The Heiress CEO

Chapter Four

“Oooo! Here’s a good one!” Ellie exclaimed, holding up her phone. “Nepotism or Egotism: Prescott’s Salvation or Downfall.”

“That is a good one,” Alexis agreed. “Send me that one.”

“Kids, no phones at the table,” Ava said, giving her daughters a warning look.

Looking sheepish, they both set their phones down while their brothers snickered. Silas sat at the head of the table watching them all fondly. It had gotten more difficult to have family dinners over the years as the children grew up; however, this was a special occasion. He looked down the table at the impressive brood seated according to age, with the youngest closest to their parents and the oldest further down.

This order had been instituted by Alexis and her brothers, so their younger siblings were always protected on either side. As such, Tina had the seat of honor beside their mother. At age six, she was the youngest. Caitlynn, age eleven, sat across from their mother and beside their father. Then came the twins, Ellie and Jackie, age sixteen; Benjamin, twenty-one; Isaac, twenty-two, and finally Alexis and her brothers, now thirty-two.

If anyone told Silas that he would be a father of such a large family he would have laughed in their faces, but now he couldn’t imagine it any other way. Silas blinked as a gentle hand caressed his. He looked over at Ava who was watching him with her enticing green eyes, eyes that could make him agree to anything and he would tonight.

“Could you two not mentally undress yourselves at the dinner table,” Isaac suggested. “It’s distracting.”

“I think it’s cute,” Ellie argued.

“You would. Dad’s almost sixty.”

“Fifty-three,” Silas corrected. “I’m fifty-three.”

“Old people shouldn’t be involved,” Isaac said.

“What are you talking about?” Ellie scoffed. “Old people get it all the time. Haven’t you heard about what happens in nursing homes? Ask Jackie.”

“Ah geez, not while we’re eating,” Benjamin shook his head, glaring at the twins.

Since they were little, the twins were as inseparable as the older triplets. They shared everything, including toys and clothes. It was difficult to tell one from the other, especially as Jack preferred an androgynous appearance. It attracted quite a bit of bullying until his siblings shut it down. It took even more convincing for him to finally confront his parents and admit to them, he felt trapped in his own body.

Jack struggled to stand in front of them even with his sister holding his hand as their parents slowly processed his words. Ava was the first to speak as she stood and quickly hugged him close, “So my beautiful baby boy is a beautiful baby girl.”

Jack was stunned and looked at their father as he stood and approached with a thoughtful expression. After a long moment, he said, “You know I never told you this…but before you were born, a witch promised I would have a lot of daughters. This isn’t quite what I expected, but all my daughters are precious to me.”

For the last couple of years, Jackie had been undergoing hormonal therapy. Their parents wanted to wait on surgery until she was eighteen, but it was nice to see her natural bubbly personality on full display.

“So Jackie,” Alexis asked, “still planning on going into nursing?”

“Hell yeah!” Jackie said, “oops, I mean, yes. I love it. I especially like my rounds in the nursing home and, well, Grandpa Emerson needs someone to watch over him.”

Alexis kept her expression relaxed. Unlike her and her brothers, their younger siblings were much closer to their maternal grandfather. After the end of Carlisle Enterprises, the triplets declared a truce with their mother’s family. They hadn’t seen or heard anything from their aunt or grandmother, but they had built a relationship with their grandfather. Alexis and her brothers had been reluctant at first and they could never wholly trust him. But their younger siblings had been able to bond with him without prejudice.

Emerson seemed perfectly content in his retirement, doting on his numerous grandchildren. However, over the years it was clear his memory was failing. At first, it was just forgetfulness, but eventually they had to acknowledge the dementia slowly consuming him. Jackie was right. Someone had to watch over him.

Alexis hated the idea of her younger sibling taking on that responsibility, but their parents always stressed their lives were their own. They had to choose the paths that would bring them the most happiness. Alexis never doubted her own path and she knew Jackie felt the same.

“So dad, what are you going to do now that you don’t have to work?” Caitlynn asked.

“Well, I thought I’d take it easy for a while,” Silas said with a wink. “Be home with your mother and spend more time with all of you.”

“Yeah! Daddy stay home!” Tina gave a celebratory yell which made them all chuckle.

“Lex, sweetie,” Ava suddenly asked, “are you going to be all right?”

“Of course, mom. I’ll be fine.”

“You just seemed on edge during the press conference,” Ava said. “It was like you were throwing down a gauntlet.”

