Page 98 of Tanner

His father glares at me and then at Tanner. “If you decide?”

“I haven’t made up my mind.” Tanner’s admission has Missy’s brows jumping up in intrigue.

She’s looking at me differently. This time, I’m an asset instead of a hindrance. “Why don’t we all sit back down and discuss this like adults?” She’s calm. Sated.

“Fine.” Edward takes a seat, and Tanner and I follow.

Edward and Missy stare at each other for a moment, and I feel like an awkward fly on the wall.

Edward starts, “We took your advice and started the process of separating the company into two parts. Bryce has been a brick wall. He bought another paper in Seattle, which is making our buyers nervous. We have two companies that have substantial offers ready to go. One to buy the digital branch and the other to take over print. That print deal can happen as soon as six months. Digital will take a little longer.”

“What are the numbers?” Tanner asks.

“One-point-six billion.”

I’m glad I don’t have wine in my mouth because I would have spit it all over the linen tablecloth.

“Are you going to sign on the dotted line? Can we count on your support?” Edward asks his son.

“You know there’s more than signing on the dotted line,” Tanner deadpans. “You have yet to give me a good reason to sell the company Mom built.”

I glance over in Missy’s direction and notice the eye roll she displays. Her mouth looks like she’s sucking on something sour.

When she catches me looking at her, her posture changes, and she puts on a faux warm smile before pulling it back in and saying, “It’s been eight years since her death. We’ve kept her memory alive for long enough. It’s time to move on.”

“Then, move on,” Tanner says nonchalantly. “Let Austin, Bryce, and me buy you out.”

“That’s impossible. You each own seventeen percent of the company. Your assets are the one thing you’re trying to hold on to,” Edward states.

“Then, we’ll raise capital. Finance. Get a board—”

“That would take years. We’ve been working on these deals for four years,” Edward says.

“Then, let it take years. You already drain five million a year from the estate. You want my money? Have it. I’ll gladly hand over a million dollars a year just to get you to walk away.”

“That’s not enough,” Missy says, straightening her napkin while looking straight at Edward.

“You can’t live off six million dollars a year? Your lifestyle can’t handle over half a million a month?”

“I. Said. No,” Missy bites out before smiling a shit-eating grin.

Tanner sits back in his chair. “Then, what is it, Missy? What do you want?”

“I want it all. I want to sell everything piece by piece, so we can go live on the yacht and decide wherever we want to go each day,” Missy says with so much sass that I can’t believe she’s twenty-nine and not nineteen. She’s acting like a spoiled, rotten teenager, and I can’t imagine what someone of Edward’s age sees in her.

“You can do that now. I talk to Bryce and Austin. I know you guys are barely there. You can go live in Saint-Tropez or Capri,” Tanner defends.

She drops her fork hard against the plate. “How dare you say that. I’m there as much as I can be.”

“Yeah, I heard about your exposé on street racing. Bryce told me, and I read it. I think Jalynn did a good job.”

She sighs in defiance. “You’re not there. You don’t know what goes on.”

“You’re right; I don’t, but I talk to my brothers. I know you tried to get Austin arrested for street racing. I know you tried to blackmail Bryce. I don’t understand why you can’t just walk away.”

“Why would we walk away from hundreds of millions of dollars?” Edward asks incredulously.

“Because that’s what your sons want. When did our needs come secondary?” Tanner’s plea makes Missy guffaw.