Her Tycoon Hero

by Narelle Atkins

  Yeah, right. She shot him a final terse look before heading back into the ballroom.

  He’d aged since she’d last seen him. Fine lines surrounded his eyes and he looked like a man who’d seen tough times.

  She walked toward the bar, her gaze homing in on a row of bottles. All her old favorites stood there, waiting for her.

  A crowd gathered nearby. Would anyone notice if she knocked back a glass or two?

  No. She had to be strong. Not even a sip.

  Lord, please help me walk away now, before it’s too late. Put one foot in front of the other and walk away from temptation. Think about something else.

  Sean. The reason her thoughts had strayed to the bar. Where had he been for the past two years?

  Cassie slipped into her seat beside Ryan. “I’m sorry I took so long.”

  “You’ve been gone for ages.” He glanced at his watch. “Are you okay? You look flustered.”

  “You won’t believe what’s happened. He’s here.”

  “Who’s here?” Her father sat in the spare seat beside her.

  “No one.” Why did Dad have to turn up now? Talk about bad timing.

  “Cassandra, what’s going on?” her father asked.

  “Nothing that concerns you.”

  Ryan frowned. “Something’s wrong and you were gone a long time.”

  Dad shot her a sharp look. “Have you been drinking?”

  “No, I told you I’m sober. Why can’t you believe me?”

  “Cassie, calm down.” Ryan’s gray eyes softened. “Tell me who’s here.”

  She sucked in a soothing breath. Her father’s accusation had pushed her too far. She counted to ten. The adrenaline rush started to subside.

  She met Ryan’s concerned gaze. “There’s someone in the lobby waiting to see you.”

  Ryan raised an eyebrow. “Who is it?”

  She chewed on her lower lip. What could she say? Her father would go berserk if he knew Sean was outside in the lobby. He’d probably call the police.

  She leaned over and whispered in Ryan’s ear. “I’ll tell you when my father isn’t in earshot.”

  Confusion clouded Ryan’s face. “What’s the problem? What are you hiding?”

  “Well, Cassandra, isn’t this convenient, arranging a mystery meeting for Ryan in the hotel lobby. If you didn’t want to talk to me you should have just said so and I wouldn’t have wasted my time stopping over to see you.”

  “Dad, you’re wrong.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Please believe me, Dad, this isn’t my idea. Ryan can tell you all about it later.” Why now? The perfect opportunity to talk to her father had been thwarted by Sean.

  Her father stood. “Whatever. I’ll be on my way.”

  “Dad, wait.” Her father ignored her, striding away. She hadn’t lost her talent for making things worse with him.

  Ryan turned to face her. “Who is this mystery person?”

  She grabbed hold of his hand. “Let’s go to the lobby and get this over with.”

  * * *

  Ryan walked beside Cassie in silence, the stony expression on her face worrying him.

  He crossed the lobby to the lounge area. What had gotten into her? He’d never seen her lose control. The issues between father and daughter ran too deep for his liking.

  He scanned the room and met a familiar pair of blue eyes. Sean. What was he doing here?

  Sean offered him a bright smile. “Hey, big brother, how’s things?”

  Red-hot anger coursed through him, every muscle in his body tensing. “What are you playing at? Where have you been for the last two years?”

  Sean raised his hands. “Take it easy, bro. I’ve been traveling, seeing the world—”

  “Using the money you stole from Cassie’s father. You think that’s something to be proud of?”

  “It was company money, and it’s not like he’s going to miss it.”

  “Do you think that makes it okay?” Cassie asked. “Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money.”

  Ryan clenched his fists tighter. “I can’t believe this. You have no remorse. I should have let John press charges against you.”

  Cassie frowned at Sean. “You do intend to make things right and repay the money, don’t you?”

  “Why bother?” Sean shrugged. “The company has probably already written off the loss.”

  “The company isn’t out of pocket,” he said.

  Cassie arched an eyebrow. “Did Dad write it off?”

  Ryan shook his head and glared at Sean. “I cleared the debt, so you owe me fifty thousand dollars.”

  Sean’s mouth thinned into a grim line. “Why did you do that?”

  “It was the right thing to do. Your actions put my career in a tenuous situation. John employed you in the first place under my recommendation so it became my responsibility to fix your mess.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have fixed it,” Sean said.

  What? Someone had to fix Sean’s mess. He’d expected him to be a little more grateful, since Sean would have ended up behind bars if Ryan hadn’t intervened on his behalf.

  Ryan took a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time to lose it. “It’s done, so now we can sit down and organize a payment plan. Have you spoken to Mom and Dad?”

  Sean shook his head. “I will soon.”

  Yeah right. He’d heard that line before.

  Sean shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Money’s a little tight at the moment. If we could postpone the payment plan for a few months—”

  “No.” Ryan stepped closer to Sean. “It’s time you grew up and took responsibility for your actions. Let’s settle this now.”

  “I feel bad about the money, but I’ve got a lot of expenses. If you’ve got a spare few hundred dollars I could borrow now, we could talk about a payment plan later.”

