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“Were you just messaging Briar?”
“She confirmed the receipt of our invitations.”
His brown eyes narrow as he leans back in his leather chair. “That was fast.”
“She’s efficient.”
“Is that how she got you wrapped around her little finger so fast? Efficiency?”
My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I resist the urge to check it. “Probably.”
His fingers rap against his thigh.
I mimic his posture, relaxing back in my chair. “What’s going on, Cor?”
Shaking his head, he reaches for his condensating glass of ginger ale, which he neglected throughout the meeting. Tipping the ice against the rim, he peers in at the pale liquid. “I’ve been meaning to find a moment to talk to you.”
“About…Briar?”
“She appears out of nowhere, violates our security, sweeps you away for a private meeting, convinces you to claim her as your fiancee, and becomes a propelling agent in rewriting entire aspects of our business model. In a matter of months.”
“Has she not been exactly what we’ve needed? Profits are growing. We’re regaining internal stability. We have an extended web of leads and connections through her.”
Without taking a sip, Corbin puts the glass back down and meets my eyes. “So, since she’s been helpful, she’s allowed to take part in our meetings now?”
“A main topic of today’s meeting involved her.”
“And somehow being on your lap also involved her?”
I arch a brow. “What does that matter? Worse displays happen in broad daylight around here. She’s my fiancee. We’re living together.” I lacked some restraint and pulled her along with me before she could find her own chair. Lacking restraint where it concerns her seems to have become a recurring issue.
“If you expect me to believe you’re the kind of person who would make a political move like marrying someone, you’re ignoring all the years we’ve spent together. You don’t have that kind of exploitation in you.” Sighing, he says, “She’s too…convenient.”
“Your point, Cor?” I murmur.
“We’ve been through a lot. I think I deserve the truth. Why are you actually trusting her and faking an engagement?”
“Who says our engagement is fake?”
He regards me, dryly. “Are you really going to sit there and insult me like this, Rowan? You’ll have to forgive me for believing you take commitment a little more seriously.”
I roll my eyes off the closest thing I’ve ever had to a friend. “Her methods work. You can’t deny the good she’s brought to Veleno.”
“True. But I can question how her influence has paved the way to weaken our numbers.”
“Losing Granger and his men didn’t weaken us. We both know he’d have stabbed us in the back the first chance he got. She’s strengthened our finances and unified us. If she wanted us weak, she could have leveraged Granger against us.”
“Rowan, we don’t know her motivations. That makes her dangerous.”
“She wants to find her parents.”
“That’s why she’s helping us track down the Maxim Project. What reason does she have to help us beyond that? And if she has access to names like Pratt, what do we even bring to her table? If she entered into this ploy under a guise that she needed muscle to back her connections, why us and not them?”
“Last I checked, the Maxim Project hadn’t spirited away any of the Pratts.”
“Last I checked, both Pratt sons were married, meaning Briar wouldn’t have been able to manipulate either of them at quite the same emotional depth.”
I stand. “Did you ever think that maybe there are other kind people left in this world? Maybe we aren’t the only ones who want to make things better, without any personal gain? Her methods work, and her manipulation has left us stronger.”
