Conklin's Foundation (Conklin's Trilogy #2)

by Brooke Page

  RJ’s cell phone broke our silence. He pulled the phone out of his pocket, quickly glancing over the screen then around the table. He started to move his fingers on his keyboard then placed his phone back in his pocket. Mary watched him intently then her eyes narrowed as though she knew who he was talking to.

  “What was so important you had to discuss with our sons making us wait for dinner?” she snapped. She was regaining her normal feisty self. It seemed RJ’s phone call had changed her attitude about whatever they had fought about earlier.

  “Business as usual, Mary,” RJ clipped, continuing to eat his food.

  She huffed, taking a large drink of her wine.

  “Dad wanted to prepare us for a client’s new idea. He wants us to start right away, that’s all Mom,” Nathan smiled, looking at his mom with reassurance. I could tell Nathan was close to Mary and didn’t want to see her hurting or seething.

  “Yeah, Lee Chino. Remember him, Mom? He would always bring us presents when we were little. Dude turned into a real badass,” Mitch said as he shoveled food into his mouth.

  There was that name again. I remembered Tyler’s scowl when he saw my father talking to him and the slight surprise on his face when Michael told us my father and Lee were friends when they were younger.

  RJ coughed and shot Mitch a look, causing Mitch to look around the table confused.

  “What?” he asked unsure.

  “You weren’t supposed to say who the client was you idiot,” Tyler mumbled, tapping his fork on his plate.

  “Oh. I forgot. Why does it matter if Mom knows? Not like she is going to talk about the project. Besides, we didn’t even tell her what it was,” Mitch said, rolling his eyes.

  “That’s not the point, Mitch. How can I involve you in important, confidential meetings if you can’t keep your mouth shut and be professional?” RJ groaned with annoyance.

  “I didn’t know you did business with Lee anymore, RJ?” Mary accused in a low, questioning tone.

  “We don’t, but he needed warehouse space,” RJ said, not looking at Mary.

  Mary pursed her lips then continued eating her food. She looked annoyed by the name of Lee Chino, too. Why was this man loved and hated at the same time? I would have to bug Tyler about it later.

  “Didn’t Lee date Margo for a while?” Mary brought up, staring RJ in the eyes.

  Oh, the pedo nanny!

  RJ took a long drink of his water, his eyes looking intensely at Mary.

  I looked over at Tyler to see his expression which was the same as it had been throughout dinner: bored and irritated.

  “They did date, yes, but as far as I know, Lee isn’t seeing anyone,” RJ gulped.

  Mary’s gaze grew intense then went smoldering when RJ’s phone buzzed again.

  “What has she been up to? I always had fantasies about her. Man was she hot!” Mitch sighed in wonder.

  Nathan coughed, trying to hide a laugh as Tyler stiffened. RJ rolled his head to look at Mitch.

  “I’m having lunch with her next week. She just got back from London. Her father lives there,” Mary said, stabbing a piece of ham with her fork. “She was always so good to you boys,” she sighed appreciatively.

  I huffed to myself. She was a little too good to my Ty.

  “Too bad she was so much older, I could have tapped a piece of that,” Mitch laughed. “Actually, can you give me her number, Mom? Maybe she would let me take her out for New Year’s.”

  Mary rolled her eyes at Mitch then to the ceiling as though she were counting to ten.

  Nathan almost choked on a forkful of stuffing while Tyler shot him a glare.

  Nathan wiped his mouth, pulling the napkin down to his lap, amusement written all over his face. “Too bad you never got the chance, Mitch. Right Tyler?”

  Tyler gave Nathan a chilling look that only fueled Nathan’s humor.

  Mary giggled. “Tyler did always seem to have a crush on her. It was simply adorable.”

  “I did not,” Tyler mumbled, afraid to meet my eyes.

  I set my fork down, too disgusted to eat. How did she not know about Tyler’s long standing affair with her employee? The person who was in charge of her children? The thought sickened me almost as much as picturing Tyler take Margo on this very dining table.

  I gulped my wine, wincing, trying to forget that thought. Thank God I had never met the woman or knew what she looked like; otherwise I would be picturing Tyler screwing her in random places throughout this overly extravagant house.