  “What? You expect me to lend you money?”

  “I’m in a bind. Five hundred dollars would fix it—”

  “No way! I’m not lending you a cent until you start repaying the money you already owe.”

  “We can talk about a payment plan next month. Right now I really need the extra cash.”

  “I get it. You have no intention of repaying me a cent of that money.”

  Sean stared at the floor and remained silent.

  Ryan fumed. “Answer me now. Yes or no.”

  “I have to go.” Sean passed a scrap of paper to Cassie. “My cell phone number. Call me.”

  “Wait up.” Ryan stepped forward. “Don’t you walk away from me.”

  Sean rushed out the main door, disappearing in the crowd on the street.

  Ryan muttered a few choice words under his breath. The next time I get my hands on him...

  Cassie’s mouth gaped open and she stared at the slip of paper in her hand. “I can’t believe he left, just like that.”

  “Sean hasn’t changed.”

  “I guess not.”

  “I made a mistake in bailing him out, but it won’t happen again. As far as I’m concerned he’s nothing to me until he shows some remorse and starts repaying the money.”

  She nodded. “But you’ll forgive him eventually?”

  He shook his head. “Sean needs to do the right thing and repay the money before I can consider forgiving him. You’ve no idea the pain and suffering he has inflicted on my parents.”

  “I’ll call him sometime. I need to sort out my issues with him so I can put all this stuff behind me.”

  “You do realize that he probably won’t apologize. Do you want him harassing you for money?”

  “Of course not. He may not give me an apology, but I can deal with it. I can still work on forgiving him so I can move on.”<
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  Ryan frowned. “Let me get this straight. You’re going to forgive him even if he never says he’s sorry?”

  “It won’t happen overnight, but life’s too short to hold grudges over stuff like this.”

  How could she even consider letting him off the hook? “I disagree with you.” He looked her straight in the eye. “But I’m too angry to talk about this now. I need to get out of here.”

  “I’ll duck back inside and say our goodbyes.”

  He nodded. “I’ll wait here.”

  He paced the length of the lobby, ignoring the strange looks from the other hotel guests. A workout with his punching bag would help release his aggravation. How dare Sean ask him for money?

  The painful truth sank in. His brother didn’t care about him. Sean would use him to get what he wanted, but that was it. Without hesitation, his brother had walked out on him and refused to make the situation right.

  How could Cassie even entertain the idea of forgiving his ungrateful brother? During the drive home in the car he intended to convince her to change her mind. Otherwise, how would Sean ever learn to do the right thing?

  Chapter 6

  Cassie closed her eyes. The blues song playing through Ryan’s car stereo system matched her mood.

  Tension radiated from Ryan as he drove in silence back to the northern beaches from the city.

  She pressed her lips together, unsure of what to do next. The few times she’d tried to initiate a conversation, he’d given her curt, single-word responses.

  He drove onto her street and pulled up outside her apartment complex. The streetlights illuminated the hard line of his mouth.

  She attempted a smile. “Thanks for taking me to the dinner.”

  He nodded. “Have you changed your mind?”

  “About?”

  “Sean.” He gripped the steering wheel with both hands.

  Her stomach tensed. “What about Sean?”

  “Will you contact him?”

  “I’ll probably call him sometime.”

  “Why?” He met her gaze head-on. “What do you hope to achieve?”

  Yesterday she’d had no interest in seeing Sean again. How had tonight changed her perspective on him?

  “I’m not lending him money, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she said.

  “What’s the point?” He looked away. “Haven’t you got better things to do than hang out with my loser brother?”

  She recoiled, his harsh tone feeling like a slap in the face.

  “I need closure,” she said, squaring her shoulders.

  “How will seeing him help you?”

  “I’d like to hear his side of the story.”

  “You know the facts. Listening to him won’t make a difference.”

  She frowned. “I’m not so sure.”

  “He’s a user, and he only contacted us because he’s desperate for money.”

  “Or maybe, in some bizarre way, it’s his cry for help?”

  He shook his head. “You don’t get it. He’s beyond help. A lost cause. The only thing he wants is free money.”

  “I don’t believe anyone is beyond help.” Anger pulsed through her. “Just thinking about Sean makes me mad.”

  He nodded. “Me, too.”

  “And it’s going to be tough, but I know I need to work on letting go of my anger and hurt so I can move on.”

  “You’re going to let him off the hook?”

  She lowered her lashes, taking in a deep breath. “I’m far from perfect and we all make mistakes.” She disengaged her seat belt.

  “That’s not the point.”

  “But it is.” She bit her lower lip to stop it from trembling. “Do you think people should hold every bad thing you’ve ever done against you forever?”

  Tonight she’d experienced the full force of her own human weakness. She’d been so close to falling off the wagon, and her self-control had been stretched to the limit.

  “Sean’s actions over the last few years can’t be written off as little mistakes,” he said.

  “I know.”

  “He has screwed up big-time.”

