Chapter Ten
LIAM DROVEback to the city in a daze. He had no idea what he’d been doing in North Falls, but now that he was heading away from it, he had no idea why he was leaving.
Well, he knew the practical reasons. Marius had texted and called several more times over the course of the drive, making it clear just how much Liam was needed and just how rich the rewards could be if he complied.
It should have been a dream come true. It shouldn’t have felt like stepping back into a gilded cage.
He went straight to the hospital as Marius had requested, waded through the bureaucracy, and found his way to Tristan’s room.
He hovered in the hallway outside, strangely reluctant to step over the threshold.
But he’d come all this way. He’d walked away from Ben—well, he’d stood in a sort ofdaze while Ben practicallyshovedhim away—but the net effect was the same. He’d left all that behind in order to come to this meeting. Now he’d damn well follow through.
He knocked gently, then eased the door open.
Tristan was sitting practically upright in the bed, his tablet in front of him, Marius hovering anxiously by his side, and other than a few tubes and a bit too much gray in his complexion,the old guy looked fine. Heart attack? Really?
“You look okay,” Liam said, stepping into the room. “How do you feel?”
“Better.” Tristan shrugged. “Apparently it was very mild. They’re keeping me overnight and running more tests, but I’m thinking of the whole thing as a warning rather than a crisis.”
“You thought it was a crisis when it was happening,” Marius said firmly. “You were trying todictate final bequests and instructions for your funeral.”
“I’m a dramatic person. I was being dramatic.”
“But you’re fine now,” Liam said. He’d left Ben behind, and this was nothing.
“I’m fine,” Tristan agreed. In the face of a glower from Marius, he added, “But, yes, it was a warning. I’m taking it as a warning.”
“I see.” Liam had left Ben behind. He could have been spending his day withBen, and instead he was doing this? No, he wasn’t playing this game. “Can you clarify—did youaskMarius to call me in, or did he do that on his own?”
Marius raised an eyebrow at Tristan, who said, “I asked him to call you.”
“And do you regret that now? Is there still something you want to talk about, or should I just wish you a speedy recovery and go order a fruit basket?”
“He’s recoveringfrom a heart attack,” Marius scolded. “Stop pushing.”
“I have it on good authority that he’s fine and was just being dramatic.”
Tristan pushed himself up a little straighter in the bed. “You’re going to make me work for it, are you?”
“Work for it? I’m going to make you at leastsay it. I don’t think that’s asking too much.”
“Fine.” Tristan grimaced. “I need you back at the firm. I need toslow down, at least for a while, and I need someone there who can handle things while I’m taking care of myself. That person is you, and we both know it.”
“You didn’t fire me, you know. Iquit. So you wanting me back isn’t really that big of a deal.”
“You quit because I gave the Taybec Briggs project to Allison. But that was only a couple days ago, and we haven’t made the announcement publicyet. I can take it back. Iwilltake it back. You can do it and keep an eye on the company too.”
“That’s a pretty shitty thing to do to Allison. And a pretty shitty thing to do to Taybec Briggs, too, if you really don’t think I’m the best person for the job.”
Tristan squinted at him, and for the first time looked a little tired. A little sick. Maybe even a little old. “So what do you want fromme? You took your time getting here—I assume you had a good idea what I wanted and thought over your options. Now it’syourturn to say it. What do you want, Liam?”
It had taken Liam a long time to get to the hospital because he’d been well out of town when he’d gotten the call, but there was no reason to go into it. And the drive backhadgiven him time to get his thoughts in order. “I wanta piece of the company. We can come up with something in terms of me buying in, but I want my name on the door, I want control over any jobs I bring in, and I want a share of the profits.”
“I’m lying in a hospital bed and you’re trying to take advantage of the situation like that?”
“I’m nottryinganything. I’m telling you the terms on which I’m willing to help you out. If you’re interested,great. If you’re not, that’s fine too. Your call. No pressure.”
