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Because….
I don’t know why.
I shove it away. “No, you being there is enough. And we’ll go from here. Should we get back to work?”
“Yes. You’re a good man, Magnus.”
I’m exceptionally good at what I do, but I’m not a good man. I’m ruthless. Down to the marrow.
And I’ve hooked her.
Everything is going swimmingly. What could possibly go wrong?
“If you’re going to give me a hard time, I’m going to kill you.”
Ryder gives me a wounded look at the House the Homeless fundraiser as I sip my whiskey.
“I’m not the evil type. Bad boy in the bedroom department, sure. But evil? That’s more you. Or King.” He brightens. “I could seduce her. She’ll sign over everything—”
“No.” I shoot him my darkest look. Fuck that.
I want her building, not Zoey with a shattered heart over my fickle brother.
“Hmm.”
“Don’t hmm me.”
“Who’s hmming people?” Scarlett scurries up, her dark blonde hair pinned up on her head, looking curiously from me to Ryder.
I make a note to keep my brother’s brand-new wife away from Zoey. Something tells me they’d like each other. And something else, like Scarlett’s accidental penchant for talking too much, tells me it’s an extra bad idea for them to meet. She’d probably tell Scarlett who I was and then game over.
The event is going nicely. Moira, the woman who handles my charity events, is one of the best. She’s liaising with the right people and I’ve set up an intricate dance of keeping this out of the papers and news while also making sure it’s leaked.
I’m building my heart, and I have four weeks to do it. But I’ve also got her working late setting up a grassroots style fundraiser for tomorrow, one that’s silently backed by my company. No going through other holdings; I want it known that while I’m changing the landscape of New York, I’m also helping the people who built it.
It’s enough to make my dead father rise from the grave to haunt me. And hopefully it’s a big step in my four-week trek to show Jenson and his team I have enough heart to get the fucking stupid earrings and secure our ownership in father’s company.
Our company.
The true legacy.
“Mag’s got ideas,” says Ryder, nabbing another champagne from a passing waiter. A string quartet plays Vivaldi. “But he’s making me his big bad.”
“What’s this?” Hudson comes over and slides his arms about Scarlett. “Why?”
“The stupid letter.”
“And you have to make Ryder the bad guy?”
“Take the money and run.” Great. Now Kingston’s rocked up. “It’s all about the money here. We can do this bullshit. But those jewels are going to be worth something.”
“Why can’t it just be a romantic take on our legacy?”
“Romance makes zero. And I’m not interested in anything more than cold, hard cash. Speaking of, I’ve made a hefty donation. One that’s going to do well on my tax returns.”
And then he’s off, checking his phone.
The others look at me. At least our mother isn’t here. Yet. I sigh. “Look, I have to show I’ve got heart—” I ignore Ryder’s laugh “—to get the earrings and do my part in keeping the flagship in our hands. And I need to get this woman, this thorn, out of the damn way so I can build.”
