Worth the Wait (11 page)

Later that night she sent Wyatt a text message to check up on him.
He was getting ready to go spend the day at Blake Enterprises with his brother. She told him to wear his blue shirt that looked great on him with a pair of slacks. Bo would be surprised that he’d made the effort to dress business casual. They could have texted for hours, but she knew he needed his sleep. Hopefully he’d get a sense of direction tomorrow. She bid him goodnight and sent a hugging emoji.
He sent back a kissing emoji.

* * *

When Bo texted him a list of other places he should visit to get ideas about possible careers, Wyatt thought he was joking. In addition to visiting his brother at Blake Enterprises, he’d be spending time at NuWave Gaming, Reed Bradley Books, Tomcats Stadium, Cassidy’s law firm, Tate’s recording studio, and with Tyler’s pit crew. But
he didn’t get why doing extra work around the ranch would help in his decision making process. He said that was Bo Sr.’s idea. A hard day’s work would help clear the brain.

Wyatt arrived on time to Blake Enterprises, anxious to get on with the day. Anna Beth informed him that Bo had come into the office earlier than usual to help clear up a problem he’d discovered the afternoon before. There
was a discrepancy with the budget for a huge project that was rolling out, and Bo had everyone there bright and early to figure out where the money had gone.

He knocked lightly, then entered the spacious office. It had a homey feel to it, even with four televisions bolted to the wall, all tuned to financial analyst programs in different countries. Bo, who was on the phone, waved him in then
went back to tapping away on his laptop. It was funny to hear his mild-mannered, nerdy, big brother bark orders about the budget and demand answers in the next hour.

He decided to keep himself busy while he waited, so he perused around the office looking for any new photos or gadgets that Summer and Autumn may have gifted Bo from their gaming company. He had to admit it was pretty cool to
be able to beta test the latest games NuWave had to offer. It made Wyatt an instant hit with his buddies. He was looking forward to going to NuWave and hanging out with his new sister-in-law. At least one of his brothers was finding happiness. He was worried about Corbett finding his way after the break up with Courtney. Corbett seemed to be taking the life changes in stride and had even taken some
vacation days, something he rarely did. But Wyatt was still worried that Corbett was hiding how he was really doing from the rest of the family.

The office was littered with new photos from the wedding. No surprise there. A photo of Bo and Summer in their wedding duds was displayed proudly on his desk. Each time Bo would grow more worked-up during the call, he’d look at the picture and bring
it back down a few notches. What made Wyatt stop in his tracks was the new photo on Bo’s credenza. It was a shot of him and Avery at the wedding. The photographer had snapped a picture of them just before they’d left to go the cottage. She’d been so mad at him, but she went with him anyway. He let out a sigh. He often dreamed about what followed in the cottage that night. He’d wanted her so badly.
But he knew doing something impulsive that he hadn’t thought out would bring the wrath of the entire Blake clan down on him.

“Sorry about that,” Bo said as he slammed down the phone.

“Is this a bad time?” Wyatt said hopefully. “I can come back another day.”

“Crisis be damned. My little brother’s future is just as important as solving a numbers issue.”

“I know that is all
big business. How much has gone missing?”

“Twenty million.”

“Whoa!”

Bo laughed. “It’s a spreadsheet error. Anna Beth and I figured it out last night. I checked with the bank this morning and the funds are still there. But I want my team to figure it out too. I can’t be the only smart person in the room. The people who work for me have to be smarter and more diligent, otherwise
I’m just running an ice cream parlor.”

“What got you interested in business and finance?”

“I always liked math as a kid. Math is finite and if calculated properly always leads to logical, tangible conclusions. When creativity is injected, there’s usually fraud or embezzlement involved.”

“So, it’s the absolute truth for you?”

“Right.” Bo beamed. “I do better with straight
forward parameters.”

“I don’t know. I’d say you’ve loosened up the past few years. You didn’t apply any fancy math for the wedding festivities.”

“Well, the reception area layout was organized in the shape of a hexagon. But I have Teri-Lyn to thank for that. She said she knew it would calm any last-minute jitters to know I was standing the middle of my favorite geometric shape.” He
laughed.

