Page 85 of Married to the Frenemy

He chuckles, brushing off my remark like the condescending prick he is. “I also believe in karma. At first, I wasn’t sure how I was going to convince Grady Belanger to change his mind. He seemed so set against accepting my firm’s offer to buy his vineyard, even after I offered him substantially more than our initial bid. But after learning it was because he planned to sell to his head winemaker, I worried it was a lost cause. I can’t compete with keeping the land in the family.” He floats his calculating stare toward me. “Until I realized who his head winemaker is married to.”

“That’s what this is about?” I shoot back, my ire toward this asshole growing with every second he remains in my presence. “You don’t actually want custody of Maggie, do you?”

“How could you say that?” He feigns disbelief. “She’s my daughter.”

“No, she’s not,” I growl. “You lost the right to call that little girl your daughter when you threw money at Haley and ordered her to terminate the pregnancy. If you think you can come here and threaten to take her away, you’d better think again. She may not be my daughter, but there’s nothing I won’t do to keep you as far away from her as possible. From both of them.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” His eyes dance in amusement. “Which is why I’m here with a proposition for you.”

“For...me?”

He nods slowly, his steely gaze focused on me. Now that I’m peering at him, I can’t help but see the remarkable similarity between him and Maggie. The same angle of their striking gray eyes. The same nose. The same shape of their chin.

“Tell your boss you’ve changed your mind and you’re no longer interested in buying Vivanza. Once you do that, I’ll have my lawyer withdraw my petition for modification of custody.”

From the beginning, I questioned what his motive might be. While Haley seemed adamant it was simply to punish her, I couldn’t ignore the feeling in my gut there was more to it than that.

Now, I know what that is.

“He’ll never sell to you, especially when he learns why I’m rescinding my offer.”

“Oh, but he won’t. Not if you want to keep sweet little Maggie from being the center of a long, drawn-out custody battle. Rest assured, I have the funds to do so.”

“What about your wife? Are you ready to tell her you had an affair while you were engaged?”

“My relationship with my wife has always been slightly…volatile. There’s been quite a bit of on again, off again, even right up to our wedding. I can easily make the argument that any time I spent with Haley was during one of our ‘breaks’. Which is what I’ll do if it comes to that. Plus, I know my wife. She won’t care once she learns this affair helped me get promoted to partner at the firm. And that will only happen if I secure this deal. So it’s your choice. Rescind your offer and this all disappears. If you don’t, I hope you’re ready to explain to Haley how you had the power to stop this and didn’t.”

I’d give anything to punch that smug look off his face. But I can’t. Not when he’s already using my past actions as a reason for why Maggie isn’t safe with Haley.

“Even if I do as you ask, it doesn’t mean Grady will accept your offer. From what I understand, he’s had multiple parties interested.”

“You do have a great deal of influence over him, don’t you?”

“I suppose.”

“Then you’d better use that influence. If not, enjoy what little time you have left with Maggie.”

“You don’t even care about her,” I seethe.

“You’re right. I don’t. But I do care about getting this promotion and will do whatever it takes in order to get it.”

He levels a glare, leaving no question that he won’t hesitate to turn both Maggie’s and Haley’s world upside down just to make a point.

“Now, do we have a deal?” With a single brow arched, he extends his hand.

I stare at it for several long seconds, my stomach churning. I want to refuse on principle. Fight him tooth and nail.

But that would mean putting Maggie through a custody battle. Would mean uprooting her from the life she’s always known. Even if he doesn’t get full custody, he still has a right to spend time with her. I have a chance to make it so that doesn’t happen. To protect them both.

After all, it’s my fault she’s in this mess. This is the least I can do to get her out of it.

Pushing out a long breath, I place my hand in his and we shake. “We have a deal.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

HALEY

“Is everything okay?” I ask Beckham as I slip into the bedroom after reading to Maggie.

---