Seducing the Bridesmaid (Wedding Dare, #3)(32)
Yet she found herself opening her computer and bringing up her email. It was tempting as hell to flip through the various emails she’d gotten in the last few days, but she refused to be a coward. Ignoring the files marked Logan McCade, she opened the first on Brock.
As she read, she almost closed the file. It said everything she expected—he was bright and had a fantastic athletic history, though he’d never pursued sports after high school. Hell, it looked like he hadn’t pursued anything after high school. He’d taken the job with his father’s company and just…stayed there. There was no upward movement, no deals worth noting, not even a hint of scandal or anything to indicate he did more than show up and sleep at his desk every day.
For the first time in as long as she could remember, she wished she hadn’t been right. But it couldn’t be clearer that she was. With a sigh, she closed that file and opened the second one—and frowned.
What the hell was this?
Frowning harder, she reread the information. And then again. Regan reached for her phone and dialed without looking. Almost immediately, Addison’s voice answered, “You’re supposed to be having fun, remember? Not calling me.”
“You made a mistake.”
“Nope. You and I both know I don’t make mistakes.”
“Obviously there’s a first time for everything. You have Brock McNeill listed as one of the owners of the Blue Boat Foundation. That’s not right.”
“Oh, believe me, it is. He’s not listed on any of the official paperwork or announcements, so I had to do some extra special digging to find his name, but he’s the sole founder.”
“That’s impossible.” She would have known about this. The man she had him pegged for didn’t own a nonprofit organization geared toward helping battered women and their children relocate. The Blue Boat Foundation had been making waves in the U.S. in the last five years because of the sheer amount of support it offered these women. Apartments in decent school districts. Entry-level jobs in whatever field they were qualified for—and schooling if they weren’t—with plenty of room for advancement. Child care. A tiered system designed to help them stand on their own two feet without crippling them by taking away assistance completely. The freaking president of the United States had even come out in support, saying that the Blue Boat Foundation stepped in where the government fell short.
If Brock was part of this movement, she would have known.
Addison made a tsking noise. “I’m not wrong, and deep down, you know it.”
Which meant Regan had been wrong. At least in part. She stared at the computer screen until it went blurry. “Thanks. I owe you more than just lunch for this.”
“And then you can tell me the real reason you wanted this info.”
She should have known Addison would recognize something was up. “Deal.”
“Talk to you soon.” Then she was gone.
She shook her head and closed the computer. Brock had some questions to answer. Why the hell hadn’t he spoken up and told her what he’d been doing behind the scenes? Knowing he was part of the Blue Boat Foundation would have been enough to shut her up and put her in her place—at least for a few minutes. It would have been so easy.
She wanted to know why, and she wanted to know now.
…
Brock turned off his shower to the sound of someone pounding on his door. He sighed and wrapped a towel around his waist. What else had gone wrong? It seemed like every time he turned around at the wedding, someone else was in the middle of an emergency.
When the banging didn’t show any signs of going away, he opened his door—and nearly got run over by Regan. She shoved past him and spun. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Afternoon.” He closed the door and leaned against it, taking in the sight of her. She looked different today, not as composed and put together as normal. Her hair was pulled back and she didn’t have a speck of makeup on her face. Most telling of all was the fact she wore beige heels of a normal height.
“You should have told me.” She waved a hand in his face. “All this time, I thought you were something you’re not, and you’ve been laughing at me because you are the f*cking majority shareholder in the Blue Boat Foundation.”
He never would have told her. Hell, the only reason Colton knew was because the man was brilliant and Brock had gone to him for advice about getting it up and running. He’d never told Reed, but for different reasons than the ones that made him keep it from his family. “What’s that have to do with anything?”
“It changes things. Or it could change things.” She spun again, pacing without actually moving. “And I want to know why.”
“Why what?” He moved closer, letting some of the anger he constantly carried with him surface. “You want to know why I didn’t tell you? Because I don’t need your f*cking approval—or anyone else’s. That’s not why I started the Blue Boat Foundation. Or maybe you want to know why I started it in the first place? I did it because I grew up lucky. You think I don’t know that, but I damn well do. Beyond the money you seem to hate so much, I have both my parents and my dad might be a rigid *, but he never once touched any of us in anger.”
Needing to escape the thoughts in his head, he snagged an arm around her back and towed her against him. She looked like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to kiss him or smack him, but then she closed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t understand you. Do you know how freaking rare that is? Every time I think I have your number down, you go and throw something new into the mix. It’s not okay.”