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She grimaced. “I can handle it.”
Her words seemed more about convincing herself than me. She’d made up her mind, and I had to respect that.
“One more thing,” I added. She looked wary. “The new company is made of three people as it stands. You, Easton, and me. We’ve always worked well together, but know very little of one another beyond that. Maybe we can’t leave SPE right this second, but the culture change starts now. We’re a family business, and you and Gabriel are part of that. Is that going to be a problem?”
A sheen glazed her eyes. She cleared her throat. “No.”
“No more Mrs. Carter, okay? I’m Mulaney.”
“I’m more comfortable with Mrs. Carter.”
“In a professional setting, fine. But here, it’s Mulaney,” I insisted.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We’ll work on it.” Inside, I was fuming.What the hell had Drew done to make Holly this terrified? Why? Why was he hell-bent on ruining me?I hated holding in this anger. I hated not knowing what Drew was up to. But right now, I had a woman I totally respected who needed Calm Mulaney, the woman who stayed in control at all times. And I could do that for her.She deserved much more, and I would get to the bottom of this.But for now . . . I pointed my head toward the door. “Come on. Supper’s waiting.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Easton
“I’ve been thinking.”
I put my hands in my pockets and my right hand squeezed the stress ball as we descended the stairs to my parents’ new apartment. Stone’s friends owned the entire building now, and my parents were staying a few floors below Daniel and Vivian in a unit the previous owners had renovated to put on the market.
“That could be dangerous,” Mulaney said, bumping me in the shoulder when we reached a landing.
“Dad seemed to think I took money from the company because I needed it. He told me I could’ve come to them.”
She paused on the step in front of me. “You don’t think he put that LLC in our names or bought the pipeline?”
“It doesn’t make sense from any angle, but it seems to be the only answer for now.” I worked the ball with more intensity.
“He was dead set against that pipeline.”
“And purchasing it with cash would make Carter Energy financially vulnerable, hence the sale.”
She turned toward me, her nose wrinkled in concentration. “Who has the most to gain with Carter Energy gone?”
“All I can think of is SPE since they’re the ones that bought it. We’ve been rivals, but we’ve always operated with a certain level of mutual respect.”
We reached their floor. Mulaney exited the stairwell first, and I placed a hand on the small of her back. I needed to touch her to center me.
She knocked on the mahogany front door. “Let’s just ask him.”
“I thought we were waiting for more information?”
“I’m tired of waiting.”
Drew answered, broadly sweeping his arm toward the living room, which already looked like a home, no sign they’d only moved in recently. “Hey, sis.”
Mulaney stiffened when he kissed her cheek. “Hey,” she said flatly.He’s an asshole.That’s what Mulaney thought of Drew, and when I looked at her and saw how tense she was, it was clearly more than just a personality difference to her. I hadn’t spoken to him about the accusations he’d made about Dad and her, nor about her and the male prostitutes, and that was poor form.My wifedeserved more from me than that, but I couldn’t fathom why he’d lie so blatantly. Why he pointed the finger so aggressively at her for CE’s failings. Why he . . . loathed her so much. I had to resolve this.But when?
“What’s up, big brother? I’ve missed my roommate.” He clapped my shoulder and pulled me in for a bro hug.
“You can give my room to someone else. I won’t be needing it.”
“She might put you in the doghouse.” He flicked his chin toward Mulaney. Her fingers fluttered at her side, but I wasn’t sure if she wanted to punch him or flip him off. “There’s two bedrooms at my new place downstairs, though it needs serious work.” His face pinched in dissatisfaction. Not all the apartments were up to date; Drew’s was one of them. “Besides, I’ve always got interesting guests.”