  Conversation was minimal the rest of the dinner, but the air was thick and uncomfortable. Mary still wasn’t as lively as she was when Tyler and I had first gotten here, but a few sparks came off of her. She would glance every now and then at RJ, and instead of looking annoyed, she looked sad and hurt.

  RJ’s phone buzzed again as the help started to take away our plates. He put a half grin on his face then put the phone back in his pocket.

  “I have an urgent meeting I need to attend this evening,” RJ said, fumbling with his watch.

  “RJ, it’s Christmas,” Mary said sounding angry while sadness shown on her face. Even though she couldn’t stand RJ, it was clear she was in love with him. It was written all over her face by how she reacted to him. “Can’t you spend just this one day, this one evening with us?” Mary pouted quietly, cocking her head at RJ.

  RJ rolled his eyes as he stood. “Mary, I will be back later.”

  For whatever reason, I didn’t want RJ to leave. I wanted him to stay with his boys, to stay with his wife, even though he wasn’t faithful or a hands-on type of father. I wanted the air to be happy, and not so thick and tense.

  “That’s too bad, RJ,” I exhaled. Tyler whipped his head to look at me. “I was just going to show this family how to play Monopoly.” Nathan, Mitch, and Mary all cocked their heads at me in confusion.

  “Monopoly?” RJ asked with amusement.

  I nodded my head then looked at my nails. “I guess I can understand why you wouldn’t be able to handle it. I mean, I am a pro, and I’m sure your boys know how to handle money. Honestly, you probably would only last five minutes,” I shrugged.

  Nathan let out a quiet laugh. “I was the master at Monopoly.”

  “So I have one challenger? Mitch, are you in?” I asked.

  Mitch rolled his eyes. “That game is dumb.”

  I laughed internally. “What about you?” I asked Tyler, grabbing his hand. Tyler was looking at me in shock.

  “Um, I guess,” Tyler blinked, confused.

  I turned my head to RJ, raising a brow.

  A cocky, mischievous grin spread across RJ’s face. He pulled his chair back out sitting down, placing his elbows on the table, holding his chin in his hands. “Well, Miss Stine. Bring it on. It takes a millionaire to be the master at Monopoly. I doubt you all will be able to keep up with me.”

  Mary’s eyes brightened as RJ took a seat with amusement written all over his face. His strategic money hungry side was coming out.

  Nathan laughed. “I’m going to kick all of your asses. Nobody even think about taking the ship.”

  “I get the dog,” Mitch claimed, standing up and leaving the room to get the board game.

  Tyler was still staring at me, his expression unreadable. Shit. I hope he isn’t mad. I just wanted RJ to stay with his family. I didn’t want him to stay because I wanted him to stay.

  Tyler clenched his jaw when I met the intensity of his eyes.

  “What are you doing?” he murmured, his eyes alight with fire.

  “I told you earlier I wanted to play Monopoly. Why are you mad?” I whispered so no one could hear me except for Tyler.

  Tyler just shook his head while rubbing his face with both hands.

  ~

  “That’s bullshit!” Nathan shouted, throwing down his handful of properties and Monopoly money.

  I smirked as I passed GO and collected the final $200 of our two-hour Monopoly game. Nathan stood up, downing the rest of his drink then stomped o
ff into the kitchen.

  RJ was silently laughing at the end of the table with his hand on his chin. He had lost all of his money to me after he landed on Park Place for the third time and was being a shockingly good sport about losing.

  “Finally we’re done with this stupid game,” Mitch groaned.

  I turned to Tyler who also had his hand on his chin, smirking at me. He had an uncanny resemblance to his father at that moment.

  Tyler brushed his hand on my thigh. “That was impressive baby doll,” he said with awe in his eyes.

  RJ shook his head. “I underestimated you Miss Stine.”

  “What did you expect? She is Max Stine’s daughter!” Mary laughed.

  Slowly throughout the game, Mary moved closer and closer and was inches away from RJ, calm and relaxed. She sipped on her wine glass, glancing at him. RJ leaned back in his chair, spreading his arm across Mary’s seat. If I didn’t know better, she was practically begging him to touch her.

  “Yes, you are right. I should never have gotten cocky with the daughter of number 62 on Forbes list,” RJ smirked, finally moving his hand to Mary’s back.

