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“Your idea was fresh, innovative, and helped us find a new path. I’ll be forever grateful. I was too pissed to look at it objectively. We all were.”“So, you’re not selling?”“Nope. Next week I’ll put my team on it, and when I meet with Greg, tell him to reject the offer.”“Will he be pissed?”I laughed. “No. He gets paid no matter what I do. He has no vested interest in the land, either way, so he won’t care. He’ll send me a sizable bill for his time, and we’ll move onto the next project.”Her fingers smoothed over the edge of the cushion. “Why isn’t he a part of your crowd?”“My crowd?”“Your business. You have Aiden and Maddox. I’m surprised he isn’t part of the company. You must need a lot of legal advice.”“We have a legal consultant in the company. Greg had always been a lone wolf—never wanted to be a partner in any company, even right out of school. He went at it alone and earned his reputation. He has never expressed any desire to be anything other than what he is, and the one
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I glanced through the papers Greg handed me, noting two things: the numbered company and the offer. Surprisingly, it was near market value, but considering how long I had held onto it, and my new plans, I wasn’t interested.I shook my head. “No.”“You want to counter?”“No, I’ve decided not to sell, no matter the offer.”He paused, tapping his pen on the desk, his words measured. “To this company or in general?”“It’s not for sale to anyone.”Greg stared at me, the office filled with stony silence. “What are you playing at, Bentley?” he finally asked.“Playing at? Nothing. I’ve decided not to sell the land. I’m going to develop it with a new plan in mind.”“And what plan is that?” He threw his pen on top of the papers.“A new concept.”His fingers drummed on the desk. “That’s not what you said when you left here last week. You were done with this project. You were damned vocal about it. I could hear you cursing in the elevator.”I shrugged. “Things changed. I calmed down. We regrouped
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“Talking. Right.”He brushed past me, shaking his head. “Leave it alone.”In the elevator, I met his suddenly vulnerable eyes. “It’s fruitless to resist, Aiden. Those girls are headstrong. She’s been interested since the day in the boutique. Before even.”“I’m not in the market for what she is looking for.”“You mean a relationship?”“Yes.”“Neither was I. Emmy proved me wrong.” I stopped him before he exited the elevator, my voice low and serious. “She’s a great girl. You like her; she likes you. I think she’d be good for you. Don’t cut yourself off again. What do you have to lose?”“You know the answer to that.”“Give it a chance. You deserve to be happy.”“No, I don’t deserve anything of the sort.” With those words, he hurried past me.I watched his retreating figure with sadness. He did deserve it. I wasn’t sure how I could make him see it, yet I knew I had to try.* * *I arrived home late, and Andrew met me at the elevator.“Sir.”“Andrew—how was your day?”“Excellent. Miss Harr
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“I would have to pay my way.” She lifted her chin. “Otherwise the discussion is closed.”I knew arguing with her was a waste of time. She was stubborn and proud, and scared to depend on anyone. I wanted her to depend on me, though. I wanted to prove to her she could depend on me and I wouldn’t let her down.“The house is paid for, and all the bills are done through my company.” I fibbed a little. “Perhaps we could do an exchange. Like you have with Al.”“You want four dozen scones a day?”I chuckled. “No, but I love your cooking and baking. It would give Andrew a break, as well. I’ve been thinking I needed to get him some help.”She pursed her lips. I lifted her hand to my mouth.“Emmy, I don’t want to take away your independence. I’m not going to stop you living your life. I only want to share it with you. Have you be part of mine. I admit, having you live with me would ease my mind. I want to take care of you. I’ve never felt that with another person. We can work out all the details
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“Not a lot, but there was some sort of altercation. Her messenger bag was in the back seat, and the contents dumped out.”I felt sick. I had watched her walk out the door to danger. My phone had rung, so she kissed me, and hurried outside, anxious to be on her way. I heard her call to Frank to stay in the car; she could open her own door. Except it hadn’t been Frank. By the time I followed, wanting to tell her she would be brilliant today, they were gone, and I had no idea what I had allowed to happen.I had let her walk right into their trap.I shook my head, trying to clear it. “Frank—is he okay?”“He has a bad concussion. They found him in the stairwell—he was knocked out before he ever reached the car. He didn’t see who hit him.”The air in the room became too hot, too close. I tugged on my tie, struggling to drag in oxygen.“Why?” I choked out.“You know why.”“They got the land. They got what they wanted!” I swung around facing Aiden. “We did all of this as a precaution. Only a
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Aiden stood, stiff and furious. “Nothing. Bentley is casting blame, the way he always does.”“Fuck you,” I snarled.He glared. “You usually do.”Maddox flung out his arms. “Knock it off! There is no blame here! Someone did this to get at Bentley—to get at us! Fighting is only going to make it worse.” He turned to me. “You know this isn’t Aiden’s fault. We all agreed on how to handle watching her. None of us could have predicted they’d be so desperate they’d actually take her or how they would take her!”Aiden and I stared at each other, neither of us giving an inch.“The girls are here,” Maddox informed us. “Can we try to be civil and concentrate on what is important? They’re already upset enough.”My anger left me as fast as it had hit. Maddox was right. This wasn’t the time to be fighting. We had to work together.“You’re right.”Aiden pushed off the desk with a huff. “Well, at least you agree with one of us.”“Aiden—”He held up his hand. “You said enough, Bentley. I get it.” Grabb
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The camera zoomed out, and she dropped her head, her posture defeated.Aiden rolled his hand indicating I should talk. “Why is she bruised?” I spat.“She’s a feisty thing. We had to convince her to cooperate.”“Touch her again, and you’ll be sorry.”The snicker I heard made shivers run down my neck.“What do you want?”“You know what we want.”“A fucking piece of land? You’re going to jail over a fucking piece of real estate?”The voice scoffed. “No one is going to jail. You’re going to give up the land, and you’re going to drop the new development plan of yours. Move on and forget any of this ever happened.”“And if I don’t?”“You will. And you won’t try to do anything once the transaction is complete. We got to her once, and we can do it again. We can get to everyone you care about.”His threat made my hands grip tighter, rending the material completely, and caused my anger to burn brighter. I wanted to reach through the screen and rip the head off the person with the disjointed voi
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“Bentley, you need to understand something. Even though she shows a different façade to the world, Emmy, in many ways, is more controlled than you are. People think she is carefree, humorous, and even flighty. She rarely shows her true feelings. She hides them under a smile or a laugh.”“I know. There is much more to her than one sees.”She tilted her head in agreement. “That’s what she lets them see. She is intensely private, and she doesn’t allow people in easily. The only way she survived being abandoned not once, but twice, was to take charge of her life. Be the one to make decisions about it. Where she lived, what she did, how much money she had. She has refused to depend on anyone for anything. Even Cami and myself.” She shrugged ruefully. “She didn’t expect you and the huge dilemma you present to her.”“I’m sorry—I’m a dilemma? I don’t understand.”“You are her greatest desire—the one she would never admit to having—and her biggest fear. The one person she can be herself with,
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