so than he had in years, possibly in his entire life. He had a profound, peaceful sense that all the decisions he had made recently were right. It was wonderful to feel that way. “She wanted me to be CEO, so she could say she was married to a CEO.” He had mentioned it before, but Taylor didn’t know just how far she had gone to try and force his hand. He hadn’t wanted to share all the details, and tried to keep his battles with Amanda separate from her. It seemed cleaner to him that way.
“CFO sounds great to me,” Taylor said generously, and it was obvious that he had done well if he had a house in the city, the one they were staying in in the Hamptons, and a boat. She hadn’t lacked for anything with him. She was in love with him, not what he had. And he was young enough to make back whatever he lost, if that was what he wanted. She didn’t really care. She was used to living on a great deal less and was happy as she was. “Besides, you can’t just walk into your boss’s office and say, ‘Hello, I want to be CEO.’ You have to get there over time. That sounds pretty crazy and not very reasonable to me.” Phillip smiled as she said it.
“In theory, that’s true. I had kind of a leg up, though, and Amanda wanted me to use it. I didn’t. She was furious about that.”
“What kind of leg up?” Taylor asked casually, she couldn’t imagine what it was. And then he laughed.
“My mother is my boss. I work for her.” It was the first time he had admitted it to her, but he couldn’t put it off any longer. She had to know.
“You do?” Taylor looked surprised. She was a bright girl, but she had no experience with the lofty circles he had access to, or the kind of money. “She works for The Factory too?” she asked innocently, and he kissed her.
“No, she owns it. She started it, out of a hardware store my grandmother inherited. My mother started working there when she was twelve, and turned it into what it is now, with stores around the world.” He almost sounded proud when he said it, but not quite.
“She did? That’s fantastic!” Taylor said with a look of amazement. “She must be an amazing woman.”
“So I’m told,” he said quietly, and then conceded, “She is, but I was upset as a kid that she was always away working. You don’t build an empire like that overnight.”
“I’ll bet you don’t. So your brother works for her too?” She knew they worked together. He nodded. “Does the whole family work at The Factory?” She was curious about it now. It sounded intriguing, and so did his mother. She had to be an unusual woman with an incredible amount of vision and drive. Taylor was impressed, which only made Phillip mildly uncomfortable. He wasn’t afraid she was after the money, but he wasn’t looking for allies for his mother, or fans, he wanted his own. He always had, even if it meant condemning her.
“No, just my brother and me,” Phillip answered her question. “He’s head of creative and design. He designs all the furniture you like so much, like your bookcase, and figures out all the new trends with my mother. I told you about my sister Cass in London. And my other sister, Liz, has been trying to be a writer all her life. She just sold some kind of fantasy book a few weeks ago. My grandmother got out of the business early and left running it to my mother. She took care of us, and my father was the CFO, like me. He was an accountant and he helped my mother manage the business end of it. I basically have his job now, although he was a lot smarter and more creative than I am. I just keep the boat steady, but everything is already all set up. That’s what Amanda was upset about, she wanted me to have a bigger job. I guess I’m like my father. He was always the behind-the-scenes man, and he liked it. My mother was the star.
“She does a good job. She just turned seventy, and I don’t think she’ll ever retire. I hope she doesn’t. I’m not sure I could run the business. It’s a mammoth undertaking now, and it’s entirely family owned and run.