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“Are you thinking Caldwell Michaels? That would be brazen.”
I rubbed the scruff on my jaw, promising myself a shave. “I don’t know if the man has it in him.”
“Why don’t I try and have a chat with Tim?”
Timothy Carter was the other VP of the corporation and had more of an active role in the organization. “Well, if anyone has a clue, it should be him. Just do it clandestinely.”
“In and out like a shadow.” He laughed as if this was something to be amused about. Dad couldn’t afford to have another heart attack. The doctors had already said he wouldn’t survive. But the last I’d heard he was healthy and strong. My stepmother was a good influence on him, demanding he take his health seriously. “Getting ready for your sexy trip?”
“Yeah, but I’m trying to think of it as nothing but business.”
“R-ight. You forget who you’re talking to, bro. Both Gage and I felt the chemistry and fire you two share all the way across the room.”
“Go away.” He’d always chided me about every woman.
“Gladly. I’d call you if I can find anything.”
“Cool. Thanks.” I tossed the phone and shook my head. I preferred handling Royal Players versus the media firm, but family was family.
After finally taking a pull of my whiskey, I closed my eyes. I had no idea what had possessed me to command her to come with me, and explaining she’d surrender had been another out of character moment.
I’d had a lot of those.
God. It felt like I was playing with old explosives.
Cue my internal groaning…
However, thoughts of what I would do to her kept my cock almost at full attention. At this rate, I’d ravage her on the plane. Wouldn’t that be one of my finer hours?
Both my brothers had called more than once as the afternoon had turned into evening, chiding me on not recognizing Selena. Well, I had a good excuse. The pictures on the internet standing next to her father had her all buttoned up.
Hair in a bun.
Dark, boringly conservative suit.
Low shoes.
Very little makeup.
She’d honestly looked as unhappy as anyone I’d ever seen, which was a far cry from the vibrancy I’d experienced not only in our texts but in our first meeting. She’d electrified the atmosphere and everyone around her.
Working with her father wasn’t her calling or her passion but I felt her pride and her respect regarding her family.
I had to admire that.
I’d gathered enough information to know Caldwell Michaels had paid his dues from the time he was seventeen years old, working in various avenues from being an extra on movie sets to learning the art of studio lighting. He hadn’t been handed anything, building from nothing to a multimillion-dollar firm.
A huge part of me understood why having my father breathing down his neck had aged him. And Caldwell looked worn out. He couldn’t be much older than fifty-four or five. But he looked as if he’d dropped into his seventies.
Businesses like the one my father was consumed with could have that kind of effect. Since my father’s heart attack, he’d insisted he was fully recovered but he’d aged as well. Seeing him the other day had been worrying.
But he would never let anyone know, including his three sons, that he was fading and needed help. He’d threaten to get it instead.
I was tired of the dysfunction but in being coerced into taking a wife, I’d found something I doubted he’d wanted me to find.
A firm from New York was trying to do a hostile takeover. They’d initially made an offer to purchase the company outright but had lowballed it. Then somehow, they’d almost gotten ahold of a majority share of stocks.
That’s because our board of directors wasn’t getting any younger, a few ready to sell for retirement purposes.
