Page 34 of Ruthless Wars

“Look,” he says, “I can’t tell you how to run your business or your life, but as your friend and your recent business partner, I can say this much. Margot’s clever. Challenges are her favorite pastime. Next to men, of course.”

“Fuck off.”

Calming his chuckle, Richard lays it all out. “Margot has a treasure trove of her own precious secrets, so she gets that everyone has them. But there’s one thing she has no appetite for.”

Well, it definitely can’t be my dick.

Giving me a warning look, he says, “Business is business. But in relationships, Margot won’t tolerate an outright lie.”

“Fair enough,” I say. “Lies aren’t my thing.”

Richard attends to a ping on his phone, letting me think things through for a minute.

“I wonder if that’s why she went all subzero on me,” I say slowly. “She thinks I lied. Well, if she does, it should be easy enough to work through.”

“Oh, really?” Richard tosses his phone toward my unsuspecting lap, nearly clocking me right in the nuts.

Luckily, I catch the phone, and shoot his cocky grin a death glare. Breathing a sigh of relief, I check the unlocked screen. It’s a breaking news story.

Scanning it, I blow out a shocked breath. “Shit, she’s ruthless. What the hell did she do? Go to war?”

Chapter Twenty

Margot

I take a hard look at the headline, rereading it a few times, then hand my phone to Jaclyn.

Mystery Tycoon Liam Cooper Byrne storms from negotiations with Long Multinational

Deep in thought, I stare off, my gaze unfocused. “I can’t believe he did this,” I say quietly.

“You mean Coop?”

Suspiciously, I catch the glint in her eye. “You know Coop?”

“No,” Jaclyn says, letting a laugh break free. “Nobody knows Coop. And that's the way he likes it.”

“But you know something.”

“Mm-hmm. I sure do.”

Unamused, I raise a brow. “And you’re not telling me.”

“Nope.”

“Can you throw me a bone?”

“What can I say? Payback’s a bitch.”

Cupping Jaclyn’s face in my hands, I study her eyes like they’ll give me access to every secret in her mind. “Okay, Little Miss CEO. Do me proud. Make me work for it. But remember ... I did eventually toss you a life preserver.” So what if I kept a tiny little secret about Richard on the downlow for months? It all worked out in the end.

“You did,” Jacklyn says, holding both my hands close on her cheeks. “Eventually.” She punctuates her word with an eye roll. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall all the way on your ass. But a wobbly step here and there reminds you of your footing, and no one’s better at landing on their feet than you. But never mind what I know. I want to hear more about you ... and why a man has you so frazzled that you walked out of a meeting that important.”

“Well, if you know all that, you can probably guess the reason.” Fighting my own feelings is a minute-by-minute exercise in restraint. Jaclyn’s cheesy grin annoys me. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Margot Long getting worked up over a man? You bet your ass I’m looking at you like this. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this side of you. But in your defense, he’s hot. Smart. Hard-working, building his way up from the bottom. Just like Dad.”

I scoff. “Not all his traits are endearing. He’s a player. A master manipulator. A manwhore of epic proportions. And the unequivocal biggest idiot of all time.”

---