  “But it’s not my job to judge him—”

  Ryan thumped his fist on the steering wheel. “You’re wrong about Sean, and you’re not helping him. How will he ever learn to be responsible?”

  Tears pricked her eyes. Ryan’s grudge against his brother ran deep.

  Anger and frustration warred inside her. She understood Ryan’s anger. A part of her wanted to give in and tell Ryan what he wanted to hear. Smooth over the stormy waters and make things good between them again.

  Ryan stared straight ahead out the windshield. He tapped his fingers hard on the dashboard, stress exuding from every pore in his body.

  Compassion for his situation filled her heart. His brother had betrayed him. The magnitude of Sean’s selfishness stole her breath.

  Torn between two brothers, she couldn’t see a way to resolve this issue right now. She hated seeing Sean on a mission to self-destruct. At the same time she longed to comfort Ryan, but she couldn’t tell him what he wanted to hear.

  A no-win situation. They all needed time to process the events that had transpired tonight.

  Minutes later she broke the silence. “I think I should go inside.”

  “I’ll walk you to your door.” He jumped out of the SUV, slamming his door before striding to her side of the vehicle and opening her door.

  “Thanks.” She walked next to him up the drive.

  He quickened his pace, not glancing at all in her direction.

  She fell behind, unwilling to risk twisting her ankle or ruining her heels on the uneven pavement by attempting to keep up with his cracking pace.

  She approached the entrance to her apartment building, scrounging around in her purse for her keys. She fumbled with the lock.

  “Here, let me.” He took the keys out of her hand.

  She looked up at his face, catching a glimpse of the pain in his eyes before he shuttered his expression.

  He unlocked the door, holding it open for her.

  “Thanks.” She crossed the threshold into the foyer.

  He placed her keys in her hand. “See you later.”

  Dismissed, she stood in the foyer, watching him race up the drive to his SUV.

  He gunned the engine and sped away.

  She trudged up the two flights of stairs to her apartment, her despair growing with each step. This wasn’t how their evening was supposed to end.

  She closed her apartment door, kicked off her heels and strode into the living room.

  Julia glanced up from the armchair across the room. “Hey, I didn’t expect you back for ages.” She pressed the stop button on the remote control.

  Cassie sprawled out on the sofa. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

  “I got back early.” Julia frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “You won’t believe what happened tonight.”

  “I’m sorry. I know you wanted things to work out with Ryan—”

  “This isn’t just about Ryan, although everything with him is a mess, too.”

  “Oh.” Julia ate a spoonful of vanilla ice cream. “Did your dad do something?”

  “No, but I also managed to upset him big-time. Sean turned up.”

  Julia’s eyes widened. “You’re joking!”

  “I wish I was.”

  “What happened?” Julia placed her ice cream bowl on the coffee table and sat next to her.

  Cassie told Julia about Sean’s reappearance and her disagreement with Ryan.

  “I’m so sorry.” Julia passed over a box of tissues. “Did you know about Ryan repaying the money to your father?”

 
She shook her head. “It explains why Dad didn’t pursue criminal charges with the police.”

  “And why Ryan is furious with Sean.”

  Cassie mopped up the tears at the corners of her eyes. “Then our stilted goodbye outside turned into another argument. I think it’s all over between us before it ever really started.”

  “Did Ryan tell you he never wanted to see you again?”

  “No, but he didn’t suggest we go out again.”

  Julia frowned. “Does Ryan want to forgive Sean?”

  “Yes and no. Sean needs to prove to Ryan that he deserves to be forgiven before Ryan will consider forgiving him.”

  “I’ll make us some hot chocolate” Julia gave her a big hug. “Hopefully Ryan will calm down in a few days.”

  “I don’t think this is going to blow over. I’ve had a bad night, and I nearly had a drink.”

  “What? Oh, Cassie, you poor thing. Was this after Sean turned up?”

  She nodded, gnawing her lower lip. “I walked to the bar and came so close to having a drink. I thought I’d recovered enough that I wouldn’t be easily tempted but...”

  “You’ve had a stressful night.”

  “I know.”

  Concern filled Julia’s eyes. “I also get why you’d feel the urge to blot it all out.”

  “I feel terrible. I’ve been sober for so long, and one moment of weakness almost undid everything.”

  “But you didn’t have a drink. Did you pray?”

  She nodded. “It helped, and reminded me of the early days of my recovery when it was a full-on daily battle to stay sober.”

  “Cass, it’s hard, but you stood firm and didn’t give in.”

  “But I came close to caving and telling Ryan what he wanted to hear, and now I’ve lost him.”

  “Does it bother Ryan that you and Sean were once close friends?”

  “I don’t know.” She sighed. “He didn’t like the idea of me hanging out with Sean. Not that I intend to do that.”

  Julia stood. “I’ll get the hot chocolate.”

  “Thanks for listening.”

  “No problem.”

  Cassie slouched on the sofa, her heart heavy. How could an evening that started so well end in such a horrible mess?

  Why did Sean have to reappear tonight, of all nights? Now she had the added problem of her father being annoyed with her.