I wondered what advice he’d given Julia, or whether he knew about her Harmony plan. It was probably the reason for the call, and I knew exactly what he’d tell me: to let her make her own decisions. He was a hard man in business and steadfast in his beliefs about raising us, but he was always there when in need.

However, from the time we were children, he'd made it abundantly clear that he was done funding our education after high school. Our options were to earn scholarships or pay our own way. I’d already explained Julia’s ill-advised decision to Lawrence, and he’d agreed to offer her no assistance. That left our obstinate little sister with no choice but to accept defeat.

“Mr. West,” a voice hummed from the intercom on my desk. It was my secretary, Maria, breaking through my musings.

“Yes,” I answered, pulling my thoughts back to the present. I twisted my chair around, returning to the numbers I’d been running on the computer.

“Your four o’clock called to say he’d be late.”

My fingers stilled on the keyboard. Who would that be? I glanced over the schedule sitting to my left and at the name I’d jotted down, despite Lawrence’s protest.

Damn it, Jax. He’d seemed interested enough when I told him I’d penciled him in for an interview. I was confident I could convince him to grow up; he listened to no one else, and needed to realize that with high school ending, a real job where he had a chance to grow within a company was the next step, since college was off his radar.

I held down the intercom button. “Reschedule it.” I turned my attention back to the computer screen.

“Yes, sir.”

Almost instantly, Maria’s voice was back. “Um, excuse me sir, but uh…Mr. Jackson West has asked me to tell you he’d be here in five minutes and that a new appointment wouldn’t work for his schedule.” Her timid voice cracked with nerves.

A small smile tugged at my lips. His schedule? I fought back a chuckle. As pleased as I was with his tenacity that matched his twin’s, arriving late to his first job interview was unacceptable. It was in his best interest that I played the hard ass.

I’d been too easy on him the past couple years, watching him act out and not doing a thing to stop it. He was the only one in the family having any real fun, and I didn’t want that to end too soon for him. However, his time to better his own future passed when he’d made no moves to do so. I had to deliver a dose of reality, whether he liked it or not.

“Reschedule him, Maria. If he has a problem with it, direct his call to me.”

“Right away, sir.”

I sat back in my chair with my elbow resting on the arm and cupped my chin, waiting for the call. Time ticked by—nothing. There was no way Jax would simply back down; I’d taught him better than that, which was why I wasn’t startled when my office door flew open a few minutes later.

Jax entered, dressed impeccably in what I was certain was one of my tailored suits. It fit him well. My brother spent most of his time either in the gym or cozying up with pretty little bookworms he could manipulate into keeping up his grades. He thought he had it made, but that was high school. He’d be in for a rude awakening when our father cut him off at graduation.

I straightened my posture, squared my shoulders, and pulled on a stern expression, ready to hear his excuse.

“Jackson,” I began, resting both my elbows on my desk and threading my fingers together. “You’re late, and I’m busy. Maria will reschedule our interview for next week.”

He strolled forward confidently. “Come on. I’m here now, and I’m only…” He pulled out his phone and glanced at it. “Six minutes late.” He shoved it back in his pocket and plopped down in the chair in front of my desk. “That’s pretty good, if you ask me. Plus, I called to let you know. How professional is that?” he boasted with a smug grin.

“What held you up?”^^ I asked, though I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

“School ran late.”

My brows knit together at his blatant lie. “School ran late? Are you sure you don’t want to try for something better?”

“Fine, you’re right. You see, there was a sweet little girl outside school, crying her big ol’ eyes out, trying to coax her poor kitten out of a tree.” He made a pathetically heartbroken expression. “You should have seen it: a mangy little thing with black fur and beady eyes. I had to climb up the tree, and—”

“Enough!” I barked. “You were either fucking or tattooing, so don’t come into my office and give me a line of bullshit. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.” He saluted, failing to hide his amusement. “Well, I’m here now and eager to get on the payroll. I was thinking I’d be a good fit at one of Dad’s clubs.”

“Not happening.”

“Come on, it would be perfect for me.”

“You’re eighteen—I’m not putting you in a club. Besides, I don’t have control of Dad’s businesses. If you want to work for him, go to his office. Here, it’s Lawrence and me.”

He blew out a long, winded breath. “Does Lawrence even know I’m in the building?”

“No, but give it time. He’ll get over it,” I advised, knowing full well Lawrence had taken meetings outside the office all day. It was the reason I’d chosen that day for Jax to come in.

Jax snorted, unconvinced. “It’s been over two months.”

“And Katherine’s still pissed. As long as she’s angry, you need to steer clear of him.”

He tugged at his tie, noticeably frustrated. “I don’t get it. You fuck everything that walks through your door. I hook up with one woman and I get a shit storm.”

“First of all, I’m not a barely eighteen-year-old kid. If you want Lawrence to respect you, then grow the fuck up and stop thinking with your dick. And secondly, I’m smart enough not to screw his wife’s best friend. Some women you just stay the hell away from.”

His eyes rolled back. “Right, you’re a saint.”

“You had to have known that wasn’t going to end well. Besides, since when are you into cougars?”

He shrugged. “I’m not. She was the one always hitting me up. Shit, it was her that dragged me in there to begin with. How was I supposed to know Charlie would barge in looking to use it for hide and seek?”

I bit back a snicker. He was lucky it wasn’t Oliver who got an eyeful. If he thought Lawrence was intimidating when he took him by the neck and threw him out, he’d have pissed himself at how I would’ve knocked him around.

“You could have locked the door,” I snapped, my voice hardening as I recalled my nephew’s sobs.

“I tried! There was no lock!” He threw up his hands.

“I guess that’s because most people don’t need privacy inside a kitchen pantry.”

I sighed. There was no reason to rehash the past. Still, it was a no-go subject for Lawrence. Katherine had gone above and beyond for Lawrence’s birthday party only to throw out a house full of guests when Charlie tore from the kitchen, screaming that Jax was hurting Lisa. Katherine’s face was twisted in a way I’d never seen it before when she ran in to discover it was more pleasure than pain that Charlie had interrupted.