Dad’s wife, Kendall, exited the restaurant and another man I didn’t recognize wandered out after her. Were we making a spectacle or were we just that late?
Kendall’s keen gaze evaluated the group as she stopped at Dad’s side. She flashed me a kind smile. “Xander, I didn’t think we’d see you again before we left.”
Dad’s smile was tight, only as polite as necessary. The smile I was used to when he discussed me and my lack of accomplishments with others. It was a mix of perpetual disbelief and disappointment that I hadn’t done more with my life coming from the family that I had. “Xander was just going to introduce us to his new wife.”
“Oh.” Kendall blinked, her eyes going round. “Oh.” I hated how she said it with frank understanding. Kendall and Dad thought I’d only married Savvy to meet the terms of my trust. Maybe it was a little true. It was a shitload of money. But the thought denigrated Savvy more than the Chief did.
I put my hand on Savvy’s back and she jerked straight. It was a tense situation, but she seemed unhappier with me than with her father. “Savvy, this is my father, Gentry King, and his wife, Kendall. She works for King Oil as well.”
Kendall grinned, leeching some tension out of the air. “So nice to meet you, Savvy.” My stepmother was only a couple years older than me, but she was a good fit for Dad. Aside from running the company, he’d been as aimless as me before he met her. “Have you had a chance to introduce her to the others?”
“Others?” Savvy squeaked.
“My brothers.” I had told her all about them. Mostly stories about us growing up and the death of my mother when I was eleven.
“Right.” She nodded stiffly, clasping her hands in front of herself. I briefly met Dad’s eyes. It was enough to see the simmering disappointment. He was a romantic and while he didn’t want to see the money from my trust go to someone else, he also didn’t like the idea that I was using someone.
I didn’t either. I was determined to make this a real marriage. I’d never met anyone like Savvy. I’d never been with someone I couldn’t get enough of physically. With others, walking away had been easy, and I never needed to nurse my wounds for long if the breakup hadn’t been my idea. But with Savvy? Any parting would be brutal.
The man on the other side of Chief was closer to my age and I didn’t like the proprietary way he glared at Savvy. That must be Lex, the guy Chief wanted her with. He fit the stereotype. A tight haircut. A pinstripe suit tailored within an inch of its life. A stick up his ass.
“Well,” Chief clapped his hands and Savvy flinched, “this just turned into a celebration. My dear daughter beat me to forming a partnership between our families.”
Dad laughed good-naturedly, but I could tell when he was humoring someone. “Good thing weddings and business negotiations are usually mutually exclusive.”
We came from a small town where we did business with people sometimes just because we knew them and that they were good people. Dad wasn’t making any promises just because Savvy was my wife.
Lex’s lip lifted, like he was disgusted with Savvy. He mimicked Chief when we’d first walked up and pretended I didn’t exist.
“Let me inform the staff.” Chief rushed into the restaurant and ordered several bottles of champagne. Dad and Kendall murmured together as they walked after him. Dad threw me a careful glance over his shoulder before they disappeared inside.
Lex lingered, blocking our path. I wasn’t a violent guy, but I wanted to beat off the arrogant, condescending look he gave Savvy. “How is that going to affect your career? Aspiring conservationist marries into oil tycoon’s family.”
Savvy stiffened and her response after meeting Dad finally made sense. Either she hadn’t seen my last name last night, or she hadn’t put the two together. Why would she? My last name was generic in most circles, and we’d only talked half the night. We’d described what made us, what formed us, not what our family names said we should be. Our marriage was impulsive and beautiful and I wouldn’t change it.
Lex didn’t give up. “In fact, didn’t you fly here to teach King Oil about how bad they’re being to the world?”
Okay, that detail was unexpected. “You were here to meet with my dad?” We’d gotten around to a lot of specifics about our life, but all she’d said about her work was that it had gone out of business at the most inopportune time.
“Where’s Brady?” Lex’s tone dripped with glee. Like I didn’t know about Brady. “You two are so close.”
I should’ve waited to ask her about the meeting when we were out of earshot of this jackass. Would Lex be shocked that I knew about Brady? I didn’t know a lot. He was her coworker and her best friend. If she’d wanted to be with him, she would’ve been. I wouldn’t dictate who her friends could be. I bet this guy would forbid her from talking to Brady ever again if he could.
“He’s at the hotel,” she answered even though that asshole didn’t deserve it.
Lex turned his arrogant gaze to me. “Does Daddy support you like Mr. Abbot supports Sapphire?”
“I’m a photographer. Also an environmentalist. I might be from an oil family, but the two partner together more than you’d think. I’m surprised you don’t know of King Oil’s effort to reduce their carbon footprint. If you’re interested in doing business with the company, you should also know what’s important to them.”
Savvy’s luminous gaze swiveled to me. An invisible ripple ran through her body. Her eyes narrowed and it was like her mind was restarting from whatever had stalled it earlier. “Right, Lex. I’m sure Chief would appreciate learning everything you know about King Oil’s progress in that area.”
Lex’s lips pressed together. “It’s not critical for security. If you’re so well informed, why didn’t you know who Xander was?”
