Ruthless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 1)

by Mallory Crowe

  “I have to admit I don’t really know what business needs to be done.” Jean looked between the two men.

  “Well, we’ll have to introduce you to Alex. He’ll want to meet you, but he’s not the happiest camper that you’re, well, that you exist.” Jean straightened, and Nathan waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry. None of us are mad at you. It was just a surprise we didn’t want. And it wasn’t the best time to drop a bombshell.”

  She figured your father's will reading was probably the worst time to find out you had a secret sister.

  “I really am sorry if I’m causing any trouble.”

  Nathan’s smile disappeared, and for the first time, she thought she was seeing his true face. “I know more than most that you can’t pick your parents.”

  Jean blinked a few times as his words hit home, feeling strangely bonded to this person she was conning.

  “I’m assuming your team is going to handle the legal side?” asked Colin, breaking the moment.

  Nathan’s smile, and his walls, went back up. “Yep. Walter had things rather organized in his will. The hardest part was finding you,” he said to Jean. “Now that the DNA test is done, it’s just a matter of getting his assets through all the estate hoops.”

  Colin nodded. “That can take a while, right? Are you going to give Jean anything to help her in the meantime?”

  “Colin, I’m sure—”

  “No, he’s right, Jean. You’re part of the family now. No matter how long the government decides to take, we’ll make sure you’re taken care of in the meantime.”

  Jean was speechless for a minute. That was so easy. No begging or batting her eyelashes or anything. Just a “Oh, you’re family? You’re taken care of.” Not even her own mother had done that for her. Just Grandma... “That’s more than I was expecting,” she said cautiously.

  “And that’s why I already like you,” said Nathan. “Now I’m not sure how much you were thinking,” he said, directed to Colin, “but I was thinking a hundred grand for now? Once we get a better estimate for how long it will take for Walter’s assets to get released, we can have a final settlement date.”

  Jean’s mouth dropped. “You’re going to lend me a hundred grand?”

  Nathan let out a little laugh. “No. We’re giving it to you. But if you end up needing more, then we can work out some sort of lending agreement.”

  She looked between Colin and Nathan. “You’re serious?” Without even realizing it, she started to tear up, overwhelmed with what was happening.

  Nathan nodded slowly. “Is everything all right?”

  She looked away and covered her mouth as she tried to collect herself. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

  “Jean hasn’t had the easiest life. I don’t think she’s used to things working out.”

  The way Colin said it made it sound so simple, but it was so much more than that. This kind of security and safety was what she’d worked her entire life for. All she had seen was one dead end after another.

  She’d never say she’d marry a man for money, but that had been something that had drawn her to Mark. She’d looked past all his faults and had herself believing she really loved him when what she’d really wanted was the security. The knowledge that her power wasn’t about to be shut off. Knowing that if there was a leak in the roof, she wouldn’t have to spend the next year listening to the drips of water falling into a bucket because she couldn’t afford to fix it.

  But there was no way she could explain that to Nathan, this virtual stranger giving her everything she needed.

  “Well, I’m glad that you’ll appreciate it. We weren’t sure if you were going to ask for more.”

  Jean let out a snort. Obviously he didn’t realize how little she made in tips at Striker’s.

  “I want to talk longer, but I have a bunch of meetings to get to today. But I did want to introduce myself in person. Before you head back home, there are a few things you have to do.” He handed over a piece of paper that Colin grabbed before Jean had a chance and Jean looked over his shoulder to read it through.

  There were contact numbers for Robert, Nathan, and Alex and a list of lawyers she’d be dealing with and people she needed to talk to.

  “We live in a remote age right now, so you can do almost everything you need to do from your home. Are you going to be staying in Arkansas?”

  Jean’s eyes widened at the question. Would she be staying? “I don’t know,” she said honestly. Leaving had never been an option before. She had a home that was completely paid off. Until it fell apart around her, she couldn’t go anywhere. Now there were no limits...

