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She laughs. "And you always wear your heart on your sleeve. I like that about you, Mira. I like that a lot."
"Doesn’t help when you’re trying to play a game with your husband and you don’t know the rules."
"Make up your own."
I frown. "What do you mean?"
"He’s attracted to you, Mira. He can’t take his gaze off you when you’re with him. He’s possessive about you—"
"Which makes no sense; I’m his wife in name only."
"So test him."
"How?"
"Use his weakness."
"He’s Edward, the emotionless robot who’s convinced he can’t be redeemed. He doesn’t have one," I grumble.
She continues to look at me with a meaningful look on her face.
"What?"
When she only gives me a small smile, I sigh. I take a sip of my herbal tea, then place the mug on the coffee table.
"I suppose his one indication of fallibility is losing his temper with Knox," I admit.
And the fact he lost control and fucked me on our wedding night.He was unable to resist me. Of course, he had to do it because G-Pa made it a condition—the marriage had to be consummated. Still, he didn’t have to actually do it. He could have lied to G-Pa, and everyone would have believed it. But apparently, he’s not a liar. Which is good, right? It means he’ll be truthful with me, as well. I draw in a breath. "You’re saying I should play on what seems to be his vulnerability and use it to get a reaction from him?"
28
Edward
"I don’t care how risky it is. I’ve decided we're going to take over the company." I glance between Knox and Sinclair. We’ve spent most of the morning trying to find a way to combine the forces of the Davenport empire with that of 7A—the company I co-own with Sinclair and the rest of the Seven—to launch a joint takeover. It’s a deal set with minefields and egos that could send the entire acquisition into a tailspin. It took Knox and Sinclair four hours to conclude the deal's not doable.
"I don’t accept no for an answer," I growl.
Sinclair leans back in his chair. "Neither do I, old chap, but sometimes, the writing is on the wall."
"And this is one of those times," Knox says in that gravelly voice of his. The sunshine streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows illuminates every single dip and cranny of the scars on his face. I can take credit for the newest one on his temple. Not that it takes away from his appeal. If anything, it seems to have increased his popularity with the women-folk, most of whom tittered and stared at him as we walked through the maze of cubicles earlier.
Thankfully, my wife wasn't at her desk. She went out for an early lunch. I know this because I moved things around to make sure she was out when my half-brother prowled in, along with my best friend. Now that I’ve shut Baron out of my circle, and because, except for Sinclair, the rest of the Seven are either traveling for work or with their family, I’ve found myself spending more time with him. Given the joint history of the incident which binds us, there’s a level of trust I share with Sinclair that should make this joint venture successful. But of course, Knox—that douchebag—has his own interests to protect.
"If you’d bother to look at the figures, you’d see we turn a profit in twelve months," I snap.
"With losses for six of those.”
"The higher the risk, the higher the return." I shrug.
"Like your marriage?"
Anger squeezes my guts, my fingers tingle, and I curl them into fists and try to rein in the burn that eats through my veins. He’s trying to provoke me. I know that. I also know G-Pa is watching to see how I settle in—at work and with my new bride.
He called to say he'll be making an announcement soon, confirming my role as CEO, but he hasn’t mentioned when he’ll do it. Meanwhile, Knox will use every dirty trick to show I'm not fit. And it's important to me to get my grandfather’s approval. My parents didn’t give two shits about me, whereas my grandfather—even if it had been for his own selfish needs—decided I'm his heir. And I'm not going to fuck it up. I don’t need a shrink to tell me this only highlights another issue in my psyche. In addition to the ones I already carry around, but whatever. I have a right to this company, and I'm not letting go of it.
"Something you want to tell me?" I narrow my gaze on Knox.
He leans back in his seat and shrugs. "Not really."
