He pulls me against him and kisses my head. “I promise, you’ll be okay. Want me to stick around and coach you through it?”
“No, that’s okay,” I say. “I’ve already taken up your day. How’d you get off work, anyway?”
“Sick,” he says and fakes a cough. “Really sick.”
“Poor guy. Better go home and rest.”
“You sure?”
I nod once. “I need to do this part on my own at least.”
“Okay then.” He stands and hesitates. “Good luck, Lora. I think you’re going to do great.”
“Thanks.” I smile at him before he turns and leaves the room. I wait a long beat then look at my laptop. There’s a meeting link from Shaun in my email and I click it, my stomach doing twists and loops.
My siblings appear on my screen. Shaun grins at me and they all greet me at once, a joyous cacophony. I realize that I haven’t seen them all in person in forever. “It’s totally weird to see you all together,” I say. “Even if we’re not together.”
“I’m in sunny Cali,” Shaun says, holding his laptop up to show us the view from his balcony. It’s all sand and waves. “And you’re all jealous.”
“Not me,” Brent says. “I’m in gorgeous… Virginia. Not far from you, Lora.” He laughs. “I should’ve just come in person. Mom would’ve loved it.”
“Honestly, uh, this is probably easier over the laptop.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Jacob says.
“Seriously. Just pitch us, you’ll be fine.” Shaun grins at me. “You ready?”
“I’m rooting for you, girl,” Delia says and grins at me.
I take a deep breath and nod before pulling up my presentation. I share my screen and dive right in.
The next forty minutes are a blur. Everything I went over with Dean comes pouring out of me. I don’t think I’ve talked so much about money or business or anything else in my life. When I get to the last slide, I take a deep breath and let it out as the relief of just getting through the presentation comes flooding over me.
“That’s it,” I say, flipping the screen back to my face. My siblings stare back at me. “What do you guys think?”
“Wow,” Shaun says and starts laughing.
“That about sums it up for me, too,” Jacob says. “I’m really impressed, Lora.”
“How’d you learn all that stuff?” Delia asks.
“Put me down for whatever Shaun’s offering,” Brent says, frowning. “I gotta get going.”
“Really?” I ask, shocked.
“Absolutely. That was one hell of a presentation, Lora. I’m impressed. Nice talking to you all.” His face disappears.
Jacob sighs, and shakes his head. “Of course he just disappears like that.”
“Oh, come on, he’s busy,” Delia says.
“You’re always defending him.” Jacob rolls his eyes. “Just because he’s the oldest.”
“Cut it out,” Shaun says. “We’re not here to bicker.”
“You guys can bicker all you want so long as you write me checks,” I say, and they all laugh.
“Look, Lora,” Jacob says. “Brent’s right. That was one hell of a presentation. I’ve been to a lot of them in my line of work, and I have to say, that was really well done. I’d be proud to have that go in front of any board of any company I know.”
“That means a lot,” I say, feeling a surge of pride.
“But,” he says.
Shaun groans. “Of course there’s a but.”
“Am I not supposed to have reservations?” Jacob asks.
“You’re filthy rich. Give your sister some money, asshole.”
“I’m with Jacob here,” Delia says. “You know I love you, Lora, but this is a big deal. It’s a lot of money on the line.”
“I know,” I say, nodding. “Jacob’s right, Shaun. He can have reservations. I don’t want you guys throwing money at me just because we’re related.”
“I just want to know that this isn’t a passing thing,” Jacob says. “I think you can make this work, but it’s going to be really hard.”
“I know,” I say.
“You’ve been drifting a little, sweetie,” Delia says. “We’ve all seen it. And we love you. I agree with Jacob, I just want to make sure this isn’t something you’ll get bored with. Or worse, you’ll stick around for just because you feel like you owe us. I want you to be happy above anything else.”
“I appreciate that,” I say, nodding, and take a deep breath. “Look, you guys aren’t wrong. I’ve been spending time here at the manor basically spinning my wheels, you know? I haven’t figured out what I want to do with myself and it’s been…” I take another breath. “It’s been hard,” I admit.
“I know,” Delia says softly. “We’ve all been watching you struggle. And the worst thing is you’re the smartest one.”
I laugh. “Obviously.”
“I take exception to that,” Jacob grumbles.
“Of course you do, idiot,” Shaun says with a grin.
“It’s not a passing thing,” I say. “I think this is what I really want to do. At least for a while, until it’s all set up and chugging along, then I can delegate the daily stuff. But for right now… I think this is a good thing. I think it’ll help this community, and maybe that’s what I really want to do, you know? I want to help Loftville.”