Five
Shay approached the dining room entrance, pausing just outside, preparing herself for the first meal of the day. It was breakfast; it shouldn’t be an event worthy of deep-breathing techniques. But depending on her brother’s mood, it could go either way—calm and pleasant or tap dancing on her last damn nerve. Sighing, she straightened her shoulders and entered.
“Good morning,”she said to Trevor, pulling out her chair to his left. As soon as she lowered herself into it, Jana, their maid, appeared at her elbow and set a plate with steaming hot food in front of her. “Thank you, Jana.” She smiled at the other woman.
Trevor glanced up from the tablet next to his plate. “You’re running late this morning,” he said in lieu of a greeting.
“A little bit of a restlessnight,” she explained.
Several restless nights, actually. But she kept that bit of information to herself, since there was no way she could tell her brother what—or ratherwho—had been interrupting her sleep lately.
“Are you okay?” His eyes, hazel like her own, narrowed on her face. “Feeling well?”
There were moments like this, when concern shone in his gaze, that made it hard to rememberthe increasingly cold and callous man her brother could be. Right now, he was the caring big brother from her childhood who’d affectionately teased her, who’d spent hours watching TV with her when she’d been sick with the flu and bored. That man had started to make rarer appearances over the last few years—since their father had fallen sick and died.
“I’m fine,” she replied, cutting into hervegetable omelet. “What am I running late for?”
“The office. You have a meeting with the representative from the ASPCA. You can’t afford to be late for that, not with the fund-raising gala for Grace Sanctuary just a few nights away. I’m counting on you to make this a success for not just RemingtonNeal but for Mom’s memory,” he reminded her.
No pressure. She swallowed the retort. Barely.
While she firmly believed Trevor had created her position and department specifically for her—vice president of Social Development—she did her best for it. Yes, it was an important job—anything bettering their city and the people living there was worthy—but it wasn’t her passion. And it damn sure wasn’t what she’d attended college and earned a BBA and MBA to do. She’d wanted to join her brotherin running RemingtonNeal, but like their controlling, domineering father, he’d shot down that idea.
Usually, Trevor took no interest in her work unless a photo op happened to be attached to it. But Grace Sanctuary belonged to their mother—it had been her pet project before she died, when Shay was eleven and Trevor sixteen. Their father had continued its legacy until he passed, and now theydid. The foundation funded various shelters throughout the city, as well as paid veterinarian, adoption and fostering fees for families taking in the animals. The fund-raising gala was important, as the donations from the attendees encompassed a large portion of the budget.
Still, Shay had headed the committee for the gala the past three years, and the last thing she needed was Trevor breathingdown her neck or trying to micro-manage.
“Everything is going smoothly, and the benefit will be a success like it always has been,” she said.
“I know it will. After all, it’s in your hands,” Trevor praised softly. “I’m sorry if I’m being overbearing, Shay. And if I haven’t said it before, thank you. Believe me, I would be a lot more of a pain in the ass if you weren’t in charge. I trustyou to make this gala the best yet.”
Warmth spread through her chest, and she swallowed past the lump of emotion lodged in her throat. Here was the big brother she knew and loved. The one whose approval she valued because it meant so much to her.
“Thank you,” she murmured. Then, clearing her throat, she asked, “How’s Madison?”
His fiancée had been joining them for breakfast more oftenlately. Actually, spending more time at the house, period. As if she were already preparing to be mistress of the home.
“She’s fine.” He picked up his napkin and dabbed at his mouth. “Just so you’re aware, I gave her a key. She’s dropping by later with an interior designer. There’re some things she wants to change in the living and dining rooms, as I do most of my entertaining in those twoplaces. And since she’ll soon be living here...” He shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d mind, so I told her to go forward with it.”
Irritation twinged inside Shay’s chest. As usual, Trevor didn’t consult her about anything, even when it had to do with her home. Yes, Madison would soon be moving in as his wife, but it’d been Shay’s home for twenty-five years. Yet it hadn’t occurred to him to askher opinion, which didn’t count for much with her older brother. Again, like their father.
The irony of it always struck her. Trevor and their father had had a...complicated relationship. He’d loved and revered Daniel Shay, constantly seeking his stingy approval, while at the same time, resenting his my-way-and-there’s-no-such-thing-as-a-highway attitude when it came to running his companyand his family. Especially when it came to raising his only son, who would one day inherit his financial kingdom. Yet, over the years, Trevor had become the reflection of their father. And the battle inside her—the warring factions of anger at his overbearing arrogance and protectiveness for the brother she loved—continued to wage.
But, as she was discovering, it was pointless to argue withTrevor regarding anything having to do with Madison Reus. Winning the hand of a senator’s daughter had been a coup for him, and he spoiled her like a princess. And like royalty, Madison accepted it as her due.
That sounded catty even in her own head.God.Shay winced, sipping the coffee Jana had set before her.
Doesn’t make it any less true, her inner bitch whispered.
“Of course not,”she said evenly.
“Good.” He nodded. “What’re your plans for lunch? We could meet so you can give me an update on the benefit.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I’m meeting Bridgette.”
Trevor’s mouth thinned into a flat, grim line.
Yes, she already got that he didn’t like her friendship with the other woman. Bridgette’s mother had worked for the Neal family when they were younger.Lonely, Shay had immediately bonded with the precocious, funny little girl who’d wanted a friend regardless of the difference in their families’ tax brackets. Continuing that friendship had been one of Shay’s very few rebellions against her father’s and brother’s edicts about being a Neal. She loved Bridgette like a sister, and Trevor’s disapproval wouldn’t make her give up her friend.
