“Being a freshman is already tough, but he’ll have hell to pay.”
Aubrey closed her eyes. Max had been putting on a brave face, but she could see the disappointment in his eyes. Even after he spoke to Justin nearly every night, Max still seemed sad because his big trip to New York to meet his uncles and see his dad’s place hadn’t materialized.
“Fine.” Aubrey crossed her arms over her chest. “I suppose Justin is complicit in this plan?”
“You leave at eight a.m. on the Travati jet tomorrow,” Nina said.
“What, is it already here?”
Dad looked at Nina and a sly grin started across his face. “Let’s just say your transportation is en route.”
“Glad to see everyone just knew I’d say yes to this little trip.” She lifted her plate of pie and forked the final bite into her mouth. She hadn’t returned to New York City since her exit when pregnant with Max.
A shiver raced down her spine. The city would be the city, but many things had changed in her life since then. Max. Max’s father. She didn’t even have to ask where she and Max were expected to stay. Justin’s place was most likely big enough that they could stay a week and not bump into each other.
“Better tell Max so he can pack,” Aubrey said and started to stand, but Max peeked his head around the doorway to her office. “You were in on it too?”
“He was our secret weapon,” Dad said.
“If the pie didn’t work,” Nina added.
“He wasn’t opposed to begging—we’d told him it might come to that.”
She couldn’t help but smile because of the giant grin on Max’s face. She’d not seen a smile like that since … Well, since Justin had been there. “Okay, go get packed then. Looks like we’re taking a trip to New York City.”
Max didn’t move.
“Eight a.m. is early,” Aubrey said, trying not to be pushy but also trying to impress upon Max that he needed to get his things together.
“Don’t worry about me, Mom,” Max said and lifted a plate of pie that he’d walked into her office holding. “I’ve been packed for this trip since before Dad went back to NYC.”
Chapter 19
Three weeks. He’d been without Max and Aubrey for three weeks, and each day seemed longer than the one before. “Liza, you ordered flowers, correct? Wildflowers with hydrangeas for the blue room and the bath, I also want them in the—”
“Living room and dining room. Yes, sir, we have six dozen arriving fresh this morning.”
“Veuve Clicquot?”
“A case.”
“Hamburger, nacho-cheese chips?”
“And the latest issue of Sports Illustrated.”
“And
“Key lime pie. Yes, sir, just as you ordered. The reservations at Yankee Stadium. We have tickets to the three shows that you requested. You’re also dining with Mr. Rodriguez this week at Blue Hill.”
“Excellent, excellent. And my brothers?”
“They are arriving now.”
Justin hung up his office phone and spun his desk chair around from staring at the Manhattan cityscape. Nothing like putting off the inevitable until the bitter end. He’d not had the right time or the right place to inform his three younger brothers of their nephew. The past three weeks had been a gauntlet of legal meetings, press conferences, and conference calls with infernal bankers. Between the hostile-takeover attempt financed out of Dubai and the nightmare unfolding with the prostitution ring in the Travati nightclubs, the past three weeks had been hell for all four of the Travati brothers.
“We’re here.” Leo sat on the sofa and poured himself a cup of coffee out of the carafe on the end table.
“Tell me it’s good news.” Devon plopped down beside Leo, who was just tilting his cup to his chin.
The coffee slid over the rim and sloshed onto Leo’s tie. “Nice job.”
“Sorry,” Devon quietly said.
You knew things were bad when he didn’t have a smart comeback to make to one of his older brothers. Devon’s eyes looked tired with lines of worry and fatigue. He and the Travati legal team had spent three weeks going through every employee, every patron, every businessperson that went to Prayer on a regular basis, attempting to make certain there was no indictment where Devon was concerned.
“We could all use good news.” Anthony sat on the chair opposite the sofa. He was impeccably crisp. Perfect suit. Perfect tie. His discipline rivaled Justin’s, as did his error toward overwork and type-A tendencies. His face didn’t move, only the light in his eyes gave away that he was even remotely interested as to why his eldest brother had requested all four Travati brothers’ presence in his office.