“Showtime,” Theo murmured.
“Remember, you’re on your best behavior today.”
“Always.”
I practically saw him shifting gears into the character he needed to play while I did the same. This was why I’d relented and let him come. At heart, Theo was a good guy and a great player—of both golf and corporate ass-kissing.
Three holes in, however, I’d sort of forgotten that we’d come to kiss Roark’s ass into trusting us. The guy was actually pretty fun to talk to, making the whole thing feel social instead of transactional.
Until he brought up the last name I’d expected to hear today.
“I had lunch with Clark Morris, Jr. last week,” he said as he lined up his putt. “Do you know him?”
I didn’t look up from adjusting my glove, but my insides turned cold. “I knowofhim.”
Technically, that was true. The Morris company was an international powerhouse who owned half the world in some way, shape, or form. Everyone knew of Clark Morris, Senior, the eighty-five-year-old patriarch of the Morris family, but I happened to know a little more about his children and grandchildren than most.
Clark Morris, Jr., for example, was the uncle of my ex, Adeline Morris, who I really didn’t want to think about right now.
Roark tapped the ball. “He’s a good man. One of the four sons of Clark Morris himself. Junior and I went to college together back in the day and we’ve been friends ever since.”
“Is that so?” Colin said, effortlessly stepping in for me when words failed. “Clark, Jr. went into politics instead of business, didn’t he? I think he’s a senator now or something?”
“He is,” Roark said with just a hint of pride in his voice. “Most of his sons followed him into it too. All except his youngest, who decided to become an attorney.”
“That sounds like it was a fun discussion around the dinner table,” Theo muttered.
Roark laughed. “You have no idea. They weren’t happy with the kid, but you guys have firsthand knowledge of how it goes in these old-money families. You’re from some of the oldest there is. Clark’s son just didn’t want politics or business. They tried threatening him, but he wouldn’t budge.”
“Sure,” Colin said. “I actually think I’ve heard of his firm. Morris and Associates, right? They’ve been one of the top firms in the city for a long time.”
Roark nodded. “Yeah, that’s him. Anyway, Clark has long since gotten over his son’s decision. It’s his brother’s kid who’s worrying them now, not his own.”
My eyelids slid shut for a long moment, but I kept my head down and hoped Roark wouldn’t notice. Colin and Theo definitely would, but right now, that old, familiar ache was starting up in my chest and it was all I could do not to snap at Roark to shut the fuck up about the Morrises.
“Clark’s youngest brother passed a few years ago,” he said, oblivious to the fact that the man he was talking about now could’ve been my father-in-law if life had worked out a little differently. “It was a messy situation. He blew through a fortune most people couldn’t spend in three lifetimes on a series of bad investments and worse decisions.”
Colin hummed but didn’t interrupt. Even Theo didn’t offer any remarks, both of them too aware of my past with the family. Roark, however, took our silence as an invitation tocarry on. “The brother, Gregory, left behind a daughter. Adeline. Apparently, she lived here in Chicago for a bit after graduating from college and now she’s back to ride out a real bad divorce. Clark isn’t her father, but he and his brothers are rather upset about the whole thing. Horrible business. Horrible.”
My grip tightened around the club, but I forced myself to look up and follow the line of the green like I was calculating distance instead of recalibrating my entire being. Thankfully, Colin picked up the slack when I still couldn’t bring myself to say a word.
“Divorce is always tough,” he said lightly. “It must be hard on your friend, knowing his niece is going through a rough time and not really being able to help.”
Roark grimaced. “Yeah, but it’s even tougher for her. I’m not sure if it works the same way in your families, but in some cases, these old money types still marry like they’re kings and queens of old, using marriage to expand their power rather than doing it for love. The Weatherby family that Adeline married into was new money, and they turned out to be the worst of the worst for the poor girl.”
Immediately, I felt sick to my stomach, really not wanting to hear more of this conversation. Colin was stuck in it, but Theo leaned in slightly while Roark was still focused on explaining to Colin howthese thingsworked.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “Now might be a perfect time for me to begin seducing him to change the subject.”
“I’m fine.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he also didn’t push it, both of us simply turning back to the game. I finally took the shot and my swing was clean but my mind was miles away.
Theo had been far too young at the time to understand what I went through with Adeline, but while the details of that year we’d spent together had blurred together over time, I couldnever forget the conversation we’d had when she’d ended things with me, thinking she was doing the right thing for her family.
Roark moved on eventually, talking about markets, travel, and a deal in London that had gone sideways, but I kept thinking about what he’d said.Adeline is in Chicago.
It didn’t feel real. I couldn’t focus for the rest of the game. Once we were done, Roark and I planned a lunch to discuss the finer details of the acquisition, but thoughts of Adeline kept churning in my head.
