One Beautiful Promise (Very Irresistible Bachelors 4)

“You’re good at them. Better than I am.”

Hunter and I had different leadership styles. We also had different motivations. He wanted to clear his dad’s name. He’d run a real estate business decades ago that went bankrupt. It was one of the reasons why we also did projects that weren’t very profitable, like the Centenarian. I respected that. My motivation was simpler. I wanted to build something I could be proud of and make sure everyone I cared about was financially secure.

“I’m gonna work from my loft this evening, monitor everything right until the deadline at midnight. Want to join me?”

“Can’t,” he said. “I’ve blocked tonight for Josie.”

“No problem. I’ve got this. Let’s head to the meeting room. Ryker, Josie, and Tess will be here in a few minutes for the working lunch.”

He raised a brow. “What, no giving me shit?”

“Let’s go.”

I used to crack jokes whenever he’d said this in the past, but now I understood the need to actually block time. Before meeting Laney, I’d thought Wall Street analysts had draconian schedules. Now I knew that doctors had the worst working times. Since our breakfast on Saturday, Laney and I had mainly communicated through messages. Twice I went to the hospital on her short lunch breaks. On the way back to the meeting room, I texted Laney, knowing it was her lunch time.

Cole: What are you having today?

Laney: Skipping main course. Just chocolate cake.

Cole: I’d love to taste that... on you.

Laney: All food makes you think about naughty stuff?

Cole: It’s not the food. It’s you.

Laney: YOU CANNOT MAKE ME BLUSH DURING MY SHIFT

Cole: You’re on your break now ;)

Laney: Break’s over now. BUT if you insist on writing dirty things, do it. Will brighten my day when I check my phone later.

Cole: At your service. Be it dirty texts or... very dirty texts.

I put my phone in my back pocket as Hunter and I entered the meeting room. This working lunch had a different setup. Since Skye couldn’t join us physically, she’d just tuned in using FaceTime. We had some important issues to discuss about the upcoming gala. Plus, we all thought she could use our company, even through a camera. Hunter and I started by going through the list of additional donors we’d convinced to participate at the last minute. Bringing in heavy hitters was our primary job, while Ryker, Tess, and Skye took care of organizing the events.

“Okay, I have to tinker with the seating arrangements, but we actually have enough newcomers to set up a new table,” Skye said. It had been one week since she’d been discharged and ordered to bed rest, and she was already impatient.

“Should you be doing this stuff at all?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” Skye replied.

“A ton of things can actually get your blood pressure up. Like getting annoyed. You don’t need to get out of bed for that. Your laptop is enough. Or your phone.” I just wanted to know that my sister and my nephew were going to be okay. That was my only wish.

“Gee, why don’t you just confiscate all of them?”

“I’m gonna have a word with Rob.”

“No, you will not. He’s pacing around like a lion in a cage anyway.”

“I like him even more than before.”

“Look, I spoke to Mom, and she said that she had this issue with all four pregnancies,

so it runs in the family.”

Fantastic. I was going to have a word with Mom. Knowing Mom, she probably told Skye she’d just walked it off. I loved that the women in my family were strong and resilient, but I was hoping they’d learn to take it slow when a doctor told them as much.

“Anyway, she said that she didn’t really follow the advice.”