Her lips formed a troubled line. “I researched the company, not the CEO’s personal life.”
She wouldn’t have found much. I didn’t have anything to do with the company, yet I knew more about it than Lex. I hated to act like a dick, but the situation called for it. “Actually, the environment is quite important to King Oil and its security.” I recalled Dad’s conversation from the anniversary dinner. “Security consultants, right? Tampering with oil equipment can lead to severe environmental impacts, and there’s always someone less concerned about the environment willing to take over.”
Finally, Savvy relaxed under my touch. “We’d better get in. Chief’s starting the celebration.”
Lex spun on his heel. For not being related, he acted a lot like Walter Abbot.
“I’m sorry,” I breathed to Savvy, not knowing if I was apologizing for being a King or for our impromptu marriage.
She sighed and her eyes filled with the weariness of someone much older. “Me too.”
Chapter 4
Savvy
Chief did the cringeworthy toast and proceeded to chew Mr. King’s ear off about how well their companies could work together.
What a mega fucking coincidence. A perfect storm of connected events. My ultimate rebellion had turned out to be the best thing I’d ever done in Chief’s eyes.
I’d come to town to meet with King Oil. Xander had come for his brother’s anniversary dinner, and so had his father. And I’d happened to meet and fall for Xander and fuck up my own stab at independence while making Chief prouder of me than he’d ever been. All because I’d opened my legs for the right guy.
Go me.
The craziness of my sudden marriage finally sank in. What had I been thinking? I shouldn’t need a guy to be independent. Just like I shouldn’t have to live with my parents at twenty-five. But there I was.
Xander King.
How had I missed his last name? Even if I hadn’t, would I have connected him to King Oil? Would I have cared? I’d wanted to work with the company, not marry into it.
Big Oil.
Good one, Savvy. The voice in my head sounded just like Brady. You hit the jackpot of husbands. Now you won’t need Chief to foot the bill.
I sent back Long and tragically ironic story. Call you in a bit.
I put the phone face down on the table and looked around. Chief was working Gentry King hard. He was even talking with Kendall, and since Chief was very old school when it came to women, I could only assume Kendall had a shit load of power within the company. That left Lex, who oozed I’ll cartwheel while I kiss your ass as he tried to work what he thought was magic as Chief’s wingman.
I had to admit, Gentry King wasn’t what I’d expected. Congenial and not falling for my dad’s smoke and mirrors, he wanted cold, hard facts and clear declarations about what the security consulting company could do for his business. Kendall held her own too, firing off questions that made it obvious she was more than just a side piece.
They were a couple, huh? So he’d not only fucked around with his assistant, he’d married her. Xander had said his mother died when he was young, so at least Gentry had been single when he’d met Kendall.
I suppressed a maniacal giggle. My middle sister, Pearl, wasn’t going to believe how this had gone down. I thought I’d been brave to get married in Vegas. She’d flexed her independence by running off and joining the military after telling Chief and Mother she was studying abroad. I looked like a child playing at being a grownup next to what she’d done.
Xander leaned close and murmured, “I feel obligated to point out that Dad met Kendall before she was his assistant.”
Dad. God, this was surreal. I whispered back, “But did he sleep with her before or after she started working for him?”
It wasn’t my business. If I could find fault in King Oil, then the way I’d ruined my chances of ever working with them wouldn’t sting so much.
The corner of his mouth hitched up. “While I try not to think about my dad sleeping with anyone, they met when she was flying to interview with my brother. But they got stranded. Then he offered her a job at the company and after seeing how invested she was, he asked her to work in the inner office.”
“Inner office. Is that what they call it nowadays?” A company rife with nepotism. And I’d married into it. Real fierce and independent, Savvy.
His expression flickered, but his faint smile remained in place. “Well, my brother works there too, so it’s not like that.”
Gentry King employed his wife and son. If he recognized my name from the canceled meeting, would he think I’d married Xander because of who he was? I was here as Chief’s assistant, but I wasn’t taking notes, because he was thrilled that I’d married Xander.
I would never be taken seriously. I couldn’t take myself seriously. “I came here to meet with him professionally and now I’m his daughter-in-law.”
“You can still talk to him professionally. When it comes to business, he’ll listen.”
I could pitch him right now. Maybe he’d listen to my spiel on new technologies for harnessing wind power other than the massive turbines that many landowners balked at. He backed a research and development project into wind-powered micro-generators. Part of my position at Saving Sunsets was to do the footwork on these up-and-coming technologies and compile data for companies like King Oil.
How would it look if I launched into my pitch? Chief had retired from the military and started his own successful business. Mr. King ran an oil company. They’d both had a healthy resume by the time they were my age. In contrast, after I’d lost my first job, I’d married the first man I’d met. “How old is your dad anyway?”
“He’ll be fifty-one soon. My oldest brother was born when he was nineteen and then it was pretty much a baby a year after that.”
And he’d accomplished everything with small children. Super. “And Kendall?”
He ran his thumb over his lower lip. How was this guy single? He was the first guy I’d dated whose family was probably wealthier than mine. “She’s the same age as my oldest brother.”
