Page 13 of Bargain With The Boss (Crescent Cove: The Moguls #2)

Sydney

“I can’t believe him.”

Claire was steering the ship back toward her house. “So you’ve said.”

“Sorry.” I slumped in my seat. “I just can’t get over how narrow-minded he is being.”

Claire was quiet for a few beats. “I agree with him. About my father.”

I sat up. “You do?”

“My father has had this outlandish plan since my grandfather died. All of the Maitland men have had life-changing successes, each grander than the last, until my father.” At my frown, she turned the wheel, then locked it in place before dropping the sail.

Our momentum slowed as she sat beside me.

“The founding families are pretty hard core in Crescent Cove. The Wainwrights, the Hastings, Maitlands of course, and the Hamiltons are the ones who have stuck around the longest.”

The mention of the Hamiltons twisted my stomach.

I’d met them during the holidays, but I’d made excuses to make myself scarce during the houseful of people.

I wasn’t used to that level of noise to start, but to see how incredibly close Jude had gotten to them in such a short time seemed all the worse.

The instant joy and belonging making me feel even more out of place.

“Hey.”

“Sorry.”

She frowned. “So you’re actually part of the founding family too.”

“What?” I shook my head. “No, my brother is. I have no real affiliation with them.”

“Affiliation?” A surprised laugh rolled out. “They’re your half brothers.”

I dug my fingers into my leg. “Not really. I mean in biology, perhaps. I didn’t even know my mother had another family, let alone children. Jude never knew our— my —father wasn’t his biological father.”

“That has to be hard, but he raised him as his, right?”

I sighed. I’d never really discussed the new branches of my family tree.

“It’s okay if it’s none of my business.”

“No, I don’t mind. Okay, that’s a lie. I do mind.”

Claire covered my hand. “You can tell me. I’m pretty good at being a vault.”

Baring my soul had never been my way of dealing with things.

Then again, the way I’d been handling it was ignoring it, and that wasn’t working either.

“Everything has been a mess since Jude found out about his real father. Then he got some random woman pregnant here. When I say things have been in an upheaval in Seattle, it’s an understatement. ”

“Well, half of it is.” Claire gave me a rueful smile. “It is the Cove.”

“Tell that to Michelle Keller.” At her blank look, I laughed. “You don’t know how refreshing it is for people not to know my mother.”

“I’m assuming she’s important.”

“I do believe one article mentioned that she puts fear in men’s hearts in the business world.”

She frowned. “Don’t make me take out my phone.”

I laughed. “We don’t have as many stores out this way, but we do have a few. She created A Home You Love.”

“Oh, my God. Yes!” Claire pulled off her sunglasses, shock in her big brown eyes. “My mother’s friends are obsessed.”

“Sounds about right. We do cater to women of a certain age or of a certain financial status.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Can’t say it’s exactly my kind of thing.”

“You aren’t alone.”

Claire patted my hand. “Well, that makes sense. Now that I put name to company, I’ve read a few things about your mother. She’s very impressive.”

I couldn’t help the conflicting feelings of pride and insecurity when it came to my mother’s success. It felt like I’d never find my place in any of it. Now, with this obsession with bringing Jude back to Seattle, it was only stronger.

“Since Jude has moved here, my mother has made it very difficult in Seattle.”

“Well, she is the one who lied.”

I laughed. “That would be logical and when it comes to Jude, my mother has always had an odd attachment.”

“Well, he’s hers, right?”

I frowned. “She’s our mother.”

“Yes, I understand that, but if she left with Jude or while pregnant with him…maybe in her mind she’s his.”

My mouth dropped open.

Claire gave me a soft smile and patted my hand. “I’m just guessing with a few psychology classes under my belt.”

“God, how could I not have seen that?”

All the times she put Jude first and dismissed me. Guilted me into doing everything for her, twisting the truth to suit her purposes—now being Jude out of her control. All of it made so much more sense.

Yes, some of it was because of the merger, but Jude could easily come home to make things look good during the pomp and circumstance that came with sealing the deal.

“So Jude didn’t have a good relationship with your dad.”

“My father isn’t exactly demonstrative on a good day, knowing Jude wasn’t biologically his could explain a lot of things with how he treated Jude.” But my mother always treated him like the prince.

Always a little more important than any of us.

I just assumed it was because he was the first born son. Now it felt so much larger and overwhelming.

“But that doesn’t mean you can’t build a relationship with Oliver and Seth. They’re really good guys and their wives are so down to earth.”

