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A moment later, her haughty expression slipped, her jaw working overtime as she jabbed at her phone. She snapped her gaze up to Julia, her usual smug demeanor giving way to something more frenetic, revealing her simmering desperation. “I don’t know what kind of game–”
“This isn’t a game, Lydia. It never has been when you try to destroy other people’s lives. But I made sure you couldn’t destroy Sierra’s. And I’ll be damned if I help you destroy Grant’s.”
Lydia narrowed her eyes as realization dawned on her. “That geeky little tech guru you had at dinner last night…”
Julia nodded. “Alex Stone made those pictures disappear. And with his talent, you’ll never find them. Your leverage is gone, Lydia. It’s over.”
Julia spun on her heel, heading for the door.
“Not by my watch it isn’t.”
Two of the bodyguards sidestepped in front of Julia to block her exit.
“I’ll just have to get creative,” Lydia added.
Julia twisted to face her, her eyes going wide and her heart hammering against her ribs. Lydia had swapped her phone for a stubby gun.
The sight of the weapon pointed at her sent a jolt of cold fear down her spine. Time slowed as the reality of her situation crashed around her. Panic whispered in her ear.
Any elation she’d felt over the win against Lydia quickly deflated as she realized the immediate danger. Could she escape, or had she just pushed Lydia too far?
CHAPTER 23
GRANT
Grant shifted his weight, the bourbon in his glass sloshing as he subtly shifted his gaze over his shoulder in search of Julia. The conversation with Victor Montgomery had taken longer than he’d expected, and they were nowhere closer to finishing.
As Victor droned on about savvy business moves, Grant wrestled with worry that Julia was lonely without him. His jaw clenched as he realized she may be being entertained by his son…or her ex-fiancé.
Both options gave him heart palpitations. He imagined Kyle dragging her back to the dance floor and giving her a lecture on how he didn’t care enough to spend time with her. The even worse vision of Luke holding her in his arms danced through his mind next.
She gave him that soft gaze through her eyelashes as he rubbed her cheek. “We’re meant to be together, Julia. You know that. Come home.”
Grant shifted his weight as the image turned his stomach.
“Grant? You okay? You look like you had some bad caviar,” Victor said with a chuckle.
Grant offered a weak laugh. “I’m fine.”
“Well, the plans looked great, Grant. It’s definitely something we’d be interested in pursuing, although…”
“Although what? A little too much of a slam dunk for you?” Grant asked, his usual brashness taking over during the business negotiation.
The man offered him a half-smirk. “Hardly. We like winners at Montgomery Innovations. But I’d really like one of my tech people to go over the specs.”
Grant grinned at him before sipping his bourbon. “I’ll bet you would. Unfortunately, Vic, that’s not going to happen. Those specs are not for public consumption.”
“This is hardly public, Grant. We’re going into negotiations for a partnership here.”
“Partnership? No.” Grant shook his head. “Investment opportunity. If you’d like your tech people to have a conversation with mine about viability, I can set that up, but releasing the plans to you isn’t happening.”
“Well, then this investment may not be happening.”
Grant eyed the man. He’d been through enough negotiations to know when he had the upper hand and when he needed to bend. He didn’t need to bend this time. He could shop this tech around easily. “That’s up to you. M.I. was my first choice but you’re hardly my only choice. If you’d like to pass, no hard feelings.”
“How about if I sleep on it?” Victor asked, still desperate to claim the upper hand in the negotiations.
“Absolutely. Take all the time you need, Vic. I just can’t guarantee the offer’s still going to be on the table when you show up.”
