Page 95 of Nothing to Win

“If I see you near my daughter again, we’ll use every tool in our arsenal to ruin you,” Conway said.

He’d admire the man’s loyalty if that’s what it was.It wasn’t.But this also wasn’t the time to get into a pissing match with them.

“When that booze hits her,” he said, “she won’t act rationally.”

“She doesn’t handle hard liquor,” Julius said, backing him up.The two Sears looked at each other.“You’d be smart to look after her tonight.”

Bram scoffed.“What’s the worst thing that could happen to her?”he asked and sneered at Brogan, looking him up and down.“No woman could have a shred of self-respect left after being violated by a cretin like him.”

“Right, we get it, you don’t like me,” Brogan snapped, seeking the view of Gia on Gault’s arm.“Sharing herself with Gault won’t help her.”He fixated on Conway, the only one he had a chance of reaching.“He’s older than you.We’re talking about your little girl being intimate with a man older than her father.”

“Better that than being with a slug like she was before,” Bram said and turned to his father.“This bastard doesn’t care about Gia; he crapped all over her.He’s worried about the deal.If Gia gets with Gault—”

“It’ll secure you the contract,” Julius said.His mentor focused on the Sears with incredulity and resignation.“You encouraged this.”

Horror whipped him around.His friend wasn’t wrong; it was written all over them.

“Why did you bring her here?”Brogan demanded.“Why?”

“That’s none of your goddamn business,” Bram said, taking his father’s arm to pull him back.“Stay the hell away from my sister.Both of you!”

Conway and Bram Sear walked back into the crowd.

Drawn toward Gia again, Brogan was once again caught by Julius holding him in place.

“There’s nothing you can do.”

“Damn right there is,” Brogan said.“I’m not letting her sick fuck of a father barter her body for a shitty infrastructure deal.”

“Yeah?”Julius asked.“And if you’d brought her here, what would you have been doing?”

“I wouldn’t have let her share herself with him,” he said, his lip curling in disgust.

Julius smiled.“You wouldn’t let another man within ten feet of her, a hundred feet of her, if you had the choice,” he said.“That’s what this is, Brogan, you’re jealous.We might not like it, but she’s a grown woman; she has the right to make this decision for herself.”

“She tossed back a double Scotch.God knows what she’s drunk already tonight.By the time he’s taking her back to her room, she won’t be responsible for her actions.”

“But she is responsible for choosing to drink the alcohol,” Julius said.“No one made her swipe that drink.”He took a breath.“What do you think would happen if you went over there now?You try to drag her away, she’ll fight you.Gault won’t let you have time alone to reason with her.And if you start shouting the odds, she’ll shout right back, then we’ll have a scene on our hands.Gault will toss you and me out on our asses and the night will end the same anyway.”

He grinded his teeth.“You expect me just to stand here and do nothing?”

“She has her reasons for acting this way.Do you think she wants to be with a man like Gault?Yeah, maybe his attention is making her feel good about herself now, but why do you think she’s lapping it up?”

“Daddy didn’t love her enough,” he sneered, scanning the crowd, seeking her out.“And now she wants his approval.Goddamnit, she sleeps with Gault and she’ll despise herself.She’ll be broken, she doesn’t give herself to men easily, and now her father is asking her to do it for a business deal.”

“You asked her to do it for a business deal.”

“No,” he said, making eye contact with Julius.“Our deal was not for sex.”

Julius smirked.“No?I forget, where were your hands when I walked into the apartment that last time you were together?Where was your tongue?”

“I didn’t say there was nothing sexual between us,” Brogan muttered.“Just that there was nothing sexual about the deal… the sex stuff was consensual, it came later.”

Julius laughed.“Not that much later… I think you wanted her from the minute you laid eyes on her outside your office.”

True.Since that day, he couldn’t remember a time he hadn’t wanted her.

“You’re the one who told me to end it.”