Controlling Interests: A Step-Brother Romance (The Legacy Book 2)

by Lana Grayson

  Her scowl wasn’t nearly as endearing as the treats she offered. She pouted but heeded orders.

  My father didn’t knock. He entered unbidden, shaking his head.

  “Nicholas, I hoped you’d enjoy your new office.” He was not subtle. “And the secretary.”

  I laughed. “I can find my own women, Dad, thank you.”

  He smiled. “Serves me right for match-making. Though, forgive your father. You might begin thinking of finding someone.”

  “Part of the business plan?” I sat at my new desk. “Job. Presidency. Wife?”

  “Child. What did I tell you were the cornerstones of success? Power and…?”

  “Family.”

  My father nodded. “Exactly. You’re a young man, but one day, you will be responsible for this family and company.”

  “Maybe I should work a full day before I start the search for the future Mrs. Nicholas Bennett?”

  “It isn’t the wife that’s important,” my father said. “It’s the legacy. This company is our future. One day, it’ll be your turn to ensure its safety.” He held my gaze, formally welcoming me to the Bennett Corporation with a handshake.

  “I hope you’ll be as proud of your son as I am of mine.”

  I was not a man who tolerated being ignored.

  Not my calls, not my correspondence, and not my invitations to lunch.

  Roman Wescott tried my patience, and he would lose.

  I would not allow my company’s decisions and business interests to be controlled by another, especially one outside the family. I worked too hard, sacrificed too much, and spent too many nights alone to allow a stranger to rule over us.

  I worked only to ensure her safety.

  And a month was far too long a wait for me to suffer.

  Max bounced his good leg as we idled outside Wescott’s office. He saw through it all, even my solemn silence.

  “You sure you want to do this?” He asked.

  “Yes.”

  “And you want to do it my way?”

  “That choice was made for us.”

  Max didn’t believe me. “You really fucked this up, Nick.”

  No. I did exactly what I needed to do.

  I protected Sarah, first and foremost. Whatever else happened was inconsequential.

  If that meant the board ordered me to do their bidding like a damned whipping boy, then fine. If it meant serving my father and parroting his every word for the past month, all the better.

  If I was the target of their cruelty, then I was the bastard they’d punish. They wouldn’t target Sarah for Roman Wescott’s refusal to sign the amendment freeing her from the board’s sights.

  But the board’s patience was limited.

  And I had no other options but to engage Wescott in a more…unprofessional manner.

  “This is what we have to do to save her life,” I said.

  Max pointed through the windshield, toward Roman Wescott’s office and the last obstacle preventing me from trading Sarah’s trust for her life.

  “What if he doesn’t sign?” Max said.

  “He will.”

  “We could keep moving her.” Max offered solutions I already imagined and rationalized as too dangerous. “Just shift her around until the trust hits on her birthday. That’s only what, seven months? There’s plenty of little cabins in the Poconos where she could hide.”

  “I’m not taking that chance. I want her free from the board.”

  “Just because she’s kept alive doesn’t mean she’ll be safe,” he said. “Dad will find her.”

  Like the thought hadn’t kept me awake for nights on end, imagining what would happen if we slipped, if somehow he discovered where she hid. What little sleep I earned ended in nightmares of her death and the celebration of those in the Bennett Corporation who lived only to watch her die.

  The days passed. Then weeks. Then the month.

  Protecting her meant hiding her, even from me. I hadn’t spoken to her since the day I rescued her. My brothers stole her away, exchanged helicopters for planes and planes for cars and crossed the country in record time to deliver her into strict isolation.

  She was alone.

  She was scared.

  But she was alive.

  And, for the moment, that pleased both my father and me. He made an unfortunate ally, protecting Sarah for his own perverted reasons. However, for the purposes of securing the company, I could think of no better partner, mentor, or veteran in a war against our own board.

  What should have become my board.

  I sacrificed my interests to save hers. My life, my future, my empire—gone. Destroyed by an Atwood, just as I knew would eventually happen.

  And I would have signed my life over again.

  I’d never regret a moment of her safety.

  “This is more than earning his signature,” I said. “I need to know why Wescott is denying her.”

  Max snorted. “And while you’re asking all these questions, what am I doing?”

  “What you do best.”

  “And what’s that?”

  I didn’t look at him. “Helping the family.”

  His smile chilled me. “You mean, doing what I’m told?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how does bruising my fists help the Bennetts?” Max exhaled. “How does this make what we’ve done any less repulsive? Do you think Sarah will ever forgive you for that night?”

  “No.”

  “You think this will make her safer?”

  “No.”

  “Then tell me why you’re asking me to crack this asshole’s skull just so you can give Sarah’s inheritance to the board and hand the company right back to that fucking bastard.”

  Easy.

  It was the easiest decision I had ever made.

  “Because it means I’ll see her again.”

  The last memory I had of Sarah was her clutching at Reed as my father threatened her virtue. I didn’t say goodbye. I didn’t tell her how I planned to save her.

  She peered down at me from the helicopter, hand pressed against the glass, and then escaped from the danger that I forced upon her so many months ago.

  I had to see her, to know she was okay, to earn her forgiveness.

