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“You'll regret this,” he snarls. That old son of a bitch.
I storm out. “I’m done with you,” I mutter under my breath. I don’t give a damn about his plans, his alliances, or his twisted idea of what’s best for Brooke. I walk past Cari’s desk and into my office. Slamming the door shut, I close my eyes and rest against the door, glad to be away from that monster who is my father. I don’t love Alicia. I never have. We get on. She’s good company and the sex is great, but I’m not in love with her. These feelings were hiding in my periphery, but the confrontation with my father has brought them to the surface.
I call Dex. He answers on the first ring.
“I just had a meeting with the old man,” I tell him.
“Lucky you,” Dex says.
“I swear he drains all my fucking energy.”
“That’s why I stay out of his way as much as I can.”
“Who the fuck is Arminio Oliveira?” I demand as I walk past Cari’s desk.
“He told you about that?” Dex sounds surprised.
“You knew?”
“Yeah. The old man wants you to marry his daughter as part of a business deal. Have an arranged marriage.”
“When the fuck were you going to tell me?”
“I’ve been trying to get you to meet me for a drink,” my younger brother shoots back.
I massage my temple gently, feeling a throbbing headache coming on. “I’ve been busy. Monaco, then Brooke’s birthday.”
“It’s insane. We live in the same building.”
He has a point. “So, you knew?” I ask, still in disbelief.
“Yeah. It’s part of a business alliance. He thinks it would be good for both companies. To have an arranged marriage between the guy’s daughter and only heir to the fortune, and one of us.”
“Of course he does,” I mutter, my anger bubbling over as I lean against the door. “What the hell is wrong with him?”
“Since you’re the oldest …” Dex drawls.
“Shut the fuck up.” I hate the sound of this. Our father can’t dictate the course of our lives. Not forever.
“Want to meet over a drink?” Dex offers.
“Maybe. Not today. I’ll call you.”
“There you go again, always too busy to meet me, brother. What if I came up to your place with a few bottles of beer? And a bottle of whiskey?”
“I want to spend time with Brooke. Maybe some other time.” I hang up and sink against the door, closing my eyes.
Paul Knight, my father. The man I loathe. A man who has no heart and never stops scheming.
Chapter 8
CARI
I’ve been filing papers for the last hour, mindlessly going through the motions. It’s dull, repetitive work, but my thoughts are elsewhere. I’m going to do it. I’m going to quit today. The decision pulses through me like a heartbeat, constant and unrelenting.
As soon as Jett gets back, it’s happening.
The office has been unusually calm since he left for that meeting with his father. A quiet I haven’t known in years. But the peace is short-lived. I hear it. His voice from down the hall is harsh, clipped. My stomach tightens. He’s on the phone, and it’s not going well.