Cherished (Masters and Mercenaries #7.5)(61)

“Ah, the lovely Chris.” Frankie winked flirtatiously. “Now there’s a mature man I might be able to get into.”

“He has a boyfriend.”

Frankie shrugged. “He might not always have one. If he finds himself alone, give me a call and I’ll comfort him. James and I are only casual dates, though I will probably make him wear that tiara tonight. He’ll look cute in it. A little prince. I’m not wasting my wedding night.”

“Will someone tell me what’s going on here?” She was confused. Someone had definitely left her out of the joke.

“Let’s just say Frankie and I have a lot in common. We both have horrible fathers who don’t accept us for who we are,” Amy explained.

Frankie nodded. “I was told to get married—to a woman, of course—or I would be disinherited.”

“And you know Father wants to merge with Frankie’s father’s company before he sells out and screws everyone over.” A stubborn light hit Amy’s eyes.

“You knew.” Oh thank god. “I couldn’t tell you.”

Frankie’s arm tightened around Amy’s shoulders as though comforting her. “Because of Will. Well, we knew there was a reason your father had been looking into him. It explains the conversation I had with Will earlier.”

Will gave Amy an enigmatic smile. “You’re sure you’re all right with what’s about to happen?”

“I’m great. We looked at our numbers. We’re good,” Amy assured him.

“Numbers? What numbers?” Bridget was about to scream if someone didn’t tell her what was going on.

Amy reached out and gave her a huge hug, squeezing her tight. “Don’t worry anymore, Bridget. I’m going to follow in your footsteps and blaze my own trail. I’ve spent too much time being the good girl because I was afraid to fight back. You taught me how.”

“Fight back?” Her stomach turned. “You can’t do that. Amy, you know he won’t fight fair. He’ll destroy you.”

Amy stepped back and took Frankie’s hand again. “Not if we destroy him first. And your man there, I like him. He doesn’t fight fair either. Tell Mr. Taggart we’re ready for the media portion of the evening and that I sincerely hope he chooses to stay on at Slaten Industries. After all, we’re thinking of relocating our corporate offices in the near future. He tells me Dallas is nice this time of year. And I’ll go and let Mitchell know we’ll need his services in about an hour.”

She watched as her sister and Frankie walked away hand in hand toward the center of the elegantly decorated reception hall. “What the hell is going on, Will? And it’s summer. Ian lies. Dallas is a stinking hellhole this time of the year. Relocating? My father will never relocate.”

Amy needed Mitchell. Why would Amy need a lawyer? Slaten Industries had a ton of lawyers. A whole stinking department of them, so why would her sister use Ian Taggart’s lawyer?

Why would her sister marry a man who didn’t want to sleep with her?

“Frankie has a seat on the board now, doesn’t he?” A seat on the board meant he had a vote. Bridget quickly ran down the board in her head. There was more than a quorum right here at the wedding.

Why would her sister consult an outside lawyer? Because she didn’t want their father to know she was going to try to take him down.

Will smiled at her. “Have I ever told you how smart you are?”

“Actually no.”

“Sorry, sweetheart. That’s an oversight. I was far too busy looking at your boobs.” He grabbed her hand and started to lead her toward the back of the room where the AV equipment and the DJ were set up. “You are brilliant though. I really do love your mind, too.”

She looked ahead and saw the McKay-Taggart contingent standing beside the projector. Her sister had put together some sort of media show for the reception. It was supposed to be a montage of her and Frankie’s lives. She was sure it was lovely and would bring a tear to her eye, but she still had questions.

“Why does Amy think the board will vote her way? If she doesn’t pull this off, my father will destroy her.” It was a gutsy move. It was spectacular, but it could also prove fatal if she didn’t pull it off.

“Ah, you figured it out, did you?” Ian Taggart looked surprisingly happy. He was usually a dour man who frowned a lot. He was good at frowning, but his lips were turned up in a brilliant smile and he had his big hand on his wife’s slightly rounded belly, holding her close to his body. “This is one of those moves where if you don’t kill your prey, he comes back to take you out.”

“That would be my point entirely,” she shot back. “We need to make sure it’s going to work before she tries it.”

Adam was behind the projector, working the computer attached to it. “It’s going to work. Trust me, after I run this footage, all hell’s going to break loose. And it’s all thanks to Will there.”

Charlotte Taggart laid her hand over Ian’s, both resting on the baby in her belly. “Thank you, Will. He’s been so crabby. This has made him happier than you can imagine.”

Chris and Jeremy were standing off to the side with Serena and Jake, but it was easy to tell they were talking about what was going on, too. Everyone knew except her.

“What have you done, Will?”