  I shrugged my shoulders as I started to gather the money and properties to put back in the box. Tyler began to help. “We played a lot of Monopoly growing up,” I admitted.

  Nathan entered the room with a full glass of dark liquid. “Alright, time for a rematch,” he said, sitting down across from me.

  I laughed as Mitch groaned.

  “Nathan, she beat you. Get over it,” Tyler laughed.

  Nathan grumbled into his glass.

  “Sorry but I can only handle one game of Monopoly. Maybe next time,” I laughed.

  Nathan let a small smirk escape his lips as he drank more.

  “Yes, we will have to do this again soon,” Mary said, looking over at RJ way too dreamily.

  Wow, did her mood swing for him change. Talk about a love-hate relationship.

  Tyler rubbed my back and kept a small smile on his face as he watched me put all of the little pieces back in the box. He seemed semi-relaxed for the first time since we arrived at his parent’s house.

  “Want to get going? It’s almost 9:00pm,” he asked softly, his eyes twinkling.

  Mary turned to look at the two of us. “Tyler, why don’t you and Becca stay here? We have more than enough room. The usual staff will be back tomorrow morning and could make us a nice big breakfast,” she asked hopefully, although it wasn’t as needy as times before. She had RJ gazing at her, turning his attention to her this time instead of someone else. I think that’s why she was so relaxed instead of frazzled.

  “Thanks, but Becca and I will pass,” Tyler apologized as he stood, holding his hand out for me to take.

  I stood with him and was quickly followed by the rest of his family.

  “Okay, but I really would love to go shopping with you sometime this weekend, Becca,” Mary smiled as she stood next to RJ.

  “That sounds like fun. I think we should,” I agreed looking up at Tyler. He didn’t seem as annoyed by me hanging out with his mother as he had earlier.

  “We will see,” Tyler said with a straight face. He pulled on my hand and we walked through the hallway towards the front door to leave, grabbing my bag with my travel clothes and curling iron along the way.

  Once we got to the front door, Mary practically jumped over Tyler to give me a hug.

  “Thank you so much for coming with Tyler, Becca. He is very lucky to have such a wonderful woman like you in his life,” she said with adoration.

  I gave her a shy smile while returning her hug. Mitch came up behind Mary as she pulled away from me to embrace Tyler. Mitch continued to come to me, picking me up in a full on bear hug. I let out a laugh as he did so, shocked by his sudden movements.

  Tyler cleared his throat and glared at Mitch over Mary’s shoulder, causing the famous Conklin grin to spread across Mitch’s face.

  “Sorry, Tyler. I couldn’t resist,” he smirked while setting me down. Tyler swiftly pulled me to his side once Mary released him.

  “Tyler, thank you for the bracelet. It is the best Christmas gift I have gotten in a long time,” Mary half sniffled, her eyes becoming glassy.

  RJ quickly came up behind her, causing her to slightly jump then turn to him biting her lip. The look she gave RJ was one I had seen before and had used on Tyler. I turned my head the other way, feeling like I had interfered with their gazes.

  “I will show you a Christmas present,” RJ smirked at Mary.

  Tyler rolled his eyes and went to open the door.

  “So I will pick you up at 11:00am to go shopping tomorrow, right Tyler?” Nathan smirked, handing Tyler the bag of gift cards we had received earlier. Tyler grimaced at Nathan without answering him.

  “Goodbye Nathan.” I waved as Tyler tugged me out the door.

  “Bye Becca. I still want a rematch in Monopoly,” Nathan said with a lopsided grin.

  RJ and Mary followed us out the door, standing on the porch step watching us leave. Tyler swiftly opened my door then slid into his side of the Lexus.

  I glanced out the window, noticing RJ’s arms around Mary. This felt normal. Tyler’s parents walking us out after a holiday, saying goodbye with smiles on their faces. Yet Tyler had been uneasy still.

  “We made it,” I sighed, patting Tyler on the knee.

  He moved his eyes towards me then back to the road, his expression unreadable.

  Time went slowly while the car was silent. I caught myself breathing too heavily, aware of the air coming from my nostrils.

