Kestrel (Hart Briothers #3) by A. M. Hargrove Read Free Book Online Page B

Lamborghini
going to lunch with my boss. I also just texted him that I told you what he
said.”
    “It
sounds like you have an amazing relationship with your kids.”
    “Yeah,
I do. But they’re good kids, so I can’t complain.” Then she lets out a huge
gurgle of laughter. “Oh my God. He just texted me back a picture of him
standing next to his hunk of junk car with a caption that says, ‘No more woo-fuckery.’”
    “What
we need to do is put you on the Harley when we get back. That would really get
him going.”
    She
slaps her leg. “ Lawd , he would die!”
    “You
seem like an awesome mom.”
    “Well,
I try.”
    “I
had a really shitty upbringing. I’m sure you read all the news stories about
Langston. The mob stories were nothing compared to his fatherhood nurturing.
Your kids are truly lucky.”
    She
doesn’t say anything for a while. Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned Langston.
I don’t know why, but I really like Shayla; I feel comfortable around her.
She’s warm and for some reason I feel like I want to be open with her, which is
extremely unusual.
    Finally
she says, “I’m sorry, Kestrel. My family was very loving, so I can’t imagine
being raised like that. It must have been awfully hard for you.”
    “You
don’t know the half of it. Life was a nightmare.”
    She
pats me on the arm and I jerk in response.
    “Sorry.
That’s one of my little issues. Don’t feel bad. Honestly, I never talk about
this so I’m surprised I’m even telling you this much.”
    “You
don’t have to say a thing.”
    “I
know. But I feel like I can with you, and I don’t find that very often.”
    “Anything
you say to me will stay right between us. I don’t gossip.”
    I
only nod in response. When we pull in the parking lot, I look for the valet
service.
    “What
are you huntin ’?”
    “Valet
parking.”
    She
bubbles with laughter. “You won’t find that here, only downtown.”
    “Oh.”
I circle the lot and find a place to park. Then I help her out of the car.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
    “Ha.
I have an SUV, so yes.”
    We
talk business while we eat. Monday is when the rest of our staff arrives. That
doesn’t mean a whole lot—only the receptionist, who Shayla will train, a
sales rep, and another admin. Jack will arrive on Tuesday, and Shayla will
bring the new admin up to speed on things while I begin to train the new sales
rep. Things will start to heat up after that.
    “We
have a lot going on next week,” I say.
    “Boy,
don’t we?”
    “Once
our staff is hired and up and running, we’ll be able to actually do our jobs.
So where would you like to eat on Saturday?”
    “Oh,
I think I’ll let you choose,” she says.
    “Fine
with me. Just don’t hate me if I make the wrong choice.”
    Shayla
doesn’t buy it. She already knows I’ll pick a great restaurant.

 
    Chapter
Five
    Carter

 
    This
is a big day for me. As John said, the big kahunas from StrongMeds Inc. come to
see me. There are four of them, all dressed in their navy suits, looking stodgy
as hell. I offer them a tour of my lab as soon as they arrive, showing them
where all the magic occurs. Two of them take copious notes and photos on their
iPads as I walk them around and explain exactly what it is I do. Only one of
them truly understands. The others get the implications behind it. Translation,
if all goes as expected, StrongMeds, Inc., stands to make a whole lot of money
from the products of my research.
    “Dr.
Drayton, let’s make this happen. StrongMeds wants you. All we need is your
signature,” the leader of the pack says. His name is Winston Miles and he’s the
vice president of research and development.
    “Whoa.
Slow down. There are a few things I want to clarify first.”
    “By
all means. Can we go someplace to sit and discuss this?”
    There
is a conference room down the hall and I suggest that. Winston laughs.
    “Dr.
Drayton, I’m thinking more on the lines of somewhere that we can get a good