Page 27 of Make it a Double

I snorted. “Looks like you’re shit out of luck.” I tossed the folder back on the desk. “How do you even have that? Shouldn’t that be confidential?”

My father’s lips curled into a maniacal smirk. “I have my sources. This, son, is my leverage. Either they give me what I want, or I ensure their little plans never see the light of day. I’ll tie them up in so many legal battles, they’ll be forced to sell, and I’ll be there—front and center—to burn it all to the ground while they watch.”

“And where do I come in?”

He leaned back in his chair, tenting his swollen fingers in front of his chest. “You have one week to figure out how to make it happen. Then, you’ll be getting your ass on a plane, flying to that godforsaken town, and not leaving until I have what I want.”

I couldn’t leave. I had work to do, clients to see, and deals to broker. This year was slated to be the busiest we’d had since I started at Montgomery Holdings. That didn’t take into account the plans I’d made to extricate myself from my father’s grip. No matter how tempting it was to see a certain copper-haired bartender, I couldn’t take my eyes off the prize.

I shook my head. “I appreciate the offer, but no.”

“No?” my father asked, raising one thick eyebrow.

“I have too much on my plate at the moment. I wouldn’t be able to give the project the kind of attention it needs.” If I could rationalize it in a way that might hurt his bottom line, maybe he would understand.

We sat across from each other in a silent standoff until my father laughed. “You still don’t fucking get it, do you?” He reached for the glass of scotch and downed the dregs before bracing his elbows on the table. “Every lead you’ve touched, person you’ve called, deal you’ve prepared is mine. And as of two hours ago, they’ve all been assigned to another manager.”

Running my tongue along my teeth, I pulled out my phone and clicked on my calendar.

It was empty. No contacts. No notes. Nothing.

Gone.

My father had taken everything away just like that. Just because he wanted to. Because he fucking could. I was left empty-handed with no choice but to do his bidding. Sure, I could walk away right now, but at what cost? I didn’t have the capital or the experience I needed to launch my own venture without the clients I’d been slowly but surely courting.

This wasn’t just a reminder of what my father was capable of. It was a threat to stay in line. He still controlled every aspect of my life. Nothing I owned was really mine. There were no accomplishments without his name attached. He was everywhere I looked.

I sat back in my seat, knee bouncing wildly as I stared at the man across from me. “What do I get if I do this for you? It clearly means a lot.”

“Now, you’re thinking like a Montgomery,” he said, grabbing another glass and pouring two drinks. I watched him slide one my way but made no move to grab it. “If you can successfully convince Olivia Hart-Bennett to sell, I’ll give you what you want the most.”

“I’ll need you to spell it out for me,” I bit out. Because there was no way he would risk actually giving me what I wanted. It was too risky. I knew too much.

So, consider me fucking shocked when he smiled and lifted his glass. “Full access to your trust. Yours to do with whatever you please. I’ve already taken the liberty of alerting my account manager of the changes to be made.”

It wasn’t my freedom, but it was the next best thing. There were tens of millions of dollars in the trust my father created for me. Maybe even more, since I’d never been allowed to touch it.

Gaining access to those funds wouldn’t simply allow me the means to start my own business. It would give me the freedom I craved. I could finally extract myself from beneath my father’s thumb and breathe for the first time in my life.

Maybe I could even use this deal in Pinecrest to my advantage. He’d taken away my entire client list, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t build from the ground up. That was what I was going to be forced to do, with or without my trust. I’d need to go over the paperwork and do some digging into who was in my father’s pocket, but it wasn’t impossible. Especially not if the owners hated the man as much as I did.

And then there was Sawyer.

I’d be a liar if I said I never thought about her or wondered what had sent her running the next morning. Couldn’t say that was something I was used to. Normally, I was the one doing the leaving, but she’d beaten me to the punch.

She said she hadn’t ever had a one-night stand before, but I wondered how true that was. In a small town like Pinecrest, a woman as beautiful as her wouldn’t go unnoticed. She probably had more than her fair share of admirers. The thought of her throwing her head back in laughter with someone who wasn’t me was slightly nauseating.

Leaning forward, I snatched my glass from the table and drank it in one go. “I’ll need these promises in writing.”

My father smiled smugly, pulling out a stack of paper I hadn’t noticed until now. “Already done.”

SAWYER

Date: Febuary 19th

25 Weeks:

- Nothing fits, and I hate everything