I shove my purse in my drawer. “Why were you even in his face down there, Chance?” I drop my briefcase on the desk.
He crosses to stand in front of my desk and me. “Because my gut told me he was trouble.” He leans on the desk. “This is about him, Emma. There is more going on here than you know.”
“You mean it’s about his brother who killed himself after dad went at him? Yes. I know. Jax told me all about it and obviously, you know, and yet you told me to ask him about the castle.”
“No one, dad included, made Hunter kill himself. That’s nonsense. I had no clue Jax thought such nonsense or I wouldn’t have told you to feel him out on the sale of the castle.”
“Why couldn’t you just show up for coffee, Chance? Why didn’t you talk to him then? I gave you your meeting. You could have talked to him about anything over coffee. He expected it.”
“Because I thought he’d walk away, but clearly that’s not what he’s doing.”
“You thought he’d fuck me, have that in his pocket, and move on? And you were okay with that? But now it’s gone too far. I’ve fucked him too many times?” I don’t give him time to reply. If he says the wrong thing, I might say more than I want to say right now. “What did dad want with the castle?”
“I told you and Jax that I don’t know,” he says. “But now that Jax is all up in your ass, I’m going to find out.”
I point at him. “Do not talk like that. Not to me.”
He inhales and breathes out. “I’m sorry. I just don’t like the fact that he has an agenda.”
“That he told me about right away. That matters, Chance.”
He pushes off the desk. “Let’s just go meet with Marion. Contrary to other thoughts, she’s our client. A big client that brings a shit-ton of business to our hotels.”
“Why am I involved?”
“She asked for you, and why wouldn’t you be involved? New property development is your arena and when she’s doing any type of expansion, you’re always involved.”
“Except with the purchase of the castle.”
“Which was dad’s decision, not mine,” he says. “I’m looking into the details.”
There’s a lot I want to ask, a lot I want to say but I decide I want to know more about Marion being here right now. “Let’s just get this meeting behind us.”
“Why didn’t you tell me York scared you?”
“Because it didn’t matter. He was gone, but he walked right into my apartment. He walked in and he wouldn’t have left.”
“Meaning what?”
I hug myself, chills running down my spine. “Meaning he scares me.”
He studies me for several long beats. “You don’t need Jax to handle him. That’s trouble you don’t want. I’ll handle him. I’m make sure that Marion handles him if that’s what it comes to.”
This offer is a small semblance of relief. If Marion was controlling him, or if York was controlling him over the affair, I doubt he’d make that promise. And honestly, my brother isn’t a man that anyone controls.
I nod and walk toward the door before he asks more questions about York before this conversation gets into territory I don’t intend to travel with anyone. Ever. I exit the office and Chance steps beside me. “I love you, Bird Dog. Don’t forget that.”
“Then don’t call me Bird Dog,” I say, casting him a sideways look. “I hate it.”
“But you love me.”
“Yes. I love you,” I say as we stop at the conference room, “but,” I add as he reaches for the door, “I’m still angry with you right now.”
“For what?” he asks.
“Everything, including the telemarketer that keeps calling my phone.”
He laughs and winks before opening the door. In that moment, he and I feel normal, but deep in my gut, something is off. Really off. I enter the conference room to find Marion sitting on the right side of the long, rectangular table. “Morning,” she says, shutting her MacBook that’s sitting in front of her, her red lipstick matching her red blouse.
“Morning,” I say, and I don’t miss the narrowing of her green eyes on my face, assessing me, gauging my state of mind.
Chance shuts the door and joins me, and she repeats the prior greeting. “Morning.”
“Morning, Marion,” he says, and he and I move forward, toward the table. Chance claims the head of the table while I sit across from Marion.
“Thank you both for making time for me on such short notice,” Marion says. “I wanted to wait a respectable amount of time to broach this subject, and after meeting with Emma two nights ago, I felt now was the time. Your father and I had talked about an expansion of our partnership. I want to talk to you two about it now.”
“What kind of expansion?” I ask cautiously.
“We discussed a cruise line,” she says, “which, as a cross between our travel business and your hotel business, would be a new entity that we would invest and partner in together.”
A cruise line when York runs his “cruises” as he calls his private yacht parties. This is not an accident. This is a warning.
“Ideally” she continues, “we’d have the boats stop at locations with Knight Hotels, which I assume, Emma, would fall under your expertise.”
My fingers curl on my leg under the table. I know what she’s doing. She’s trying to keep me close, keep me under thumb. “This isn’t my expertise at all. And I don’t remember father bringing this up.”
“I’m afraid I know nothing about this type of business either,” Chance agrees. “And I assume this isn’t any further than brainstorming, since I wasn’t privy to any information on this topic. Nor did my father leave anything behind on this topic.”
“We’d started working the numbers,” she says, setting a folder in front of me and Chance. “That has the business proposal inside. It’s an investment, but if we use York’s connections, even bring him into the mix, we can get a steal of a deal on his ships. I propose we start by meeting with him. He set aside lunch if you two can make the time.”