  If only to end the nightmares.

  In my sleep, my love for her twisted into heinous lust, and the things I did and the ways I hurt her satisfied a barbaric and primal part of me. My nightmares made me more like my father than any decision I made for the corporation, sacrifice I chose for the family, or evil I committed to avenge our name over our enemies.

  I would spend my billions, surrender my company, and abandon my future success for only one minute with the woman I’d betrayed, if only to ensure I hadn’t lost the one chance I had for happiness in this world.

  I didn’t wait for Max. I buttoned my suit and entered Wescott’s offices—a series of laboratories the entrepreneur financed with the billions he earned from his own ventures and trusts. A secretary texted on her cell as we approached, greeting us without looking up. I ignored her, and Max unplugged the console phone as she protested our entry into the office looming behind the oaken doors.

  Roman Wescott laughed from behind his desk, ending his call with a widening smile.

  “No, no.” He waved to the panicking secretary, eager to help but unable to prevent Max from taking his rightful place at my side. “It’s okay. I’ll see them without an appointment.”

  “Yes,” I said. “You will.”

  Wescott nodded as his secretary closed the doors. “I hadn’t expected to meet with you today, but it isn’t like the Bennetts are required to follow social etiquette.”

  He tested me.

  It was a mistake.

  “I was under the impression my emails, calls, and invitations would serve as interest in a meeting.”

  “I’m a very busy man, Nicholas.” Wescott offered me a seat with an extended hand. It wasn’t a friendly gesture. His voice chilled like broken marble. “I’m su
re you understand.”

  “I assure you, this matter will take very little time to resolve.”

  Wescott nodded. He offered a drink. We declined.

  “You want me to sign the Josmik amendment,” he said.

  “Yes.”

  “Strange.”

  Max said nothing. He waited for my order. But something in Wescott’s tone interested me.

  “Do you have an objection?” I asked. “Allow me to ease your concerns.”

  “Forgive me, but this amendment is quite bewildering,” he said. “Why would Nicholas Bennett storm my office and demand that I sign the very document that removes his family from power and awards it to an Atwood?”

  “You took no issue in signing your stock over to the Atwoods. Does it matter what happens with the Bennett Corporation once you’ve taken your investments elsewhere?”

  Wescott gestured across his desk. “It’s curious. Two Bennetts in my office, urging me to consider an agreement that will destroy their company. This goes beyond Daddy issues.”

  “I’m asking you to sign the agreement,” I said. “Simple as that.”

  “Why?”

  I wouldn’t explain my actions to anyone but Sarah. “It’s irrelevant.”

  “But it isn’t. Don’t tell me you’re doing this for the benefit of the Atwood girl.”

  “My motivations may differ from those of my step-sister.”

  “Step-sister? I doubt that’s how you think of her.”

  “We don’t have a lot of time to piss around,” Max said. “Sign the damn agreement so we don’t end our professional relationship on bad terms.”

  Wescott wasn’t threatened. He knew it would come to this.

  “Nicholas, a few months ago, you called this office to arrange a meeting. You were adamant about ending the Josmik Trust. You promised a new model for the corporation with innovation and research and development to drive our profits. You almost convinced me to void my portion and remain within the company. I might have believed in you.” He narrowed his eyes. “Was that all a lie?”

  “The situation changed.”

  “No. It remained the same. Business as usual for the Bennetts. Cutthroat and ruthless and…” He nodded toward Max. “Violent, when the situation calls for it. I’m not an optimist, Nicholas. The world is full of darkness, and we’re fools if we deny that presence in our souls.”

  “Hardly relevant.”

  “Whatever happened between your family and Sarah Atwood only made her stronger. I’m glad for it, if only to have someone willing to end your reign.”

  He picked up the amendment, signing his name along the line.

  “I have no issue in awarding the girl what is hers,” he said.

  “Then why did you wait?”

  Wescott capped his pen. “She didn’t agree to my terms.”

  Sarah didn’t mention anything about terms. She told me he refused to sign.

  “What did you ask of her?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t matter now. I see that I was right.” He gestured to Max. “Had I not signed, I’m sure Maxwell Bennett would have negotiated in his own ways.”

  “I live to serve,” Max said.

  Wescott nodded. “Don’t we all? But this is the root of the problem, Nicholas. I had hopes for you.”

  “Don’t discount me yet,” I said.

  He pushed the contract to me. “I never meant to delay her fortune or deny what belongs to her. I didn’t sign this amendment because I knew, eventually, the girl would return the stock to you.”

  I said nothing though the implication burned.

  “I hoped someone could lead the Bennett Corporation in the right direction. That was why I sold. I thought you would be different, but you’ve proved my instincts were correct. I’m disappointed.”

  “Don’t be,” I said. “I won’t explain myself to you, and I’ll choose to forget your insults. You can believe me when I say I’m acting in the best interests of my family. I will do everything in my power to protect the ones I love.”

  “I don’t doubt that. I only question how you plan to protect them. You have always wanted to control everyone and everything. And when people don’t obey you?” He nodded to Max. “You send in the dogs.”

  Max lunged, but I stopped him before mistakes were made.

