Page 24 of More Than a Billionaire

Gus glared as Milton approached.

“Gus,” Milton said.

No words left Gus’s mouth, but the narrow eyes and twitch of his jaw were answer enough.

“See you inside.” Milton’s tone was antagonistic, and he smirked as he followed his lawyer into the conference room.

Gus groaned as soon as the door closed. “This whole thing is such a waste of time and money.”

Franky patted him on the back for encouragement. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

“Not soon enough.”

“Want me to sit in with you?”

Gus shook his head. “Nah, I know how busy you are. I’ll survive.”

The door opened, and Dad motioned for Gus and Oliver to come inside.

Franky didn’t envy Gus the afternoon he was about to have. Listening to Milton’s witnesses was sure to infuriate him. Hopefully, Dad would be able to keep Gus in line. He needed to sit quietly and listen and not let his temper get the better of him because that would not help his case in the least.

When Franky returned to his office after lunch, he had a voicemail regarding one of the witnesses for the defense of the Walters case. A subpoena had been issued, but the man could not be found to serve it to.

This was the crap that drove him crazy about this job. He didn’t want to worry about Joe Schmo not showing up for a meeting. And the further he got into this case, the more certain he was that the defendant was actually guilty of embezzling from the company he worked for. If his father hadn’t known the guy, Franky was sure he wouldn’t have taken him on as a client. But he had, and now Franky was forced to find some kind of loophole to keep the guy out of jail.

More and more, he was realizing this was not what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. But that kind of thinking was ridiculous. Wasn’t it? Law had been his focus for more than a decade. He ate, slept, and breathed it. He’d never worked in another job, only at his father’s law firm. And how on earth could he tell Dad how he felt?

No. He was a partner now. He was established in his field and doing well in it. There was no way he could start over in a whole new profession in his mid-thirties. And how many people really ended up doing something they loved for a living?

He shook his head and dialed the number to return the call.

Law was his life, whether he loved it or not.

SEVEN

The tradition of family Saturday breakfasts had started when Skylar and her brothers were kids and had carried over into adulthood. No matter what was happening in their lives, they could come together and catch up with each other. Being with her family for those breakfasts always made Skylar happy. And today, it felt extra wonderful since it had been a while since all of them were able to be there together.

“How did the depositions go this week?” Dad asked Gus.

Skylar could see her brother tense up at the question.

“Can we not talk about the case, please? I’d love it if I could think about anything other than the reason I don’t have a job right now.”

“All right,” Dad replied, making no other remarks about what Gus had said.

“I heard you and Franky had fun the other night,” Gus told Skylar.

“Oh?” Skylar felt put on the spot, and her cheeks warmed, wondering what Franky told him.

“He said you hustled him out of some money.”

Skylar laughed. “I guess his pool game could use a little practice.”

Gus turned to Mom. “Can you pass the salt?”

“You and Franky sure have been spending a lot of time together,” Sebastian commented.

“Mhmm.”

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