“I knew it!” she shouted, her voice shattering the strange silence I’d been shocked into. She pointed a manicured nail straight at Dad with fury blazing in her eyes. “I heard everything. Do you think you can just switch it like that? After everything we discussed?”
Dad stood slowly. “Winnie, calm down.”
“No!” she shouted, her eyes snapping to me. “You?” Disbelief dripped from that one single word, matching the expression her face contorted into as she snorted. “You’rethe chosen one? That Jesse must be touched in the head. Why the fuck would he have chosen you when he could have me?”
CHAPTER 9
WILL
On Friday morning, the day after I’d told an honest-to-God Earl that I didn’t want the daughter he’d offered, but the other one, I sat in a meeting with some regional heads of operation. Desperately trying to focus on anything other than what a shit show my life had become, I was at the head of the executive conference table, probably interrupting way more often than I should’ve just to prevent my thoughts from drifting.
But shit.
That one drink I’d had with Eliza had been playing on a loop in my head ever since last night, and that wasn’t even mentioning how the memories of that flush on her cheeks had kept me up last night. In more ways than one.
It was ridiculous, but God. Jesse was a lucky fucking bastard. I just hoped that eventually, he would see that too.
As if that thought of my prodigal brother had finally made him decide to return my many calls, my phone started buzzing on the table and his name popped up.Seriously, you had to choosenowto do it?
One of the regional heads, who had been smack bang in the middle of a presentation I was sure was very important, glanced over at me. “Do you need to get that, Mr. Westwood.”
“No. Continue.”
I couldn’t sprint out of my own damn meeting just because Jesse had finally decided to do me one, single solid. This time,hewas going to have to wait forme.
Naturally, that meant that by the time I dismissed the meeting and tried to call him back, he didn’t pick up.Goddamn it.
I let out a quiet groan, but I hadn’t even decided yet if I was going to confirm Einstein’s theory of insanity and try again when my phone beeped.Alex. Fuck.
AW: My office when you’re done with ops.
Done with ops. As if I wouldeverbe done with ops. It was right there in my title, ChiefOperationsOfficer, but both Alex and Nate tended to keep forgetting that I was an executive now too. I cursed under my breath but spun around and headed to the elevator anyway.
If your oldest brother called, whether in his role as self-appointed family matchmaker or as your CEO, that meant you wereexpected. In this case, I knew it wasn’t about work. He wanted to know how the Rodericks had taken the bride switch.
The whole situation was complicated, though. I truly had my doubts about whether Eliza would sign and Alex would definitely put it on my shoulders if she didn’t.Go figure, Jesse is the one who shirks his so-called duty to the family and I’m about to be in trouble for it.
The more things changed, the more they really did stay the same, but when I walked into Alex’s office, he didn’t start snarling at me for fucking everything up. Instead, he looked exceedingly happy, smiling and relaxed as he sipped coffee in his sitting area.
“What is happening right now?” I asked slowly, crossing the space and dropping into the armchair across from him. “Youneverjust sit here, and is that a cappuccino from that place down the street?”
I squinted my eyes at the logo on the cup, and sure enough, it definitely was. Alex grinned at me. “I got you one, too.”
Reaching past his armrest to the small coffee table tucked out of sight, he produced a second cup and handed it over. “We’re celebrating. I know this isn’t champagne and caviar, but taking a break with coffee from a place you and I never seem to get around to visiting was the best I could do on short notice.”
I took the cup cautiously, kind of feeling like I should inspect the contents to make sure it wasn’t a grenade, but then Alex grinned again. “Eliza is willing to sign. She accepts the terms.”
I blinked hard. “What?”
“Yep.” He smoothed his tie, sinking back into his chair with that same, relaxed expression on his face I usually only saw just after a big acquisition had come through. “She wants to talk toJesseabout it first, though. Just the two of you. We’ve got this in the bag, bro. Well done?—”
“Is this even legal?” I interjected once I’d processed what he’d just said. “I can’t marry her as him, Alex. She wants to talk to Jesse, not to me, and what if she asks for concessions Jesse wouldn’t be willing to make?”
“I see no issue with it legally,” he said without even taking a moment to think about it. “Jesse will be the one at the end of the aisle as long as we play our cards right. You just need to act more like him, not you, so she doesn’t back out once he steps in.”
My eyebrows arched. “Eliza is already under the impression that Jesse is me. She thinks he works here, at W&S, which is categorically untrue. How do we suppose we work aroundthat?”
He leaned forward, still relaxed and smiling but also scheming now. I could see it in his eyes. “Okay, I’m about to pitch a radical idea, but hear me out.”