She’s not just trying to control me. She’s trying to use York to control me, too. I open my mouth to reply, but Chance leans forward. “Why exactly did my father talk to you about this, Marion? I’m baffled by my exclusion.”
If I’d believed Chance knew about Marion and our father, that question says he doesn’t. In that, I find comfort.
“This was a bit of a pet project for the two of us.” She smiles. “You know how your father and I loved to game plan taking over the world.”
“No,” Chance says. “Actually, I don’t.”
“This is something our company really wants to do,” she says. “Your father wanted to be our partner hotel. If that doesn’t still align with your company, we need to look at the entire relationship.”
The air around Chance crackles. “I do believe that’s a threat. I don’t do well with threats, Marion.”
“Don’t be silly. It’s not a threat. It’s business.” Her cellphone buzzes and she glances down at the message and then back up. “York’s in the lobby. I asked him to stop by and talk about his role. Unless we’re not moving forward?”
Chance stares at her, seconds ticking by, which should offer more comfort, but there’s something in the air, something between them that I can’t quite name, which sets me on edge. “Emma, give us a few moments alone.” He doesn’t look at me. That sits wrong, too. I know my brother. He knows I know him, and right now, he doesn’t want to meet my stare.
But I don’t argue. I get up and I leave, exiting the conference room and shutting the door. I stand there, drawing a breath. Chance is hiding something. I start walking, but I don’t go to my office. I walk toward my brother’s office.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Jax…
I didn’t want to leave Emma. I wanted to whisk her away to the airport and get her out of here.
That feeling stays with me as I sit at a café table with Eric Mitchell claiming the seat across from me. “Good news,”
he says after ordering a coffee. “I talked to Grayson about your interest in our investment pool.” Grayson being Grayson Bennett, his boss, and best friend. “He’s interested in your joining us but he would like to meet. He said you sent him an invitation to the Harvest. We’re going to join you there.”
“That’s great news. We’re happy to host you inside the castle if you’d like?”
“We’d love it,” he agrees. “This is a technicality really but you know Grayson is all about ethical partnering. He’s a good man, but I vouched for you.” His coffee arrives and he reaches for the creamer. “Grayson has high standards, but those standards are one of the reasons I’m by his side.”
“A savant and self-made billionaire,” I say. “You could be anywhere.”
“Grayson funded me. He gave me a future. He brought my ass in line, too. I’m not the good guy he is.”
“And yet you’re his best friend.”
He laughs. “I control myself because of him. And my new wife.”
“It was a beautiful wedding.”
“It was, wasn’t it?” He laughs. “You never think that shit will matter to you until you meet the right woman. They show up and just sideswipe the fuck out of you.”
Emma is instantly in my mind. Sideswiped. That’s an understatement. “Chance Knight.”
“What of him?”
“You vouched for him, too? Is that how this merger talk between your hotels and the Knight brand started?”
“It’s more a partnership than merger that brings them into our investment pool, but you know that from our talk yesterday.” He arches a brow. “Where are you going with this?”
“I don’t know, man. Something went down between the Knight family and my brother.”
“Hunter?”
“Yeah. Hunter.”
“What kind something?” he inquires.
“Something that ended with him dead.”
He sits forward. “Look, man, his father was a bastard but Chance? That’s not him. I wouldn’t have done business with his father. He tried to get into our pool. I didn’t even think about it. Don’t convict the son for the father’s sins. I’m a perfect fucking example of that. My father was nasty personified. I’m not him.”
“But you say you’re not Grayson either,” I remind him. “Without Grayson, you might not be the man you are right now.”
His lips thin. “Yes, but maybe Chance is a better man just by way of his father leaving this world. And that sounds shitty, but it’s just an observation. I know the man. Don’t convict him for a crime his father committed.”
“We’re just talking about jumping into bed on this financial deal,” I say. “I want to make sure I’m not going to regret that decision.”
“I wouldn’t steer you wrong,” he assures me. “This is going to be good for all of us.” He softens his voice. “I get where your head is right now. My mother killed herself.”
I feel those words like a jolt. “What?”
“Yeah, man. She had cancer and she was forcing my father to take me in. She put a gun to her head and killed herself. I thought she’d want to be there for me, to fight for her life, but she was fighting for me. I don’t know why your brother did what he did, but it feels like they’re selfish at first. Look beyond that. Look for a reason that was selfless. You might find it.” He glances at his watch. “I need to go.” He knocks on the table. “Here’s to making a hell of a lot of money together.” He stands up and leaves.
I stare after him, thinking about Hunter who had the world in his hands. “Why?” I whisper. It doesn’t make sense.
The doors chime and I look up to find Savage and another man walking toward me. The stranger is tall and broad, probably six-foot-three, with dark hair tied at his nape, a cool confidence about him. I stand as they arrive. “Blake Walker,” the stranger announces, shaking my hand. “One of the founders of Walker Security. I didn’t know you knew Eric.”
“How do you know him?” I ask, giving Savage a nod and the three of us sit.
“We do contract security for Bennett Enterprises,” Blake says. “They’re good people. Knight Senior was not. And York Waters. York is not even close to a good person.”
