Chapter Thirty-Nine

Carrie

I don’t know why I want this man’s opinion of Reid. I don’t, actually. He momentarily drew me into the web he cast, and I know why. It’s not his charm, good looks, money or power. It’s not about him at all. It’s about Reid, all Reid. I’m falling hard for him. I feel vulnerable where he’s concerned, exposed, but that’s on me, that’s personal. This conversation is not, nor was my decision to stay on board at the company under Reid’s supervision, personal. And so I set the personal aside, and focus on what matters here and now.

“To suggest that Reid is scamming me is suggesting a lack of confidence in my skills and leadership,” I say. “Those things are not lacking. You have to decide if you’re willing to gamble on me, I understand, but ask me questions about those things, not about my agreement with Reid.”

“He needs you to get me. Did you know that?”

“I do,” I say. “He told me you don’t like his past history with Jean Claude.”

Surprise flickers in his eyes. “Did he now?”

“He did.”

“Are you comfortable with that association?”

“I am. He’s not. He told me about his past with Jean Claude and his shift from then to now.”

“You believe that shift is real?”

“I think my recent transition from following my father to becoming my own person makes me understand it well. So, yes. I believe that shift in Reid is real.” I think of his mother’s letter to his sister. “For reasons beyond what I’m willing to share with you. Why does Reid’s past with Jean Claude matter this much to you? Reid is good at what he does.”

“Agreed, but how he gets there matters to me because he takes me with him if I’m in business with him.”

“As he does me. If I felt he cheated my father, or anyone else, I wouldn’t be here.”

“There are many that feel differently about Reid.”

“Are you going to tell me that you’ve become this wealthy without pissing off one single person? Is there no one out there that would say you betrayed them to succeed?”

His eyes sharpen, darken. “Who have you betrayed?”

“Myself.”

He arches a brow again. “Meaning what?”

“I knew when my father was making bad decisions, but I let him convince me I was wrong and he was right. I didn’t stay true to my instincts.”

“And that should instill confidence in me why?” he asks.

“I’m honest. I don’t make excuses. My gut feelings are right.”

“And you consider Reid honest?”

I don’t like the way he keeps pushing against Reid. “What do you want to say to me?”

“The two of you are not alike.”

“If we were then you’d only need one of us, but you don’t know me.”

“I know enough,” he says.

“Enough to do business with me?” I ask, taking an opportunity where I find it.

His lips quirk. “I didn’t say that.”

“You should do business with me.”

“Yes, you should,” Reid says, crossing the patio to reclaim his seat. “Why aren’t we eating?”

“Why indeed?” Grayson asks, picking up his fork he’d abandoned, as had I, during our talk. “We should eat and enjoy the company.”

“Everything okay?” I ask of Reid’s call.

“All is well,” he says, and there is a hint of warmth in his eyes at my question, an intimacy between us that I no longer try to hide from Grayson. He knows we’re together. I’ll own it. We will own it.

We all dig into our food and the mood shifts. Grayson seems to settle into our company and conversation, these two powerful, handsome, confident, and yes, arrogant, men talking stocks and the financial market, which isn’t my cup of tea, but they make it interesting. They make me want to know more. These two savvy minds often collide in debate, and in the process, both men intrigue me. The topics vary only slightly, but they stay focused on financial gains, and I use this time to try to size up Grayson who is thoughtful in his communication rather than dogmatic, asking questions, listening. I have a sense that there is a cunning hardness beneath his surface, but he tames it, using it when and how he sees fit while Reid remains himself: direct, hard, cautious, but informative. I like this about Reid.

Much later, we’ve finished our meal, and have moved to a circular lounge area around the fire, our glasses graciously refilled by Leslie, and the conversation remains casual. Grayson actually tells us the history of the mansion, which he inherited from his father, right along with the law firm his father founded. “And your mother?” I ask. “Was she involved in the firm?”

“No,” he says. “She was a teacher, and an angel on earth gone too soon. She left me five years before my father.”

Left him.

I cling to those words that feel more like they belong to my story, as my mother did, in fact, leave, thinking they tell a story that helps me work with him. I’m about to dig for more information, but he’s now refocused on Reid. “How’s your father? He had a stroke a while back, correct?”

Reid’s expression is implacable, but I can feel the shift in his mood, the tension radiating off of him. “He did,” Reid confirms, “and he’s no less a bastard now than he was before if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It does take a real bastard to work with Jean Claude,” Grayson replies dryly.

“Are you referencing me or my father?” Reid asks.

“You raided right along with them,” Grayson reminds him, apparently unwilling to let go of the Jean Claude situation.

“I trained beneath my father,” Reid says, and as if he heard my earlier conversation with Grayson, he adds, “I cultivated my own self and I get it. He hits all the wrong nerves with you, but I’m not him.”

“He breaks people.”

“He makes money,” Reid says.

“He made you a lot of money.”

“And now,” Reid says, “thanks to that money, I have the ability to make cautious, thoughtful choices about what I do and with who.”

“And Carrie is one of those choices?”

