“Okay, if you want the hot gem. Sounds like a pain in the ass anyway, so have at it.”
“Yes. And how is the wedding planning going?”
“Still going. But I have Kayla on it now, and you know how she loves a good party.” Kayla was her older sister.
“She does. Me too, but not that type.” She gave a little wiggle to her eyebrows.
“Well, duh. I think we all know that. We know what type you like to plan.”
“The fun ones?” Jody supplied with a sugary sweet smile.
“Yeah. And my wedding will be a fun one.”
“And a happy one, so, of course, it will be. I just have to give you shit because well, it’s light years away for me.”
Karlee snorted, rising to her feet. “No doubt of that. All right, if you have Ross the drummer well in hand, I have some insurance stuff I want to go over with you. Could you come to my office?”
Juggling the numbers and wading through bureaucracy was Jody’s shtick. She handled it all extremely well. After finishing her work with Karlee and answering the phone calls she’d been putting off, she walked the few blocks to her family home. Her dad started his corporation in his mid-twenties and cleverly diversified his profits into some pretty significant real estate in Seattle. He owned several famous buildings and multiple plots of land. Both of her parents ran Next Generation Consulting, a highly tailored security firm that conducted business with many high-paying, international clients from all over the world. Some of their clients were government groups that couldn’t advertise the use of their services. Jody was familiar with some of the family business but she preferred the real estate management department. She majored in economics and business administration in college and earned a bachelor’s degree, giving her a fundamental understanding of the markets. Of course, her dad also endowed her with his own specific knowledge and savvy. She ran point on that section of the family wealth now and rarely lacked things to do.
Luckily, she was overly energetic and needed little sleep. She didn’t really have any talents or hobbies outside of her work. Zenith’s Promise was as much of a hobby as a job for her. Partying, going out, dancing and frolicking with plenty of men allowed her to blow off steam, but mostly as an afterthought, and after working sixty hours or more all week.
Slipping into her parents’ building, she rode the elevator to their penthouse, the one she was raised in, without bothering to knock and used her key to enter. JayJay sat on one of the sofas, going hard at his game console, as usual. He was addicted to video games and it was his main entertainment, so everyone in the family tried to monitor and limit his indoor playtime. Everyone encouraged him to engage in more outdoor activities and interests. He was a huge guy, taller than six-foot-four, and weighing in at two hundred and fifty pounds. He had the same dark brown, shiny hair and eyes as Jody, and they looked so much alike as siblings, it was uncanny. His male perfection matched her female version. Jayden Lassiter was on the spectrum. Having recently graduated through the public school system, which allowed him to continue until age twenty-one, the time had come for him to switch out of it. He missed it and was struggling visibly more in his effort to adjust. Transitions and changes were never easy for JayJay or natural and they continued to be one of his greatest challenges. Jody tried to spend more time around him.
It wasn’t likely JayJay could ever live away from her parents, or eventually, her. There was no chance that anyone else but her would care for him if anything changed with her parents. That was her reality forever, her line in the sand. Any man she might choose in the long term would have to know that up front: Jody would eventually become JayJay’s guardian and there was no changing that fact for her. JayJay could function in his everyday life, although the milestones for him arrived much later than any typical child. Years later in some cases. Things like tying his shoes was finally learned at age twelve. He recently learned how to drive, but following directions was a constant endeavor. He followed the routes he used without varying them. When traffic or road constructions forced him to detour,