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“I’ll get it to you when I get home. Goodbye, Gavin.”
“Wait,” he says. “What was that bullshit your father said, about you finding out more about him, and what he was into? Paraphrasing, of course.”
Holy hell, I think. I haven’t even thought about that portion of my father’s letter at all. “Dierk will handle it.”
“All right. Let me know if you need me. And I’ll be looking for—”
I hang up before he can say “list” and dial Dierk.
“Tyler,” he greets. “What do you have for me?”
I give him the rundown on the family involved in the legal case, the situation with the will, and the warning from my father about his behavior I’d soon learn about. “Find a way to get meout of this. And if you can’t do that, find a way to ensure I keep the Allen family on a leash.”
“They’re powerful. That’s a big order.”
“I’m powerful, more so when I inherit five hundred million. Get me something to control them. And I need to know what my father was into. I need to head it off.”
“That I can do. More soon.”
We disconnect and I’m still sitting outside Bella’s home. She’s under my skin and that’s a problem. Gavin isn’t wrong. I have to control this situation or people will get hurt. Hell, convicted criminals might get free just because our firm touched their cases if it comes out we withheld evidence for the Allen family. But I’m not going to stay away from Bella. I’ve never felt like I couldn’t stay away from a woman, but my present location sums up where I stand. I want her, and I want her badly. She’s the first woman, since—since a long time ago that I’ve allowed myself to have feelings for. And I didn’t even allow this to happen. She took me off guard when not much does.
My fingers thrum on the dash.Control, I think. I need it. And I don’t have it when Bella has it and right now, she does. There’s only one way to handle this. I need to fuck her about a thousand times and get her out of my system. I don’t want to hurt Bella, but I have to think about all the hundreds of employees, too. No more of this emotional bullshit.
No more.
I know what I have to do and I punch in Gavin’s number. “I need some changes to that contract.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Tyler
I meet with Gavin the next morning and review the contract. “You sure this is how you want to handle this?”
“Positive,” is my only reply. “And now I have a company to run.” I leave him staring after me, relatively speechless. He knows me. When I’m this sold on something, he needs to let it ride.
But he doesn’t. I’m at the door when he says, “For the record. You’re fucking yourself, man, but it’s your call.”
I don’t turn around. I exit the office with no intention of running into Bella, who will not want to see me, but that’s exactly what I do. I’m barely two steps from Gavin’s office when she appears. She gasps softly at the sight of me, and we’re so close, we almost run into each other. I can smell her perfume and I remember exactly how she tastes. Like honey. Likemy woman. And damn it to hell, I want to pull her to me and kiss the fuck out of her. She’s in a black, figure-hugging skirt, with a blue silk blouse that brightens the blue of her eyes.
Her skin is creamy and perfect. Her lips are painted pink, full and un-kissed when they need to be kissed. But all my lust-laden thoughts don’t outweigh the obvious. She’s outside Gavin’s office and my suspicion flares. If he ran his mouth, friend or no friend, he’s gone. “What are you doing here?”
She holds up a folder. “The contract came. The legal team lead said Gavin would be the best person to have look at a few things. He wasn’t answering my calls so I walked over.”
Of course, she did. Because she gets the job done. “Do I need to look at it?”
“Not right now. I already worked it over pretty hard. Once Gavin goes through it, I’ll make sure you approve it before it goes to Dash.”
“How worrisome are the concerns?”
“Not huge, but the wording is a bit tricky, so I want to be sure there isn’t a loophole or two hiding in plain sight.”
“Smart. He’s eager. Whoever drafted that contract worked the weekend to do it.”
“Yes,” she says. “I thought the same thing, but Hollywood goes hot to cold fast. I want the deal done and done now.”
“Agreed.” I hesitate. “Bella—”
“Don’t,” she says softly. “Please. I’m good. I’m motivated this morning and excited for us and my brother. I’ll email you when I’m done with Gavin with an update.”
