Family Man

at the time. I had no real skills to market.”
    “You're saying my grandmother offered you a job as her personal assistant out of the kindness of her heart? I find that a little hard to believe. Justine Gilchrist has never been known for her charitable nature.”
    “Well, it's true.” Katy straightened determinedly. “And I've tried to repay her by being the best personal assistant she's ever had. Now, then, I'd like to get back to the matter at hand, if you don't mind.”
    “Save your breath. The answer is no.”
    “I don't think you entirely understand the situation,” Katy said crisply.
    “Sure I do. Gilchrist, Inc. is in trouble. My grandmother's health has been failing for the past couple of years. What is she now? Eighty-one? Eighty-two?”
    “Eighty-two,” Katy agreed stiffly.
    “She's been running her own private kingdom for years, and she's finally losing her grip. She's got trouble with at least two of the restaurants. Gilchrist Gourmet, her new line of frozen entrées, has not acquired the market share it needs to survive. Her upper management people are getting restless because there's no heir apparent to take her place. They're starting to worry about their own futures, and the best ones are jumping ship.”
    Katy swallowed uncomfortably. Everything he had said was true. It was all supposed to be secret, too. “You're very well informed.”
    “I make my living with information. I use it the way other people use oxygen.”
    “I see. Well, as you seem to be aware of the financial picture, I won't go into details. I would just like to point out that Gilchrist, Inc. is not simply another faceless corporation. It's a family business. Your family business. I should think you would feel some sense of loyalty.”
    Luke's smile was bleak. “Give me a break.”
    “All right, so you don't have any fondness for Justine.” Katy searched quickly for another angle. “You must feel some sense of responsibility toward your relatives, regardless of the problems that existed between your grandmother and your father.”
    “I don't.” Luke's black brows rose slightly. “Feel any sense of responsibility, that is.”
    “Good grief, how can you continue to be totally irrational about something that happened before you were even born? The disagreement was between your father and Justine, not you and her.”
    “It was a little more than a disagreement,” Luke said dryly. “My grandmother cut my father out of her will and insulted my mother to her face. Justine labeled me a bastard before I was born and made it clear she did not consider me an heir, let alone a real member of the family. Which is fine with me, by the way. I don't need her money or her floundering restaurant business.”
    “That much is obvious,” Katy said, struggling to keep a reasonable tone. “But that's not the point.”
    “My father didn't need her money, either,” Luke continued as if she hadn't spoken. “He started from scratch after Justine disowned him. Took over the management of a small restaurant in California that was in trouble. He put it back on its feet and then bought it from the owner. After that, there was no stopping him. At the time of his death he and I owned seven of the finest restaurants in California.”
    “Luke, your grandmother respects your father's accomplishments. She also respects what you've done. Now she and the rest of the family need you. Surely you can find it in your heart to help them. There are a lot of innocent people involved here. How can you turn your back on them?”
    “The same way my grandmother turned her back on my parents thirty-seven years ago.”
    Katy shut her eyes briefly and then lifted her lashes to give Luke a direct look. “No doubt about it. You're definitely Justine's grandson. That streak of pure bullheaded stubbornness obviously runs in the family just like eye color. Good heavens, I don't know why I'm even bothering to try to reason with you.”
    “You're bothering because Justine Gilchrist pays your salary, and when she says jump, you jump. How long do you intend to go on jumping through hoops for my grandmother, Katy?”
    Katy sighed. “You're the last hoop. I hope to be resigning from my position with Gilchrist, Inc. in the near future.”
    Luke's eyes narrowed. “Finally had enough of working for the old bitch?”
    “Do not ever again refer to your grandmother that way in my presence,” Katy snapped. She was out of patience with his insufferable rudeness.