Page 53 of Never Finished

I cleared my throat, looking over at Caroline, and she nodded her head, urging me to go ahead. This was the bulldog Abby sent me. She ensured me he was the best mergers and acquisitions attorney money could buy, and he was the guy we wanted in our corner. He was younger than I expected, but very attentive as I laid out the situation with my father.

When I finished, Connor didn't say anything for a long moment, drumming his fingers on the table as he looked thoughtful before he finally spoke. "If I understand correctly, you are a majority shareholder in the company?"

I nodded.

"Then he would definitely have a fight on his hands if you decide to go against him. If he's smart, and I have to believe he hasn’t gotten this far in business, relying purely on his good looks, then his legal team would take a meeting with me. From there, I should be able to shake him down to get off your back. But Miss Carter, I have to warn you, I've been doing this a long time and people can get nasty when they're desperate. And from what you’ve shared with me today, your father sounds pretty desperate. I want you to be prepared for the worst," he cautioned.

"Like what?" Caroline asked, never one to stray away from the dirty details.

"That he may launch a smear campaign and you need to be prepared to do the same. I hope it doesn't go that far, but we need to be prepared. However, if that’s how this goes, I don't see there being any issues on your end, Miss Carter," he said, looking at me earnestly.

"You're a grieving daughter, trying to honor her mother's wishes. You want to preserve the land and a town's way of life. You're the hero here, so in the court of public opinion, you win by landslide. These days, that's all that matters. Public opinion can put enough pressure on your dad to make him back off. But in the meantime, I would suggest hiring security to run interference on your land, sending a clear message that trespassing of any kind will be met with consequences."

I sucked in a breath. "That I can do."

"I'm sorry, but that's it?" Caroline asked. "There aren't any injunctions or restraining orders we can file?"

Connor smiled at her. "You've been watching Law and Order, haven't you? At this time, no. Mr. Carter has been acting aggressively enough on his own, and it's my job to give him enough rope to metaphorically hang himself. If we return his aggression, it could backfire on us. Having a little patience is the best play here," he explained, and with that sentiment, I knew I liked Connor. My mother would've liked him too.

"My job," Connor continued, "is to observe and uncover their weak spots, so we can shut this down swiftly. I can assure you, I’m very good at observing details others don’t see."

Caroline raised a curious eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? You'll have to forgive my cynicism, Mr. McCoy, but my friend here has been through a lot. It's going to take more than just your word that you’re good at what you do."

Connor eyed her carefully, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. "Fair enough. Would it surprise you to know I noticed how you two were comforting each other when I walked in here? Or how the lumberjack at the bar has been undressing you with his eyes all night?"

Caroline's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, what?"

Connor kept his eyes on us and continued with an amused smile. "Eleven o'clock, tall, dark and handsome with a beard. He’s not been able to take his eyes off of you, and from what I can see, he’s more than just undressing you with his eyes. If I had to venture a guess, he’s performing disgustingly heterosexual acts with you in his head."

I peered over Caroline's shoulder and breathed out, "Whoa, Caroline, he's right."

Caroline froze in her seat. "Well, now I've got to see him, but I can't turn around," she complained.

"Drop your napkin," Connor said helpfully and Caroline followed his suggestion, bending down and glancing over her shoulder before she righted herself, looking back at us with flushed cheeks. "You're good," she said to Connor.

"The power of observation, ladies. Everybody thinks they're good at it, but they’d be wrong. I’m the best. Now I could provide you with all the details I gathered about the other guests I observed as I walked in here, but I don’t want to bore you with that. I would enjoy a drink though, and seeing that I’m an ethical attorney, I’ll officially stop the clock on our business meeting. Now, does a place with this much wood and flannel have a bottle of Chardonnay, or am I going to need to slum it?"

I looked at Caroline. Mr. McCoy definitely delivered.

I tried to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening, drinking with Caroline and my new friend and lawyer, Connor, but I was not looking forward to going back to the resort, especially knowing my father was there. But, our guest was tired, so we called it a night. Mr. McCoy would stay in a comped room at the resort, but he advised us to take separate cars. He didn't think it was a good idea for anybody to know he was representing me just yet.

Caroline and I left the restaurant shortly after she put a crick in her neck, looking over her shoulder to check out the lumberjack who'd been eying her all night.

"I mean, he's not really my type. But it's nice to be looked at like that, you know what I mean?" She asked as we walked back into the resort.

This time I couldn't help myself. My eyes went towards the bar, and I saw Jaime standing behind there, his eyes glued to me. Part of me wanted to go over there and talk to him, but I felt like I needed to get a better handle on this situation before we talked it out. I needed him to understand I could take care of things—that I didn't want to be his damsel in distress.

I looked away when I heard my father’s familiar voice from the elevators. "And she returns," he said jovially enough, but I could hear the undercurrent of anger and irritation in his voice. He didn’t like it when I challenged him.

"Father," I said, smiling tightly, "I’m surprised to see you here."

"Are you?" he asked as we approached, and he nodded in acknowledgement of Caroline. "Nice to see you again, Miss Wilhelm. At the risk of sounding rude, may I have a private moment with my daughter?"

Caroline looked at me, asking with her eyes if I would be okay, and I nodded. "I will be in the bar," she said, backing away.

Once she was out of sight, I faced my father. "You didn't have to come all the way out here, Dad," I maintained.

He sniggered. "Please, once I got wind of your behavior, I knew I would have to make a trip here eventually and then, after our little conversation last night, I decided it couldn’t wait."

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