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“That sounds like something Pops would require,” Gage said as he sipped his beer.
Meanwhile, I was half fuming from our father’s demands and half hungering for the girl who’d sparked more than my libido.
Her sudden change in attitude was understandable but that didn’t mean I wasn’t a bit miffed that she’d fled up the stairs to her apartment.
“Yeah, he was adamant I do so or all three of us lose our inheritance and he’ll sell the company.”
Braxton choked on the beer he was drinking, spewing liquid all over the table. “What?”
“Yep.” I took a long pull on my brewksi as I studied the crowded restaurant. It was one we used occasionally for business meetings with our clients who hated the more formal setting of our office. I couldn’t keep Cupcake off my mind and it was killing me. Enough so I pulled out my phone. She’d read the text I’d sent her but had yet to respond. What the fuck?
Both my brothers noticed but they were still grousing about our father’s demands.
“So, what are you going to do?” Gage finally managed to ask.
“I can’t invent a wife, bubba.”
“Sure you can. One eight hundred arranged marriage. Find a hot girl, make her a deal, and voila. Have a wedding at the state capital.”
I studied Braxton and laughed. “No can do. Pops wants a huge wedding complete with all the trimmings.”
Gage laughed. “He wants the notoriety. My guess is he’d hire every decent reporter in town to cover the lavish event.”
“You bet,” I answered.
“Why? That’s what I want to know,” Braxton huffed.
I shook my head, hearing a burst of female laughter louder than the other conversations and it was a loud place given the glass and high ceilings. “If I had to guess, I’d say he was worried about Task Force United. Even worse, he had the nerve to suggest I marry Caldwell Michaels’ daughter.”
Gage choked. “Wow. Now, that is really going out there. Arranged marriages are so yesterday.”
“They’re barbaric. Has Dad been acting strange lately?” I asked.
“More so than usual?” Braxton asked, laughing. So did Gage. Once they’d accepted only the firstborn son meant anything to my father, they were no longer hurt by his lack of attention.
They were lucky enough to live their lives away from his scrutiny, spending very little time other than family holidays with the man.
“There’s something else going on.” I was becoming more and more certain of it without any proof.
Braxton finally stopped laughing, narrowing his eyes. “What are you getting at?”
Wanting Cupcake was like having a dirty little secret and one I planned to thoroughly enjoy.
“Has Mom mentioned any recent threats?” They both did spend time with our mother at her insistence.
Gage exhaled. “No but I’m not sure Pops would confide in her. You know how she was when he had the heart attack.”
“True that,” Braxton tossed in. “You look worried. Do you want me to try and sniff around? Maybe dear ole Daddy won’t pay attention.”
“Why don’t you do that? I don’t like this feeling.” I also chastised myself for not keeping abreast of everything going on within the company. At the end of the day, I still had a significant responsibility in my role as first VP. Maybe Pops’ push to get married was his attempt to ask for help. The article was disgusting but honestly, I couldn’t believe he’d base his demand solely on that.
If someone was going after our regime, they would have hell to pay. I took another long pull of my beer and studied the girl’s picture with my cock aching and my balls tightening.
“Who is Caldwell Michaels?” Gage asked. He wouldn’t know much about our enemies since he’d spent the least amount of time paying any attention to our father’s corporation.
“Our father’s biggest enemy, and one whose power has only grown in recent years.”
Braxton slammed his back against his hardback chair. “I didn’t know he had a daughter.”
