When We Touch (The Heartbreak Brothers 5)

It was just her luck to have him as her new boss.

Chapter Four

“Our finances are a mess.”

Daniel’s mother looked up from her desk, her lips curling into a smile when she saw him standing in the doorway to her office. At sixty years old, Eliana Scott Carter was still a striking woman. She’d let her hair grow naturally white, and always wore it in a low chignon, the color striking against her uniform of black dresses and jackets.

Since the death of her husband – Daniel’s father – seven years earlier, she’d been the head of GSC Distilleries, though over the years both Nathan and Daniel had taken on more of the operations.

“They’re not a mess,” she said, the smile still playing at her lips. “They’re just not up to your standards.”

“Or yours.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “There are things that could be improved, certainly, but we’re not in dire straits.”

“Cashflow is down.”

“That’s because we’ve spent a lot of money in creating and marketing the International Blend. Things will improve now that it’s on the market.” She nodded at the dark leather chair opposite her desk. “Sit down, darling. Tell me about your day. Are you jet lagged?”

“I’ve been back since Friday. I’m fine.” He sat down anyway. Truth was he felt exhausted. Not just from the time difference –it was sometime around midnight in Scotland – but from spending the whole day talking to employees, going through the finances, and trying to work out exactly what the situation was with the distillery. And with each new piece of information he found, the situation only looked worse. They’d overextended themselves on a new blend that was far below the standards GSC was known for.

He blamed himself. He was the one who’d left Nathan to run things, when his brother was too young.

“You look tired,” his mom said softly. “It must be strange to be back.”

He gave her a half-nod. “It’s strange but weirdly familiar. Like nothing’s really changed.”

A smile flashed across her lips. “But you have.”

He tipped his head to the side. “Have I?”

“You’re less…” She sighed. “I don’t know. Less agitated, I guess. It was understandable, after everything that happened. But I’m glad to see you happier.”

Daniel nodded, his jaw tight. “We need to talk about the future of this place.”

“Isn’t that something we should save for our next board meeting?” She closed her laptop, her red-painted lips curling into a smile. “Any decisions need to be agreed to by Lawrence and Nina, after all.”

Daniel’s throat dried at the thought of his half-siblings. When their father died, he left each of the siblings a quarter of his shares in the business. His mother owned the other half – inherited from her own father. Technically, if Nathan and Daniel teamed up with their mother, they could outvote their half siblings. But Eliana preferred consensus to division.

“Do they really?” The thought of talking to his half siblings made him want to head right back to Scotland. Not that Nina ever did anything to hurt him. She was just a reminder of Lawrence.

His mom sighed. “I know you and Lawrence don’t see eye-to-eye. I blame myself for that. And your father. But he’s still your brother, and he has a big interest in this business.”

“He’s too busy playing golf to care what’s going on here.”

Eliana clicked her tongue. “If you want to make changes, you’re going to need to persuade him. And Nina. Not to mention Nathan. I know you don’t agree with everything he’s done here, but

he’s kept the business going. If you go in head first you’re going to hurt him.”

“I know.” Daniel leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. The last thing he wanted to do was make his younger brother feel bad. Of all his siblings, Nathan was the one he cared for the most. The one he’d grown up protecting from their father’s incessant demands. “But something needs to be done. We need to think about the future. I understand the International Blend was part of that.” And the least he said about that, the better. “But we also need to look at our super premium brands. Anything we do now won’t mature for at least seven years. This is a long term business, it needs constant planning.”

“And that’s why I’m glad you’re back. We need you, darling.” She stood and smoothed the wrinkles from her dress. “Now, how about we stop talking about business and you take your mother out for dinner? We have a lot to catch up on.”

“Tell me you’re making another carrot cake right now,” Van said with a plea in her voice, squinting her eyes on the tablet screen, and leaning in until her nose was almost touching the camera. Becca was FaceTiming with her sister-in-law from her tiny kitchen. On days like these, even though she’d moved into her condo months ago, she still hadn’t gotten used to being alone.

Sure, most of the time having her family constantly checking up on her drove her crazy, but right now she needed some company. Anything to stop her from thinking about her meeting with Daniel Carter.

“It’s not carrot cake. I’m making cheese scones,” she told Van, giving her an apologetic look.