My jaw tightened. I didn’t like being accused of being a greedy bastard. At the same time, what the hell was the point of business if not to make money?
“Dane and I look at this as a community within the community. The residents and businesses we build in this project need to be a part of what’s already there.”
“And what’s already there isn’t impoverished. They’re just not shopping on Rodeo Drive,” Dane finished.
“Bridget’s step-mom has already been talking about creating an art center there. I can picture a lot of artisans starting a business there.”
“Are we patrons now?” I knew I sounded greedy. I didn’t mind helping people, but I didn’t want to give away my money either.
Ethan scowled.
Dane sighed patiently. “This will make money, Bran. And we’ll do it by doing good work.”
“I guess I can’t ask for more than that.”
“You might,” Ethan quipped.
I glared at him. “I know you two have your families and business is just a hobby for you now, but this is it for me. My business is my family. My life.”
They both looked at me in pity. I hated it.
“Business isn’t a hobby,” Dane said. “But you’re right that it’s not the be all end all for me.”
“Me neither, although it used to be,” Ethan added.
“If you’re suggesting I need to get married and start having babies—”
Dane waved his hand. “I’m not suggesting anything, although you might find yourself happier to have someone in your life.”
I shook my head. “I know the type of man I am. It’s not one that attracts women looking for happiness. Money, maybe, but not happiness.”
Again, they looked at me in pity.
Having enough of that, I stood. “I’ll review these and get back to you.”
“I need to let Troy know—”
“You can go ahead with that.”
Dane and Ethan stood, shaking my hand, and then I left.
As I drove back to my office, my initial feeling about Dane and Ethan’s sudden mushy, love-sick attitudes was ikk.
But it was hard to look down on men who were clearly content in their lives. They could still be hard noses in business, but they were easier to work with. The two things that stood out the most were how relaxed and happy they both seemed. If this deal fell through, they might be annoyed, but in the end, I wasn’t sure they’d give a fuck.
Whereas for me, this deal had to go through. Not because I needed the money. I needed it because it was what I did. I was married to my job.
God, how pathetic did that sound?
When Harper wasn’t ignoring me, I did a few other things besides work. She and I enjoyed discovering new wines, playing tennis or going for a hike, and sailing. I hadn’t done any of that since she cut me out of her life.
A family had changed Dane and Ethan. Could a family be the thing I needed to get rid of the constant loneliness and sense of purposelessness?
But a family meant a wife, and I wasn’t interested in that. Harper was my sister, but I imagined a wife would be similar. Fighting me on everything I would try to do to make them happy and safe.
So maybe I didn’t need a full family. Maybe I just needed a kid.
A child who could carry on the family business, to expand my legacy as I’d expanded my father’s.