Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
“Or we could apologize and start over,” Garrett offered.
That wasn’t the way Keane would go. She needed time to settle her head around the fact that her one-night stand had turned into weeks together. “If you finish up with Garrett early, he knows how to work a ranch.”
Garrett sat back, obviously defeated. “I do.”
“We’re going to take off,” Sherri announced. “Once we’re in the air, I’ll bring out some snacks.”
Olivia nodded her way. “Thank you.” She turned her attention back to them. “We’ll get through it and go our separate ways.”
Keane sat back as the plane began to roll. He took a long drink of that beer. He was going to need it.
* * * *
Garrett sipped the excellent Scotch and looked at the woman he had insulted in a pretty fucking vile way.
Olivia Barnes-Fleetwood had a laptop open and was scrolling through something. Maybe social media. He could see the post now.
Olivia Barnes-Fleetwood is…suffering through a flight with her much regretted one-night stands.
He had to find a way to fix this. Keane would be no help. He was just trying to survive the damn flight. His best friend wasn’t made for flight. He liked his boots planted firmly on the ground. He knew Keane would have rather rented a car and made their own way.
The cold front Olivia was putting up was making him a little crazy. He would rather have her argue with them.
“I thought your parents were flying back with us,” he said.
Olivia’s eyes came up. “They are going to spend some time at The Club. They’re trying to avoid the contractors and the dust.”
“But then who deals with…” He almost had the whole sentence out when he realized he was fucking up again. “Sorry. They left you to deal with them.”
She shrugged. “That’s what happens when you are known for making grown men cry. Don’t worry. They won’t stay gone long. You’ll get the chance to kiss my dad’s ass.”
“That was rude.”
She shrugged again. It seemed to be her go-to move when it came to him. “I tend to give back the same energy I get, Counselor.”
He needed to show her he could be professional. “Why don’t we talk about what we’re going to work on while we’re at the ranch? What are your expectations? I would like to look through some of the standard contracts. I know they were written by Finn Taylor, but even he thinks we need to discuss updating them.”
“And my Uncle Lucas,” she corrected.
Yeah, he had questions. “So Aidan is your brother-in-law, but you call Lucas your uncle?”
The smile on her face was more like a smirk. He missed the open smile she’d given him the night before, but he understood the need to build walls. “Lucas is my dad’s brother. He married my mom’s daughter, who is also my dad’s stepdaughter. It’s a winding tree.”
Keane sat up straighter. “What? Your uncle married your sister?”
“Lucas is actually my dad’s half-brother. Lexi is my half-sister. There’s zero blood between Lucas and Lexi. They didn’t grow up together. Lucas grew up in a wealthy political family and Lexi grew up with a nice stepdad, since her father died before she was born and his family ran my mother out of town. Fun times, but no real DNA problems.”
Keane went a bit green. “Uh, is there a bathroom on this plane?”
Olivia’s eyes showed a hint of concern, and she pointed to the back. “It’s there on the right-hand side. You can’t miss it. Can I get something for you?”
Keane ran for the bathroom.
“He’s not used to flying.” Garrett took another sip and then decided to be bold. The plane was laid out like a living room with two spaces. Olivia was sitting on one of the larger seats. It looked built for two. So he picked up his drink and moved to her side. “He’ll be okay. He doesn’t have much to get rid of. We planned to order this insanely huge breakfast but then you were gone and neither of us felt much like eating. Which for me is good because this Scotch is hitting hard.”
A brow rose over her gorgeous eyes. “Good for you. Why do you think I fucked up the Gladen Farms account? Because I know he’s not following the collective’s protocols. Not in any way. I took pictures.”
“Which he will claim are doctored.” At least they were talking.
“I can hire someone to prove they’re not,” she returned. “We have an investigative firm on retainer. Ruby is one of the best hackers working. She can prove it.”
“But that will take time and money—the two things your fathers hired me to take care of. If you had waited and talked to legal, we would have told you to let us send someone in. We could have built a case over the course of a few months. Maybe less since it seems he was bad at hiding it. We could have collected statements and evidence that would make severing ties to Gladen easy. We could have avoided the lawsuit he has to file now or he not only loses his reputation, but a lot of money.”