Family Man

you always start with the stick.”
    “This is my brother we're talking about. I've been raising him by myself since he was eight years old, and I don't need any help from you.”
    “Simmer down, Katy. Your little brother is on the verge of becoming a full-grown man. He's going through some tough times right now.”
    “I'm well aware of the problems of peer group pressure and the desire to be independent that young men face at this age. Liz gave me a book to read on the subject.”
    “Sometimes books overcomplicate matters. Seventeen-year-old boys need things real simple and straightforward. I just made things easy for your brother.”
    “Easy?” Katy nearly choked on her fury. “How can you say you made them easy?”
    “Put yourself in his place. How can he look his friends in the eye and admit he has to be home by ten because his sister says so? He'll sound like a wimp. No way he can avoid it. Much easier to tell them that the bastard his sister works for will get his ass fired if he doesn't get in on time. The guys will respect that.”
    Katy sank back down into her chair. Luke had a point. “This male thing is very difficult at times.”
    “Only because you're a female trying to figure it out.”
    “All the same, you shouldn't have interfered. It was none of your business.”
    “Everything around here is my business,” Luke said. “If you don't like it, that's too bad. You're the one who brought me here to the bosom of my family, remember?”
    “How was I to know you'd act like this?”
    “You should have guessed from all of the signs and rumors that I wasn't going to be Mr. Nice Guy.” Luke put his coffee cup down on the counter and glanced at his watch.
    Katy gave him a fulminating look. “You shouldn't have handled it that way.”
    “What way?”
    “Making it sound as though you had the power to make the owner of that fast food franchise repay a business favor.”
    Luke shrugged, showing no particular concern. “I do have the power to do it.”
    Katy gritted her teeth. “Don't you understand? It sets a very poor example.”
    Luke looked surprised. “A poor example of what?”
    “Of proper business ethics and procedures,” Katy snapped, totally out of patience. “I don't want Matt to think such methods of getting your own way are acceptable or appropriate.”
    Luke poured himself a second cup of coffee. “They work. That's the bottom line in the business world. I'm surprised you've been able to work for Gilchrist, Inc. for this long without figuring that out.”
    “I'm well aware that some people are willing to stoop to such methods,” Katy said, “but I will not have Matt exposed to the notion that they are the right methods.”
    “Matt needed a face-saving way of telling the guys he has to be in by ten. I gave it to him. That's all there is to it. Do you always get things this twisted up?”
    “I'm not twisting them up. I'm trying to explain something very important to you.”
    “Right.” He glanced at his watch. “Unfortunately, I've got to get going. I'm afraid we'll have to finish this fascinating discussion on modern business ethics some other time.”
    Katy sighed. “It's obvious you haven't had the responsibility of raising a teenager. I suppose you meant well.”
    “Don't be too sure of that. Meaning well is not one of my top priorities in life.”
    “Why did you get involved, then?” she demanded.
    “For the sake of efficiency. Like I told your brother, I need your full attention in the office. I don't want you worrying about your family problems.”
    Katy tapped her irritation out against the edge of the cereal bowl with her spoon. “I've been worrying about my brother and managing to do my job at the same time for a long time now. It's not nearly as distracting as worrying about your family.”
    “Yeah, well, the job has suffered. Gilchrist, Inc. is in a hell of a mess.”
    Katy flushed furiously. “That's not my fault, damn it. I've been trying my best. Once your grandmother started letting go of the reins there was nothing anyone could do. Besides, I'm a personal assistant. My job was to coordinate things for her, not run her company.”
    “Uh-huh.” Luke didn't sound convinced.
    Katy bit her lip. “Are you saying things are in worse shape than I realized, or are you just being deliberately obtuse?”
    “I'm saying we've got some real problems.” Luke leaned down to stroke Zeke. “I'll know more about them when I get back from Seattle.”
    Katy