Brother to the Boss (Managing the Bosses 8)

orgiven. Now, what are we going to eat? I’m starving.”

Alex was hungry, too, and he took a few minutes to look over the menu, deciding what he wanted to order.

“How are the twins doing?” he asked when he’d made the decision.

Jamie, still looking at her menu, held up a finger, and Alex waited for her to finish picking the dish she wanted. His mind drifted back to work. There was still so much that needed to be done to keep Nicholas off their backs for good. Some of it was strategy, but some of it was going to require luck, and he wasn’t sure that would be enough. Before the attempts to undermine his company had come to light, he’d been slowly giving more and more of his work to Zander, but now he couldn’t afford to let someone else take the lead, which meant more time at work. And more time away from his family. It wasn’t a circumstance he was particularly happy about.

“Okay,” Jamie said. “Sorry, baby. I’ve figured out what I want now.”

He dragged his attention back to her, and smiled. “So. The twins?”

“They’re doing just fine,” she said, closing her menu and setting it aside. “They miss you during the day, though.”

Alex sighed. “I miss them during the day, too. You know that. I want to be home more, but this mess with Nicholas…”

“I know.” Jamie reached across the table and entwined her fingers with his. “We’ll get through it, though. Just like we’ve made it through everything else.”

He wanted to believe it, but this time felt different. Last time, he’d had Jamie at his side through everything. He hadn’t lost her support, but not being able to be with her and not being able to be with his children was taking its toll. Alex wasn’t sure how he could balance the two. Keep both of them afloat with everything trying to pull his business under. What if his family was dragged down with it?

The waitress appeared at the side of their table, a pad of paper in her hand, and asked for their orders. Alex let Jamie order first, and then gave his selection. Against the backdrop of his worry, the sandwich didn’t sound all that appetizing anymore, but he knew Jamie wouldn’t be happy if he didn’t eat.

“Maybe I can make it home early on Friday,” he said when the sound of the waitress’ shoes moving away from them had faded into the general background noise. “We can have some family time.” He smiled. “And then you and I can have some mommy and daddy alone time.”

“I would love that.” Jamie’s hand squeezed a little tighter around his. “It’s been way too long since we managed that.”

“Didn’t I take you to bed just two days ago?” Alex teased.

“See? Way too long,” Jamie said. “And by Friday, it’ll have been four days. That’s a ridiculous length of time.”

Alex laughed. “I love you,” he said, low and sincere. “You keep me going, Jamie. Never stop being you.”

She leaned a little closer across the table, and he met her in the middle to steal a brief kiss before the slab of wood between them got too uncomfortable.

“I don’t think I could even if I wanted to,” she said as she sat back. “So it’s a good thing you like me the way that I am.”

“Always,” Alex promised. “Just the way you are.”

Chapter 2

“We’ve got a problem.”

Mark turned around to face his kitchen manager, who was standing with a clipboard in both hands, looking harried.

He sighed inwardly, and forced a smile onto his face. “What can I help you with, Michael?”

“The produce shipment is late. We’ve got fifteen reservations for dinner tonight, and no potatoes for the special.”

“So change the special,” Mark said, moving past the tall, balding man and toward the kitchens so he could get up to his room and change before the news crew arrived.

“We can’t just change the special,” Michael sputtered as he followed. “We’ve already announced the menu for the night. That’s what people are going to be expecting.”

“Have you called the delivery company and yelled at them yet?” Mark asked.

“Tried that, Mr. Reid. It’s not their fault. The truck blew a tire coming into Jersey. They’re going to try to transfer the shipment, but there’s no guarantee that they’ll get it to use in time for the chef to add it to the dinner prep.”

Mark ran a hand through his hair and wondered again why he’d talked himself into running a business. “Okay,” he said. “Send someone out to get the potatoes, then. There has to be somewhere in the vicinity of New York City that has what we need. If you have to, hit up two or three places. I’ll pay for the gas, and a bonus for whoever makes the trip.”

When he turned Michael was looking at him like he was crazy, but nodded and scurried off, undoubtedly to try to recruit some of the busboys to make the drive so that he didn’t have to. Mark didn’t see what was so difficult about just going out and picking up potatoes, even if you did need a hundred pounds of them. Shaking his head, he took the stairs up to his room two at a time, and practically threw himself into the shower.