Clive leaned back in his chair, studying me thoughtfully. “Good question. As we’ve grown our financial services, my people stopped trusting each other somewhere along the line. I like that they’re striving to be the best, but it’s become incredibly cutthroat, and we’re struggling because of it.”
I nodded, giving myself a second to mull that over. It was so incredibly familiar, yet I hadn’t found a solution for my family. “If that’s the case, I think we need to do something a bit more unconventional.”
Clive motioned for me to go on.
“We have four days, correct?”
“We do, and the gala’s on the fifth.”
“For the first two days you’re here, I don’t think we should have any shop talk.”
Gabe had just taken a sip of coffee and started choking. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Who wastes that kind of time when you’ve got your entire international team together?”
Clive held up a hand. “Let me hear him out.”
I leaned forward in my chair. “You need to remove those outside pressures and get to know each other again. You need your team to reinvest in one another. To see that each person’s successes belong to the entire team. To do that, you need time, and to see each other as human beings, not just competitors.”
Clive was quiet for a moment, tapping a finger against his water glass. Then a smile spread across his face. “I like it. Tell me how we do that.”
“I was thinking we’d start at the barn. I know you’re used to all the luxuries, but I’d like to do a camping trip.”
Gabe sputtered something unintelligible, but I pressed on.
“No phones or devices. Just your team, the horses, our guides, and the great outdoors. Nothing will remove walls faster than that.”
Clive chuckled. “You know, Caden, I think that might just be crazy enough to work.”
I grinned back at him, but that grin died the moment I caught sight of Gabe. Because there was murder in my brother’s eyes.
15
GRAE
I flippedmy phone between my fingers as I leaned against the outside of the cottage office, worry niggling at me. I’d texted Caden hours ago to see if he could go to family dinner this weekend to keep up our façade, but he hadn’t responded. It was probably nothing; the man was practically running an empire, but still, something didn’t feel right.
It didn’t matter how much his rejection the other night had stung. I couldn’t turn off my care for him. Flipping my phone right-side up, I unlocked it and pulled up an internet browser. I typed inThe Peaksand hit call. Someone answered a second later.
“Good afternoon, you’ve reached The Peaks. How may I help you?”
“Hi. Can you please connect me to Caden Shaw’s office?”
There was a brief pause. “May I say who’s calling?”
“Sure, it’s um, his girlfriend. Grae.” I winced at the wordgirlfriend, but I was worried they might refuse to connect me otherwise.
“Oh, of course. One moment, please.”
A second later, a male voice came across the line. “So, this is the famous girlfriend I keep hearing whispers about.”
There was a warm, teasing quality to the man’s voice that made me like him immediately. “Famous, huh?”
He chuckled. “You’ve got the staff in quite a tizzy that the un-gettable has finally been gotten.”
If only they knew it was one big lie. “I’m not sure about that, but yes, I’m Grae.”
“Grae, it’s nice to meet you over the phone. I’m Jalen. I keep Caden’s life from going off the rails.”
I laughed. “I hope you’re getting paid well for that.”
