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James grinned at me. “What’s Lewis doing to you?”
I shrugged. “Trying to get me to buy off one of the inspectors. Threatening my inheritance. You know, the usual.”
“Been there, done that,” James said. “My mother was hinting at something similar when I told her that Audrey and I were serious. But I’ve decided that I don’t care anymore. They can disinherit me if they want—fuck them.”
I nodded.
James continued, “I have plenty of money, and I’m not looking for their approval. I’m my own man, and I’m getting married to the love of my life. Nothing they can say or do would mean more to me than that.”
I considered what he’d said. “I agree with you; money’s only money. My issue with my father’s threats is that I hate seeing the waste. Also, I’d like him to be open to accepting Jenny. He hasn’t even met her. I think once he did, and if he gave her a chance, he would see that she has many good qualities and is a good person. So it’s not that I’m afraid of losing my inheritance, although let’s face it—that would suck.”
I had another sip of coffee. “It’s more that I don’t want to see everything my family’s built be wasted. That would be a heresy, not to mention disrespectful to all our work.”
“You’re right,” James agreed. “For him to disinherit his only child would be ridiculous.”
I blew out a deep breath. “And then there’s my mom. It would be disrespectful to her memory for all of this to be for nothing. My father spent his entire life building his empire. But I don’t know how to talk to him anymore. He’s so twisted up, and he only cares about winning.”
“Maybe you should just show up at his house when we get back,” James suggested. “You know, try to appeal to him face-to-face. My mom’s still a nightmare in person, but that doesn’t mean that your dad will be.”
“Oh, he will be,” I said. “But it’s worth trying. You never know—maybe everything will be okay.”
“Maybe,” James said.
I nodded. “Maybe is better than nothing.”
And if I thought that was too optimistic, I kept it to myself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
jenny
My cell phonewas out of range during our ride. When we got back to the ranch, a message appeared on my screen. I took one look at it, and my stomach dropped. The message was from Cole’s father.
“I gotta go,” I told Audrey. “I’ll see you at dinner, okay?”
“Don’t you want to get lunch?” Audrey looked surprised. “I thought we could sit in the hot tub afterward because we had a long ride. We have all afternoon. James just texted me, and he said they won’t be back until later.”
“Yeah—lunch. Sounds good,” I babbled. My heart was pounding in my chest. “I’ll meet you out there in a little bit.”
We parted ways, and I hustled back to my suite. My head hurt. If Cole’s dad was calling me again, I knew I was in trouble. More likely, I was dead meat.
I played the message as soon as I closed the door behind me. “Cole listened to you this morning—but you didn’t go far enough. I want more,” Lewis Bryson said. His voice was that scary combination of icy, stern, and utterly self-assured. “Call me when you get this.”
Again, I felt like the walls were closing in on me. My hands trembled as I held the phone and hit his number. “Mr. Bryson? Ijust got your message. Listen, I don’t know what you want from me?—”
“Good thingIdo,” he said smoothly. “I want you to take Cole’s phone tonight and send a message to someone named Ramos—he’s in his contacts. I’ll send you the specifics. I want you to make him an offer.”
“I don’t know who Ramos is, what that deal is, or anything you’re talking about,” I argued.
“Of course, you don’t, and you don’t need to concern yourself with the details,” Cole’s father said. “You’re simply going to send this individual a text from Cole’s phone, and then you’re going to delete it. You will then watch his phone for responses, read them, and delete them. Then you’re going to report back to me. Are we clear?”
“No, we’re not clear!” I yelled. “Cole will catch me on his phone, or he’ll see one of the texts. This isn’t going to work.”
“It will work if you do as I say,” he said, sounding not the slightest bit deterred.
A headache formed between my eyes. “What if I say no, huh?”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Your aunt told me why you ran away when you were sixteen,” he said.
