“Fiona Oberman.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Fiona? Doesn’t she know you hate her?”
“Yeah, but when I was young and dumb, I made a promise to do her one favor. She finally came to collect.”
“Wow. But still… She couldn’t find anybody else to turn to for help?” Josh says.
“What did she want? Not representation, right?” I ask. “She would never trust you that much.”
Everyone knows the level of distrust and animosity between the two. Not sure why, because Bryce was interested in her when they first met. So what if she was involved with some loser fratboy and distanced herself from Bryce for a while? My brother isn’t the type to dislike a woman for dating whom she wants.
“She wants to borrow money.”
I almost choke on my whiskey.
“Did you tell her that if she can’t pay you back, you’ll want a pound of her flesh?” Josh asks.
“Of course, especially when she begged so prettily.” I sense a sliver of annoyance and frustration underneath Bryce’s derisive tone.
Another card dealt. The king of hearts.
Not a flicker of an eyelash from my brothers. I raise just for the hell of it. They call.
“Did she take your offer?” Josh asks.
Something passes behind Bryce’s eyes. “Too much fucking pride. Funny, considering her family’s on the verge of bankruptcy.”
Lying asshole. The sardonic smile on his mouth betrays him. He didn’t offer her shit, just enjoyed taunting her. Nobody’s said she got on her knees, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he pushed it that far.
I stuff my mouth with cheese. As the sharp flavor spreads on my tongue, I wonder if Lareina is having dinner. Somebody needs to make sure she can eat. Now that I think about it, it’s irritating that the fucker—Beckman—didn’t notice she wanted to eat the noodles. He should’ve tasted them before she had to serve some on his plate.
Bastard. This is why I’ll always hate him.
You’ve hated him since long before you met your wife,an inner voice points out.
Fine, I’ll hate himmore.
“She’ll come around, though.” Bryce sighs nonchalantly. “What other choice does she have?”
“A sugar daddy?” Josh says. “SoCal is full of ’em. She doesn’t even have to limit herself to single men. Mistressing is a lucrative business.”
Bryce snorts. “Don’t be ridiculous. She’s too old for that.”
“She’s barely thirty.” I look at my brother like he’s intellectually challenged.
Josh adds, “And she keeps in shape. She looks like she’s twenty-two. A lot of guys would tap it.”
“That’s disgusting,” Bryce sneers. Another card dealt—the queen of diamonds.No help.
“Not my fault she’s a babe,” Josh says.
I throw in more chips.
“You seem confident,” Josh says.
“I’m always confident.”
“You taking your wife to the art auction exhibition?” Bryce says, probably not wanting to have Josh continue talking about Fiona and her prospects as a trophy wife—or mistress.
