The Ruthless Gentleman(67)

“How would sneaking around and spying on people help my brother?”

I glanced across at him and he was smiling and relaxed as if he were offering me suggestions on the best beaches in the area. “We’re prepared to pay you a lot of money to tell us what we need to know.”

“I’m not interested in your money.”

“Even to help your family? That sounds pretty selfish to me.” He tilted his head, looking at me as if I’d just said something ridiculous.

“My family wouldn’t want money that I’ve had to lie for.”

“Oh gosh, no. I don’t expect you to lie. In fact, all I want is the truth. You might even have what I need to know already. Tell me what Mr. Wolf is working on and I’ll give you—”

“I’m not interested,” I said and started walking toward the tender again.

“You haven’t heard what I have to offer you yet. For your brother’s sake, you should hear me out.”

“I’m not interested,” I said. All I wanted in that moment was to get back to the tender and put some distance between me and this redheaded creep.

“Would a hundred and fifty thousand dollars change your mind?”

I stopped walking.

He couldn’t be serious. He was going to give me a hundred and fifty thousand dollars? What kind of shit was Hayden mixed up in? This couldn’t just be one company buying another. Or a long-held grudge. For that kind of money, there had to be more to it.

“I thought that might get your attention.”

“A hundred and fifty grand?”

He smiled. “Right? Easy money. How many seasons would you have to work to make that money? Think of all the amazing things you could do. You could have a holiday, you could take some time off, maybe even go to university.”

My head was spinning. A hundred and fifty grand was so much money.

He pulled out a business card and held it between his index and middle finger. “When you’ve thought about how you’d spend the money, which college course you’d like to take, how happy your dad and brother would be with that extra cash in the bank, call me and we’ll arrange a time to meet.” He pulled out a satellite phone from his pocket and held it out.

I stared at his hands as though I was seeing a hundred thousand dollars right there, baking in the Italian sun. All I had to do was reach out and take it.

“You’ve resisted, Avery. You’ve said no. You’ve proved to yourself you’re a good person. Now your brother needs you to say yes.”

My head snapped up and his eyes were warm and calm, and if an outsider saw us, they might think we were friends or that he was making a pass at me.

I didn’t like him, not one bit, but he wasn’t wrong. My brother did need me, and a hundred and fifty thousand dollars was a lot of money.

I glanced back to the tender and then swallowed. Would my dad expect me to give up so much money? So much cash would be life changing for my entire family. Including me. I needed more time to work out what would be the best thing to do.

I snatched the card and phone from his hands and ran toward the tender where Eric would be waiting. I’d never seen a yacht as a place to escape to rather than from, but I’d never been more ready to leave solid ground. I didn’t know which way was up and being back on board was at least a familiar place. There I could decide whether I should betray Hayden or my family.





Twenty-Eight





Hayden


I barely recognized myself and these feelings of longing I had for Avery Walker. It had only been a few hours since she’d been naked on my desk and already I missed her sweet taste and her fingers through my hair. We’d managed time alone each day since Taormina and instead of quenching my desire, it set it on fire. How would I feel back in London without her? It didn’t make sense. After all, I hadn’t known the woman long and I wasn’t one for emotional entanglements, but I couldn’t imagine my world without her in it. I needed a plan.

I wasn’t sure if it was because I didn’t have any other distractions, but she’d become the thing I looked forward to most in my day. Usually the buzz I got from the process of buying companies was better than any drug, better than sex. It made everything else slide away and took my focus. There was something freeing in that. Nothing was more important. I was clear what my responsibilities and objectives were when I was trying to close a deal. Avery complicated that tunnel vision. She seemed to exist outside it, splitting my focus. I basked in the way she cared for me, made sure I had everything I needed, but more, she challenged me, told me what I didn’t need.

I smiled at the knock at the door, which I knew would be Avery. “Come in.” I kept my gaze on the shiny walnut door. The first thing I was normally faced with when that door opened was Avery’s beautiful smile and wide eyes, but when she opened the door only as much as it took for her to slip inside, her face was a little dull, her smile more forced than usual.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” I said, reaching for her as she pressed the door closed.

“I am?” she asked, walking into my outstretched arms. “Can I get you something?”

I sighed. However close we’d gotten over these past weeks, I couldn’t get away from the fact that she saw herself as the help.

“I wish it wasn’t like this,” I said.