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ChapterFive
“Jesus, Adam, what the fuck’s wrong with you?” Seth wrenched himself free from Heath’s hold on his upper body. He rolled his shoulders, but the tension locked his muscles tight, his body ready to strike at the slightest provocation. “You threatened Harper. What the hell were you thinking?
Adam stood in the doorway, arms hanging by his sides, and legs braced a couple of feet apart.
Fight ready.
“Unlike you, I’ve been thinking a range of things since Zach rang me half an hour ago and updated me on this clusterfuck we’re in.” Adam reached behind him, grabbed the edge of the office door, and slammed it shut hard enough the frame shuddered.
Seth checked Zach who, as usual, stayed quiet unless he was forced to speak. He swung his attention back to Adam. “You were in the area?”
“Oh, no, little brother, I was on my way for a whole different matter, and we’ll get to that, but let’s concentrate on one fuck-up at a time.”
“What are you—” Dillon started, but Adam cut him off and kept his gaze on Seth.
“Yesterday you signed a deal with Stanton Fox to sell your company for a shitload of money. You meet his daughter straight after. That night you’re in her bed.”
“And?” Seth prompted.
Adam crossed his arms over his chest. “The next morning some mysterious arsewipe steals your identity and posts shit that jeopardizes the sale you’ve hung your bloody dreams on for the last twelve months.”
Seth clenched his jaw. Was that a dig for putting everything second to him achieving his goal? Sure fucking sounded like one.
Adam jerked his chin toward the papers and phones lying on Seth’s desk. “Now Fox is being a prick, and I’m guessing you’re scrambling to get him to stay at one hundred mil for the sale.” He nodded as Dillon’s angry sigh confirmed his guess. “Damn convenient.”
Heath resumed his original position, sitting on the edge of Seth’s desk. “He’s got a point, Seth.”
Seth twisted to face Heath. “You think Harper’s some kind of honey trap orchestrated by Stanton Fox. That the CEO of Brooke-Porter Digital would pimp out his daughter to try and save a few million in a business deal?”
“I think we’d be foolish not to look at every angle.” Heath kept his voice even, like a cop working the beat and Seth was an irrational drunk needing to be ‘handled’. “Dillon, how much has Fox cut from the original asking price?”
“Over a third. Down to sixty mil.” Dillon lifted his arm out to his side, palm up. “Who knows where we’ll end up. The wording in their offer states they can lower the price if unforeseen adverse events between now and finalization can be proven to detract from our company’s overall value. In the end, we don’t have to accept their offer, but it is still higher than any other we’ve received.”
“And the big winner here is Fox.” Adam’s flat tone matched his blank expression.
Seth understood Adam’s logic, but a hypothesis didn’t equal proof. “Even if Fox has some part to play, that doesn’t mean Harper had anything to do with his plan.”
“It’s comforting to see you have more faith in her innocence than she initially had in yours,” Heath scoffed.
“The post mentioned the cake, something only I’d know unless I had been watched.” The faint sting of Harper’s earlier distrust lingered. Pissed him off royally, but there was no point dwelling on the small stuff when he had bigger issues to fight. “And the context of the post ridiculed her in a public way. Of course she’d be upset.”
“I’d suffer humiliation on social media for a payout.” Zach straightened. “Hell, I’d cry tears if the cash was high enough.”
Seth didn’t know what was more ridiculous—the idea of his gruff, tough brother faking tears or Harper supposedly luring him into a trap. “Christ, Zach, you saw her reaction.”
“Yeah, but for now, we don’t know if she was legit or playing you.” Zach shrugged. “I’m not saying she’s guilty, but I am reminding you to keep an open mind until shit’s sorted.”
“And if Harper’s innocent and someone was watching her place?” Dillon shoved his hands in his front pants pockets and swept his gaze over his brothers. “What then? We just leave her hanging out to dry? How’s that acceptable?”
Heath drew his brows together. “Nobody’s suggesting that.”
Seth focused on Adam. “I offered her my protection. She turned it down. I chose to ignore her misguided reply.”
“Of course.” Adam sighed. “The natural urge to rescue her won out.”
Another dig? Bastard always knew best. Fuck, when would Adam recognize that he was smart enough to make a decision based on more than hormones? “You think that’s a mistake? I should back off?”
“Far from it. I want you sticking to her tighter than cling wrap on Thanksgiving leftovers.”