  “Well, if you want to stay in the city, we have about ten different buildings in the city. We have other real estate properties all over the world. I’ll try to get a list sent out to you.”

  “So I get a discount at the places we own?” We own... What a strange thing to think.

  Nathan chuckled. “You get a hundred percent discount. The trick is finding a vacancy. Our properties tend to go fast.”

  She nodded, not sure whether she was emotionally capable of forming a response.

  “The one thing you need to do before you go back home is talk with Julie Campbell.”

  “Who’s that?” asked Colin as he still looked over the list Nathan had given them.

  “That’s my PR specialist. There’s a lot of this that needs to be handled carefully. The sex aspect of the scandal, the fact that you were on hard times...basically you’re about to be famous and you need to know how to deal with that. So Julie will work with a few magazines to make sure your public debut is handled on our terms. Maybe book a few photo shoots and interviews. She’ll tell you what to say, what not to say, and coach you. Try to make the transition as easy as possible.”

  “And what if Jean doesn’t want to become a media spectacle?” asked Colin in a protective tone.

  Nathan raised a brow. “I’m sorry to say that it’s not my decision. If she tries to hide from them, it’s only going to be worse. The trick is to do everything they want and act as boring as possible until they lose interest.”

  “It’s fine.” She set a hand on Colin’s leg under the table. If she needed to smile for a few cameras, she would. Whatever she had to do to keep people from tracking her down at home. She could only imagine the chaos of reporters showing up at the trailer park. That was one circus she didn’t want to be a part of.

  “So meet Alex and Julie and then I can think about where I’m going?” Then she’d think about leaving Colin.

  “That’s the deal. You want to give me your bank account number and the routing number? That way I can get started on the transfer.”

  “Ummm...I’ll have to call you about that.” Did rich people know account numbers off hand? And what the hell was a routing number? All things she’d be looking up online later. She took a pen from the middle of the table and took the paper from Colin to jot down what she needed to do.

  “That should work.” Nathan stood and looked between her and Colin. “Do you think we could have a few minutes alone?”

  Colin stood too. “No way.”

  Jean nervously twisted the pen in her hand. “It’s fine, Colin. I’ll be right out.”

  He glared down at her, his eyes saying just how upset he was with her decision. “Jean—”

  “I said I’ll be right out,” she repeated firmly. This family would never trust her if she always had Colin around. Meeting alone with Nathan here, in a large building he owned, was probably the safest place she could talk to him.

  They’d also never trust her if they thought Colin controlled everything she did. He still stood firm, staring down at her, so she relaxed her face and gave him a soft smile. “Please.”

  A few long seconds stretched before he took a breath. “I’ll be by the elevators.” Without a word to Nathan, he turned and walked out.

  Nathan watched him leave and Jean tried to read his expression. It was hard to determine what relationsh
ip the brothers had to Colin, but from the little she’d seen, it wasn’t good. “So where did you find him?” asked Nathan once they were finally alone.

  “He found me,” she said honestly. “Started telling me crazy stories about who my father was. Didn’t believe him at first, but Colin can be...persuasive.”

  Nathan scoffed. “I believe that. Please tell me you’re not sleeping with him.”

  Jean stiffened and tried to keep her face blank. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m not new, Jean. I saw the way he looked at you. But you’re not a nobody waitress out in the middle of nowhere anymore. People are going to be paying attention to you for reasons you’ve never experienced before.”

  She gripped the pen tightly as she tried to figure out how offended she should be. “Are you saying you’ve never taken advantage of your social status to get...favors?”

  Nathan met her eyes across the table. “Oh, I take advantage of my status all the time. But the women I take to bed are lapdogs. Ankle biters. That man is a pit bull and you don’t take pit bulls to bed. You keep them chained in your front yard and keep them at a distance.”

  Jean pushed herself up and away from the table. “I appreciate the brotherly advice, but I think I should be going.”

