“Anyway, I figured it might be a difficult day for her, but she didn’t want me to go along. I still wanted to be nearby, so I held my morning meeting with Jude at a coffee shop in the area. She joined us after signing the papers.”
Chase actually smiled. “Good for you. You’ve got soft skills I wasn’t even aware of. It was important to be there for your woman.”
“I figured that, too, except that her ex also dropped by thatvery same coffee shop.” There was a collective groan around the room. “He caused a scene and made it very clear that he and Phoebe were together until three months ago.”
“Fuck my life,” Knox said.
Finn’s eyes were wide, and then he leaned back in his chair, putting his hands on top of his head.
“Now I’m getting the full picture,” Wyatt said.
“There’s no way to turn this around,” I admitted. “And I don’t want to lie to Jude anymore.”
“Figured out that’s a bad idea, huh?” Duncan said.
I looked straight at my older brother. “I know I fucked up. You were right. This whole thing backfired.”
“What’s your plan?” Chase asked.
“I don’t have one.”
“How did Jude react, exactly?” Duncan asked.
That felt like twisting the knife in a wound. But again, details were important.
“He stormed off, assuring me that he doesn’t deal with liars. A few minutes later, I got a call from my team that we were no longer in the running as an investor.”
“He moves fast, then,” Duncan said.
Everyone was quiet for a few seconds.
“No words of advice?” I laughed but without humor.
“Honestly, I don’t even know what to say,” Wyatt said.
Well, that was a first. I’d managed to stump all of my brothers. This was not good. Not at all.
Chase cleared his throat. “I hate to point this out, but it’s more than just your reputation at stake.”
“I know.” The reputation of my company and even of Sterling Investments was on the line. Besides, I genuinely hated that I’d disappointed Jude. “I’ll fix this.”
“You’d better,” Chase replied.
“All right, well, if any of you actually comes up with an idea that could help me…,” I said, rising to my feet.
“How about threatening him?” Knox asked.
I nearly stumbled backward. “I’m sorry, did I hear you wrong?”
Tilting his head, Finn said, “I don’t see how that would work.”
Wyatt turned to them. “Are you two serious right now?”
“We’re just considering the options,” Knox said. “We could find some dirt on him. Everyone has skeletons. Nothing too bad, just embarrassing enough for him to keep quiet that our brother faked a whole-ass relationship to get a business deal.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with my younger brothers?” Duncan asked.
I was too stunned to answer for a few moments, then recovered.
