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He was about to speak when Sierra put a finger to her lips and pointed to Chandler’s office. “Dad’s in there giving him hell,” she whispered.
“Dad?” His father didn’t need to fight their battles. “We told him we’ve got this covered.”
“He’s been our buffer for this long,” Derek reminded him in a low voice. “Did you really think he’d kowtow to Grandfather’s demands now?”
Ethan stuck his head in the group, his expression fierce. People often thought that just because Ethan wasn’t always shooting off his mouth like the rest of them, he was a pushover. But that was just plain wrong. In many ways, Quinn often thought that Ethan was the strongest one of them all.
“I say we barrel in and put a stop to this here and now,” Ethan said, his normally relaxed voice hard and unwavering. “It’s our terms or the deal is off.”
“Agreed,” Sierra said, already heading for the door.
As the five of them made their way into the room, they heard their father saying, “Your grandchildren are twice as capable as either you or me.” Griffin was clearly furious as he leaned over Chandler’s desk. “You’re belittling their hard-earned successes by using the island residents as collateral for your warped need for control.”
“It looks as though those capable adults are here to speak for themselves.” Chandler’s face was stoic as he watched Quinn and his siblings storm into the room.
Didi stood behind Chandler’s wheelchair. Her lips curved up as she watched them take their places behind Griffin.
Griffin turned, catching the eye of each of them, before moving between Trent and Quinn. Trent and Quinn exchanged a knowing glance. Quinn leaned forward and eyed Derek and Ethan, who, without uttering a word, understood and nodded their approval. Sierra’s wide grin confirmed that she was all in as well.
“We’d like to amend our previous offer.” Trent spoke in his most professional tone. “Our offer now includes the six of us taking over the resort. Our other stipulations remain the same. All or nothing.”
In all his years of building his shipping empire, Quinn had never felt as proud as he did right then, standing alongside his family with their shoulders squared and their chins held high. The fact that their grandfather almost looked impressed didn’t escape him, and suddenly he wondered again if there actually had been something to the conversation he’d overheard between Chandler and Didi.
Still, Chandler sat behind his enormous desk like a king on his throne. As he’d previously done, he didn’t acknowledge Didi, standing dutifully behind him. He didn’t show any signs of emotion, either, beyond the hint of what Quinn had thought might be a smile, and even that was now gone. He simply folded his hands in his lap and nodded.
“Your terms are accepted. I have other things to take care of now, and I would appreciate it if you would all leave me to them.”
Without another word, the six of them walked out of the room and down the wide hallway to the elevators. Once out of earshot, Quinn draped an arm around his father’s shoulder.
“Way to listen to your kids, old man. We had it covered, you know.”
His father’s broad shoulders rose with his laugh. “You guys had it covered before you even stepped foot on this island.” He embraced Quinn, and as they stepped into the elevator, he said, “I’m so damn proud of all of you.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Trent blew out a breath. “Now all we’ve got to do is divvy up the work and figure out how to run this place.”
“I’ve got to get out on the boat and catch some fish,” Ethan said. “But I’ll check back later.”
“Sounds good.” As the tension from Chandler’s office began to funnel out of all of them, Trent elbowed Quinn. “Where were you this morning? I saw you leave before sunrise.”
“I skipped my run to watch the sunrise from the beach with Shelley.”
“Watching the sunrise from the sand?” Derek reached his hand under Quinn’s collar.
Quinn swatted him. “What the hell?”
“Just looking for the leash, that’s all.” Derek let out a deep laugh as he dodged another, much harder, swat from Quinn.
“Did you bring your laptop so you could multitask while you watched it?” Sierra teased him.
“No. Jesus, you guys.” He followed Sierra out of the elevator with his brothers in tow. “I am allowed to have a life, you know.”
“Sure you are, but you’ve never wanted one before, that’s all.” Sierra looked beyond pleased. “I knew Shelley was special.”
“Special?” Derek asked. “Wait, you mean you’re not just going for the old island fling?”
Quinn slid Derek a narrow-eyed stare and growled, “Watch it.” He didn’t like his brother—or anyone—talking about Shelley like that.
Everyone looked surprised by his reaction, but fortunately Sierra stepped in by saying, “I’ve got to get back to the restaurant. When do you guys want to meet again to go over the resort stuff?”