  “I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I know I’m a stranger to you, but so is he. You don’t know him like I do. That man is a menace and he’s done things for my father that would make you sick.”

  Jean folded her paper of contact names in half and made her way around the table. “I assure you, I’m not entering any sort of relationship with Colin. He’s just helping introduce me to you. Full disclosure, I’ve agreed to give him a finder’s fee for the introduction, so I know full well that he’s using me. Just, trust me when I say that I know what I’m doing.”

  Nathan reached the door before her and held it open. “I believe that you think you know what you’re doing. But the next time I see you, I’ll have proof that he’s not what he claims to be.”

  Something else to look forward to. “We’ll cross that bridge then,” she said, trying to change the subject. “I’d hate to end this meeting on a bad note.” She stepped out of the conference room and he followed, walking with her as they made their way to the elevators.

  “I’ll be honest. If you’d suddenly agreed to stay away from Carter, then I’d know for sure that we weren’t related,” he said, back to the smiling, joking tone he’d had earlier.

  Even though Jean was happy they weren’t talking about Colin anymore, she hated the idea that she was talking to the fake Nathan. As though she really was his sister and wanted to know the real him...

  Was it a good or bad thing that she was starting to believe her own lies?

  Nathan stopped once they reached the elevator bay. “Just try to remember what I said.”

  Colin narrowed his eyes and Jean waved him off, letting him know she was coming. “I’ll keep it in mind. Promise.”

  Before she knew what was happening, Nathan reached around her and wrapped her in a tight hug. “It was great meeting you, Jean,” he said before quickly letting her go. “And we’re going to get together soon, right?”

  She smiled, still a bit thrown off from the hug. It seemed as though Robert hadn’t wanted to touch her at all, and then Nathan was full force into the family thing. This family was giving her whiplash. “We will. I’m looking forward to it.”

  Nathan nodded before he left to disappear into the offices. Right before he was gone, Jean called, “Nathan!” He stopped and turned around, one hand holding the door open. “I grew up with a pit bull named Brutus. He slept in my bed every night.”

  “Trust me, Jean—we’re talking a whole different breed than Brutus.”

  “So I’m assuming I’m a pit bull?” said Colin as the elevator doors slid shut. He’d figured Nathan had kept Jean back to talk about him, so now he had to assess the damage.

  “You’re not Nathan’s favorite person. Luckily for you, I have a soft spot for those dogs.”

  “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me,” he said with a sardonic smile.

  “Well, I try,” said Jean with a sweet smile.

  “What else did he say to you?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” She stared intently at the numbers ticking down.

  “It does matter. I want to know what he said.”

  “It’s none of your business.”

  Colin turned to face her. “Jean, what happens to you is my business. Now let me know what he said.”

  She rolled her eyes but didn’t look at him. “He said you were using me and I should be careful. Which isn’t exactly wrong, is it? You are using me. And I told him that I was paying you a finder’s fee, just not how much. Now you know everything. Happy?”

  The elevator reached the lobby and dinged open as Jean bolted out of the small, confined space. But even her longest strides had nothing on him, and Colin easily kept up with her. “I’m just trying to keep informed, Jean.”

  “You’re being bossy.” She entered the revolving door fast enough to keep him from going into the same section with her.

  When Colin was outside, he jogged to catch up to her. “I’ve always been bossy. I don’t think this should be some strange revelation to you.”

  “Can we just not talk about this right now? I told you what happened just like you asked. I even defended you.”

  “But he got to you. I can tell something is different.”

  “That’s not dropping it. What do you want from me, Colin?”

  He grabbed her arm. “I want you to stop. I want you to not take private meetings with guys who are trying to kill you. I want you to trust that when I’m being bossy, it’s for good reason.”

  “Wait. Why would Nathan want me dead?”

  “Because if you were his sister, Walter would’ve been married to Nathan’s mother when you were conceived.”

