He shuffled some papers around. “Let’s cut to the chase. Your mother and I had a... particular agreement regarding the usage of some higher-end overseas properties. I would have loved to have coordinated this earlier with you, say, when you were eighteen. But here we are, and I’d like to not waste anymore time.”

Was I supposed to mention the reach outs he made being usurped by Sylvia? Did he know about that? How would I even broach that subject? Maybe it’s best left for another day, or a private conversation with my team. “I am aware and have been filled in on the details of this working relationship. I am here as a formality to discuss that this relationship will continue as it had with me as the operating CEO in charge. There will be no hiccups or slow downs with your needs.”

A devilish smile appeared on his face, reminding me of Brent. They were related, surely. “So glad to hear you’ve been raised the Montgomery and Vaughn way. Your mother and I had close discourse as partners of sorts. I would like to start bringing you into joint meetings to reinforce our ventures.”

With the prep I’d done, I would have assumed this meeting would have been trickier. Given what I’d been told about the relationship between him and my mother however... they seemed more informal. It was as if he saw me as her reincarnate.

“I’m happy to assist where needed. I do need to preemptively let you know that I am still a novice in my current standing. Things may be a learning curve for me.”

I glanced over to see Brent looking completely uninterested and uninspired by our current conversation. His eyes were focused on... my legs? Whatever he was thinking, I didn’t need to know about it. Just looking at him gave me unnecessary heat in regions of my body that shouldn’t be hot in front of his grandfather.

“Anything to say, boy?” Augustus challenged him. His tone shift from me to Brent was apparent. Grace to distaste.

“My current job title doesn’t allow me to speak on these matters,” he said. Brent’s tone was also different, making me wonder the dynamic between the two.

Where my mom treated me kindly, it seemed Brent received the opposite entirely. Was he not in the same boat as I was—learning the CEO ways of his large conglomerate? The way he spoke was as if he’d been banished.

We almost had something in common.