Luck of the Devil (The Forge Trilogy #2)(50)

Karas hands the addendum back to me. “Well, hell. This changes things.” He walks toward the floor-to-ceiling windows that lead to the terrace. “So essentially, if we agree, you get two shares of the partnership.”

A strangled laugh catches in my throat. “Not at all.”

Karas turns around, and his sharp stare cuts to my face. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that there’s no way in hell my marriage is going to last beyond the moment we sign this deal with Federov. Indy will divorce my ass before the ink is dry and run as far away from me as possible.”

“What the fuck did you do? She seemed fine yesterday.”

I jam my hands in my pockets. “You assume it was me?”

Karas’s head tilts back and his entire body shakes with laughter. “Of course it was you. That’s what men do—fuck up because we can’t get our heads out of our asses, especially men who have more money than God and don’t take orders from anyone.”

I look out the window as well, not sure how to reply. I decide to go with the truth. “She’s looking for a boat to get off the island as we speak. I had to threaten to fire all my employees if she manages to escape.”

“Jesus Christ, Forge. Don’t you know anything about women?”

My hands flex into fists. “Apparently not. I don’t expect you to understand the situation.”

Karas crosses the room and stops in front of the sideboard. “Come on, you need a drink. I’m going to tell you a story, because you couldn’t be more wrong.”

Once he’s poured us each three fingers of whiskey, we take a seat on the balcony.

“I coerced Holly into marrying me. It might not have been the same situation you’re in, but I did it for my own selfish reasons. Mostly because I saw her once and knew I had to have her.”

His words sound too familiar, so I stay quiet and let him continue, interested to see where this conversation is going. Mostly because I’m hoping he’ll have the wisdom that’ll act as my silver bullet to fix what I’ve clearly fucked up.

“She was in a bad spot,” Karas says with his glass dangling from his fingers. “Her record label was trying to force her into a fake engagement with a has-been artist to buoy his reputation. He obviously didn’t get the chance to pop the fake fucking question, because I intervened.”

“You saved her.”

Karas turns to meet my gaze. “In some ways. But mostly, she saved me.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what it’s like to have everything. More money than you can spend in ten lifetimes. Never have to worry about the cost of anything when you decide you want it. Having everyone around you kissing your ass and begging for favors. It gets old.”

He speaks the truth, but then again, why wouldn’t he? He’s been a self-made billionaire for longer than I have. My wealth was partly inherited and then grown under the careful cultivation of my rage and plan for revenge.

“A-fucking-men,” I say, lifting my whiskey in salute.

“And you also know what it’s like to meet a woman who ends the boring monotony of having everything handed to you at your beck and call, or even before you can think to want it. I saw the way you looked at Indy when she’d say something witty or clever. You looked impressed. Proud, even.” Karas takes a sip, his expression thoughtful now that he’s getting uncomfortably personal.

“What’s your point?” I ask as my fingers close tightly enough around the glass in my hand to nearly crack it.

“My point is, when you find a woman who gives you a reason to wake up in the morning that’s more than just making more money you’ll never be able to spend—you fucking hold on to her with both hands.”

“I already fucked that up. She can’t get away from me fast enough.”

Karas leans back in his chair and kicks his feet up on an ottoman before shooting me a sideways glance.

“If you think I didn’t fuck up and drive Holly away, you clearly give me way too much credit. I did it, and I did it in true self-absorbed billionaire fashion. I put her at the bottom of my priority list. Took for granted that she’d always be waiting until it was convenient for me. And you know what happened?”

“What?”

“I fucking lost her.” He takes another sip as I try to piece together his story.

Considering how Karas and his wife are together, there’s no way I would ever think he fucked up badly enough to lose her. It seems impossible.

“But you got her back . . .”

Karas sits straighter and a wry grin stretches over his face. “Of course. I’m not a fucking idiot.”

“How?”

“I tracked her down and begged her to forgive me for being such a fucking moron, and I made her dreams and goals and wishes the center of my world. I made her the center of my world. If you told me the sun doesn’t rise and set over the curves of my wife’s perfect ass, I’d call you a goddamned liar. It doesn’t matter what anyone says or does, or what business deal is on the table. It all comes second to her.”

I hear what he’s saying, but it seems completely at odds with the man I’ve come to know.

“You’re telling me I should give up this deal with Federov to prove something?”

Karas chuckles over the rim of his glass. “Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, but if she’s going to walk away, it’s not because of this deal. It’s because you haven’t stopped to figure out what matters to her. You haven’t listened to what she says she needs to be happy.”