Luke glanced to Zeke. They’d all had a difficult time after Keith’s actions had come to the surface for all to see. Ava obviously didn’t know he had been stealing from the Wingates, but Luke and Zeke didn’t want a repeat of the past. It was imperative that Sutton keep a tight rein
on the numbers of the company and make sure nothing like that ever happened again.
Every division of the company had been impacted and hit hard. So many families had been affected by Keith’s embezzlement scheme. The reputation of the company had been tarnished as well and every piece of the company struggled to find footing once again. It was going to happen, but they all knew this would take time and take several steps. Unfortunately, there wasn’t just one blanket fix for all.
Justice was served though and Keith would be spending the next fifteen years behind bars where he couldn’t hurt anyone again.
“We’re only looking forward now,” Luke told her. “This next phase is a whole new chapter for everyone.”
“I know this isn’t the time, but I was talking with Sutton and he believes we will need to sell Wingate estate to have the liquid cash for the hotel expansion.”
Ava pulled in a deep breath and nodded. “I figured there would have to be an extreme decision, but the company has to come first.”
Luke hated the idea of selling the estate, but Ava was right. The company had to come first. There were so many people depending on them to turn this disaster around, not to mention they had to rebuild their reputation. None of them were quitters and even though selling the estate would be emotional, they would all do what was necessary to start the upward climb.
“I love you both. Thanks for staying by me.” Ava smiled and hugged each of her nephews. “I better get back to the party. Great job, by the way. I’m going to see Kelly to tell her what an amazing job she did with the decor.”
Once Ava was gone, Luke sipped his bourbon and eyed the full room. He and his brother stood back in the hallway around the corner from the offices. Ava had wanted to talk to them away from the crowd and the noise.
Luke started to shift from leaning against the wall when Zeke stepped to block him.
“One minute.”
Luke stared back at his brother. “What?”
“I know I was giving you a hard time about Kelly—”
“We’re not doing this again, are we?” Luke asked curtly.
“I just want to make sure you don’t hurt her or screw this up,” Zeke stated. “The last thing we need is another shake-up on any level at the office. Kelly is the foundation in your department. If things went wrong with you two and she left...”
Luke had already thought of that. He didn’t want to lose Kelly in any capacity—personal or professional. He wanted her in all aspects of his life, but that confession would have to wait until they were alone tonight.
And he sure as hell wasn’t about to tell his brother how he truly felt for Kelly. That was something she deserved to hear first. He might not be ready to profess his love, but he did want to see where this would go and he fully believed he was falling for her.
“She’s not going to leave,” Luke stated firmly. “What Kelly and I have going on isn’t a big deal or anything for you to worry about. She’s been my assistant and she’ll always be my assistant.”
In the office and in his personal life. He wanted her with him. Damn it, he couldn’t wait to get home and tell her.
Home. He liked thinking that she would be home with him. He wondered if she would even be interested in this giant step. After all, they’d only just started seeing each other in an intimate way two weeks ago.
Was this too soon? How the hell would he know if he was making a mistake or not?
Luke didn’t know and that risk was both thrilling and terrifying. All he knew for sure was that this was nothing like when he’d been engaged before.
“I’ll drop the subject,” Zeke told him. “You know I just worry about the company and you and Kelly. She’s like a sister to me.”
“I get it,” Luke said and blew out a sigh. “We better get back out there. I need to make a formal announcement. Care to join me on the stage?”
Zeke nodded. “Sure, but feel free to do the talking.”
Luke shook his head and headed down the hall and made his way through the crowd. With his brother at his back, Luke took the three steps to the stage at the end of the ballroom and stepped up to the podium. There were several more easels and large posters propped on the stage showcasing the various resorts from Wingate. Luke was damn proud to be part of this company.
He tapped the mic to make sure it was on and then tapped a little louder to get the attention of the crowd. The roar of the guests started to calm down and Luke cleared his throat.
“First of all, I want to thank you all for coming out tonight to the relaunch of Wingate Enterprises.”
A round of applause went up and Luke waited until the noise died down again.