Page 2 of The Grizzly Situation
She snorted. “Says the man who got here at a little after four, and if he wasn’t on his way out to catch a flight, would be here until at least six.”
“Tonight, I wouldn’t have. Eddie and Jack have a play at school this evening, and I promised I’d be there.”
She frowned. “You’re going to miss it?”
That question nailed my biggest fear. “I hope not. The last one they had, Eddie played the lead, and I was out of town. He was hurt, and it made me angry. I swore I would be there by opening, so my plan is to get to Milwaukee early this morning, complete our business, and be back by this evening.”
“Are you sure? That could be a huge time crunch. What if the talks don’t go like you expect?”
I winced, because I’d thought about that myself. Still, I’d promised Eddie I’d be there, and I couldn’t—wouldn’t—disappoint him. Not again. “I’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m going to be wired on coffee for the entire trip.” With lots of sugar, naturally, because, as a bear, I had an affinity for sweet things. Winnie didn’t love his honey for nothing. “I’m in charge, and if I have to butt heads with them for everyone to remember, so be it.”
Cait, ever on top of things, pulled out her phone, tapped a few buttons, and then turned the screen to face me. “Okay, the closest coffee shop to your meeting is a place called Expresso Shot. On their website, they boast the Death Shot, which they say is the highest caffeinated coffee available legally.”
“That sounds perfect. I promise, after I get on the plane, I’ll read through these files, and then I’ll catch a nap.”
That got me a snort. “Have you seen how many pages are in that file? You’d need to be a speed reader to get through them all before the plane lands.”
Fuck. “Well, I’ll do my best.”
She nibbled her lip for a moment. “How about this? I’ve gone through every document in there while I was sorting them. I’m pretty well versed, and if you want, I could come along and brief you on the plane. I’d give you the highlights you’d need so you wouldn’t have to read through anything unimportant. That would take about.... mmm, maybe an hour or two?”
“So if I tell the pilot to fly really slow, I could get a decent nap in?”
For a moment, I half expected her to say yes, but then she did this thing with her face where you could tell she wasn’t sure how to say what was on her mind. “You’re not half as funny as you probably think you are.”
If anyone heard Cait talk to me like that, they’d wait for me to remind her of her place. I didn’t want to be that kind of leader. In bears, might makes right. The strongest, most aggressive is usually the one in charge. In ursine shifters, there’s a lot of that, but also we look to the wisest to lead us. For the last fifteen years, the sleuth decided that was me. I love my people, and that’s why doing this, going to one of our holdings, and deciding if people still had a job, was something I hated. Yes, we would take care of those who were displaced. No bear of mine would ever be cast aside. The problem was, most of these people had gone to school, given years of their lives, and for what? To be told, ‘sorry, I’m taking your position away from you, and you’ll have to start over again, even though you’ve given decades to the job’ was the absolute last thing I wanted to do.
“How about you drive with us to the airport and give me the highlights?”
“Oh, but I?—”
“Have a thing with your husband, if I recall correctly. Something about needing time, because he feels as though you care more for your job than you do your marriage.”
And he wasn’t wrong. If I was in at four, Cait was there by three, putting things together. If I stayed until ten at night, she was there until the lights went out. Her husband, Devon, asked her for a divorce, because, like me, she wasn’t balancing her work and family lives. I sat down with the two of them and told him I would ensure she didn’t work more than eight hours a day, if he promised they’d try couple’s counseling before taking that final step. He agreed, and it had been working, I thought.
“But he’ll understand,” she told me, her voice small, which said he wouldn’t.
“You’re not coming, but I appreciate it more than you know. Unless there’s something going on at home you’re not telling me about.”
“You have to catch a plane, and?—”
I slid my phone from the breast pocket of my charcoal gray Desmond Merrion Supreme Bespoke suit, and pulled up the pilot’s contact, then dialed him. “We will be late. Please ensure you’re waiting when we arrive.”
“Of course, sir.”
Once I pressed End, I sent a quick message to Gregory, and said I’d be there as soon as I could, and if he left before then, I’d tell his mother.
His reply was nearly instantaneous. “You know I wouldn’t.”
I put the phone away, and turned my attention back to Cait, who stood there, arms at her side, swaying slightly back and forth.
“You shouldn’t have to do that. I?—”
“Will tell me what’s going on. Now, Cait.”
She squeezed her hands into fists. “He wants us to renew our vows,” she replied, her voice shaky.
“But isn’t that good?”
