Richard gave his brother a wry look. “Frankly, I don’t remember you ever sitting still long enough to play board games.”
“There were a few rainy days when Destiny wouldn’t let me outside to play football,” Mack said. “You always whipped my butt, which did not bode well for my future at Carlton Industries. I may not be the business whiz you are, but even I could read the handwriting on that wall.”
Richard regarded him with surprise. “You steered clear of the company because I beat you at Monopoly?”
“No, I steered clear because you love it and I don’t, the same way Destiny left it behind for our father. This business ought to be run by someone who lives and breathes it. You do. Ben and I don’t. Simple as that.”
“Okay, if you’re not here to stake a belated claim on a corner office, why are you here?”
“To do a postmortem on last night, of course,” Mack said with a broad grin. “How are things going for you and your new campaign advisor? I’ll bet that was a twist you never expected when you set up that dinner at Destiny’s last night.”
“I am not up for that conversation at this hour of the morning,” Richard said, unwilling to admit how deftly he’d been maneuvered into making that decision. “I’ll see Melanie later, establish some ground rules and we’ll be okay.”
“Will that be before or after you ask her out on another fake date?” Mack wondered aloud. “Or has the grand charade been scrapped?”
Richard’s gaze narrowed. “Did Destiny put you up to coming in here this morning just to harangue me?”
“Nope. I’m here on my own,” Mack insisted. “I haven’t had this much entertainment in weeks, not since some of the guys and I stopped watching The Young and the Restless during lunch in my office. Your plot’s better, by the way. I can hardly wait to see how it turns out.”
Richard groaned. “Keep it up, Mack. You’re walking on thin ice.”
Mack grinned, evidently undaunted by Richard’s increasingly sour mood. “I liked her,” he said. “In case you’re interested.”
“What’s not to like?” Richard conceded. “Melanie’s attractive, bright. And she has a good sense of humor. She must if she’s willing to put up with all this craziness.”
“Plus she’s kind to old ladies,” Mack said with a straight face.
Richard chuckled in spite of himself. “I’d like to be around when you suggest to Destiny that she’s old.”
Mack winced. “A slip of the tongue, I assure you. Destiny is ageless.”
“She is, isn’t she?” Richard said with some regret. “Otherwise I could pretend that this is all about senility and ignore her.”
“I think we can agree that our aunt is crazy like a fox.” Mack’s expression sobered. “Maybe you should pay attention to her, Richard. Seems to me you could do a whole lot worse than having Melanie in your life in whatever capacity turns out to fit best.”
“Have you forgotten? She is in my life,” Richard said, barely containing a sigh. “I’m having them clear out a little office right down the hall so she’ll have a base right here in the building. With any luck, she’ll never use it.”
“Not what I meant, and you know it.”
“Give it up, Mack. I have enough to contend with having Destiny sneaking around behind my back meddling. Don’t you get any ideas.”
“Hey, bro, I’m right out in the open.” Mack’s expression turned serious. “Listen to me. I think you’re making a mistake if you don’t give the woman a chance instead of playing games just to pacify Destiny. Go out on a real date with Melanie. Get to know her. Let your defenses down for once in your stodgy life.”
“Now I’m stodgy?”
“You’ve always been stodgy. It’s the natural byproduct of deciding you had to be mature and responsible at the age of twelve, after Dad and Mom died. Thank God, Ben and I had you. Otherwise, we might have matured before our times as well.”
“Whatever,” Richard said, tired of the discussion. It was hitting uncomfortably close to the truth. Even with Destiny on the scene back then, he’d felt like he had to take charge, manage things to keep them from spinning any further out of control. One minute he’d been a normal kid, the next he’d been twelve-going-on-thirty.
“Of course,” Mack said a little too casually, “if you’re really not interested in anything personal with Melanie, I might be.”
That damn vein in Richard’s head started throbbing again. He wondered if it was a precursor to the stroke he was likely to have before all of this insanity ended. “Stay away from her,” he said tightly. “No matter what I do or don’t do, you stay the hell away from her.”
Mack stood up, looking exceptionally pleased with himself. “Thought so,” he gloated.
Richard glowered at him. “What does that mean?”
“You’re the one with the agile mind,” Mack said. “Think about it.”
He sauntered out of the office whistling, leaving Richard to wrestle with the riddle his brother had left behind. Not that the answer was all that difficult to unravel. He just didn’t want to see it.
Melanie passed Mack in the hallway as she was heading for Richard’s office. He greeted her with a knowing grin she couldn’t quite interpret.
“Good morning,” she said cautiously. “Have you seen Richard?”
“In his office,” Mack said. “You might want to give him a couple of minutes before you go in there.”
“Is he in a meeting?”
“Nope, just wrestling with his inner demons,” Mack said, a note of satisfaction in his voice.
“What just happened in there, or dare I ask?” she asked, wondering if Mack took as much pleasure in stirring up Richard as he did in rattling Destiny.
“You won’t hear it from me,” Mack said. “Brotherly loyalty and all that.” His expression sobered. “But, Melanie, try to remember something—Richard is one of the good guys.”
“I know that.”
“Don’t lose sight of it, no matter what happens, no matter how crazy things get around here, no matter what shenanigans Destiny is up to,” he said urgently. “Richard presents this secure facade to the world, but he needs someone in his life who can see past his rock-solid wall of defenses.”
“I’m helping him with his campaign,” Melanie pointed out. “I’m not here for any other reason, despite what he may have told you.”
Mack grinned. “The charade thing. Yeah, I know about that. Funny thing about charades. If you really throw yourself into one, the line between truth and fantasy starts to blur.”
“Not for me,” Melanie said confidently.
“Lucky you.” He regarded her seriously. “Or maybe not.”
Before she could ask what he meant by that, he was gone, whistling that chipper tune again. Apparently Mack was going to prove to be as annoyingly enigmatic as the rest of the Carltons.
Sighing, she continued on to Richard’s office, rapped on the door, then stuck her head inside. “Okay to come in? Your secretary’s not in yet.”
Richard gave her a sour look. “She’s not in because I’m not usually bombarded by visitors at this hour.”
Melanie refused to be daunted by his mood. “I ran into Mack in the hall. Did you two have words?”
“Mack and I never have words,” Richard said.