Chapter 16

"About what?" Brett casually leaned against the doorway, studying his sister. "I have nothing left to say. You made a deal with Wynn. I'm not a part of it. End of story."

"It's not the end of the story." Morgan waved her cell phone in the air. "I texted you yesterday morning, asking if you were interested in partnering with Wynn. You never answered, so I went ahead and sent him the contract."

"But I did respond. I called you. I left a message and then I went into a meeting. By the time I got out and heard back from you, it was a done deal."

"Your message never came through until after the fact. Besides, the contract can easily be revised. I want you to be a part of the Wynn project."

Brett crossed his arms. "You could've fooled me."

"C'mon, Brett. David Wynn showed up on my doorstep, wanting to put a deal together. For some reason, our wires got crossed. We'll revise the contract, add your name. You throw money into the pot and voila! Everyone is happy."

"I'm not sure I'm still interested."

"Stop pouting," Morgan joked.

His eyes narrowed. "Stop trying to sneak around my back."

"Good grief. I'm not. Seriously." Morgan made an "x" on her chest. "Cross my heart."

"I'll think about it. I'm busy. I'll get back to you." He started to close the door.

Anticipating the move, Morgan wedged her foot in the opening. "I'm not finished. We need to discuss Easton Holdings. It's time for me to take on some of your workload."

"Why?"

"To make it fair, so it's not all on your shoulders," Morgan said. "Quinn correctly pointed out I wasn't pulling my weight. This has never been my intent."

"I thought you were happy with things the way they were," Brett said. "Being a silent owner and all."

"And I thought the same about you. I thought you were happy with doing the heavy lifting as far as the company is concerned." Morgan shifted her feet. "Maybe you are. But maybe it's too much. Believe me, I want to do my fair share."

"We can talk about it later," Brett said.

"Or we can talk about it right now." Morgan stubbornly clenched her jaw. "I'm not going anywhere until you give me tasks to do."

"Like scrub toilets?"

"If scrubbing toilets is what it takes," she shot back. "I can handle the weekly staff meetings."

"Every week?"

"Sure. Why not?" Morgan warmed to the idea. "Why don't you handle the manager meetings and I'll handle the staff meetings?"

"It's like corralling wild horses."

"I'm up to the challenge."

"Fair enough. Starting next week, they're all yours. Kate at the office can help you with the meeting minutes."

"Awesome. I'll reach out to her as soon as I get home." Morgan rubbed her palms together. "What else?"

"I could…" Brett paused.

"Could what?" she prompted.

"Maybe use someone to help visit the leased properties."

"In Toronto?"

"Yes, and in the Ontario region. It's taking up quite a bit of my time."

"Send me a list. Tell me when you would like me to schedule visits and consider it done," Morgan said.

"Those are the two biggies," Brett said. "The weekly meeting and the leased property visits."

"Got it." Morgan gave him a thumbs up. "If you can think of anything else, let me know. I'll add it to my to-do list."

His eyes twinkled with mischief. "About those toilets…"

She playfully punched him. "Very funny. I'll scrub toilets alongside you. How's that for a deal?"

"In all seriousness, thank you for coming by to clear the air." Brett hung his head. "I hate to admit it, but I thought I could handle it all and am realizing I'm struggling."

Morgan touched his arm. "Then why didn't you say something? I would've been happy to help."

"Because I'm stubborn, like you."

"Grandmother said as much." Morgan grinned. "So, we're good?"

He pressed his index finger and thumb together, giving her an a-okay sign. "We're good."

She sobered. "I'm serious about the Wynn Harbor Inn project. We need you. I need you. Please reconsider."

Their eyes met. "I'll let you know. I might have to do a little finagling with my finances, but I think I can swing it." Brett promised to let her know before the end of the day, after he ran the numbers.

His phone rang, and he excused himself, claiming he needed to take the call.

Before she left, Morgan reminded him to send her a list of the addresses and schedule for leased property visits. Backtracking, she trekked down the hall to her grandmother's apartment.

Morgan rang the bell instead of knocking. Moments later, the door opened.

"Good morning, dear. I thought I heard your voice." Elizabeth pressed a finger to her lips. "How did it go?" she whispered.

"As good as can be expected. Brett has promised to hand over some of his workload, and I'm pretty sure he's still interested in the Wynn project."

"Good girl." Elizabeth patted her shoulder. "You handled it all on your own. I have no doubt you came across as genuine, caring and eager to help."

"I hope so."

Her grandmother motioned her inside. "Would you like some tea or coffee?"

"If it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all."

Morgan followed her into the kitchen. "I still need to talk to Quinn."

"Yes, you do. I thought it would be best if you started by clearing the air with Brett, which is why I told you to hold off coming by until she left for work this morning."

"Have you…talked to her?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"Is she still upset?"

"I'm afraid so."

Morgan slumped down on the barstool and took the cup of coffee from her grandmother. "Thanks for the coffee. I wasn't very nice, but then neither was she."

"You can never take back angry words."

"Nope." Morgan fiddled with the handle. "We've never had a fight like this before."

"Never?"

"Ever."

"Perhaps a little breathing room is in order," Elizabeth said.

"I could try sending her a note, apologizing."

"Does she owe you an apology as well?"

Morgan thought about it. "She said I was only thinking about myself. She admitted she thought it was too coincidental that I didn't get Brett's call. Quinn basically said I sneaked behind his back and did the deal with Wynn."

"So perhaps she should apologize, too."

"It would be nice, although I'm not holding my breath." Morgan made a mental note to email Quinn when she returned home. She stayed long enough to play with Daisy before heading back to Looking Glass Cottage.

The first order of business was to remind Brett about the schedule. She promptly emailed Kate at the office, letting her know she was taking over the weekly staff meetings, and copied Brett to keep him in the loop.

Up next was a note to Quinn, apologizing for hurting her feelings. She wrote and re-wrote it several times, admitting she'd also been hurt. She apologized for telling her she wasn't part of the family and asked for forgiveness.

Finally satisfied with the fifth version, she hit "send" before she could change her mind.

Morgan began packing up the SUV with the boxes of fall decorations she'd been accumulating. She had just finished when her cell phone chimed.

It was Elizabeth.

"Hello, Grandmother."

"Hello, Morgan. I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time."

"Not at all. I'm packing up some stuff to take over to Locke Pointe. Ronni and I are doing some fall decorating."

"I bet it will look fabulous. You have an artistic touch, like someone else I know," she joked.

"Absolutely. You'll have to come by to see it after we're done."

"I certainly will. The reason for my call is I'm on my way to the gallery. Quinn has asked if we could meet to talk."

"About…"

"She didn't say, although I believe it may be about what has happened."

Morgan told her about the email she'd sent, apologizing and explaining she'd been hurt.

"I thought I should let you know."

"If you're uncomfortable and don't want to get dragged into it, tell her you would rather not talk about it," Morgan said.

"I don't mind chatting with Quinn. However, I want to make sure you know what is going on, so you don't think I'm going behind your back discussing private matters."

"I appreciate the heads up. You have my blessing. Quinn is my best friend. I hate having this wedge between us."

"I'll see what I can do," Elizabeth promised.

"Thanks Grandmother." She ended the call and set her phone on the counter. Clearly, Morgan needed all the help she could get, at least as far as Quinn was concerned.