Page 15 of Kinsey (Pennington Family #1)

“You think you can round us up some whiskey and some food, darling? I’d like to get drunk and claim myself as a winner, but I have to get these other men a good showing.

” She said that she’d see what she could do for him.

“Don’t go cheap on us now, darling. We’re going to be making you have a bit of pocket money too.

My momma would say that to me. She’d say, Davey, honey, I need a bit of pocket money, and I’d give her the world if she wanted it.

God rest her old soul. You fix us up a bit here. ”

Calling back Kinsey, she was glad that he put her on speaker phone for the details, as his brothers were all there, including Raphael.

She was catching their excitement even over the phone.

She not only told them what the bidding was up to, but how the men were in her conference room right now, having the time of their lives trying to outdo one another.

“They’re the biggest dealers in land that I’ve ever worked with.” Gleason asked her what that meant. “They have the most money. And by that I mean that they’re all billionaires, all of them.”

“So you have four billionaires in your office right now having a bidding war on our land. You said it’s over the asking price, is that normal?

” She told Bodi that it was when there was this much land at stake.

“How much longer do you suppose they’ll work this over?

I mean, will they be in there for days?”

“No, I’m predicting that by the end of work today, they’ll have hashed it all out and one will be considered the winner.

I’m betting on Winchester, but I don’t know for sure.

He’s a big hitter and is known for having vast land deals in his favor.

” Kinsey asked if she’d call them back. “Of course I will. As soon as I know, you’ll know too.

How late can I call you guys? I know that you go to bed early. ”

“Anytime.” They said that in unison, and it made her laugh a little. “Just when you have news, no matter the time, you call us. We’ll not sleep anyway, waiting for this to be finished. At least I know that I’m not going to be sleeping anytime soon.”

As soon as she hung up with the brothers, she called Kinsey back. He told her that he had a call from someone named Winchester this morning and that he’d left a message about getting together with him about the land. Kinsey asked her if that was normal and how he got his name and number.

“The land has for sale signs all over the place; it wouldn’t take much for a person with money to be able to hunt you down.

As for getting the number, it wouldn’t be that difficult either.

What did he say about the deal?” Kinsey told her.

“So he’s thinking he’s going to win, and decided you could tell him more about the place than anyone else can.

I guess I can see that. He’s a nice enough person, but wealthy.

It’s up to you if you want to call him back, but I’d wait to see who wins.

It’s sort of fun to listen to them tossing around money like they are.

You’d have a heart attack. But I’d be there for you. “

“I nearly did when you said they were billionaires. I’ve never met one before.

I mean, I know that they’re out there, I just never had the occasion to meet any one of them.

” She laughed, then told him that he had.

“Are you telling me that you’re a billionaire?

” His voice told her that he didn’t believe that she was one, too.

“I am because I own this company. We’ve been in business for a good long time and have long-reaching arms when it comes to money.

My grannie made this company shine when she was in charge of it, and now I’m doing even better.

As I said, we’re an old company and people trust us with their money and businesses.

” He didn’t say anything. “Kinsey, it’s all right. It’s just money.”

“Says the person who just told me that they’re a billionaire.

” This time, his voice sounded hard, like he was mad at her or something.

“I didn’t know when I started out seeing you.

” She asked him if it would have made a difference.

“Of course it does. You’re rich and I’m barely making ends meet here. ”

“We’ll be in the same boat after this sale, though I don’t know why it should matter.

You’ll have money too. Do you think I’ve treated you differently because I have money and you don’t?

” He said that she’d not, but that didn’t mean anything.

“It means everything. Especially if you have any thoughts not seeing me anymore because of a few bucks.”

“It’s not a few bucks, though, is it? I mean, we’re talking a lot of money here.” She asked him when he became a snob. “I’m not a snob, but you told me that you sometimes need someone to take you to dinners, and would you want me at your side?”

“Yes.” She said that without hesitation to him. “Would you do the same for me? Would you want to date me only if I have no money? I’ve enjoyed our time together, meeting at your house and out to dinner at times. Grannie likes you, too.”

“I don’t know how I’d feel taking you out to dinner at what I could afford before this.

” Instead of talking to him more, she told him she’d call him when she had a number and hung up.

Her heart was broken, and she wasn’t sure why.

Could she have fallen in love with the man in such a short time?

Her broken heart certainly felt like it.

Making herself be busy, she ignored the pain in her chest and decided that she was just hurt by his words.

It couldn’t be that she was in love with the big idiot and now that he’d shown his true colors she—he’d shown his not the other way around—she was going to move on with her life and do what all people did that had been dumped by the man of their dreams. They moved on, she kept telling herself.

It was nearly quitting time when she heard from the group of men.

Putting on the best smile that she could, she asked them who had won.

It was all she could do not to sob when they told her not only the amount of money that was the winning bid, but who had won it.

It had been as she thought all along. It had been David Winchester.

He’d now be considered the richest man in the country and the richest landowner in the country as well.

Now all she had to do was call the Pennington family—not Kinsey alone but just the family, and let them know that they were wealthy men, all of them.

Dialing the number that was as much a part of her memory as the man to whom it belonged to, she made herself smile and put on a happy face.

Once he answered, she told him how much the winning bid was, plus she’d have the checks for him in five days.

There was still a lot of paperwork that needed to be processed before anyone could claim anything.

After giving him the information, Meggie hung up the phone and sat at her desk, sobbing. He’d broken her heart, and the only way that he could have done that was for her to have fallen in love with the big ox.