A Pound of Flesh (A Pound of Flesh #1)(183)

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you for forgiving me. For loving me. I don’t deserve any of it, Peaches.” He held her close. “Thank you.”

Kat murmured sleepily by his forehead, “I guess that makes us even.”

Carter closed his eyes. He knew that wasn’t true. As hard as his time away from Kat had been, Carter had had a lot of time to consider his options, and the one option that was simply impossible to comprehend was the one that saw them separated permanently.

He would not, could not walk away. He’d tried and it had crushed him.

Which left only one option.

He lifted his head and brushed her hair from her sleeping face. “Peaches.”

“Mmm.”

He drew an invisible circle under her lashes and across the flush of her cheek, considering his next words. There was no use in denying it anymore. He was responsible for the animosity between Kat and her mother. Of course, Eva hadn’t given him a chance and would no doubt laugh in his face should he try to explain his feelings for her daughter; nonetheless, Kat had already lost one parent, and he didn’t want her to lose another.

“We have to do something—something important—before we fly back to New York tomorrow. I have to do something.”

She snuggled into him. “Yeah?”

Carter cleared his throat. “I need to talk to your mom.”

*

Austin Ford paced like a caged lion in his office, gritting his teeth so hard Adam was convinced they would shatter. Hell, it would match the four-thousand-dollar vase that lay in a million pieces at their feet. Following Ben Thomas’s impromptu visit, the much-anticipated fax had come through from the WCS board. Its message was clear: Pack up your shit, boys. Your presence at WCS is no longer required.

Adam, for one, hadn’t been surprised, and, in many ways, it had come as a huge relief. For too long he had followed his brother through the valleys of aggressive mergers and bullying acquisitions. He’d stood back and watched in humiliated and embarrassed silence as Austin bartered and harassed people and businesses for his own gains.

Yes, he was one hell of an executive and he had made himself and those around him exceedingly rich. But over the years, he’d grown cocky. His manner was less genteel and more arrogant, and the wry smile of disappointment had now become a sneer of disgust that anyone would dare to refuse or stand up to him.

Nevertheless, Wes Carter had done just that.

Despite it being Thanksgiving week, Austin had put every lawyer and favor he had at his disposal on the fax the minute it slid through the machine. He wanted to find a loophole, a lose end, a clause, a f*ck-you. He needed to find one. Adam knew that Austin would rather die than let Carter take over WCS, but that was exactly what was happening. There was no way around it, and one of Austin’s cronies had delivered the news.

The vase had been the first casualty.

Adam watched his brother continue his furious journey around the office.

“You’re telling me,” Austin growled, “that there is no way to stop this?” His index finger smacked against the desk, pressing down hard into the fax.

Rick, his consultant, shifted on his feet and cleared his throat. “Yes, sir.”

Austin’s eyes grew impossibly wider. Adam had never seen his brother look so unkempt. His hair was ruffled and a light sheen of sweat covered his cheeks and forehead.

“I don’t f*cking believe this!” he bellowed. “How is this even possible?”

“Well, sir—”

“Don’t answer me when I ask rhetorical questions, Rick!” Austin snapped angrily. “I can f*cking read!”