AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brent snorted. “That’s an understatement. My dad hated yours. He blamed Preston for your mom’s death.”
Brent’s father Ted was Tiberius and Fiona’s first cousin. He’d been as close to them as a sibling, but Ted and Fiona’s relationship had grown a bit strained over what had happened to Tiberius When Brent’s dad had told Fiona her husband was out of control, she’d resolutely defended her husband. Preston became a sore spot between them, but their love remained as strong as ever.
“Then why did he sell him the shares?”
“After it happened, he felt horrible. Preston convinced him that your mom wanted more shares for you.”
“Your father didn’t remember that my mom’s been dead for eighteen years?”
Brent grimaced. “I knew then I had to get power of attorney and take over his finances.”
“He’s getting worse faster than you expected, isn’t he?”
“His lucid moments are fewer and fewer.” Father and son had enjoyed a close connection that JT had long envied.
“Sorry,” JT said. “I can’t imagine how hard this is for you.”
“Most people can’t.” Ted had been an intelligent, intuitive businessman. It had to be tearing Brent apart to lose his father this way. To watch him slip away a little more each day, knowing there was no way to ever get him back. “It’s tough watching a clever, bold businessman like my father forget the dog’s name or where the kitchen is in the house.”
The deep throb in Brent’s voice made JT’s chest hurt. “Is there anything you need? Anything I can help with?” He regretted that in his preoccupation with his own troubles, he’d not kept up with his cousin the way a friend should.
Brent cleared his throat. “That’s the worst of it. There’s nothing anyone can do.” He swallowed the last of his scotch. “But I appreciate the offer. You’re not just family, you’re a good friend.”
A year apart in age, they’d spent time together as kids, forming bonds that made them close as adults. Fiona Stone had often traveled to Charlotte to visit her favorite cousin. JT remembered how, in this Neoclassical-style house, built more than a hundred years ago, his mother hadn’t needed drugs or alcohol to cope with her life. She’d smiled all the time and given him big hugs and spoiled him with ice cream sundaes and trips to the zoo and museums. Getting his mother back had been like a miracle. But neither the trip nor his mother’s happiness could last forever.
“So, why don’t you tell me what’s going on. Why you’re suddenly buying up stock.”
“I want to get control of Stone Properties.”
“Seriously?” Curiosity flared in Brent’s gray eyes. “And how are you planning to do that?”
“For the last six months, Tiberius had been quietly buying shares.”
“That clever son of a bitch,” Brent exclaimed in admiration. “So, you two were going to team up?”
JT shook his head. “I had no idea what he was planning. You know Tiberius.”
“Kept his cards close to his chest. And who could blame him after what your dad did to him. How much of the company had he managed to get?”
“Eighteen percent.”
“And with the thirty you came into on your last birthday, you are three percent short of control.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that,” JT explained, thinking of Violet and her damned skinny-dipping. “Turns out, Tiberius didn’t leave me the shares.”
“Really?” Brent got up to refresh their drink.
“Thanks to my dad, my uncle and I weren’t on the best of terms, but in the last month or so we’d started to reconnect.” JT considered all the tales his father had told him about Tiberius and wished he’d been smarter about where he’d put his loyalty.
Brent frowned. “So who owns his shares?”
“Tiberius’s unofficially adopted daughter.” JT held up his left hand and showed off his grandfather’s ring. “Last night we got married.”
The number of times JT had successfully surprised his quick-witted cousin could be counted on one hand. Today marked the fifth one.
“You’re married to...oh, what’s her name?” Brent snapped his fingers as he searched his memory.
“Violet Fontaine.”
“Tiberius took in her and her mother, didn’t he?” Uncertainty fogged Brent’s gaze. “But I thought her last name was Allen?”
“Turns out she’s Ross Fontaine’s illegitimate daughter. After he died, Violet’s grandfather—Henry Fontaine, head of Fontaine Resorts and Hotels—came to Vegas to find her and make amends for his son’s neglect. She’s in line to succeed the old man as head of the company.”
