Total pages in book: 224
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
“That would be one of those bad decisions.”
“You sure about that?”
“Actually, no, I’m not in this case.” She turns and walks away as if giving me permission to punch my father and I wonder what he said to her before she made it to this door.
I turn and share a look with Gabe before I open the door and face off with my father. He arches a brow. “Done debriefing your woman?”
“What do you want?”
“Invite me in.”
“What do you want?” I repeat.
He turns and starts walking, playing a game that I’m not going to play. I shut the door. I’m not going after him. Gabe steps in front of me and arches a brow like dad did. “What just happened?”
“I’m not inviting him in.” I start walking to the kitchen.
“I’ll invite him in,” Gabe says, walking to the door.
He disappears outside and I find Carrie removing her coat and laying it on a barstool at the end of the island, her eyes on me. “You should have let him in,” she says. “We need to know what he knows.”
Blake rotates to face me. “Elijah’s presently talking to a reporter at a coffee shop near his house. I’d let your father in because I can tell you that the meeting is happening, but so far there is nothing in writing that tells me why.”
The door opens behind me and my father and Gabe walk in. I claim a spot at the island next to Carrie, my mind racing over that press meeting. Is that bastard going to out me as a cheat? I wouldn’t care if not for Carrie. My father walks toward us, a snide look on his face I want to smack off, but the press meeting has my attention.
“What do you know?” I demand as Gabe claims the spot next to me.
He eyes Blake. “Who are you?”
“Your worst nightmare if you try to screw anyone in this room,” he says. “But feel free to ignore me. I like it that way.”
My father studies him for several beats and then looks at me, dismissing Blake. “Elijah came to see me. He wanted me to help take you down, to regain my spot in the company. I declined.”
“Why tell me now when you didn’t tell us then?”
“Our banker called me,” he says.
Blake punches in a few keys on his MacBook. “Confirmed.”
Our father smirks and continues. “He heard murmurs that Elijah was going after you. From my read on Carrie downstairs, you’re already aware of this problem.”
“He confronted me today,” Carrie says. “He tried to turn me against Reid, but he can’t turn me against the man I love.”
“If that’s supposed to impress me,” my father says, “it doesn’t.” He looks at me. “She’s a weakness and not only does she know it, he knows it.”
My jaw clenches. “Don’t be a bigger prick than you already are.”
“My point is,” he says, “that the women in our lives, the loves of our lives, become targets we must manage.”
“What do you know about love?” I ask.
“I loved your mother,” he says. “And when I let that be known, I was attacked. I almost lost the company over your mother.”
My fingers curl in my palms and Carrie grabs my arm. Gabe presses his hands on the island endcap and says, “Get to the point and leave the insults to mom out of this.”
“The point,” he says, his gaze meeting mine, “is what are you thinking about tonight? Carrie or the company? If your answer is Carrie, he won. You’re distracted. You’re not looking for the ways he’s coming for you. You’re thinking about protecting her, not the company.”
I inhale and he smirks. “I’m right. He outsmarted you tonight. He won. Make sure he doesn’t continue to win.” He turns and walks toward the door.
The minute the door shuts, Carrie turns to face me. “Say the first thing that comes to your mind.”
I don’t say a word. I ignore Gabe and Blake, lace my fingers with hers and start walking toward Gabe’s office where we can be alone and I can tell her exactly what’s on my mind, which is not for anyone else’s ears but hers.
Chapter ninety-nine
Reid
Ipull Carrie into my brother’s home office and shut the door, pressing her against the hard surface, my legs framing her legs and I swear that sweet floral scent of her cuts through the edge of my anger. I want to drink her in, I want to be drugged by all that she is, and all that I love about this woman. My hands come down on her face as I slant my mouth over hers and kiss the hell out of her, making damn sure she knows that’s my answer. This kiss, and how much I love her, is the first thing I thought of when my father left. A kiss that is meant to tell her that I won’t lose her, I won’t let her go, and my father can go fuck himself.