“If it’s still available?”
“Precisely. Now, allow Molly and I to walk you out. It’s been nineteen minutes.”
“Right, yes, of course.” Her attention drops to the card as she takes it from me. “I need to get back to my shift,” she mumbles with a frown.
“Gentlemen,” my father booms as he walks ahead of me into the meeting room.
I step in behind him, followed by Uncle Mal as three voices chime back, “Boss,” in unison.
Denver, and two of his team, Killian and Jenson, are sitting at the long meeting table as we enter.
“Everyone all right?” Mal asks as he pulls outa seat and slumps into it with a low sigh, like the movement alone has taken it out of him. He pushes a hand back through his thinning hair, the bags beneath his eyes as dark as always. Losing my mother meant him losing his only sibling. And the mere mention of my brother’s name brings pain to his eyes. He took losing them both hard. We all did.
There’s a knock at the door and I answer it to Cara.
“Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Beaufort, but you have an urgent call.”
“Miss Miller?” I enquire.
It’s about time she called back to accept my obscenely generous offer. I’ll overlook the fact she’s taken overnight tothinkabout it, because as much as I loathe to admit it; Ineedher. Molly needs her.
“The coffee girl?” Cara’s face contorts before quickly smoothing out as I arch a brow at her. “No. It’s the CEO of Fabienne. He says it’s a matter of life or death.”
“I see.” My lips twitch. Life or death for him, maybe. For me it’s simply another business deal that I have the upper hand in. But it’s pleasing to know that he’s now aware of Beaufort Diamonds’ plans to buy his little company. It’s just a shame for him that he’s too late to do a thing about it. If you play with the sharks, you should prepare to get bitten.
“Tell him I’ll call him back.” I tilt my head in consideration. “… eventually.”
Cara smirks. “Very well, Mr. Beaufort.”
“Let’s get to it, shall we?” I say as I return to the table and take a seat with the other men.
“Problem?” my father asks.
“No. Just someone calling for me. I’ll call them back.”
I’ll fill my father in on acquiring Fabienne once the deal is finalized. Ever since Halliday arrived he’s been a new man. And now that she’s pregnant and they’re getting married, the lightness in him is hard to miss. He deserves time to enjoy itand not be burdened with business that’s already being taken care of.
I lean back in my seat and listen as a discussion about my mother’s lover whom she was having an affair with behind my father’s back before she died builds momentum. The guy, Neil, is back in the city for reasons unknown. The timing of it coincided with when Sinclair’s car was trashed. Coincidence? Maybe. But my father won’t take any chances.
“—she seems to be taking it well,” my father says to Denver, talking about Sinclair and his assignment as her bodyguard.
I smirk internally at the taut expression on Denver’s face. He’s never gotten along with my sister. She rolls her eyes whenever she has to be in the same room as him.
“She giving you hell?” I ask.
Denver pauses like he’s considering how to deliver a tactful response. His huge shoulders stiffen in his black suit jacket. “She’s?—”
“That’s a yes,” I say as he holds my eyes. “You know my sister. The harder she is on you, the closer you’re getting to her.”
If the guy wasn’t ex special forces, I might be inclined to feel sorry for him. But if anyone can withstand my sister’s defiant behavior when she’s told to do something she doesn’t want to, then it’s Denver. Still, I reckon we’ll owe the guy a vacation and a big fat bonus once Sinclair’s done with him.
Jenson pipes up with something I don’t catch as my phone vibrates in my pocket.
“Just look after her,” I toss out, frowning at the unknown number on the screen. I hit end call and watch the screen for a few seconds, but no voicemail notification pops up.
The men are chuckling as I tune back in to my father talking about his and Halliday’s wedding in Cape Town—and how the whole team’s invited. Denver offers to arrangesecurity through his contacts, and my father stands, announcing he needs to get back to Halliday and Molly.
“And I’ve got a call to make,” I say, rising from my chair as I fire off a quick text to Jones to let him know to be ready to go on the call with me in case Fabienne’s CEO tries anything.
