Page 46 of Between Passion and Revenge: Part Two

Zane pauses, then leans back, moving his hand. With his tongue to the side of his teeth, he says, “Huh.” After a beat, he grabs his phone from his pocket, and I see it’s silently ringing. He presses a side button and puts it face down on the coffee table between us.

“Well, what did he say?” Zane asks, completely logically. Still, Melissa’s words float in my brain, followed by my Daddy’s.

I ain’t raised no fool, Shae Rivers. God’s given you a spirit of discernment, baby girl. Use it!

“There’s another bid for Keystone,” I say. “It’s not official, and Melissa dropped the information right before the gala from some secret sources. But that’s the reason things have been wobbly. He wanted to make sure I knew.”

I shrug, a more casual move than I’m feeling.

“What did he want you to do with that information?” Zane asks, his face blank for once.

“I…” My mouth hangs open for a second before I snap it shut, swallowing and licking my lips to buy time.

Think quickly.

“Nothing,” I finally say. “He just wanted me to know and do what I will with the information.”

Zane’s eyes narrow as he nods slowly, as if examining me for tells. When my phone chirps loudly, Zane clears his throat.

“Wow, what audacity. He comes all this way after being MIA forever just to talk business? What an asshole. Stay away from him, Liv.”

Even though I hate Storm Sandoval with every fiber of my being, I balk at Zane speaking badly about him for some absolutely insane reason, and I stiffen when he gives me a directive at the end of his spiel.

“I doubt we’ll be seeing more of each other,” I clip out. “There’s no reason for us to see each other again—not unless he decides he wants involvement with the twins. In which case, that’s what the courts are for.”

Zane gives me another bland look, then tips his lips into a smile.

“Right,” he replies.

An awkward silence falls between us, and I debate kicking him out of my office so I can think and plan when he makes me face the elephant in the room once again.

“We should move forward with Keystone. In fact, we should pre-empt this other deal and close sooner,” he says.

I can’t help the nervous laugh that erupts from me. When he doesn’t join in, my humor dies.

“You’re serious,” I say.

“Dead serious,” he replies. Then, he waits for my response, dropping his forearms to his thighs while leaning forward.

“Well,” I say, tapping my finger to my thigh to give myself a focal point. What the hell? “I don’t think that’s wise. At all.”

I return the silence, and Zane loses the battle when his left eye twitches.

“I don’t think you understand, Liv. If we lose this opportunity, we’re gonna be so fucked. Royally fucked.”

“You think I don’t know that, Zane?” I ask, standing and heading to my iMac to give myself space from him. “You think I don’t get night terrors about how much money I have tied up in this thing?”

“You?” he spits. “I think you meanwe.”

I stop in my tracks, staring at him so hard I could incinerate him on the spot.

“You forget, Zane, thatIam the CEO of Orisun and the majority owner. Not you.”

He chuckles, but it’s a humorless sound.

“And you forget, Liv, that without my seed money and my tech, Orisun wouldn’t exist.” I gawk at him, at his audacity to throw this in my face. “And you also forget, Liv, that there are protections in place if you abdicate your fiduciary responsibility.”

I stare at him so hard, I think my eyes might fall out of my head.