Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
He kisses my forehead and steps back. “You don’t have to say anything at all, baby. I’m going to give you time, but I’m serious about buying the stock. If what you want is to continue to be the head of Ross Construction, I won’t allow them to hold their votes over your head every single year. I can take out a short-term loan, and then we’ll get this place ready to sell. We should get more than enough out of it to pay for the stock and get me an apartment in your building.”
“Or we could buy something new.” I know why he said it. I’m acting skittish, but I don’t want to. I want to be brave. Right now living together is as brave as I can be. “Something a little bigger. Maybe closer to the office.”
He draws me close. “It’ll be fun to look. Now let’s eat these beautiful croissants and then go talk to Ivy. It’s helpful to have a hacker friend who doesn’t have any real fear of prison.”
“Oh, that’s because she knows CeCe would just, like, buy the court and get her out,” I assure him. “See, it’s also nice to have an oligarch on our side.”
He chuckles and then sobers. His hand smooths back my hair. “I love you, Harper.”
I stare at him for a moment and then wrap my arms around him. “I love you, too.”
“We will get through this, and so will my brother,” Reid vows, holding me close.
I have to pray he’s right.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“I don’t know,” Anika says a few days later. “I think pretty much any press is good press. Right? That’s what they say.”
We’re standing in the ballroom at the close-of-day filming. Patrick is helping Tom get good shots of all the changes Reid and Jeremiah have made, putting the finishing touches on what is now a grand salon that connects all three brownstones.
“I hate the fuckers,” Luca says. “I want to know when we can get rid of them. Has Ivy found anything?”
Anika and Luca got back yesterday, and while they’re completely pleased with how the work is going, they don’t appreciate the photographers who’ve taken to hanging around.
“The last I heard she thinks it’s got something to do with a fashion line Britta started a year ago,” I explain. “I’ve been keeping her fueled with tacos and coffee.”
Reid grins as he sets down the stack of coffee table books on the big, gorgeous table that looks like he time traveled back to Versailles to get. This whole space has a palatial feel to it, but the individual homes themselves are much more modern and functional. There’s one with a Northern European style. One that’s mid-century modern, but with all the luxury touches that make it comfortable. And one that’s sleek and ready for a gamer, weirdly enough. Like there’s a massive game room, and the Internet connection is platinum. “Ivy is treating this like a CIA op. I worry they’ll recruit her. I don’t want to lose her. I now know who to go to when I want to destroy my enemies via laptop.”
“He can’t do it himself though,” I say to Ani. “He’s not actually very good with one.”
He shrugs and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “I find your sisters endlessly useful. One is a queen and the other is the queen of the Internet.” He looks to Anika and Luca, sobering. “Though I am sorry for the mess. I promise we’re going to figure this out before Britta’s interview.”
She called the night of her power play to inform Reid that she had an interview with a major entertainment news outlet set for next week, and it would air sometime soon after.
Luca frowns, arms crossing over his chest. “She’s truly doing this interview where she’s going to tell the world she’s pregnant and you’ve left her?”
Reid sighs, and I know how weary he is of this. “That’s her plan. She sent me the instructions on where the interview is taking place. If I join her, she’ll announce our engagement and life goes on. If I don’t, she’s going to trash my reputation. I should have been smart enough to tape her.”
I might have mentioned that a couple of times. “It doesn’t matter. We’re ready for the storm. I’m sorry it might upset production. I honestly think the guys outside right now are being paid by Britta herself. I worry what happens when the actual interview comes out. For you, though. Not for me. I’ve been practicing my sarcastic comebacks.”
Reid laughs. “She has. Every morning. She runs them by Aggie, and they select the best zingers.”
Luca’s head shakes. “You seem oddly calm about this.”
“I’m willing to deal with the fallout,” Reid admits. “But I am worried about my brother. Jeremiah is a part of this, too, and since I announced I’m staying here in New York with Harper, he’s been supportive but quiet.”