  Finally, letting out a long breath, Tyler said, “Yeah. We did make it.”

  He didn’t say anything the rest of the ride to his condo.

  Chapter 13

  Tyler held my hand in silence as we waited for the elevator to reach his floor. I was biting my lip and playing with a strand of my hair with my free hand, nervous because I had no clue what Tyler was thinking or feeling. He hadn’t spoken much the entire ride home, and I was worried I had done or said too much in front of his family.

  Was he still mad about the dress? Was he upset I goaded RJ to stay and play Monopoly? Maybe because I had gotten along with his mother, even invited her to go shopping? My face paled even more. All of my actions were completely uncharacteristic for my personality. Normally I would be quiet and shy, speaking only when spoken to. I never would have initiated playing a board game with Connor’s family. Come to think of it, I never had a full conversation with anyone in Connor’s family.

  We walked off the elevator and into his apartment. Tyler let go of my hand to take off his jacket then proceeded to help me with mine. He still wasn’t talking, his expression still unreadable.

  “Are you mad at me?” I whispered, staring down at my feet in Jamie’s stilettos.

  Tyler hung our jackets on the rack then turned to me and held my face in his hands, his eyebrows furrowed in contemplation.

  “I’m not mad at you,” he murmured.

  “You seem off,” I noticed, letting my body relax at the feel of his touch.

  His thumbs caressed my cheeks, as though he was buying time, trying to put his thoughts into words.

  Finally he spoke. “We have never had a Christmas like that. Not even with my grandparents around. I don’t think we have all sat at a table for that long together without some huge blowout fight. We have never played a board game all together.” His voice was monotone, almost robotic sounding. His gaze was off over my shoulder, but he wasn’t focusing on anything.

  “Is… that a good thing?” I asked.

  He tilted his head to the side, his eyebrows thinking as his jaw ticked. “It’s weird. That’s what it is.”

  He looked down at me as I gave him an awkward smile. He lifted a brow then his lip quirked up.

  My smile became easier after seeing a familiar expression on his face.

  He continued caressing my cheek bones, his expression softening as he looked into my eyes. I rested my hands on his forearms, getti
ng lost in his gaze. His eyes were swarming blue and green.

  “Thank you for bringing me today,” I said, breaking our silence.

  “You’re welcome. Even though I’m still a little bothered by your outfit change,” he grumbled, failing to sound overly irritated.

  I smirked up at him. “I would be sorry, but I enjoyed the effect it had on you.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “And what effect would that be?”

  I blushed, looking down towards his chest. How was I supposed to tell him I liked his possessiveness? That it made me feel sexy and wanted? How no one had ever made me feel that way?

  “Becca, do you enjoy driving me crazy?” His body was rigid. “I’m not a fan of being played with.” His brows creased down as I looked up at him.

  “You know I don’t play games,” I said, sounding offended.

  “Then what exactly were you playing at today?” he questioned, his voice a bit softer.

  I slightly frowned. Maybe I was playing a game with him? I didn’t mean to.

  “I was bothered you lied to me about what your family was wearing. I guess I was more trying to prove a point.”

  “What point is that? Becca looks hot in little red dresses?” he said with mild agitation.

  “No, Becca doesn’t like to be lied to. And you knew how important it was for me to make a good impression on your mother!” I groaned, my mood darkening, pulling his hands from my face.

  He looked down at me, his oh-so-familiar scowl forming on his face.

  “I had no idea what they would be wearing. Mitch and I almost always wear jeans whenever the family gets together. Honestly Becca, I don’t really pay attention. You looked beautiful in what you were wearing. I didn’t see a need for you to change.” He gritted his teeth. “My mother’s vision was probably blurred and could only see the color you were wearing anyway,” he added snottily.

  “Your mother wasn’t that bad, Tyler. She thought I looked sensational in this dress,” I bit.

  Tyler’s eyes darkened. “For once I agree with her.”

  He took a step closer to me, his breath hot on my cheek. “You looked so sensational that I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. ” He leaned back licking his lips then his eyes hardened. “So sensational my father and brothers kept checking you out. God, even Nathan was throwing glances your way.” A small smile played on my lips as he continued speaking. “I wanted to rip their eyes out and throw a parka on you.”