“No, it’s fine. I understand,” Greer said, cutting Ducky off from making any further excuses. He wanted Ducky comfortable with him, especially since he just proved to have loose lips. “There’s a lot coming at you guys all at once.”
Greer gave a dramatic roll of his eyes. The Reigns brothers had no way to know how completely their lives were about to change.
Something as basic as a branding redesign left undecided for several days while every part of the business’s operational relaunch sat waiting would have been a hard-disciplinary line for him. Enough to question whether he should be involved in this project in the first place. He’d never give a passive ‘oh well’ to that kind of delay. “I’m calling about the class we talked about. I want to get it scheduled.”
“Yeah, Dallas said he’d gotten you ready, but never committed to a time. If it goes well, Donny said he’d like to make it a regular class even if it’s once a week. Can you do it this evening? Or even tomorrow? Tomorrow’s probably better to give me more time to spread the word.”
“Tomorrow’s fine,” he said, without looking at his schedule. He had canceled everything for the week. “What’s the best time?”
“We have the most participants logged on right after work. That’s six o’clock our time. Is that good for you?”
“Sounds great. Set me up.” Greer jotted the note on the legal pad in front of him since he didn’t have his cell phone handy. “I also have some free time early this afternoon. I wanted to tour the new facility. Get my bearings. Are you and your brother available to meet me around one o’clock? I know Dallas’s unavailable so that’s not a problem.”
“Yeah. Okay.” Ducky’s voice grew softer, clearly uncomfortable with this turn. “I’ll call Donny.”
Greer didn’t give Ducky a break. He was back, happily pushing past people’s boundaries, getting what he wanted. And what he wanted the most was to get these brothers in front of him so maybe they’d spill some beans on Dallas’s past.
“Good. You two can get me caught up.”
“Okay.” He grinned at Ducky’s use of the single word.
“Perfect. I’ll see you two then.” Greer disconnected the call. He wished he could be a fly on the wall when Dallas found out about these plans. A small smile formed at the stalkerish lines that he might be crossing.
In the quiet morning hours, when his desperation peaked, Greer had promised himself one week. If he couldn’t make it work, or convince Dallas to give them another chance, he’d leave the man alone.
Maybe.
Doubtful, but the only way he could justify such an intrusion was with a time limitation. He’d have to reassess later.
How three brothers could be so different was beyond Greer. Donny blatantly had zero patience for his younger brother, who didn’t seem to care for Donny’s opinion in the least.
Greer had spent two hours with the brothers, going over every detail of the changes being made to StreamTrainer. Ducky seemed to be doing his best attempt at stealth mode. With his cell phone always in his hand, he would trail behind or step completely away while constantly working his thumbs over the small screen. Then he’d come back to the conversation, with specific questions, and more fully engaged again. Ducky was master-level good at being sneaky. It took Greer a while to understand Ducky was most likely texting with Dallas, keeping him updated on everything they discussed.
After two hours, Greer had come away with the understanding that each brother had a job to do, and they didn’t tread on the other’s toes. Group decisions fell to Dallas as the deciding vote. Greer was certain Dallas sided with Ducky in every situation, giving the two of them the majority. Donny didn’t care for that one bit. His hot temper generally came with a bite even as he tried to be professional in this meeting.
While taking the tour, Greer had only been able to glean small bits of information about the Reigns family structure. He’d learned Donny had enlisted in the United States Army the day he’d turned eighteen years old. Dallas on the other hand had graduated from high school with enough college hours to begin classes just shy of being a junior. Ducky hadn’t chosen either of those paths. He’d worked odd jobs, mainly in different commercial kitchens, as he taught himself computer coding. A field his father had little regard for and apparently made those feelings abundantly clear.
Whatever Greer had hoped to accomplish today had fallen short. The oppressive melancholy hanging over his head had only grown more encompassing while being in the company of the people Dallas loved.
His gloomy outlook had him calling it a day early, heading home with a bottle of sleep-aide in the passenger seat. His self-absorbed shitty attitude had no place around people, especially those who worked for him.