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Matt didn’t have the energy for whatever this was. “I’m busy,” he barked. “Call Henri and schedule a meeting.”
Gage and Conor both chuckled, unfazed by his grumpiness.
“Yeah,” Conor said. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Is there a reason for this visit?” Matt had barricaded himself in this office and the one in his penthouse for the past ten days, working from dawn until midnight.
The only truly productive thing he’d accomplished was seeking retribution against the Eddingtons. By awakening the monster within, Matt had found it far too simple to reach into Dante Russo’s bag of tricks. Hiring a private investigator immediately following Patricia’s visit with the marker had yielded some interested information. Information Matt had shared with the right people.
As such, Richard Eddington was currently under investigation for sexual harassment. Matt had encouraged a former personal assistant to come forward to tell her story. That initial report had opened the door, and three other women had since filed their own grievances. The evidence—and Eddington’s attempts to buy the women off—had been irrefutable, and last Matt had heard, the board of directors was calling for Richard’s resignation.
Meanwhile, the tabloids were having a field day with the news that the self-proclaimed “all-natural beauty” Patricia had, in fact, undergone several plastic surgery operations, something she’d always vehemently denied, declaring she didn’t need it.
Sadly, revenge wasn’t the balm it had been in his younger days.
He’d thrown himself into his work with a vengeance, ensuring he was so fucking exhausted by the time he fell into bed that sleep took him immediately. Though it never lasted for long, the bad dreams waking him up in a cold sweat.
When he was awake, work kept him distracted enough that he didn’t have time to think about?—
He shut that down, refusing to say her name even in his thoughts.
“Of course there’s a reason for our visit,” Gage said. “This is your intervention.”
Matt sighed. “Is this some sort of payback?”
Back when Gage had first started seeing Penny, Matt and Conor had shanghaied Gage in his office when it became apparent their brother was falling apart.
Which meant Matt hadn’t been doing a very good job hiding his own mental breakdown.
“It’s not payback,” Conor hastened to say. “We just thought it might be time to step in before you drive every employee we have out of the building. I give Henri another week before he starts keeping a flask in his desk drawer.”
Matt rubbed his eyes. He’d been a fucking bear, barking at anyone unfortunate enough to catch his attention. It was no wonder Henri hadn’t announced his brothers’ arrival. His poor PA had taken the brunt of Matt’s very bad mood. He’d no doubt hit his limit on ass-chewings.
“Fine,” Matt said. “I’ll stop being an asshole. So if that’s all?—”
Gage laughed as he looked at Conor. “Aw. Isn’t that cute? He thinks we’re going to let him off easy.”
Matt scowled. “You do remember that technically I’m the boss, right? I could fire both your asses.”
Gage rolled his eyes in response to that empty threat, while Conor just stared him down, one eyebrow raised.
“Fine. Obviously you have something on your mind. Stop beating around the fucking bush and say it. I’ve got work to do.”
“What’s the deal with you and Liza Moretti?” Gage went right for the jugular, and given Conor’s lack of shock, he’d clearly filled their kid brother in on what had gone down.
While he didn’t know exactly how much Gage knew, Matt wasn’t surprised he’d heard at least some of it. Penny and Liza were friends, after all.
“There is no deal.”
Saying those words hurt. Matt kept waiting for the pain to subside, but every single day he woke up struggling to breathe, his chest tight. He was starting to think this was his new normal.
“Because you decided to play loan shark with her uncle?” Conor asked.
Matt started to nod, but he stopped. “No.”
He truly believed that if he’d simply torn the marker up the second Liza, Tony, and Luca had stormed into his office and begged for her forgiveness, she would have given it to him. Liza wasn’t like Patricia. She didn’t hold grudges. He’d tested her forgiving nature countless times in Hawaii with his hands-off, hands-on bullshit enough to know for sure that was true.
Gage leaned forward. “Then why? You clearly have feelings for her, apparent by this wounded beast routine you’ve got going on.”
