Page 84 of Rival Hearts

I nodded. “I didn’t think he would do it. And not so soon, either. And wow… I would never be able to afford a phone like this.” It was the latest model.

“I think you’re going to be okay,” Maya said. “He’s already keeping his promises to you.”

She was right. I stared at the phone, and my heart skipped a beat.

Alex was doing exactly that—keeping his promises. Maybe it was going to work out after all.

24

ALEX

“It’s a bad idea,” Ben said when I arrived at the office.

I frowned at him before walking past him and into the building.

“You know it’s a bad idea,” Ben said behind me, following me toward the offices. “You can’t just spring something like this on them and expect them to be fine with it.”

“I’m not justspringingit on them. I’m having this meeting for a reason—to gauge their reaction and hopefully get their approval before moving forward. It’s not like I’m announcing this in a press release before anyone else knows what’s going on.”

Ben didn’t answer me. We stepped into the elevator when it arrived, and the door slid shut.

“Chris thinks it’s a good idea,” I said.

“Yeah, of course he would. He likes a challenge, and bringing an entire new line of yachts out is right up his alley. He likes playing around like that.”

“Daniel isn’t against the idea, either.”

“Daniel doesn’t care,” Ben clapped back. “He’s not here half the time.”

“He’ll care when it affects our income.”

I snorted. “This isn’t about money. Why are you so set against this, anyway? Even Dad is on board.”

Ben shook his head. “I’m just saying I don’t think they’ll go for it. And you can’t afford them not being happy, Alex. This company relies on its investors, and if they’re not happy, the board won’t be happy, and if the board isn’t happy, you know it’s not going to happen.”

The doors opened, and I stepped out, turning to face my brother.

“Then it won’t happen, but I’m going through the motions and doing the right thing. This is about ethics, man. Why can’t you see that?”

Ben shrugged. He wasn’t getting off on this floor. He had other business to see to—he just wanted to tell me that he was sure I would fail.

Lately, Ben was in a shitty mood almost all of the time. It was as if the more successful I became, the more it upset him. I was all for sibling rivalry, but I didn’t know what the hell his deal was.

I wasn’t going to go into it now. There wasn’t time—the meeting would start soon.

“Well, I guess there’s no turning back now. Good luck in there,” Ben said.

“Thanks.”

“You’re gonna need it.” He cocked an arrogant grin and stuffed his hands in his pockets as the doors slid shut.

I groaned and shook my head, shaking off the frustration. I would deal with whatever his issue was later—have it out with him however he wanted.

Dad waited for me outside the boardroom.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yeah.” For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t stressed about the investors’ approval. “It’s going to be a good meeting, I can feel it in my bones.”