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)
“I know enough,” he says.
“Enough to do business with me?” I ask, taking an opportunity where I find it.
His lips quirk. “I didn’t say that.”
“You should do business with me.”
“Yes, you should,” Reid says, crossing the patio to reclaim his seat. “Why aren’t we eating?”
“Why indeed?” Grayson asks, picking up his fork he’d abandoned, as had I, during our talk. “We should eat and enjoy the company.”
“Everything okay?” I ask of Reid’s call.
“All is well,” he says, and there is a hint of warmth in his eyes at my question, an intimacy between us that I no longer try to hide from Grayson. He knows we’re together. I’ll own it. We will own it.
We all dig into our food and the mood shifts. Grayson seems to settle into our company and conversation, these two powerful, handsome, confident, and yes, arrogant, men talking stocks and the financial market, which isn’t my cup of tea, but they make it interesting. They make me want to know more. These two savvy minds often collide in debate, and in the process, both men intrigue me. The topics vary only slightly, but they stay focused on financial gains, and I use this time to try to size up Grayson who is thoughtful in his communication rather than dogmatic, asking questions, listening. I have a sense that there is a cunning hardness beneath his surface, but he tames it, using it when and how he sees fit while Reid remains himself: direct, hard, cautious, but informative. I like this about Reid.
Much later, we’ve finished our meal, and have moved to a circular lounge area around the fire, our glasses graciously refilled by Leslie, and the conversation remains casual. Grayson actually tells us the history of the mansion, which he inherited from his father, right along with the law firm his father founded ten years ago. “And your mother?” I ask. “Was she involved in the firm?”
“No,” he says. “She was a teacher, and an angel on earth gone too soon. She left me five years before my father.”
Left him.
I cling to those words that feel more like they belong to my story, as my mother did, in fact, leave, thinking they tell a story that helps me work with him. I’m about to dig for more information, but he’s now refocused on Reid. “How’s your father? He had a stroke a while back, correct?”
Reid’s expression is implacable, but I can feel the shift in his mood, the tension radiating off of him. “He did,” Reid confirms, “and he’s no less a bastard now than he was before if that’s what you’re asking.”
“It does take a real bastard to work with Jean Claude,” Grayson replies dryly.
“Are you referencing me or my father?” Reid asks.
“You raided right along with them,” Grayson reminds him, apparently unwilling to let go of the Jean Claude situation.
“I trained beneath my father,” Reid says, and as if he heard my earlier conversation with Grayson, he adds, “I cultivated my own self and I get it. He hits all the wrong nerves with you, but I’m not him.”
“He breaks people.”
“He makes money,” Reid says.
“He made you a lot of money.”
“And now,” Reid says, “thanks to that money, I have the ability to make cautious, thoughtful choices about what I do and with who.”
“And Carrie is one of those choices?”
“Yes,” Reid says, his voice absolute. “She is. The board wanted her father out. They wanted her to stay long enough for me to sell the business for fast, big money. I even had an offer on the table, but then I met Carrie and I knew we could do better and she most certainly deserved better. If we can hit certain goals, she’ll take over the controlling interest that was once her father’s. Carrie is a worthy investment for us both. And I might not be Jean Claude, but I have enough of him left in me not to make a decision based on who I’m fucking.”
“Just who you can fuck?” Grayson challenges. “Because Elijah has plenty to say about that. He wants you out and her in, now.” He looks at me. “What do you think about Elijah’s claims?”
This question hits a nerve or really two. Reid hasn’t told me what he knows about my father and he shut me down over Elijah and it must show on my face. “You don’t know about Elijah’s claims,” Grayson assumes.
“Elijah came to me and tried to take down Reid,” I say quickly. “He was unethical and unprofessional, driven by personal vendettas that he’ll use to destroy Reid and my company with him, and he won’t care. He just wants revenge.”
“Revenge for what?” he presses.
“A problem of his own creation,” Reid states.
“Does it matter?” I add. “He’s after the wrong thing and he doesn’t care who it hurts. And you just keep hitting Reid over and over. Why did you even meet with us?”