Page 119 of The Romance Library

‘Who’s Penelope?’ Jess asked and my chest tightened.

‘A friend of the family,’ I said quickly.

‘Now, now,’ Father said. ‘Don’t be coy. Penelope’s more than just a friend of the family. She’s my future daughter-in-law.’

Jess’s face dropped and bile rose in my throat.

‘That’s not true!’ I protested.

‘I’m… gonna go.’ Jessica turned swiftly and made her way to the exit.

‘What the fuck are you playing at?’ I snapped, torn between wanting to run after Jess and having it out with my arsehole father.

‘I should be asking you that question! I cannot believe that you slept with a competitor. Never mind a woman like her.’

I froze.

‘What? Why would you—’

‘Don’t insult my intelligence by attempting to deny it,’ he hissed. ‘It’s obvious. Why else would you threaten to put the success of this deal on the line? I expected more from you Theodore. Prioritising pussy, and cheap, unrefined pussy at that, over business is unforgivable. Have you learnt nothing? You’re supposed to sabotage the enemy, not sleep with them!’

‘I’m not you, Father. I don’t use unsavoury tactics just to seal the deal. I believe in integrity.’

‘Integrity?’ He shook his head. ‘Don’t make me laugh. Integrity is not crossing professional and personal boundaries by having discussions about visiting a competitor’s bedroom in the middle of the night.’

My eyes widened. How the hell did he know about that?

‘I…’ I stuttered.

‘I’m not an idiot. I saw your emails. Reading bedtime stories! It’s pathetic. That’s one of the many reasons I was so insistent on seeing your presentation and attending the pitch. I knew you’d been distracted and didn’t want your failings to put this deal at risk. And I was right.’

Fuck. He read our emails. Snooping bastard.

‘I did what I came here to do. My presentation was sound.’ I clenched my fist.

‘Your presentation was subpar. You should never have made those ludicrous community suggestions. Whatever Edwin’s decision, after the stunt you just pulled, there’s no way I can recommend to the board that you take over. You’re not ready.’

‘What a surprise,’ I said sarcastically. ‘Always pushing the boundaries. Even if we won this pitch, you’d still find another excuse.’

This wasn’t the first time he’d dangled the carrot of taking over in front of me only to rip it away at the last moment. I was so tired of his bullshit.

‘Enough of your lip, boy. If I didn’t need you in Paris, you’d be out of the company.’

‘Paris?’ I didn’t like the sound of this. At all.

‘Yes. I’ve decided. You’re going there on Sunday for at least a month. Or however long I tell you. I need someone to manage the project there. And seeing as you don’t care about whether we win this pitch or not, you won’t be needed here.’

I didn’t even stay to argue. Trying to reason with my father was like trying to negotiate twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep with a newborn.

My priority right now was to find Jess and talk to her.

After storming out of the exit, I headed back to the B&B. I knocked on her door several times, but there was no answer.

When I headed back downstairs, Glenda was there.

‘How’d the pitch go?’ She beamed.

‘Have you seen Jess? Did she come back here?’

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