Watch Me (Phoenix #1) - Stacey Kennedy Page 0,30
lacking the warmth Rhys had heard from other mothers.
“Things are good here,” Rhys replied, one arm stretched across the bench seating. “I take it you’ve been sent the quarterly report?” Earlier today, Harrington Finance delivered the report he knew his father had been waiting on.
“We did receive it, yes,” Alice said. “But that’s not the only reason why I’m calling.”
Yeah, right.
Rhys kept the thought to himself as Alice replied, “But since we are talking about it, your father was quite pleased with this quarter.”
“I’m sure he was.” Profit for the Harrington fortune was up ten percent for this last quarter. Rhys’ personal finances were up by twenty percent, something he kept to himself. Rhys took the Harrington fortune under his wing when he’d stepped into his father’s role at Harrington Finance when his father retired, but that stress became tiresome. Especially after Katherine’s death. Wealth had its advantages, but it could not buy happiness, and it certainly didn’t buy his. Now Rhys’ cousin William was CEO of Harrington Finance, and while Rhys was still involved in the decision making, he had taken a big step back to his father’s fierce displeasure. Now, alongside being CEO of the cigar club, he also invested his money as a silent partner in up-and-coming companies, hedge funds, new drugs and research for cancer, and real estate. Rhys had questioned his choice of walking away from his family’s powerful company, but the move had been a smart one. He now had full financial independence from his family’s wealth and zero of the stress. “Anything I need to hear on my end?” he asked, moving the conversation along.
“Nothing more than your father was pleased,” Alice said. “How’s the cigar club?”
“Profitable.” Rhys’ relationship with his parents was that of responsibility, business, and privilege. He didn’t fault them for it. He’d been raised by nannies and sent to boarding school. But he respected his parents. They were both good people, who gave back often to charities, and not only for the tax break. But the truth was, and always had been, his friends were his family.
“And a wife?” Alice inquired. “Any news on that front?”
“Nothing to report,” Rhys said in a dry voice.
She laughed softly. “I’ll take that as a no. Don’t take too long, Rhys. You do not want to be an old bachelor. You know what your father will say about that.”
Rhys didn’t comment. He never did. Some people, he owed explanations to, but his parents were not among them. As he saw Archer, Hunt, and Kieran approaching the table, he said, “I need to run, but before I do, tell me how the traveling is going?”
“Europe is beautiful, very magical,” Alice explained with an unusual sense of wonder to her voice. “We’ve been enjoying ourselves.”
“Glad to hear it. We’ll talk soon. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Rhys.”
He ended the call right as Archer took a seat to his right and asked, “How’s your mom doing?”
A soft laugh escaped Rhys, and he shook his head. His expression must have been stiff. Phone calls with his parents always brought Rhys back to that life on a very tight rope. When his parents retired and began traveling, the rope had stopped strangling him. “She’s well.”
Hunt took a seat next to Archer and gave a slow whistle. “Curiouser and curiouser.”
Rhys didn’t even have to look to know Zoey strode through the restaurant’s doors. He could see it written all over his friends’ faces. But Rhys had already decided to break rules for Zoey. There was no going back, and even if Rhys was questioning his decisions, he wasn’t about to stop where life was taking him.
Archer set a firm gaze on him. “You better know what you’re doing.”
The reprimand was expected. The rules had always been clear. No mixing personal and Phoenix business. “She’s moving in a couple weeks,” Rhys said, rising from his seat. “The risk is minimal.”
Kieran snorted a laugh. “Keep trying to convince yourself of that, buddy.”
Rhys ignored the reproach. Right now, his intent was to show Zoey that there was so much more to life than what had been handed to her. She’d told him she couldn’t even go for dinner with a man without having a panic attack. He hoped that this dinner was a step in the right direction. His friends rose to greet Zoey when she sidled up to the table. “Hello, Zoey,” Rhys said, leaning in to kiss her cheek.
She smiled at his friends then set those beautiful eyes on him. “Hi,” she said, just