  “No matter your reasons, no matter your intentions, one thing is perfectly clear to the world.” Wescott leaned close, his voice low. “You would ruin others to protect your own. And that, Nicholas Bennett, is why you are no better a man than your father.”

  My fingers curled around the barrel of the baseball bat.

  The knock rattled the chalet, each strike against the door echoing from the loft to the living room.

  I regretted the pleasant fire in the hearth. The smoke was probably visible. It didn’t matter how deeply I hid within the wilderness, even a cozy fire was irresponsible.

  The bat scraped off the floor, but I cringed as the steps creaked under my feet.

  I learned which stairs squealed during the month I’d spent hiding within the mountain chalet. I planned escape routes, planted weapons, and prepared myself for any and all danger.

  And I forgot it all in a single moment of panic.

  Another knock.

  Each bang slammed my heart into my ribs.

  Who even knew I was here?

  I checked the track phone. No messages from my step-brothers. No heads-up about a visit or a warning of danger.

  I hated how I shuffled toward the door, despised myself for slinking against the wall, and loathed every pathetic breath that puffed, scared and timid and wracked with the threat of my godforsaken asthma. I needed to breathe if I had any hope of defending myself.

  The forest was supposed to be beyond rural. Nearly empty. Still, I woke from a nightmare in the morning, kicked from the sheets, and collapsed with my inhaler.

  Something bad was going to happen.

  But something even worse would punish anyone who dared to attack me.

  The bat rose. I pitched the door open.

  A goldendoodle yelped, burst into the living room, and launched at my chest. We both went down, and Hamlet pinned me against the woven rug. I laughed, hugging the furry monster and scratching behind his ears as he licked, yipped, and tripped over himself to love me harder.

  The tears blurred my vision.

  Nicholas.

  I couldn’t speak.

  I struggled against Hamlet. Nicholas embraced me before I stood, hauling me from the floor and crushing me against his chest. I worried he’d squeeze until I broke in half, and I cried thinking he wouldn’t hold me tightly enough.

  His clean, masculine scent enveloped me in the familiar clutch of safety and possession. I dreamt of his eyes—longed for the golden warmth, relentless dedication, and absolute devotion that shattered my defenses and left me so vulnerable for him, to him.

  His words rushed, resonating with a velvet confidence that trapped me within his control before I could even ask how or why he finally came for me.

  “I had to see you.” His voice warmed, dripping like melting wax and scorching me with the same heat. “I shouldn’t be here, but I had to see you.”

  His kiss silenced my questions and stole my protests.

  I was lost for a month.

  Alone and desperate, I attacked the shadows and hid from every light. I huddled in the cabin, too anxious to brave the ten mile trip into town for another box of cereal or a gallon of milk.

  One month of waiting in silence.

  Of isolation from the world.

  Of complete and total abandonment.

  Nicholas meant to protect me. He promised to free me from Darius and hide me until he foolishly gambled with my life, his company, and the stock I didn’t yet possess. He worked to save me from the board’s cruelty.

  And his father’s violence.

  A month I huddled alone, waking in fear and living in solitude.

  And all I wanted was Nicholas.

  H
is kiss revived me, thawing the parts of me lost beneath the layers of fear and aggression. I fell into his strength, tangling my arms over his neck, pulling my body against his.

  I’d never be close enough, not when the days and the miles had separated us for so long.

  I savored every brush of his lips and welcomed the greedy, flicking temptation of his tongue against mine. My hands dug into his suit jacket.

  “Are you okay?” He whispered, threading his fingers through my hair to study my face, my lips, my neck. He didn’t wait for my answer, bending to taste the silken skin of my throat. “Are you safe?”

  I nodded. I hummed as he suckled against the hollow of my neck. “Were you followed?”

  “No.”

  “I missed you.”

  “I shouldn’t be here.”

  Nicholas’s voice ground need against restraint, but even a Bennett’s willpower could be tempted. He reached for me, lifting me into his arms.

  “Why did you come?”

  “I couldn’t stop myself.”

  He carried me up the stairs, kicking the door the bedroom open and lying me upon the rumpled sheets. I blushed as pink as the pajamas. Nicholas pushed me onto the pillows before tossing his jacket on the floor.

  “You left me.” I raised onto my elbows. It only encouraged him. Nicholas pressed against me, pinning me between him and the bed. No better place existed than trapped beneath him, struggling only to shed the layers of frustrating material between our desperate bodies. “You left me here all alone. You didn’t call me.”

  His kiss silenced my protest.

  “You didn’t come to see me.”

  His touch subdued my anger.

  “You didn’t even say goodbye.”

  He burned with an apology he’d never give. “I didn’t want anyone finding where we took you. I was obsessed with keeping you safe. I couldn’t let him find you.”

  He touched my cheek, gentle and cautious, as though I’d shatter from his first touch.

  I probably would.

  I’d crack into a hundred shards from his stare, a thousand fragments under his hands, and disintegrate completely the instant he loved me.

  The last time Nicholas Bennett dared to brush my skin, I was betrayed, bruised and nearly broken. Not every injury was visible. I survived, but the ache hadn’t.