I cocked a brow. It wasn’t like I didn’t see age gaps in marriages. Many of Chief’s friends were on their second or third spouse, and each one got younger. What I hadn’t seen before was the equality in the relationship that Kendall and Gentry displayed. If the woman in the relationship gained power and success in her own right, the marriage soon dissolved. It’s why Em didn’t work—and why Pearl wasn’t married or serious about anyone. She had big plans and no one would stop her.
Was I going to be Em or Pearl?
“What do I even call them?” I hadn’t meant to snap, but it came out bitchy. This day had twisted in a way I hadn’t seen coming. “Gentry and Kendall? Mr. and Mrs. King?”
“Gentry and Kendall are fine. We’re just poor country folk,” he drawled. “We don’t stand on formality.”
I scowled at him but when he broke into a grin, I couldn’t help but return it. “I think Chief won’t care what you call him.” I shook my head. “He’s so happy.”
Xander’s lips thinned. “He wasn’t before he learned who I am.”
I didn’t bother to deny it. Chief thought I should be with a guy like Lex, but it’s Lex who wished he was more like Xander.
Our food arrived and the talk of business died down.
“So, Xander,” Chief said. “What do you do?”
“I’m a freelance photojournalist.”
Chief covered his ripple of displeasure. That wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear. “And what is that exactly?”
“I use pictures to tell the news of the world.”
Chief’s interest perked up. “You go to war zones and take pictures of the front lines?”
Chief liked to talk like he’d been big shit in his day. Maybe he had been and I didn’t understand. What I did understand was that his “front line” had been a desk, and any immediate danger to himself had been minimal. We hadn’t been the normal military family, getting uprooted every few years. Chief had spent most of his career in or around Washington, DC. Not that his service wasn’t important, but he judged everyone else on how much action they’d seen, or how many troops they were in charge of.
“No,” Xander answered and Chief’s hopefulness faded. “I prefer to travel to more remote regions, less popular if you will, and capture what life is really like.”
“Where have you been published?” Lex asked like a shark scenting the first drops of blood spilling into Chief’s seas.
“A few local news outlets have picked up some of my photos over the years.”
“In the States?” Lex prodded.
Xander’s eyes flicked to his dad before he answered. “I’m working on getting my foot in the door.”
That’s what he’d been talking about when he admitted to not measuring up to his dad. He thought he should be further ahead in his career, and his dad did too. Notoriety, maybe an award or two, and at least one major publication or news source under his belt.
We had more in common than our family’s wealth. “I’ve seen his work. It’s good.”
Chief barely spared me a glance. “What did you go to school for?” He adopted a charming grin he used in meetings to attract clients. “I have to ask. It’s my job as a dad.”
I resisted rolling my eyes. Chief hadn’t attended school plays or any ceremony other than graduation. But I sat close enough to Xander to feel him tense.
“I, uh, majored in business media design and I . . . quickly became more interested in the media and design side.”
That was the only moment I’d ever seen Xander ill at ease. I was sure I’d learn the story eventually, but since we’d known each other less than twenty-four hours . . .
“And that was where?” There was that hopeful tone in Chief’s voice again.
“University of Montana.”
Chief’s mouth worked. It killed him not to make a statement about the lack of an Ivy League education. It was the same look I’d gotten when I’d told him I didn’t want to go to Georgetown. “Staying close to ho
me. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Good thing Chief wasn’t Pinocchio. His nose would have hit the wall and kept going.
Gentry jumped in. “Missoula is in the same state, but in Montana that still means he was six hours away from home.”
Lex chuckled and I bristled, bracing myself for an attack. “That’s where those private planes come in handy. Though now that you’re married to Savvy, you won’t be able to use them anymore. She’ll quote the statistics about how much worse for the environment they are.”
Well . . . they were.
All eyes turned to me. Xander pushed his mashed potatoes around on his plate. “I don’t usually use the private plane unless I have to rush home for some reason. Then I can’t deny the convenience.”
“It certainly makes doing business around the country much more expedient.” Gentry’s smile was professional, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, unlike Chief, whose hand was clenched around his fork. Lex had mis-stepped in front of the client and Chief couldn’t say anything. “But I agree, it comes at a great cost that isn’t always monetary.”
I wanted to laugh and point at Lex. The private plane is Gentry’s, idiot.
Chief relaxed, but it was only a show—his blood pressure would likely worry his doctor. “Sapphire is a bit of an environmental enthusiast.”
Leave it to him to minimize my biggest passion in the world, the thing I’d dedicated my life to.
To Gentry’s credit, his expression was pleasantly curious as his gaze met mine. “Good. We need more people like that.” He chuckled and glanced at Chief and Lex. “You don’t grow up working the land with your bare hands and not develop an avid appreciation for the earth we live on.”
I sat straighter.
Kendall’s smile was equally as friendly and enthusiastic. “We’ll have to get together sometime. I’ve done several reports for our investors regarding wind energy and what we can do to support it.”
“What about solar energy?” I didn’t add that I’d looked into the ways they incorporated new solar techniques into their headquarters to reduce the cost of heating. If Gentry wasn’t going to ask me if I had been the one to cancel on him today, I wasn’t bringing attention to it.
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