Page 1 of Bred

HIS INCENTIVE

GENNI BEE

CHAPTER ONE

LOREN

Thissuitwaswastedon these negotiations. Not that I usually cared about these types of things, but I did like this particular three-piece. It made my eyes pop, the tailor had said. It also made me feel like a billionaire dollars, which was good considering the price of the deal we were finalizing today.

It made even the drive into downtown Chicago—which was, in my eyes, the entry to hell—acceptable. As did the fact that as soon as I convinced Ehlers to give in to the latest offer, I could be home again, where no one had ever heard of Thanes Inc. Or Armani for that matter.

But at the end of the day, this was going south in a way that I knew no suit would fix. And my presence wasn’t doing anything either, even if my advisors thought otherwise. It didn’t matter that it was my name on the outside of the building we sat in. Ted Ehlers, CEO of Ehlers Power, wasn’t selling.

Ehlers looked like something out a Viking story. His once broad shoulders, long gray beard, and bright, piercing blue eyes may have made some people think twice. But not me. My company, Thanes Inc., was hoping to buy old man Ehrler’s small but successful utilities company in rural North Dakota. It was the perfect next step for me professionally, seeing as I’d recently bought up a massive ranch property in a city nearby.

A city I’d left to come here and watch my lawyers and other board members fawn over Ehlers and his crew.

Fucking waste of time. At the end of the day, tempers were short, the mood was grave, and Ehlers looked more than eager to get out of this boardroom. I shared his sentiment completely. But I wanted his company. I wasn’t leaving without it.

At a break in conversation, Ehlers suddenly stood, straightening his lapels with a jerk of gnarled fingers. “Can ya’ll just get out for a minute? I need to talk to Mr. Thanes alone.”

That got my attention, my eyes darting to meet the proud gaze of the man I was preparing to force out. He knew it. I knew it. He needed to sign on the dotted line and let us all out of this misery.

My lead attorney, Bill? Bob? Shit, I couldn’t keep them all straight at this point. He and his partners stared at me, wide-eyed and surprised. Running a hand through my silver hair, I gave them a quick nod.

I didn’t need them to protect me from a grumpy old man who wanted to bargain over a few hundred thousand dollars. I’d been making deals like this since my father let me sit in on them over school holidays.

The legal team slipped out of the top-floor conference room. Slowly, I turned, watching the older man as he did the same.

“I’m not too old to recognize that we need those stuffy types here to seal the deal. But I’m old enough to know shit isn’t getting done until you and I talk. Man to man.”

Ehlers’ knees cracked as he moved down a few chairs so that he was staring straight across at me.

“I’m going to let you have Ehlers Power,” he announced, fingers drumming lightly on the shining conference table.

I waited, my eyes narrowing. There was always a “but.” I could taste it coming, even as my heart thumped loudly in my chest.

“But I want something from you.”

Ah, there it was, I thought to myself, steepling my fingers as I waited.

“Name it.”

For the first time since he arrived, Ehlers seemed to be nervous. “It will be off the record. Completely.”

This time, I pushed back in my chair, wondering what he was thinking. “You have my word. Go on, Mr. Ehlers.”

“I would like to offer you an incentive. This company has been in my family in some way or another since we crawled out of nothingness. It is my pride, my joy, my life. And I know your company will do right by it.”

“We will—” I started, but he cut me off.

“But I want more. I want my blood to be still flowing through that company. I want to know that it remains tied to my bloodline no matter what.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“It’s really quite simple, boy. My granddaughter, Wren. I want you to marry her.”

I reared back, flinching from the man’s words. “Excuse me?”