The lost triplets

chapter 79

The city skyline glowed in the distance.
Lorenzo’s office on the top floor looked out across the city.  His desk, however, was anything but orderly. Stacks of contracts, reports, and a cup of coffee half drank cluttered the otherwise perfect space.
When he received a call that his youngest brother was ill,  he dropped everything for him and had gone to the school straight away.

Be couldn't neglect his work though, so he brought James back with him. He made sure to send a employee out to fetch a comfy blanket and made sure that was waiting in his office when they returned.
He knew James wouldn't take it so he wrapped James up in the blanket.
"I'm fine really sir' James said but he was secretly enjoying being taken care of.

"Shush let me do this for you" Lorenzo said.
"Okay sir" James whispered as he got comfortable.

Lorenzo didn't correct him. He knew it would take time. He didn't like being called sir and he knew James knew that so there was no need to make him feel bad when he was already sick.
"Have you eaten" Lorenzo asked 
James shook his head.
"Do you think you can stomach some food right now. If not it's okay" Lorenzo knew forcing James to eat wouldn't end well.

"I don't think so, I'm sorry so"

"It's okay but you must tell me once you become hungry. I will have to leave for meetings soon if you become hungry you can ask my assistant " Lorenzo explained. 

Once he was satisfied with James being comfortable and okay on his own, he left for the meetings.

Later that afternoon James sat cross-legged in the leather chair opposite Lorenzo who was completing reports.  The  blanket was draped around him.

His schoolbag was slouched at his feet, forgotten. Instead, his wide eyes followed the columns of numbers streaming across Lorenzo’s screen as if they held an important discovery.

“You really read all of that?” James asked, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. His eyes filled with wonder.  He was fascinated by Lorenzo’s work

Lorenzo smirked, his tie loosened from hours of work. “Every line. Every number. If I don’t, mistakes slip through. And mistakes cost people their jobs.” His voice carried that clipped efficiency he used in boardrooms, but with James, it softened. He rarely showed emotion at work but he would make an exception for his siblings.

“That’s  intense,” James said, and then after a pause  “Can you teach me?” He wanted to learn as much as he could. He never had the chance until now.

Lorenzo glanced at him, “Teach you?” No one had ever asked him that. And for James to ask him, he was proud of James to ask for something he wanted. However he was a little hesitant, he didn't want James to fear him. And he knew how intense he could be.

“Yeah. I mean, not all of it,” James stammered hoping he hadn't made the mistake of becoming too comfortable around Lorenzo.  “But the basics. Like, how do you even know if a company’s doing good or bad just by looking at numbers?”

For the first time in hours, Lorenzo leaned back in his chair, considering. No board member had ever asked him with such curiosity. No analyst had looked at spreadsheets with that kind of wonder. He studied his little brother, restless, far too sharp to be dismissed with vague reassurances. He had seen horrors no one should ever had to see and yet he was still curious,  still wanting to learn. 

And with that in mind, Lorenzo made a decision

If that's what James wanted, then that's what James would get

“Alright,” Lorenzo said finally, pulling a legal pad closer. “Let’s start simple. Revenue is the money flowing in.  Expenses are everything you spend to keep it running.  what’s left over is profits. If its a good amount then the business is able to run smoothly”