She wasn’t the only one to notice his lack of reaction. John leaned forward and glowered at his son, jerking his head at the man’s wineglass.
Brendan raised an eyebrow.
“Stop acting like a petulant teenager, Brendan. And toast your son and his bride,” John said between gritted teeth.
Nicholas shifted, lifting his hand, ready to mediate between the two men, like he’d had to do for years. “Grandpa, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. Pick up your glass, son.”
Brendan’s chest expanded, and so did Eve’s sense of dread. “I’d rather not toast this farce.”
Maile inhaled sharply. “Why, you—”
Brendan barely glanced at her, but he did look at Alistair, standing by the door. “Everyone who isn’t family can leave.”
The staff immediately departed, but no one at the table stood.
“You don’t order anyone around here,” John said, his face growing florid.
“Yes, yes. Because there’s one patriarch in this family, and it’s you. Well, it can stay you. I’m done.” Brendan paused. “Unless this ridiculous wedding is called off.”
Livvy leaned forward. Sentimental tears gone, there was death in the other woman’s eyes, and Eve didn’t blame her. “Listen, ass—”
Nicholas rested his hand on his fiancée’s arm. “Dad, we’ve discussed this,” he said, and his pleasant tone sent a chill down Eve’s spine. “You know what happens if you step over the line.”
“You quit, I know. And that would be very difficult for me. If I was still half-owner of this company. But I won’t be for long. I’m selling my shares. I’m ready for retirement.”
Eve’s stomach clenched. She had not seen this twist coming. Her father had done everything for those shares, had destroyed their families to swindle them out of a grieving Tani so he could be equal to his own father in equity and power.
“Now, I don’t particularly want to sell to an outsider. So Nicholas has a choice he can make here. I’m happy to sell to him, at a fair yet discounted value, so long as he calls off this wedding.”
Nicholas froze. “You can only sell to a Chandler or an Oka. Those are the restrictions.”
“I have to first offer them to a Chandler or an Oka. If no one can meet the fair market price for them...” He shrugged. “I can go to an outside party. Dad, you really should have closed up that loophole, but I guess you and Sam could only be forward thinking on some matters.”
The wineglass slipped from John’s hand. No one made a move to tidy the spilled wine. “You would—” He wheezed. “You would threaten everything I built? Just so your son doesn’t marry the woman he’s always loved?”
“Don’t be dramatic, Father. This is business.”
“There’s no choice to be made here. I’ll buy the shares,” Nicholas said. “And you can leave now.”
Brendan examined his nails. “You don’t have enough in liquid assets to afford it if I don’t discount market value. And I won’t discount unless you end your fraternization with the Kanes.”
Eve’s brain was racing, palms sweating, but finally she saw a place for her to speak. “I’ll pool my trust fund with whatever he has,” Eve said, but her heart plummeted when John grew tense.
Brendan finally looked at her, and there was nothing in his gaze. She understood John’s dismay when her father addressed her. “Even if you withdrew every dime, penny, and quarter that you, your brother, and your grandfather owned, you could not begin to pay me the market value for my shares.”
“I’ll take a loan,” she said flatly, too stunned to even think about stepping lightly or hiding. “We all will. This maneuver won’t stand in court.”
Brendan’s eyes slitted. “Don’t be stupid, Eve.”
“Don’t talk to her like that.”
They all looked at Gabe, who had been so quiet next to Jackson. His eyes were flinty hard, and he looked almost as impotently enraged as Livvy.
Brendan stared at the younger man. “Who are you again?”
“Gabe Hunter. More importantly, I’m the man who’s going to murder you if you ever speak to your daughter in such a dismissive way again.”
