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“Your inheritance for one.”
Shrugging, I grinned. “I don’t need your cash. Besides, Dad won’t let you do that.”
She spun and started walking toward her car, and I snickered because I had her on the ropes and she knew it, but she paused and swung around with a smirk that had adrenaline pounding in my veins. That was the same expression she’d worn when she’d figured out that the bank had been charging too much interest on a big loan for Dailey Tires, and they would have to return millions in fees.
“You do know I hold thirty-five percent of the shares in your company.” She walked steadily back toward me until she was glaring up into my face with a triumphant sneer.
“So? Sell them. I don’t give a shit. It’s a profitable business. You’ll make money. Congrats.” I was done with this, and I grabbed the door handle, but she ensnared my elbow and pulled me back to face her. As furious as I was, I would never hurt her, so I let her move me.
“Everyone owes me favors. If I talk to the other large investors, most of whom were there in the first place as a courtesy to me, we’ll simply vote to force you to divest yourself. You’ll have to sell your shares and step away from the company.” She grinned, clearly pleased that she’d found a way to get under my skin.
A cold sweat broke out across my back and I shivered. “You would kick me out of the company that I worked hard to build up to show you that I can do this on my own? Just to prove some spiteful fucking point?” I dug my fingernails into my palms and stared her down.
The corner of her mouth twisted until she was frowning. “You can live poor for a while and see what it’s like.” She sniffed. “See what being with that boy will do for you.”
I wanted to scream in her face that Tav was a man now, but she clearly didn’t see that either one of us were adults. She wanted to control us like children. “You do realize that I have a track record of building a profit almost from scratch. I will get hired somewhere else.”
She huffed and her brow furrowed.
The urge to laugh was strong, but I was too pissed off to do it. “You taught me everything you know, so are you saying all that knowledge is worthless?”
“I could make that difficult for you,” she finally spat out, left eye twitching.
I rocked back on my bare heels. “Do what you think you need to do. I’m not dumping him.”
I turned and yanked open the door.
“You’re serious?” She was nearly shouting now.
“Yes!” I glared over my shoulder at her.
“Fine.” She stomped toward her car again.
“You know Dad won’t agree to this!” I called.
She stopped and let loose a small screech that made me flinch. “That man will do exactly as I say or else!”
Tav shoved open the door, and she transferred her irate glower to him. “Mrs. Dailey, I love him, I swear. I’m not after anything.”
“What you don’t get, Tavish, and what you never understood is that I don’t care. This has nothing to do with you. Not really. And everything to do with my son.” She waved a dismissive hand at him and rushed off to her car like she thought Tav might fly after her to slap some sense into her. Part of me wished someone would do it because I’d stepped into the Twilight Zone. Who did she think she was to dictate my life like this again?
“Touching family moment,” Tav said, then wrapped his arms around me.
I leaned into his solid embrace with a sigh.
“She might have her points. This could be difficult.”
Shrugging, I pressed a kiss to his neck, contemplating leaving another love bite. “This is only as hard as we let it be. I won’t be talking to her either way, which will make it much easier. I have no idea how Dad gets along with her.” I shuddered.
He hummed. “Your dad is friendly with everyone. And she’s pretty.” He pinched my butt, and I grunted before I nipped the side of his neck with my teeth.
“Hurt,” I grumbled.
“I asked you not to do this.” He framed my face in his hands. “You only get one family.”
“Yeah? Would you be giving Ellis the same advice?”
Tav glanced guiltily toward the door. “S’pose not.”
