Julian

CHAPTER ONE “MIERDA!” THIS WAS a disaster of epic proportions. I repositioned myself on the plush black leather seat of the town car transporting me to my hotel and watched the skyscrapers slowly pass outside my window. Downtown Chicago was a dreary grey in late October, and the air had a chill I could feel in my bones. I sighed and re-read the email from Tori, my executive assistant. Preterm labor. We were on our final day in Denver for a visit to the Colorado Atabey Industries division when she started to have pains. At 30 weeks pregnant, I wasn’t taking any chances and made her go straight to the hospital. I had nearly panicked when they whisked her away to Labor & Delivery and wouldn’t let me stay with her. Making the call to her husband, Rick tore at my insides, and I put him on the next available flight out. I spent hours sitting in the waiting room, helpless. I paced and made calls, clearing my schedule for the day. I wasn’t about to leave the woman who had become such a good friend over the five years she had been my right hand. She managed to text me a couple of times, but I didn’t understand the terms, though I was sure it was meant to reassure me. Contractions. Terbutaline. Admitting for the night. I knew next to nothing about pregnancy, but I did know they wouldn’t keep her if it wasn’t serious. They finally let me see her after I’d driven the nurse at the desk nearly insane with my constant requests for updates HIPAA privacy policies wouldn’t let them give me. She looked tired but normal and had reassured me that they had everything under control, the baby was fine, and there was nothing I could do. Then, because I wouldn’t take no for an answer, she sent me to the cafeteria to get her a chocolate shake. Rick had arrived shortly after, and I left to give them some space. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get out of the conference I was speaking at in Chicago, so I reluctantly left her in Denver while I worried throughout the entire flight back East. On some level, I knew things weren’t fine, but I denied those thoughts and hoped she would catch up in a couple of days. The email in front of me confirmed my fears. She was cautiously flying back to Portland, where doctors would put her on strict bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. I ran my hand down my face, loosening my silk tie and undoing the top button of my crisp white cotton shirt. It was too early for alcohol, but I needed a drink. I could do nothing except ensure Tori continued to get full pay and search for a replacement. This was not what I had anticipated. I took several deep breaths, scrolled through my phone contacts to my brother Gabriel’s number, and swiped right to dial. “Hey, Jules, what’s up?” He answered on the second ring. His voice was light, overly enthusiastic, considering I had informed him of Tori’s trip to the hospital. “Estamos jodidos,” I replied gruffly. I didn’t need to be placated. “Tori has been sent home on bed rest, and she won’t be back.” “That moves our timeline up,” Gabriel replied, his tone turning serious. “She’s OK? The baby?” “She says they’re both fine, and he’s just as active as ever in there. Apparently too active,” I explained. “Of course, he’s Ricks’ son.” Gabriel chuckled. He wasn’t wrong. Tori’s husband was in fitness, and even when he was still, it seemed like he was moving. I wasn’t sure how the woman kept up with him while also running my life. “Do you have a shortlist for her replacement?” I redirected, keeping him on topic. My brother was brilliant but had a tendency to distract easily. “I need somebody ASAP. I’ve got this week booked in Chicago and Minneapolis, but I’ll need somebody by next week.” Gabriel was more than reliable. As the Chief Operating Officer of Atabey Industries, he ran the day-to-day operations while I primarily traveled and showed my face wherever necessary. Where people seemed afraid of me, his jovial personality had people jumping to do whatever he asked. He’d always been like that as the youngest of the three of us brothers. A people pleaser, he understood how others worked and used it to his advantage. “I do,” Gabriel let out a frustrated breath, shuffling something at his desk. “I don’t know how I’m going to get somebody trained in time for that. Don’t expect perfection.” His warning had me running my hand through my hair, mussing the dark, styled waves. I reminded myself that this was an inevitable outcome; it had just come to pass sooner than expected. Tori was always going to leave when the baby arrived, preferring to find a less demanding job so she wouldn’t miss his formative years. “Just get it done. I’ll work with whatever you can give me by the time I return. Tori will get you the training materials she’s been assembling, and you’ve got access to my calendar. If the prospects are as good as your headhunter has promised, we shouldn’t have a problem.” I sounded more confident than I felt. Tori was the first truly competent assistant I’d had in a decade, and I had little faith anyone could adequately replace her. “I’m on it. I’ll start making calls for final interviews now. I’ll have somebody in the office by next week to train.” His no-nonsense response gave me some relief from the overwhelming stress. “Gracias. I’m pulling up to the hotel, so I’ll leave you to it. Have Shannon handle my calls until things get worked out.” I looked out the window at the familiar stonework and blue awnings of the Waldorf Astoria. “On it, bro.” I heard Gabriel say before I tapped the screen to end the call. I was ready to get to my room and settle in. I intentionally arrived a day before the conference, and I was glad Tori had put a “day of rest,” as she called it, into my itinerary. I was going to need it to catch up and get things in order. Then I was going to take advantage of the jetted tub and an excellent blue label scotch. Deep breaths. It would work out; I tried again to convince myself. It didn’t help much.