The Family Game(60)

‘Okay, no laughing. I’ll say a boy’s name, you say a girl’s. Ready?’

‘Ready,’ I smile.

‘Okay. Three, two, one. George.’

‘Iris.’

‘Iris and George,’ he repeats back, testing the sounds. ‘Love ’em. Hell, let’s have two kids and use both.’

He mistakes my sudden tears for joy, or hormones.

I pull back and quickly wipe them away.

‘You okay, really?’ he asks, unable to decipher my emotions but aware something is very wrong. ‘If there is something happening, if you need to tell me, I’m here,’ he says, his expression gentle but serious.

I hold his gaze a moment, taking in his handsome face, the look of concern in his eyes, and I realize I can do this. I can do this alone, for us, for him, because this man is worth fighting for.

‘I’m fine,’ I tell him finally. ‘I’m just really glad you’re back.’



* * *



We gorge ourselves on Edward’s breakfast while he updates me on his business trip to Hong Kong.

‘They’ve made a pre-emptive offer on the company.’ His eyes glisten in the morning sun that streams through the apartment windows as he lets that fact land on me.

‘Wait, what? The whole company? They want to buy the whole company? I thought the plan was expanding over there?’ I ask, my surprise obvious enough to draw a snort of laughter from Edward.

‘Yeah, I know. That was the plan, then Li-Chen wrote a number on the back of a business card, pushed it across the table, and suddenly the plan changed. It’s a healthy number,’ he tells me, his smile broadening into a grin. ‘A really goddamn healthy number.’

I feel my chest tighten; Edward doesn’t use superlatives. I feel my head swim at the idea of a figure he’d be genuinely impressed by, a price he’d be willing to sell his entire company at.

‘And what did you say to Li-Chen?’ I say carefully, the unpredictability of our conversation destabilising my already scrambled senses. ‘Is that something you’d want to do – sell the company? You’ve built it from the ground up—’

‘There will be other companies. I can do all this again and the next time I’ll have capital behind me.’ He loses the smile, becoming serious. ‘I’ve got a few days to consider, to approach other investors, or buyers, if I want, but with an opening offer like this, not many players would be in the running.’

‘What about ThruComm? Couldn’t your family buy it, subsume it?’ Even as I say it, I realize what an unattractive prospect that is, even to me. Nobody wants to be subsumed, especially by their domineering family.

Edward’s eyes crinkle into a smile. ‘ThruComm’s already priced out. They’re not capable of matching this.’

‘Holy shit!’ I gasp. ‘You’re serious?’ I ask, my hand flying to my mouth.

‘Yeah,’ he nods, pleased that I am finally getting the scope of what he is trying to tell me. ‘We’ve just got to play it right.’

‘Okay. How long do you have to decide?’

‘Close of business tomorrow.’

‘And when will it—’

‘As soon as I sign the documents.’

The extent of what Edward is telling me slowly dawns on me. If I thought he was wealthy before, this deal could make what he has now a drop in the ocean. The sheer level of protection, and power, that money would give us hones into view. Whatever methods Robert Holbeck has used to avoid his own past will suddenly be available to me, to us. It won’t solve the problem of Robert, but it could certainly even the playing field.

Edward rises from the table, his energy infectious. ‘Right, I’m going to get going. I’ve got meetings all day. I love you,’ he says, then, from the doorway, he adds, ‘You are okay, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, I am. Go, go,’ I order him.

He heads out of the kitchen with a grin then circles back.

‘Oh, yeah. Did Matilda get hold of you yesterday?’ he asks.

‘Yesterday?’

‘Yeah, about Christmas?’

My blood freezes in my veins; I have no idea what he is talking about but I can tell I am not going to like it one bit. ‘What about Christmas?’ I ask.

‘Damn it. I thought they’d have called by now. I said if you were happy to do it, we’d do it.’

‘Do what, Ed?’ I say, finding it hard to keep the snap out of my voice.

‘Um, Christmas,’ he says, surprised by the bite in my tone. ‘They want us over for Christmas; three nights, at The Hydes. It’s family only. They’ve never invited anyone not married into the family. They want you and Lila there this year. Call it a stab at modernization. It’s a step in the right direction. You said we’d play it by ear so I said maybe. I think it’s sort of an apology for Krampusnacht. Though I know I’m as much to blame for what happened then as anyone else. Up to you, though?’

I struggle for how to respond to this appropriately because I absolutely cannot sleep under the same roof as Robert Holbeck.

‘When would we go?’ I ask, buying myself a few seconds to think.

‘The twenty-third. Day after tomorrow. The deal should be all wrapped up by then so it works for me.’