Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 132097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Not that Ethan will listen to me, but maybe he’ll listen to his sister, or even Mom.
Someone has to convince him to slow down, to breathe, to think about how he really wants to solve this.
“Oh, good,” I hear Margot say from the front seat, and when I glance up at her, she’s smiling.
“Good? What’s good about any of this?” I ask.
“Cooper’s a total manwhore,” Margot says.
“Um, how is that good?”
“Blackmail. If he makes one wrong move, his marriage goes poof.” She snaps her fingers sharply.
“Is that even legal? And hasn’t it been a while since this went down?” I say cautiously. “Maybe Luna already knows.”
“Doubtful,” Mom says as she changes lanes. “At yoga, she always talks about how amazing he is. It’s one of the reasons no one had the heart to tell her. She worships the ground he walks on.”
Sad.
“Even better, Julia.” Margot’s smile turns positively wicked. “The farther he has to fall, the harder he’ll fight to make sure she keeps him on that pedestal. I bet he’d do a lot to make sure it doesn’t come out. And after we get through this, if someone just happens to slip Mrs. Daley a little note, welllll…”
Mom laughs. Even I crack a smile.
Have I mentioned my bestie is criminally minded?
That’s why we love her.
“You really think it’s enough to throw him off this huge land deal, though?” I ask.
“What do you think is more important? Some big dumb greedy lawsuit or his marriage?” Margot clicks her tongue. “Trust me. This should work.”
Ethan isn’t my problem to solve, but there’s no doubt in my mind that this is exactly what Jane Austen would do.
The right thing.
I grip the seat with both hands, leaning forward. “Can this thing go any faster? We have like twenty minutes tops to unload a thousand pounds of books if we want to be there in time.”
26
ALL MY FURY (ETHAN)
Idrum my fingers against the sticky table, my coffee cooling rapidly.
It’s more like espresso tar by now. A hole in the head would be better for my system right now than more caffeine, so I have no regrets.
Coffee just gives me an excuse to sit here.
Staring at Cooper.
Who stares right back at me with that blinding white smile I want to break.
The minute he walked in, I knew he’d pull the innocent act. Pretend it’s nothing personal, all for the best, standard operating procedure—after all, I agreed to it, didn’t I?
I expected to be Blackthorn’s CEO and the only man he’d deal with.
Rage gnarls like overgrown branches, screaming to be released, but I remain solid ice.
Margot would be proud of my self-control.
Hattie, too, if I hadn’t—
Damn.
The thought of her kicks like a mule. I almost swallow my espresso mud just to ease the tension.
Cooper rubs his jaw, lightly stubbled today. He’s trying to go for the slightly rugged look lately, but he’s too polished to pull it off with his baby face. Too well presented. I can tell he’s shaved his scruff down to the exact gravelly dusting he wants.
Nothing rugged about that.
Nothing real about this smarmy little rat-fuck.
So if he wants to look cut up about the predicament we’re in and how he’s so fucking sorry he put me here, he’ll have to try a lot harder.
I inhale sharply.
No way I’m giving up without a fight and letting him walk all over me, but for Blackthorn Holdings, I need a solution that doesn’t involve dragging the company through a complicated legal trap I was stupid enough to walk into.
First, we’ll see if I can reason.
We’ll try to resolve this like men, even if I know I’m looking at a cheating rattlesnake.
“Let’s cut to it. No bullshit,” I venture.
“Blackthorn, please. I’d never bullshit you on my life.” He laughs bitterly, like the very thought is preposterous.
Like he didn’t stuff that insane clause in the resort contract deliberately for me to stumble over.
“I never resigned from Blackthorn Holdings,” I tell him. “You know that. And insisting that I’m the sole executive officer you’ll ever deal with, that’s bizarre and unreasonable. Anyone would agree.”
“Bizarre? Is it now?” He raises both eyebrows.
“Obviously. No business deal should blow up over a personality contest. I thought this was a partnership? Daley Ventures and Blackthorn Holdings?”
“And I partnered with a man I thought would share Leonidas’ drive and vision by virtue of being his grandson. Hardly an unreasonable assumption, even if it’s a smidge unorthodox. No stand-in replaces talent. Just ask any great musician, actor, artist.”
My glare sharpens. “Do I look like goddamned Picasso to you?”
He barks laughter.
Obnoxious as hell.
Deep fucking breath. Again.
I grit my teeth.
I can’t lose it and toss my espresso in his face, however satisfying it might be.
“I thought you’d be straight with me,” I say as calmly as I can.
“I am, Blackthorn.”
“Then why are you clinging to this petty stipulation? You knew it wasn’t reasonable from day one. Almost like you expected something to happen.”