Page 38 of Bitter Secrets

“The same way I got her the first time,” Roth murmured. “I gave her no choice.”

Guy’s fascinated gaze shifted back to her. “Your father’s fortune…?”

“Is none of your business,” she said in French.

He looked a little shell shocked by her bluntness. She suspected he had been doted on all his life and that most women kissed his ass, but she didn’t need to.

His eyes flicked to Roth before he said a little sullenly, “I guess you have no need for your father’s money.”

What century were these men living in? “I have no need for anyone’s money because I have my own.”

“I’m sure you do,” he said with such condescension that she ground her teeth.

She glanced at Roth, whose unblinking stare was fixed on Guy.

“Are we done here?” she asked pointedly.

Roth nodded. “I got the check, Reed.”

Guy didn’t argue, instead leaping to his feet. “Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Roth.”

“Likewise,” Roth said.

She ignored Guy and turned back to her dinner, expecting him to walk away. Belatedly, she registered he was still standing there at the same moment that he leaned down to kiss her cheek. At the last second, she turned her face away. As whispers broke out around the restaurant, she realized they were being observed by the other patrons. She inwardly swore a blue streak.

“You’re a cruel woman,” Guy said in French.

“Yes, I am,” she replied in kind as she grabbed her flute and toasted him. “Congratulations. Have fun at your party.”

He slipped his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “You think I made a mistake?”

She blinked. “It doesn’t matter what I think.”

“My father worked himself into an early grave. So did yours.”

“So you sold the company,” she said flatly.

He shrugged. “It’s on its way down anyway.”

Likely because he mismanaged it.

“There’s more to life than work,” he added.

“We all have to pay our dues.”

He tipped an imaginary hat. “Not me.” A sly expression crossed his face as he lowered his voice and said, “If you’re ever in the city without your husband, look me up.”

“That will never happen,” she said dismissively. “Off you go.”

“I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

And she was just as sure they wouldn’t. Guy inclined his head to Roth before he strolled through the restaurant, answering another call as he walked out the door. She shook her head. He was going to regret selling Reed & Sons. Maybe not tomorrow, next month, or even a year from now, but eventually, he would remember this moment. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t realize Roth was watching her until he ran a finger down her cheek.

“What was the last thing he said to you?” he asked softly.

She swallowed the last of her champagne and resisted the urge to cough as bubbles tickled her throat. “He didn’t say anything.”

“Did he hit on you?”

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