Run, Girl (If You Can)

Chapter 529: Empire Building

As Eli came back with his firetruck and babbled on excitedly about the ladder on it, Jason finally made an appearance. He wasn't as obviously distrustful of Gray as his wife and ended up greeting the man on the floor with his son cheerfully enough.

Mandy continued admiring Eli's toy as Jason asked Gray questions about himself. They were a bit tricky to answer. Giving the basic rundown about his degree from MIT and how he used to own an app development company was easy but what came after was more dicey.

"…I ended up retiring from that early and now I work in recruitment," Gray finished somewhat lamely.

It wasn't technically a lie. The underground empire he began building in prison was all about recruitment, mostly involving mercenaries and others with rather specific skillsets.

He had intended to create an empire that could rival Hale Investments but the public face of this business was quite small despite its extensive reach. His network of mercenaries extended up into Canada and down into New England.

Now that Mandy was in his life, it would be within his best interest to hand it off to someone else. He didn't want to do anything that would risk him ending up back in prison now that he had something to live for.

All he had ever done was focus on empire building. Without that, he would likely get terribly bored. Permanent retirement wouldn't suit him. It might be time to brush up on all of the technology he missed and get back into app and game development.

Computers had been his one respite while in foster care. He had found more enjoyment in coding and creating than anything else. But once his first few apps took off and he had the chance for fame and fortune he focused more on the management side of things.

How long had it been since he had personally created something? Catching up on everything he had missed could be a delightful new challenge.

Brittany raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms over her chest, the picture of mistrust. "Why would you give up a company you created to work in recruitment of all things? That's pretty random."

Gray smiled at her and tweaked the truth only slightly. "I like a challenge. Finding new talents and putting them to use where they can benefit others the most isn't as easy as managing a business."

She couldn't find fault with his words so she let it go, beginning her next line of attack. "Do you have any family? Ex-wives or children?"

He supposed it was a bit strange that he didn't at his age. No ex-wives or children meant that her mother wouldn't have to deal with potentially not being accepted by people close to him, which was good. But it also meant that there was probably something wrong with him since he had never been in a long-term relationship before.

No matter what he said, she would likely find fault with it. Gray tried to be as light and pleasant as possible while being honest.

"No, but I do have a brother living nearby. He's married with four children. I enjoy my visits with them."

Brittany's eyes narrowed slightly and she continued her line of questioning. "What are their names? What are they like? Have they met my mother yet?"

"Not all of them live in New York so the only ones who have met Mandy are my brother Aaron, his wife, and their daughter. My nephews are busy with school and their careers. One is a professional baseball player, another is studying to become a rocket scientist, and the third is in culinary school," Gray told her.

He was hesitant about giving names. Most people in New York City knew who Aaron and Keeley Hale were even if they didn't know of their children. If Brittany knew he was Aaron Hale's brother, she would know about his alias and how he had been arrested for murder.

Brittany wasn't about to let this go. "Their names?" she prompted.

Gray sighed. The cat was going to be out of the bag eventually anyway because she would surely meet Aaron and Keeley at the wedding but on the first meeting? His luck was terrible.

"Violet, Kaleb, Oliver, and Nathan."

Thankfully, she didn't seem to recognize the names. He was safe. For now. Mandy seemed to recognize he was in distress and finally found a break in Eli's monologue about his trucks to jump in and help without cutting the little boy off.

She looked up at Brittany with an unperturbed smile. "The ones I've met are lovely. Violet is a ballerina, can you believe it? I know how much you love ballet. Once she's out of physical therapy for her knee injury we should all go see one of her shows together."

The young woman softened at the mention of doing something she enjoyed with her mother, even if it did mean her fiancé had to tag along.

"If she's a ballerina I've probably seen her dance before." She turned to Gray and acknowledged him with less hostility this time. "I went to see Cinderella last fall. Which part did she dance?"

He was infinitely grateful that he had actually been at one of those performances and knew the answer. If she had asked him about any earlier shows, he would have been doomed. Maybe his luck wasn't so terrible after all.

"She was Cinderella," Gray said. "She danced wonderfully, didn't she? I saw one of the matinees on a Saturday. Violet is quite talented; I hope she recovers soon so she can get back to work."

The conversation flowed more easily after that until it was time for Eli to go down for his nap. Brittany beckoned her mother to come with her while Jason led him into the kitchen for some cookies.

Ah. So they were dividing and conquering. Gray was willing to bet that 'long conversation' would be happening as soon as the little boy was asleep. More than anything he wanted to be able to listen in.

He chatted pleasantly with Jason about his job as a criminal defense lawyer in a mid-sized firm in Brooklyn for about twenty minutes. Figuring Eli must be asleep by now, he excused himself to use the bathroom.

It wasn't far from the room where Brittany and Mandy were talking. He couldn't be gone long—Jason would be suspicious—but he had to hear at least a little of what they were saying.