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I’d expected as much, but it’s then that I realize Eric and I haven’t talked about what I’m going to say to Gigi. “Tell her I’ll find her when I get settled.”
The receptionist clears her throat. “Sorry. I meant Eric. She wants to see you, Eric.”
“I’m sure she does,” he says, glancing first at a text message, and then at me, before motioning for me to step back outside.
I nod and follow him to the right and down the stairs. As soon as we’re behind closed doors, he turns and faces me, drags me to him and whispers in my ear. “Treat Gigi like she’s setting you up. Get her to talk.”
“Yes. Yes, okay.”
The doors behind us open and Eric rotates us to face the door, where his father has just entered the room, no doubt having witnessed our embrace.
Chapter forty-one
Eric
Istand toe to toe with my father, a man who we all know looks more like me than Isaac, and that hasn’t changed. He’s tall, athletic, his eyes the same blue as mine, his hair now streaked with gray, but still the same wavy brown. All little details that feed Isaac’s insecurity and bitterness. As for my genius, per Gigi, that’s her doing, a detail I just don’t care enough about to research.
“Father,” I say, tightly.
“Leave us, Harper,” he orders without looking at her.
I catch her arm and meet her stare. “I’m here if you need me.”
“I’m here if you need me,” she replies.
Holy hell, this woman charms the fuck out of me. I barely contain a smile at her reply, but I manage to give her a nod and release her. She walks around my father and exits the conference room. “Are you going to tell me how you’re killing people with your cars, or give me a few more days that might only take hours to figure it out myself?”
“You don’t belong here.”
“I’m family, blood,your son. If any of that mattered to me, I’d be offended. What matters is money. Gigi paid me to find out what you won’t tell her.”
“Gigi is old and senile, and we both know you have more money than God. You don’t need her pathetic money.”
“Any man that makes money and keeps that money values it. She’s concerned enough to make it worth my while, but let’s get real here. Harper is why I’m here. You hurt her, I hurt you. That’s the bottom line.”
“Your stepsister.”
“Who I’m fucking, yes. Now that we’re past the taboo part of that equation, you’re in trouble. We both know you’re in trouble. Trust your son to help.”
“We aren’t in trouble,son. Harper’s pissed off about us using her trust fund and you’re letting her grab your balls and pull you around.”
“Harper doesn’t need that trust fund. She has me and you of all people know that I know how to turn money into more money.”
“We’ll pay you off,” he says. “Go back to New York City.”
“I’m a stockholder now. I’m not going anywhere, and with Gigi’s stock offered up for my purchase, if you push me too hard, I’ll take the majority, and you might be the one who’s gone.”
His lips quirk. “You had your chance. You walked away.”
“As if you ever wanted me to run this place.”
“I wanted the best man to win and the one that ran away wasn’t the best man.”
“I didn’t run,” I say. “I stepped outside your limitations. Now you’re confined to your mistakes and we both know you’ve made them. Suck up the pride and let me help while it’s still possible to save this place.”
“Just like your mother. You think you can arm yourself with some small weapon and control me. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do, including claiming you as my son.”
“You claimed me to fuck with Isaac. I wonder now if it’s him that got you in trouble or vice versa. Did your crown prince endanger your empire? Or maybe you two dared down this path on your own.”