Wyatt laughed too. “Teri-Lyn knows all about those special touches.”

Bo looked at him for a long moment. “What do you want to do with your life, Wyatt?”

Great. Here it came. “I don’t know.”

“Why did you major in business if you have no interest in it?”

“You and Corbett are good at it. I thought since we’re brothers, eventually those genes would kick in and
I would be good at it too.”

“It doesn’t always work that way.”

“Tell me about it.” He got up and walked over to the window. “I know I must be a big disappointment to the family, but I’m trying.”

“Hold on.” Bo said as he joined Wyatt at the window. “No one is disappointed in you. I’m very proud of how you turned your grades around when you transferred to school here in Texas.
You’ve even been on the dean’s list. That’s no small feat. You started to apply yourself. Something must have changed in you.”

Yeah, a certain brainy future doctor who’d challenged him every step of the way to apply himself and get better grades. Since they’d been apart the last few months, he’d felt lost without her. She hadn’t been there to hold his hand, and it made him think that maybe
he’d done all of those things for Avery and not for himself.

“But it’s not enough,” he finally replied. “The family is scared I’m going to turn into some stoner slacker who can’t keep a job more difficult than bartending. I don’t have it all figured out.”

“You think you’re the first person ever to not know what he wanted to do with the rest of his life?”

“No. But I am the first
person is
this
family with no sense of direction.”

“I have to apologize. Summer told me I was putting too much pressure on you. I’m just so excited for you. You have the world in front of you, and it’s an exhilarating time in a person’s life. There’s a small window of time open for exploring the world before you get married and have kids. You get to know yourself completely before you decide
to share the rest of your life with
someone
.”

“I can barely split a pizza with someone, let alone a life.”

“I don’t know about that.” Bo patted him on the back. “Let’s go.”

Wyatt followed as Bo headed down the corridor and past Anna Beth’s desk. They got on the elevator and went to the ground floor. Bo started by introducing him to Rudy, the security guard, and asked him to describe
for Wyatt what he did. Wyatt was embarrassed, feeling like he was on a school field trip, but Rudy happily rattled off his job description and threw in why he liked working for Blake Enterprises. This happened again when they visited the mailroom, which was more like a mini city. There were people flitting about copying documents and preparing packages to be delivered or shipped. They each
took a moment to show Wyatt how their job fit into the information flow around the company without delays. They also visited accounting, facilities, security, human resources, cafeteria, IT, and the legal department.

Each person they encountered seemed delighted to be chatting with Bo. His brother said he and J.J. did a walk through occasionally, just like John Jacob had during the years
he’d run the company. It showed the staff that the owners weren’t just some enigmatic faces sitting high up in a tower. Three hours later, they were back on the floor of the executive offices. Bo seemed to be walking him back to the office, but he stopped short at the office that had Tyler’s name on it. Bo knocked, then entered to see the race car driver standing by a drafting table looking over
some blueprints.

Tyler smiled. “I was beginning to think you two weren’t going to make it.”

“I had to put out some fires this morning before we started,” Bo replied.

“Wyatt, how did you like the tour?”

He grimaced. “It felt like a field trip.”

“I had my tour two months ago. It really opened my eyes to the inner workings around here.”

“You went on a tour?” Wyatt’s
eyes widened. “I’m sure everyone knows who you are.”

“Maybe. But I didn’t know them.” Tyler winked. “If I’m going to be more than some glorified trust fund baby in their eyes, I need to see the people who will rely on me to contribute to the company, ensure its continued success. And that translates to job security for everyone in this organization.”

“So no more racing for you?” He
was really looking forward to spending a week with Tyler and his pit crew.

“I’m still racing. But I think it’s time to get acquainted with the family business. Bo and J.J. aren’t getting any younger. They’ll be looking for someone to pass the torch one day.”

“I’m not that old,” Bo huffed and turned to his little brother. “You’re going to shadow Tyler until lunch time. I thought he’d
be a good person to talk to.”

“Cool.”

“Tyler,” Bo said as he headed for the door. “Try not to traumatize the young man.”

