Page 38 of The Renegade Billionaire

Grey: Okay. What does it matter? No one can trace it to you.

Me: I’m going to need you to come out here and stay at the inn.

Oh, fuck. Why did I say that? My only explanation is that when shit goes south, we stick together.

My phone rings in my hand.

“What the hell do you need me in Georgia for?” Typical Grey, he doesn’t waste words with a greeting.

“Because I can’t just rent you a room for five months and not have you here.”

“Five months? Have you lost your fucking mind? What the hell am I going to do in Georgia?”

“Help me keep my head on straight. I’ve been here for what? Almost a month? And I’m already losing my damn mind. Plus…” I glance out the window. There’s a calmness here, but it makes my skin so itchy I could actually be allergic to it. “The inn owners need the cash. They’re good people, but Madison can’t keep upwith the bills by herself right now and I think I ruined their oven this morning.”

Grey is quiet for a beat, then another. “How do you know all of this?”

“I don’t know, I connected with Pops. We picked up his mail this morning, and I accidentally saw an old bill about taxes they’re behind on, and I’m not sure Madison knows.”

“You really have a soft spot for this old couple, huh?” Greyson’s tone lightens. Neither of us come from very happy homes, but at least we got to experience it with my grandfather, and I know we’re both feeling the hole he left in our hearts.

“I do.” Grey will find out that Madison isn’t old soon enough, but I don’t need to deal with his inquisition right now. “You don’t have to be here the entire time, just make them think you will be.”

He sighs. “Okay. When do you want me?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, Brax? Are you shitting me?”

“No. I’ll rent you a room, and I’ll rent another room to be your office. You won’t really need a suit here, so pack casually. Sage already takes most of his college courses online anyway, so he can go back and forth with you.”

Grey’s muttering under his breath, and I hear him moving about whatever room he’s in.

“Five months, Brax? Are you really going to drop money for two extra rooms that no one will be in?”

“Maybe.” My hand clenches around the steering wheel. “It’s not like we would ever miss that money, and it’s a way to help them out. Ace wanted me here for a reason, Grey. Plus, there really isn’t anything tying us to California anymore. We can live and work anywhere.”

“You. He wanted you there. Jesus, Braxton. You can’t just up and move a billion-dollar company on a whim. We have employees, people who count on us.”

“I’m not firing anyone. At least not yet. Some with ties to my father will have to go, and I didn’t say anything about moving the company here.” Though it does make me think. Would moving such a large company here be a way to help fix the heart of Happiness?

“Braxton.” Grey mutters my name as though he’s said it a few times.

“You can just fly back and forth until I figure out what I’m supposed to do here, and while you’re here, we’ll come up with a plan to deal with my family.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” He sounds frustrated, but also concerned. “I’ll take my plane so your parents can’t trace me.”

“You don’t have to do that. Mr. Coop said we’re all restricted from Omni assets. Everyone has been given instructions to bar them on sight—even in the hangers.”

“It’s fine.” His heavy sigh says otherwise. “It’s just sitting there anyway.”

Greyson Wells was the only heir named to the Wells Diamond Emporium even though he has a nephew, but since his family was even more corrupt than my own, I suppose nothing really surprises me anymore.

Taking Ace’s surname was the first thing he did when he came to live with us. That and ensure Sage was also a Reyes. But he’s refused to touch a dime of his inheritance even after selling off the company piece by piece. He tried to split it between me and Sage, but we both refused it, so it all just sits in a bank earning money on money.

“It’s your call. I’ll see you soon.”

He blows out a frustrated breath. “Yeah, I’ll let you know my flight information once I’ve got a plan. We also need to discuss your mother.”