Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Even though I’m not. I mean, not really. We haven’t actually—talked about anything. I think he feels the same way I do, but whenever we discuss our arrangement, it’s always in terms of the deal we set up in that contract and never about our emotions. He kisses me and looks at me like he can’t get enough and we sleep in the same bed and, yeah, we fuck like rabbits, he can’t keep his hands to himself—we’ve slept together every single spare second since we got back a week earlier—but that doesn’t mean he feels the way I do, at least not for sure.
God, I hate this second-guessing and uncertainty.
But it’s better than being in Florida and hating myself.
“Did I mention that Mother’s treatment is progressing?” He walks back to the house with me, arm in arm, and I’m looking forward to some air conditioning and a nice long shower (preferably with him).
“I saw her yesterday and she seemed pretty good. I like the new nurse, she’s nice.”
“Finn found her. Really decent person. Mother seems to approve, but she’s having a little trouble remembering her name and keeps calling her Eunika.”
“She’ll get it, don’t worry.”
“I know. Most of the mercury is out of her system and the doctors think she’ll be relatively stable now, but she won’t ever get back to her old self. She’ll have memory issues and emotional instability from here on out, but we can manage it.”
“You have help too, you know. The nurses, the staff. I can help, if you want.”
“She likes you.” He grins and stares at the back door of the house up ahead. “I know why.”
“Why, because I put up with her asshole son?”
“Pretty much.”
“Low standards, but that’s fair.”
“And she told me something else.” He hesitates when we reach the back door. I turn to him and we lean into the shade of a nearby awning. His hands move down my hips and a slight smile quirks his lips. “Hugh’s out as power of attorney. It’s officially me.”
“Kellen.” I get on my toes and kiss his cheek. “That’s really good news.”
“I thought it would feel like winning. But you know what? It just feels like being able to take care of my mother way she deserves.”
I nod and hug him tightly. The Kellen that first came home after his father died is so different from the Kellen today. I can feel him growing and changing, and all for the good. He’s expanding, finding himself, and my heart flutters at the thought of what he’ll be like in a year, two years, ten years’ time.
“What are you going to do with it?”
“Well, I’m not sure. Right now, I’m not going to do anything. Hugh’s locked out of the accounts and he doesn’t have access to any of our resources anymore. All he’s got is his position as CEO.”
“That can’t last forever, right?”
“Not if I kill him.”
The back door opens before I can reply. He glances over my shoulder and I follow his gaze. Finn walks out toward us, looking grim, and shades his eyes with a hand.
“I got some news,” he calls out.
“Did you find Hugh?” Kellen steps forward, his fingertips brushing along my hip.
“No, not that, but potentially better. I just got a call from Gotthard Thornton and Bob Ramon. They want to meet.”
Kellen’s eyebrows raise and he leans against the side of the house. He seems thoughtful as he strokes a hand through his hair and shakes his head. “Why now?” he asks.
“I don’t know, but I spoke with Thornton directly. He and Bob want to talk to you.”
“Who are they?” I ask, feeling out of the loop.
“The two most powerful members of the board,” Kellen says, distracted. “And we were just talking about those bastards. Why right now?”
“They must know Hugh’s on his way out,” Finn says. “Maybe they want to offer you the job?”
“That would all but ruin Hugh’s credibility. Anyone loyal to him still standing will come running to me.” Kellen pushes himself from the wall and nods. “Set the meeting for as soon as possible.”
“Thornton says he wants to meet today in a few hours at a neutral club downtown.”
“Then we’ll be there.” Kellen looks at me, and he seems half excited and half anxious, but that’s the mode he thrives in. “And if we get lucky, Hugh might show his rat face, and I can put a bullet in his skull.”
Chapter 30
Kellen
The meeting takes place at a quiet gentlemen’s club at the heart of the bustling business district. It’s not the sort of gentlemen’s club I’m used to, since that phrase isn’t a euphemism here—jackets are required, it smells like old smoke and spilled whiskey, and while women are admitted, they are allowed only in the company of a man and only if they stick to the dress code.