“Have a seat.” Tyler motioned for him to sit on the leather couch in the corner. “The couch is more comfortable. I’m still not ready to sit behind that desk. Besides, this isn’t a job interview. We’re family, for heaven’s sake.”

A wave of relief rushed
over Wyatt. He sat on the couch and relaxed for the first time that morning. “Thanks.”

Tyler went over to the fridge and got them both a bottle of juice then plopped down on the couch opposite him. Once they were comfortable, Tyler fired away. “What would you like to know? Pick my brain, but not so much it leaves a scab.”

Wyatt laughed. “There’s so much I want to know. But I’ll start
with the comment Bo Sr. made at the wedding about you being a jack-of-all-trades. What did he mean by that?”

“That was his way of saying I took the long way around to finding myself. Which wasn’t easy. I wasn’t driven like my brothers and I was in the middle of an identity crisis.”

“You? Had an identity crisis?” It was hard to imagine. Tyler was one of the most confident people he
knew.

“Sure. Having big brothers who had grand ambitions to play professional football and be country music stars wasn’t easy. Imagine going through your whole life having to say you’re
not
Seth Blake. Looking like my older brother has been a blessing and a curse.”

“How so?”

“It definitely gave me an extra boost with the ladies.” Tyler flashed a devilish grin.

Wyatt grinned.
“That’s never a bad thing.”

“It was fun pretending to be Seth when it suited me.” Tyler shook his head, then got serious again. “But it took some time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. My daddy said I either had to go out and find myself or be prepared to do ranch work from sun-up to sundown every day.”

“So you really did all those things Bo Sr. mentioned?”

“Sure.
I needed the money. I didn’t want to call home like some rich brat asking my parents for money. So I took a lot of odds jobs. Some of it was fun, some dreadful, but I learned a lot.”

“I got the job at the Bright Star to make some extra cash,” Wyatt said, beaming. “I thought it was time I started earning my own money. But turns out I like it. The people are colorful, the tips are great, and
Cal is a hoot. He’s like a Blake and Jamison historian.”

“You can learn a lot from Cal about business and life. He’s cut from the same cloth as my father and Bo Sr. He’s a good man. Cal will work you, but you’ll be a better man for it.”

“But I feel like I’m letting Bo down,” Wyatt blurted out.

“Trust me, your brother is so proud of you. It’s meant the world to him to connect
you and Corbett again. I think he just wants to be a good big brother. J.J. kept us all in line when we were young. So Bo is just trying to fill in some missing time with you.”

“Was J.J. tough on you?”

“Yes. But that’s just how he’s wired. He knows how to apply pressure and how to ease up when necessary. That’s why he’s such a great brother and boss.”

“Where is J.J. today?” Wyatt
asked. He hadn’t seen him in his office when they’d walked by.

“He’s having a spa day with Sam.”

“Are you kidding?”

“No, I’m not.” Tyler laughed. “I can’t imagine him relaxing. He can’t stay in a sauna for more than a few minutes.”

Wyatt had dreaded talking to Bo, but he was terrified of speaking with J.J. He could only imagine what one of J.J.’s career counseling talks
must have sounded like. J.J. had a commanding presence and a larger-than-life personality. But he was all mush when Sam was around. So far Wyatt had managed to artfully dodge the oldest Blake son every time he sought him out for a chat.

Tyler was being so open, it prompted a thousand more questions, but Wyatt didn’t want to hound him. “Am I asking too many questions?”

“Not at all.
Keep them coming.”

“What was the defining moment for you with racing?”

“I’d been in amateur racing for years. I didn’t tell the family because I didn’t want them to worry, and it was more of a hobby for me. But I discovered that I not only liked it, but it gives me a great sense of satisfaction. When the family got wind of it, Seth asked his friend Scott Norwood to show me the ropes.”

“The Scott Norwood?” Wyatt’s eyebrows shot up.

Tyler laughed. “Yeah. The people in this family believe if you’re going to pursue something, you need to learn from the best.”

“That must have been amazing.”

“It was. I’d finally had the family’s support and my hobby had money-earning potential.” Tyler smiled and leaned forward as if he were sharing a secret. “Want to know the
biggest accomplishment of my life?”