“I was,” Alexis agreed.

Ava blinked.

“I’m young. I’m a woman. I’m capable and intelligent, which makes me a threat. People are going to come after me, work against me and try to undermine me. I’m just calling them out now. It’s part of the game.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ava looked at Silas.

He squeezed her hand, “She’s ready.”

“And she has us to watch her back,” Sean said. “Right?”

Theo paused, his mouth full of au gratin, and nodded, causing laughter to erupt from his younger siblings. While the others were distracted, Caitlynn quietly tossed the waiting Remington a morsel from the table.

“Caitlynn,” Ava admonished. “I saw that. Don’t feed the dogs at the table.”

“Sorry, mom.”

Whining, the Rottweiler circled and sat down near the table’s reigning matriarch. Ava looked at the canine before gently patting its head. Encouraged, Remington rested his chin on her knee and his tail thumped against the floor.

Silas couldn’t help but smile at the interaction, recalling how long it took Ava to work through her fear of dogs. Their first family dog was a miniature Schnauzer. It was a small, excitable dog, but Ava came to adore it.

He hadn’t expected that one small dog to pave the way for two very large dogs. Silas had been worried at first, but Theo trained his dogs well and Ava warmed up to Ruger and, later, Remington rather quickly, especially after she saw how gentle they were with Tina.

“So Alexis, when can we expect you to bring someone home?” Ava asked.

“Mom.”

“There must be someone you are interested in.”

“Mom, if there was, I would bring him home to meet you,” Alexis sighed. “Right now, I’m just focusing on my career.”

“I know,” Ava nodded, glancing at Silas, “I know how stressful this job can be without someone there to support you.”

“You don’t have to worry, mom. I’m fine. And I’m not alone,” Alexis looked to her brothers.

* * *

“Well, that was an interesting dinner,” Theo snickered as they stepped out onto the street. Ruger and Remington circled him before trotting up to his Mercedes SUV, then back to him.

Sean chuckled, shaking his head. Over the past few years, their mother had become more concerned with their personal lives. It probably didn’t help that Theo jumped from one fling to another, or that Sean hadn’t had a single serious relationship. Alexis dated a few times, but she never felt a connection to any of them.

“She just worries,” Alexis said.

“Right…so about that appointment,” Sean hesitated.

“What about it?” Alexis stiffened.

“Woman issues?” Sean repeated what she told their father. “Really?”

“What? You want me to go into a detailed description of what a woman’s body is like?”

“Please don’t,” Theo shook his head. “Just, no.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow,” Alexis eyed her brothers before climbing into her Uber.

They watched the vehicle drive off before Sean said, “So, she’s lying.”

“Yep, big time,” Theo agreed, opening the back door of his vehicle for the dogs.

“What do you want to do?”

“We’ll just have to keep an eye on her,” Theo sighed.

“Yeah, it’s not like we can force her.”

“Damn straight, she’s scary,” Theo chuckled as they climbed into his vehicle. “Look, she’ll tell us when she wants to. Face it, we’re not up to actually confronting her.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Sean sighed.

“We’re her brothers and we got her back, right?”

“Right.”

“Speaking of which, what about that guy who was bothering her today?”

“Brayden Willard,” Sean said, taking out his phone, “been with the company for four years. He’s small potatoes.”

“Complaints?” Theo frowned. The name didn’t ring any bells.

“No. No one has filed complaints, but I have plenty of video evidence of some questionable behavior. If he becomes an actual problem we’ll get rid of him.”

Theo nodded, glad to know they were on the same page. They had spent the last five years not just learning the ropes, but setting up their own network throughout the company. It was safe to say they had a good handle on the company’s inner workings and culture.

“So, what do you think about Alexis dating?” Theo asked.

Sean grimaced. The last thing he wanted to think about was their sister in a relationship. But Alexis was smart, so she certainly wouldn’t fall for some random guy on the street. Right?

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t turn out to be an asshole,” Sean finally said.

“Yeah, here’s hoping,” Theo agreed before pulling away from the curb.

In the beginning, they had shared an apartment, but as their interests diverged it had become apparent they needed their own spaces. Now, they had their own places, although they lived in the same building. In fact, they were neighbors, which made commuting a lot easier. Alexis, on the other hand, had gotten a separate place. It was a subtle, but clear signal she didn’t need their protection. Regardless, they would always have her back.