“I am perfectly capable of managing a corporate takeover,” Greg replied, his voice dangerously cold.
“I am concerned that you think she’s just going to roll over for you,” I countered. “Belle’s not like Mom, who would just do whatever Dad wanted when he would yell at her. She’s not going to give up without a fight. Besides, she has brothers.”
“Yes, Jack, whose tower I own part of, and let me guess, you’re going to try to say that Owen is some sort of a threat to me?”
“I just think you might want to look at this rationally and run the numbers,” I said. “With the time and energy you’re spending and will spend to buy these units, you could have just built a new tower or bought one and renovated it yourself.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” Greg sneered. “You think that pretending your assistant is your girlfriend is a good idea.”
I clenched my jaw. “I was put in a difficult position. But you’re acting obsessive; you’re acting like Dad.”
Greg slammed his hands down on the table. “I am not and never will be like him. But you—”
“I’m not acting like him,” I cut in.
“No,” Greg drawled. “But you are acting like Mom. Weak. Insipid. Willing to let others do the difficult work and make the difficult decisions while you act like none of it’s your fault and fail to take any responsibility for your actions.”
“I have everything under control!” I yelled, jumping out of my seat to confront my older brother.
“Carl,” Greg barked.
My younger brother pulled up a tabloid website on the conference room presentation screen. There, in a big photo splashed along the top of the page, was a picture of me and Tess. She was in that curtain dress, the one where you could almost make out her nipples under the fabric.
“Mystery woman with Svensson brother,” Greg read. “Because this is exactly what we need, more inquiries into our business. And oh, look,” he said, scrolling down the page, “it even mentions that our father is in jail.”
“I had to take Tess to that party,” I said.
“Did you?” Greg spat. “Did you? Because it looks like—and when word gets out, everyone is going to share this opinion—that you are sleeping with your assistant. They will believe that you took advantage of her just like Dad, and that you are a predator, just like Dad.”
“That’s not what happened,” I said, clenching my pen, trying not to let him see how much he was affecting me.
“It doesn’t matter,” Greg said, exposing his teeth. “It’s messy, and you need to fix it.”
But what was I going to do? I couldn’t very well just fire Tess. And I had slept with her, well sort of, last night.
Tess had been more than a little drunk. Maybe she hadn’t enjoyed it. Maybe that was why she had sent such a lackluster response.
What if she went to the tabloids for a tell-all? They paid people. What if she went and told everyone how much she despised me and how much I was like my father and—
My phone chimed again. I stopped dead in the tower lobby as the photo and her text message appeared on the small screen.
Well shit. I guess she did like last night after all.
Beck:I wish I’d had a better view of those last night.
Tess:We can fix that today.
Tess:Since I’m your assistant, I can just clear your schedule.
I grinned at the phone.
But Greg’s threats bounced in my mind. I didn’t want Tess to think I was just using her for sex—even though I did very much want to use her for sex.
You better up your game.
Beck:How about you clear my schedule for tonight?
Beck:I want to take you out on a date.