“Blake’s the hacker I told you about,” Savage says. “People all over the world come to him to dig up secrets.”
“And the Knight family has secrets,” Blake says. “Dark, dirty secrets.”
***
Emma…
I walk into my brother’s luxurious corner office, and thank God, his secretary is on vacation and the temp is nowhere to be found. The coast is clear and I shut the door. Not sure how long I have, I rush toward his desk and try the drawer. It’s locked. I curse and pull open the middle drawer. No key. Inhaling, I remember the survival classes my father made me take and I grab a paperclip, open it up and stick it into the lock. It’s a struggle but it works. The drawer opens. I pull my phone from my jacket pocket where I stuck it at some point, ready to take photos if needed, but telling myself that’s nuts. This is Chance. There’s nothing to find and photograph.
I search the drawer and find nothing odd. I move to the next drawer and it’s more of the same. Next comes the credenza behind me, with not much better luck. That’s when my gaze lands on the cabinet beneath his liquor collection. I rush over there, squat and use my paperclip. The door pops open and my heart clenches at the sight of an accordion file. The same kind I found in my father’s desk.
I grab it and I swear it burns a hole in my hand. I shut the door and stand. I’m not staying here one minute longer. I rush toward the door, and exit to the hallway. The coast is clear, and I don’t stop walking until I’m in my office. I shut the door and then walk to my desk, sit down and open the file.
The first thing I pull out makes me sick to my stomach. I pant out a breath and there’s a knock on my door one second before Chance walks in. I stand up and he shuts the door. “I told her that I’ll meet with York.”
I hold up a photograph in my hand, a photograph of me in Starbucks, one of many photographs of me. “Are you having me followed?
“Fuck. No. That was—it was dad’s. I found it in his things.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” I demand in disbelief.
“I didn’t feel like it served a purpose other than hurting you.”
“Did he follow you?”
His lips thin. “No, or if he did I don’t know about it.”
“Did you know what an asshole he was?”
“I worked with him every day. Yeah, sis, I knew. The question is how do you know? He was a good actor.”
“I found his journal.”
“Journal?”
“Yes. Journal. And I promise you, that you don’t want to read it.”
He steps toward me, his entire body radiating agitation. “I need that journal, Emma.”
“No, I don’t think I’m giving it up.”
“I need the damn journal.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m the one living in the hell of his actions. I need everything I can get to cut off the bleeding.”
“So I’m right. He did bad things.”
“Yes, Emma. He did bad things.”
“What did he do to Jax’s brother?”
“I don’t know.”
“You do know.”
“I don’t know,” he says. “And you need to step away from him and this. You’re too emotional. You’re going to make him think there’s fire where he’s created smoke.”
I shove the photos in the folder, shove the folder in my briefcase, and stand up. “Did you agree to work with Marion?”
“I’m meeting with York. We’ll go from there.”
“She was having an affair with dad. She’s trying to trap us. I don’t know how, but this is a trap. She’s afraid we’ll tell her husband. That’s what York wants from me. Silence. Or else. And his or else is not good.”
“I know about the affair.”
“You knew?”
His lips
thin. “I know now.”
“Does Marion know you know?”
“Yes. I confronted her right before the award ceremony which is why I stayed away. I didn’t want to be in the same room as her and her husband.”
“Then you have to see I’m right,” I say. “She’s manipulating us. She wants to silence us. This cruise plan is a trap.”
“I don’t trap easily,” he says. “I’ve got this.”
“But we might work with her and York?”
“We’ll see, Emma.”
“Does mom know?”
“She knows.”
“How?”
“She found photos she showed me. Marion was naked.”
I inhale a sharp breath. “And we’re still considering this cruise line?”
“Give me some credit for having a plan. I’m working on a partnership to replace them but, Emma, I need that journal.”
“I locked it in a safety deposit box. The key is at my apartment that I can’t go to because of York. It has no names anyway. It’s just a bunch of nasty thoughts from his nasty mind.” I grab my purse. “I need to take a few days and then go to Germany. I need to see mom while I’m there.”
I try to pass him. “Get me the key before you leave.”
“Fine. I’ll get you the key.”
“Promise.”
“I promise.”
I jerk away from him and head for the door. “Emma.”
I stop just before opening the door. “Yes?”
“I need that file back.”
I exit the office, and rush for the elevator. It dings and I manage to enter with a cluster of people. Chance steps in front of the door and grimaces at the crowd. He has to let me go. I sink to the back of the car and realize that Jax never gave me his number. I grab the card Savage gave me from my side pocket but as I glance at my phone, I spy a text from Jax that reads: My phone number is now in your phone and here is Savage’s for easy use. Text me or call me when your meeting is over.
I shoot him a reply: I had a problem. I have to get out of the office with a folder now. I’m leaving. I’m going to the Starbucks four blocks west of my office to grab an Uber there.
The elevator opens and I dash out of the door, through the lobby, my heart racing. I don’t know what’s in this folder. I just have this sense that Chance might chase me down for it. I’ll analyze how bad that is when I see what’s inside.
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