Page 78 of Novice Girlfriend

“How you are related to such a piece of shit is shocking,” I whispered after I watched that.

“Yeah, I feel the same way about your family,” he drawled but then cleared his throat. “Not Clare. Not anymore, but it’s going to take me a bit longer to really trust her much.”

Fair enough. They’d known each other in school some.

He’d made it clear that he’d never trust Jean and not to ask him to. Something was going on there and I wasn’t going to touch it. I didn’t want to know, and honestly I had enough on my mind always.

I didn’t need the headaches of the past, and he obviously didn’t want to talk about it.

But after watching more of Jason Berns unraveling on TV and from “sources,” there was a conversation I thought I needed to have… And that was before his younger brother announced to the media that he would be taking over the family.

Which apparently, Jason didn’t agree to.

Fantastic.

“I have to make a call,” I said to Wyatt, glad when he nodded even if he frowned. I was still nibbling, so I called on speaker and noticed his eyes flashed shock when he saw it was Jean.

“Are you enjoying the show?” she purred as her greeting.

“I’m always more worried than anything,” I admitted. “You’re on speaker because I’m eating, but it’s just me and I’d like to be blunt. It’s not gathering information to repeat. I’m trying to—I feel like there’s an idea on the edge of my mind. I can tell you the goal first if you want.”

She was quiet a few moments. “I would appreciate that because I’ve had a few glasses of wine if we’re being honest.”

“Fair. The goal is to get the family off of you—us. The longer they’re trying for these bullshit games of me taking over like we’re both stupid and don’t know what’s going on, it undermines both of us. It’s time to make a final play that there’s nothing they can do better than you, so enough.”

“I was debating a meeting with us together saying we were at the point of putting them in the ground,” she admitted.

“No one would believe that of me,” I drawled, clearing my throat when she didn’t respond… Because they would believe it of her. “Jean, I know you well enough where you would for survival, but they don’t. They know the picture Charles painted of you. You’re not scary enough to them.”

“You’re not wrong, but I feel as if I should be insulted.”

I shot Wyatt a look to remember he wasn’t supposed to be there when he hurried to plug his nose to cover his reaction. I focused back on the phone. “I’m not here to insult you, and I’d remind you that you were insulted when I called you a psychopath.”

“Touche. Where is your head?”

“The Shaw finances were bad. Clearly, with what we last discussed with him putting debts in my name and filing a bankruptcy for me.” I realized my mistake when rage filled Wyatt’s eyes.

Fuck, he hadn’t known that.

I hurried on. “What were your finances? Did you flash those to the rest of the family? Could you have more than they thought and under Charle’s nose to—you said Jason’s younger brother was a moron and you could get their assets for pennies on the dollar. Was that all talk?”

“No, he is a moron and has a gambling addiction. Big time. He’ll sell lots and the Berns family will implode,” she said easily. “It’s the worst-kept secret ever.”

I was glad when Wyatt nodded saying he knew it too. “So your finances?”

“Not enough to cover your bankruptcy,” she hedged.

“No, we’ve handled that I know—we’ve handled that. I’m trying to handle the Shaw family undercutting you without putting Uncle Jeff in the ground and someone using that to get you out.”

She was quiet and then made a noise that sounded almost like her wine went down the wrong pipe. It was loud enough that Wyatt raised an eyebrow. “You want to make it like I had enough personal finances that I cleaned up Father’s mess and then started buying up Berns’s assets? Even I’m not that good, Bevin.”

“Would the family know that?” I asked.

“No, but there’s no way I could actually…”

Wyatt came to the same conclusion she did and started signaling wildly to not do it.

“I’m not talking about loaning you money,” I told her firmly—well, both of them. “I mean, maybe we could acquire some of something through you. I don’t know. Depends what it is. We’re buying stuff after all.” I gave a half shrug. “We need stuff. Talk to Tracey and it can look like you are. But my head was on Taylor.”