  Jean took a step back. “And you were going to tell me this when?”

  Hopefully never? “When I confirmed it was a problem. There was no reason to scare you when I was going to be with you every second.”

  “But you aren’t going to be with me every second. Colin, the second I give you your cut, you’re going to be gone and I’m going to be alone with these guys. Don’t you owe me the truth about them?”

  “I’m not going to leave you to the wolves.”

  Jean scoffed and looked around. “Don’t bullshit me, Colin. I’m not stupid. Last night was great, but I know what it was. The second that money comes through, you’re going to be gone. And that’s fine. That’s what I knew was going to happen. But please don’t act like you’re sticking around. I’m not that naive.”

  Colin glared down at her as he tried to find something, anything to say. He wanted to promise that he’d take care of her as long as she needed him to, but that had never been part of the plan. She was right. As soon as she got her inheritance, he was going to be out of there.

  And once he was gone, she was going to be alone with Robert, Nathan, Alex, and eventually Logan once he was out of prison. “Damn it, Jean, I need you to tell me that you’re going to be safe.”

  “Colin, I’ve been fine without you for my entire life. I don’t know why you think anything would change now.”

  He was more than aware that she hadn’t made any promises, but there wasn’t anything else he was going to get. Nothing more he had a right to ask.

  He should’ve never slept with her. Damn it...things were getting complicated. It was supposed to be one, or maybe a few, fun nights and then she’d be out of his system. But the second Nathan had asked him to leave and, even worse, Jean had agreed with him, it had felt like a punch in the face.

  He didn’t like the idea of her being separated from him, and he had no idea what Nathan had told her about him. He hadn’t had a lot of interaction with Walter’s sons over the past ten years, but it was more than likely they’d had him checked out before. So there was a lot Nathan could say to Jean, and mo
re than likely whatever he said would be true.

  “Fine. Let’s just head back to my place.” Maybe after the walk, they could both cool down enough to talk. Maybe once they were there, they didn’t even have to talk. There were better things they could be doing.

  “Let’s go then.” She turned and walked in the direction of his apartment.

  Colin looked around the street and then walked alongside Jean. She was quiet and he didn’t push her for more. She’d already had a strange day, and he needed to be on alert.

  Especially because after three blocks, it became evident that they were being followed.

  Colin reached out and set a hand around Jean’s waist, holding her close. She stiffened with his touch but didn’t say anything. He leaned close and whispered into her ear, “Did Nathan say anything about sending someone to keep an eye on you?”

  Jean jerked in his arms, but he tightened his grip, keeping her close.

  “What? No, he didn’t say anything about someone following us. Do you think I’d be okay with that?”

  “I didn’t think you’d be okay with it, but I do think someone has been tailing us since we left Farrell Tower.”

  Jean started to look behind her and Colin kept pulling her forward at the same pace. “Trust me, he’s there. He stopped when we stopped and jaywalked at the last intersection to keep up with us.”

  “What? When did you even see this?”

  “It’s my job,” said Colin. “I told you I was going to keep you safe. Now just do what I say and you’ll be fine.”

  Jean’s wide eyes looked scared as she kept on trying to glance subtly behind her, but he would guess she wasn’t having any luck. “Great, an excuse for you to be bossy. Do you think this is the other guy who was paid to kill me?”

  “I don’t know who he is. But we’re going to find out.” Colin took stock of everyone around them on the street. It was between breakfast and lunch, so the streets weren’t too busy considering this district was all office buildings and most people worked nine to five. But not that busy for Manhattan was still pretty crowded.

  The man following them was trying to be inconspicuous but doing it badly. His face was covered by cheap sunglasses and a baseball cap, so Colin hadn’t gotten a good look. He maneuvered Jean farther to the right of the sidewalk in front of a group of three businessmen. All the men were tall enough to easily hide Jean, and Colin slouched so the man following wouldn’t see him easily.