Page 26 of George’s Big Day

“Find a way to make the difference we want to see,” I finished, because it was, after all, his motto. When the city said there wasn’t room for something new, Aaron Sutter merely bought something old and retrofitted it for what was most needed. His vision and commitment to change were unstoppable. I was proud to work for him.

“Excellent,” he said with a nod, his hand back on my shoulder. It was obvious he liked me. There was no hiding that. “Hannah and Jake are up there, and I ordered everything family-style, so honestly, there’s probably too much food.”

“We don’t want to horn in on your⁠—”

“No,” my boss stopped Kurt. “It would be my pleasure. I actually meant to invite you”—he directed this to me. “Miguel is starting to step back a bit, as you know, and, well, I’ve created a boatload of work for you.”

I knew he had.

“You’re going to have to hire a lot more people to help you coordinate and vet and…yeah. Lots more work. It would be good to feed you and your charming fiancé.”

“I told you I’m charming,” Kurt told me defensively.

I shook my head at him.

“And, Kurt,” Sutter began, “when I say I was going to invite George, you understand that I meant you as well. You should always presume that. Wherever I’m invited, I take for granted that they mean my husband as well unless it’s business, which a celebration is not.”

“Thank you, sir, for making that clear.”

“Well, George is very important to me, and so are you.”

Kurt nodded quickly, a bit overwhelmed, I was guessing. His mother hadn’t prioritized him, but my billionaire boss had. And yes, she had her reasons, but still, it was nice.

“Mr. Sutter,” Bennett Marcum rushed out, standing, as I noted now that I wasn’t focused solely on my electric boss. It happened a lot. He mesmerized people without meaning to. No one was immune. “It’s a pleasure to see you.”

I knew Sutter. Not as well as others did, but I’d spent enough time with the man in both personal and professional settings to know that all he wanted was to take me and Kurt and go. But he was in public, someone somewhere was likely taking video, so he slapped on his work smile and offered the man his hand.

“And you are?” he asked, and somehow it didn’t sound like he had gotten gum on the bottom of his shoe, even though his expression slipped a bit.

“Bennett Marcum. I’m bidding against you on the Giddings renewal project in Buffalo, Wyoming,” he announced. “These are my partners, Payton Ryerson and Jeffrey⁠—”

“Wolf, yes, I’m aware,” he said as he shook the hands of all three men.

“This is my son, Paul, who works with me at Marcum and Meade, and my soon-to-be son-in-law, Phillip Evanston, who⁠—”

“Nice to meet you all,” my boss interrupted, not wanting the names of everyone at the table. “My understanding was that Grant Meade was leaving.”

“He is, yes. He’s retiring, and I’m joining my friends. It will soon be Marcum, Ryerson, and Wolf.”

There was no doubt who the biggest fish was when Marcum’s name was going first on the letterhead of an established company in Chicago.

My boss nodded. “Great. Well, the first thing I need to tell you is the news I just shared with my assistant director of corporate security. We received the green light from the city this morning on the Crane Tower. We will be moving forward with our project, since clearly, Ryerson and Wolf”—he turned to the two men—“did not put in the winning bid.”

It suddenly got very quiet at the table.

“Also, this afternoon, Custos, a subsidiary of Sutter, bought the entire parcel your renewal project sat on outside of Buffalo. There won’t be any fracking done in that area.”

The table had been so animated, but suddenly no joy. Not at all.

“What are you doing here?” a husky, warm feminine voice asked.

My girl, Hannah Kage.

She was in some kind of piece of couture, and I only knew that from the awestruck looks of the women around us. I had no idea what it was other than it was deep forest green, asymmetrical, with spaghetti straps, and it came to slightly above her knees. With it, she was wearing four-inch faux alligator shiny black Mary Janes. I had no idea how she was walking in those. Her long, thick, straight brown hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail, showing off her lovely face, adorned with minimal makeup, and long emerald chandelier earrings hung from her ears. The ease with which she was put together and carried herself, combined with the piece of art she was wearing, made her look like a princess growing effortlessly into a queen. Of course I would die before I told her any of that.

“I’m coming up there to eat with you,” I informed her, almost angrily, before she slipped over to Kurt and looked up into his face.

“Yes?” he asked her.