“Don’t worry. Your brother can take you shopping. The company is probably business casual most days. Most organizations are now. My firm is. But for business meetings you’ll need suits, button-downs, and ties.”

“I hate wearing a tie,” he said. “It feels like a noose.”

I laughed. “It is kind of a barbaric custom, I agree.”

He scoffed. “Seems kind of appropriate that I wear a noose. This is the end of my life as I knew it, Lacey.”

A swarm of sadness hit me. He was being forced to give up a life he loved. That would not be easy, and I understood more now why he’d been so reluctant to agree to it.

In the end, though, he did it for his siblings, and I admired that.

“You’re doing something very admirable, Rock,” I said. “Remember that.”

“You know, the world doesn’t really need another billion dollar corporation. What the world needs is for people to spend more time outdoors. To see the beauty of the world. Not be cooped up in some office deciding which new tower to build and desecrate the earth.”

“You’re an environmentalist?”

“I’m not a freak about it. No. But I appreciate the beauty of the outdoors. Why do you think I worked construction? I got to work outside. The money was decent, and it kept me in great shape.” He closed his eyes.

I stared at him, my mouth watering. From the savory aroma of our feast? Ha! More likely from the man next to me. Great shape indeed.

“Have you ever been to Montana?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“It’s beautiful. I’m not a religious man, Lacey. Never was and never will be. But when you look up into that big blue sky, you know there’s something more powerful than all of us out there somewhere. The sheer beauty of it…” He opened his eyes. “That’s over for me now.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“You think I can just move the Wolfe headquarters to Helena or Billings?”

“Of course not. But keep your cabin. You can go there whenever you want. Executives do get time off, you know.”

He shook his head. “It won’t be the same.”

No, it wouldn’t be. I didn’t bother to deny his claim. Instead, I said, “Try focusing on what you’re gaining here. A lot of money, for one.”

“And no free time to enjoy it.”

“You’ll have free time, Rock.”

“Yeah, sure. But I’ll go home at night to a penthouse in some high rise—”

“Your own high rise, Rock.”

He threaded his fingers through his hair. “Would you stop saying shit like that? None of this is mine. I’ll never think of it that way.”

“You will when you start working there. Once you’re running things, it will be yours.”