vacation next week.” He opened his mouth to argue, but I held up a finger. “She’s on vacation.”
Scowling, he turned his attention back to the newspaper.
When it was clear he was dismissing me, I turned on my heel and headed to the office.
I dropped back onto my bed and groaned. I’d been back in Texas for three weeks now, and my grandfather had finally gone back into the office today. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to test me to see what I could handle, but it didn’t really matter. This wasn’t the life I wanted. That much was made clear to me the second I stepped into the large office building in downtown Dallas my third day back.
As I walked from the elevator to my office, I came to a dead stop when I saw Kelsey standing there holding a cup of coffee. That could only mean one thing. She didn’t have good news for me. “Do I want to know?”
She raised a brow. “My guess is no.”
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. “I’m so sorry, Kelsey. Did he stop by already this morning?”
She smiled. “Your grandfather? Yes, he did, but he isn’t the problem.”
I took the coffee and asked, “Is there anything hard in here?”
Fighting a smile, she replied, “No. But you do have a bottle of whiskey on your desk that a gentleman by the name of Dirk Littlewood sent. There’s a note on the bottle.”
I grinned. “Thanks, Kelsey.”
As I made my way to my office, she reached for my arm. “Beck, the problem?”
Her voice had gone low, the lighter mood gone.
“Yes?” I asked, looking at her with a worried expression. “Is everything okay?”
With a frown in the direction of my office, she replied, “Rachel is here, waiting in your office. She insisted you wouldn’t mind if she waited there.”
“Oh my God,” I said, scrubbing a hand down my face. “What is she doing here?”
“Sorry, but I don’t know. She told me to sit my secretary ass down.”
Jerking my head back, I narrowed my eyes. “She said that to you?”
“She did.”
I slowly shook my head. “Kelsey, I’m really sorry, and I’ll make all of this up to you. I swear.”
She waved off my concern. “Don’t worry about it.”
All I could do was nod. “I guess I need to get this over with. Do me a favor and buzz me in about three minutes with a reminder of a meeting.”
She smiled. “Will do.” Setting a timer on her Apple watch, I chuckled.
Taking a deep breath, I walked into my office and saw Rachel sitting behind my desk, her feet propped up.
I raised a single brow. “Did you forget the real-estate offices are on a completely different floor?”
