Page 16 of Yours, For Good

She looked at me from under her eyelashes, which were dense and long, by the way.

The corner of my lips pulled up. The sudden coyness on her face was endearing. It freed something in me.

"Are you shy about your business?" I asked.

She considered me. "That's quite a direct question for someone you just met."

"Do you mind that?"

She didn't answer right away and, when she did, there was a hint of surprise to it. "I don't mind."

"So, do you? Feel shy?"

She half shrugged. "Somewhat. That probably isn't going to help me sell my idea, is it?"

"If the other person thinks you're insecure about it, that might work against you, yes."

"Do you have a lot of experience in business? What do you do?"

I sipped some coffee and leaned back on the chair, crossing an ankle over my knee. If I faked being relaxed, I might get there faster. She watched me with keen attention, and I did my best not to respond to it.

"I don't have a lot of direct business experience," I said. "But I think I have gained basic understanding by osmosis."

"You look like you work in a corporate environment."

"I don't really work in the corporate world, though I sit on a few boards and have investments in a handful of places. My expertise is in… asset management and social reform. I mostly focus on my own projects with a team that helps me run it all."

"And you're Julia's… uncle?"

"Yes, my oldest brother is her dad."

She sipped from her drink and gave me a slow nod. "I see. I suppose business runs in your genes, then. Julia says the family owns a big conglomerate. Top seven? Ten? In the world, I think."

"Yeah, we do. I've inherited a lot of things — genes, businesses, bank accounts… plenty of things I didn't work for."

She nodded. "Transgenerational wealth. Pretty big deal. At least you seem to acknowledge it."

I stopped my reply when she winced. I frowned instead.

She pressed her lips together. "I guess that bringing up stuff like that could also get me in trouble with business-like folks, right?"

So I wasn't the only one feeling off balance, and trying to find their footing in the dark. It echoed what she'd mentioned in her earlier letters, sharing that she kept making little social mistakes setting her apart.

If I focused on making her comfortable, then maybe I'd get more comfortable, as well.

I smiled. "With most of them, yeah. But I'll tell you a secret. You'll be fine with me."

"Will I?" She studied me.

I nodded. "I'm the black sheep of the family."

"Black sheep?" She grinned. "What did you do? Are you the skeleton in Julia's closet?"

"Not hers in particular, but the whole family likes to pretend I'm missing some key genetic Pendleton markers."

She chuckled. "Okay. Tell me. What's wrong with you, according to the Pendletons?"

I leaned forward and beckoned her closer with the wave of a hand. Her eyebrows quirked in suspicion and humor, but she mirrored me.