My chest tightened. “I know. I just don’t feel like I belong.”

Anywhere.

“You could.” She patted my hand.

“Enough about my ridiculous family drama.”

Claire laughed. “Anyway, about the current state of angst between Xavier and my family. My grandfather built most of our current wealth thanks to real estate. However, the Hamiltons have outgrown what my father has built in Crescent Cove. They leaned into family homes and that has become a boom thanks to...”

“Babies.”

“You got it.” She got up and adjusted the boat’s heading in a way I didn’t understand, but felt the boat kick up in motion again.

“Heath has tried to dissuade our father from this ostentatious and insanely expensive idea and to put more money back into businesses in the Cove, but he’s so fixated.

Instead, he just wants to collect more land until it fits his vision. ”

It was interesting to hear the other side of the feud between the families.

“As you can imagine, Xavier has his own ideas about that.”

“I don’t know much about their personal conflict. As I said, I end up getting trapped in the charity end of things and I was away for school for a big portion of it. I do know when Xavier and his friends bought that old strip mall a few years ago my father went apoplectic.”

That project was the key to killing Jude’s connection with the town.

And I was sitting in the boat of...well, the enemy to be honest.

Exactly who could help me get what I wanted.

Wanted was a strong word. It was what I needed.

We were quiet as we got closer to the boathouse. Claire had to concentrate to get her sails down to bring down the speed to dock her boat. Her brother was still tinkering with his car, sweat rings staining his shirt in a few places.

Heath met us as Claire was collapsing the sails. He jumped on board to help as if he’d done it a thousand times. “So, who’s you’re friend, Claire Bear?”

Claire wrinkled her nose. “Don’t call me that in front of strangers.”

He laughed and his eyes crinkled at the corners. He was tanned and looked like he’d lived his life on the water. His hair had a bit of a curl to it—not quite as much as Xavier, but definitely more of a windswept effortless vibe. He was easy to smile and was well aware of his attractiveness.

“I’m Sydney Keller.”

“Keller...Jude Keller?”

“My brother.”

He whistled and crouched down to pull the cover for the boat out of its compartment. “How did this happen?”

“We met shopping,” Claire said with a huff.

“Of course you did.” He shook his head.

I folded my arms over my chest, self-conscious of how much of me was on display. I could feel the heat radiating off my skin telling me I’d burned as well. My hair was wild from the wind even with the cap. “We only were on a first name basis when today started. I’m not from here anyway.”

“So you don’t know our families are fighting like some old soap opera?”

I couldn’t help the laugh. “No.”

Claire jumped off the boat and before she could help me down, Heath guided me off. Claire came up beside me. “I like her. We’re already best friends.”

Heath tossed one end of the cover to his sister as they efficiently buttoned up the boat. “Forgive my sister, she likes to adopt people at first sight.”

“I do not.”

“Do so.” He tugged her braid. “It’s why so many people love you.” He suddenly put her in a headlock, and she squealed.

“Get off me. You stink.”

He scooped her off her feet and tossed her over his shoulder. “C’mon to our secret garden, Sydney.”

I followed him through the door and my breath caught. It was a massive yard beside the boathouse, but instead of endless grass it was an oasis of stone paths, flowers in a dizzying array, as well as chairs made for sitting and chatting. A well-used grill was smoking.

Heath dropped his sister on one of the loungers. “I was making some dinner. Simone is off today so we’re on our own for food.”

“We ate a ton on the boat, but I won’t say no to one of your cocktails.”

He moved to the cooler and flipped it open then lifted a pitcher. “One of these?”

“Yes!”

He dug out a few Solo cups from a bag. “You in, Syd?”

Since there wasn’t any chance I’d be meeting with Xavier tonight, I shrugged. “Why not?”

“Careful, they’re dangerous.” Claire settled into the corner of the chaise and curled her legs up.

I took my cup and sat in a lounger beside her.

“So, what brings you to the Cove?” Heath took a big gulp from his cup as he manned the grill. The spicy scent of peppers and onions wafted our way when he opened the hood.

“Helping out my brother. He just had his second child.”

He lifted his glass. “Congrats, auntie.”

I smiled behind the rim of my cup. I was used to people talking about Jude and Maddie, but not so much that they were mine too. “Thanks.”

“So, you’re in the enemy camp. Are you going to get excommunicated?”

“Xavier certainly acted like it,” Claire quipped. “He was a real asshole.”