“Yes,” Reid says, his voice absolute. “She is. The board wanted her father out. They wanted her to stay long enough for me to sell the business for fast, big money. I even had an offer on the table, but then I met Carrie and I knew we could do better and she most certainly deserved better. If we can hit certain goals, she’ll take over the controlling interest that was once her father’s. Carrie is a worthy investment for us both. And I might not be Jean Claude, but I have enough of him left in me not to make a decision based on who I’m fucking.”

“Just who you can fuck?” Grayson challenges. “Because Elijah has plenty to say about that. He wants you out and her in, now.” He looks at me. “What do you think about Elijah’s claims?”

This question hits a nerve or really two. Reid hasn’t told me what he knows about my father and he shut me down over Elijah and it must show on my face. “You don’t know about Elijah’s claims,” Grayson assumes.

“Elijah came to me and tried to take down Reid,” I say quickly. “He was unethical and unprofessional, driven by personal vendettas that he’ll use to destroy Reid and my company with him, and he won’t care. He just wants revenge.”

“Revenge for what?” he presses.

“A problem of his own creation,” Reid states.

“Does it matter?” I add. “He’s after the wrong thing and he doesn’t care who it hurts. And you just keep hitting Reid over and over. Why did you even meet with us?”

“As you said, Reid is good at what he does. And I believe him when he says you can make me money. He wouldn’t risk his credibility.”

“And yet you want to find a reason to say no,” I point out.

“On the contrary,” he says. “I want you to be the reason I say yes, so let’s talk about what yes looks like. I’ve been on a mission to place my firm in every state and beyond, starting with Asia.”

Asia again, I think, already concerned.

“I’m buying complexes and buildings to develop around the firm,” he continues, “I don’t want the firm to be the only revenue in each state. I’ve completed the set-up of ten properties in ten states and two in Asia. I’ll consider letting you take over one location in the US and one overseas, to start, as a test.”

“What locations?” Reid asks.

“Japan and Austin, Texas,” Grayson replies. “I’ll need a proposal. I want to see how you will handle domestic and international locations. Analyze what we’ve done thus far, tell me what you’d do differently, and we’ll go from there, but you should know I have a proposal I favor.”

“Can I see it?” I ask.

“No, you cannot see it,” he says. “Give me your best foot forward, not someone else’s. I’ll provide you with details on what we’ve done thus far.”

“What about budgets?” I ask.

“What about return?” he replies. “That’s what I want. Returns. Make that number right and the total investment will land where it needs to land.”

“Fully funded by you?” Reid asks. “Or will you want investors?”

“I’ll consider all proposals,” Grayson says. “It’s all about the big picture and the returns. We can meet next week when I’m in the city if you’re ready.”

“We will be,” Reid replies and we all stand up. “We’ll get to work right away.”

“Work is good,” Grayson says, “but enjoy the weekend.”

“Thank you for allowing us to stay at your property,” I interject quickly and the three of us make small talk as we enter the house where Leslie greets us. I’m just raving over our meal when Reid motions to Grayson and the two men step back outside.

Leslie keeps talking, but I’m distracted. This private meeting between the two men, instigated by Reid, hits those same nerves the Elijah conversation with Grayson hit and it’s all I can do to keep chatting properly. When finally, after five minutes that feels like an hour, Reid returns without Grayson, this visit is over. We head for the door where we graciously thank Leslie for dinner, while tension curls in my belly and tightens every muscle in my body. I’m angry with Reid over the secrets he’s keeping that make me have to question him and I’m nervous about what just occurred. Maybe he was just asking Grayson what he thinks about me, which is reasonable, but it feels more like the Elijah thing, like something he doesn’t want me to know, and I don’t like it.

I fight the urge to explode at Reid when exploding really isn’t my thing. That tells me that the secrets just aren’t working for me. That tells me that I’m a hundred shades of over my head emotionally with this man. Once we are finally on the porch alone, I don’t look at Reid or speak. I know there could be cameras filming us and I need what comes next for us to be private, not part of some test Grayson Bennett is giving us. I know this entire night is just that: a test, and my actions now could be a reflection on my control and Reid’s presumed character.

We start walking down the stairs. “He likes you,” Reid says. “You won him over.”

My reaction is one-part relief while that anger I’m feeling stays firmly in place. I don’t respond. Nothing I say will come out right at this moment. Reid is smart. He says nothing else and side by side we walk down the sidewalk toward our car, where the driver waits at the car door. Reid motions to him and he climbs inside the car, leaving us to our approach alone. I charge forward and reach for the rear door, but Reid is behind me, his big body framing mine, his hand on my hand on the door. “Talk to me before we’re in the car with a driver.”

I don’t turn. “You’re my boss right now. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to tell me professionally and I have to live with that. If we’re fucking, just fucking, you don’t have to tell me anything at all. But if this is a relationship, I don’t want secrets or lies between us. Decide which it’s going to be, Reid.”

Several heavy beats pass, and I sense an internal battle in him, and I think he will say something, but he doesn’t. He releases me and steps back. I open the car door and get inside, not sure what to expect when he follows, and most certainly not when we’re finally alone. I just know what I want and that’s him. I want this man and I’m not sure just fucking is enough anymore.