Page 151 of Bitter Secrets

Lisbon was the wake-up call she needed. She finally got it. This wasn’t about her. It wasn’t even about them. It was about business, as it had been from the first, she just hadn’t realized it. This was a transaction, an exchange of benefits, nothing more. This is what Dad prepared her for, an arranged marriage where love and affection weren’t required. She made the mistake of thinking their past made a difference to him, thatshemade a difference. Now, she was wiser.

By the time they landed in Berlin, the tears were gone. So were all traces of any other emotion. Roth accomplished the impossible—he turned her into the daughter Maximus always wanted. Even though they arrived at the hotel in the wee hours of the morning, the moment she entered their suite, she claimed the executive desk and set up a makeshift office. Thanks to Roth’s insistence that she stay in the States, her life never revolved around a man, and she wasn’t about to start now. She may be at the mercy of Roth’s work schedule, but that didn’t mean he was the center of her world. He may control the tide, but she was the boat that rode the waves, not the swimmer caught in the undertow. She had shit to do, same as him, and it was time she got to it.

So far, she had been a piss-poor steward of the fortune her father had entrusted to her. She had been stuck on the why and now realized that didn’t matter. She assumed her sisters were better equipped to handle her inheritance, but if there was any chance that Roth was right and her sisters didn’t have her best interests at heart, she had to protect herself, and that meant taking control.

She reached out to her board of advisors—tax and estate planning attorneys, CPAs, business managers, financial advisors, and more. As most of them had been handpicked by her father, she knew they were the best of the best and in high demand. She called to request appointments and was stunned when she received immediate callbacks. Having never been associated with Hennessy & Co like her sisters, she was used to a certain amount of dismissal, even condescension from other professionals. She was surprised not only by their eagerness to speak with her, but how frank they were. More than one of them reminded her that this inheritance had been left to her and therefore, it should be she who decided how the funds were managed, not her sisters’. Part of the problem was, she had no idea what to do with it. Thankfully for her, that’s where her advisors came in.

It was a good thing she needed a distraction because her board of advisors gave her so much to think about that her issues with Roth faded into the background. They asked if she wanted to start her own foundation or change the investments her sisters had selected. Her advisors encouraged her to stick to her interests and spend, donate—anything but leave the money in the bank when it could be used for so much good.

Every board member brought up Roth at some point in the conversation. It was understandable since their union changed things, but she assured them their finances were separate, and they had an ironclad prenup. She hoped that would be the end of their inquiries concerning Roth. It wasn’t. She was taken aback when they asked if she wanted to put aside money for future heirs or if Roth should be added to a trust. That would be a hell to the fucking no. As a single woman who wasn’t in a serious relationship and had never been close to having children, she never planned beyond her next book project, and now she had to name an heir to inherit her considerable fortune when she died. The sheer number of things to consider boggled her mind.

They stayed in Berlin for three days. She didn’t leave the suite and spent every waking moment on the phone, getting her affairs in order. She may not have control over her life or her writing, since that was heavily influenced by her emotions, which were a jangled mess. But this… This she could deal with. There was no emotional commitment required. It was straightforward—figures, options… All she had to do was choose what she wanted, and it would be done.

She grew up believing that one day she would be third in command of Hennessy & Co. She let go of that dream years ago, only to find herself CEO of her own empire. Was this Dad’s way of forcing her to accept the role she had forfeited? She wouldn’t secure the future of Hennessy & Co, only to allow Dad’s remaining assets to languish. Personally, she had no need for the money. She had Tuxedo Park, and aside from a place in Portugal or maybe a private island to recover from her second fucked up marriage, she didn’t need anything. She decided to take her board's advice and donate to causes near and dear to her heart. Maybe she could restore dying libraries in small towns or create youth centers with good counselors, so kids had a safe place to go after school and speak to someone. She wanted to keep creative programs in schools, grant scholarships to hard-working students, and offer assistance to kids of single parents. She had been to countless charity events over the years. She didn’t want to take on the responsibility of creating her own foundation, but she would gladly contribute to worthy, established missions already in progress.

And, though it came with a lot of risk, she wanted to invest a portion of her inheritance. She had something to prove. She wasn’t sure whether it was to herself, sisters, or Roth, but she wanted to increase what her father had given her. This is what she’d been groomed for. She had been out of the business world for some time, but as Roth pointed out that fateful night in London, she had all the connections she would need before she graduated from high school. She reached out to friends she hadn’t talked to since graduation and was once again stunned by the enthusiastic welcome. A jaded part of her wondered if they’d seen her wedding announcement, but it didn’t matter. Business was business, and wherever factors tipped the scales in her favor, she’d take.

The more people she spoke to, the more her mind expanded to accommodate the opportunities available to her. This was a different kind of thrill than the one writing gave her. She’d always been timid in business, despite her master’s degree. Roth and her family didn’t think she had what it took to make it in their arena. Well, today was a new day, and she would never know if she didn’t try. Besides, she had millions at her disposal. She could afford to lose a little, though she had no intention of letting that happen.

She pulled out her phone to purchase Johanna Ledger’s latest book, the one that Sarai had been pouring over throughout the trip and had finally finished. They spent the flight from Berlin discussing their love of books, but most especially Johanna Ledger, who both of them had been reading since they were teenagers. She was anxious to dive into Johanna’s new release, but some new messages distracted her. She was pleased to see that her business manager, CPA, and attorney had responded to her inquiries. Despite the late hour, she decided to return her attorney’s call and was pleased when he picked up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Roth’s head turn in her direction. She knew very well he was listening to her calls with her board. Instead of feeling anxious, she silently dared him to mess with her. If there was another asset he was after, he had to make a move now before she got everything under control.

His knowledge of Lyle’s whereabouts revealed just how thoroughly he had infiltrated her family’s privacy and security. He had been planning this for years, while she had been completely oblivious to the storm gathering on the horizon. In less than three months, she lost her father, freedom, and control of her life. She felt as if she was tethered to a lightning rod. His return to New York was as ominous as rolling thunder, a sure sign that all hell was about to break loose. She couldn’t best him, but she could withstand the storm. And when it was over, she would rebuild and start again.

She survived three days of sharing a suite with him in Berlin. When Roth returned at the end of the day, it was she who was on the phone, taking one call after the next. He didn’t interfere. When he asked her a question, she responded and looked him in the fucking eye, even though it nearly killed her to do it. He didn’t push for sex. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if he had, but was relieved she hadn’t been tested. When he boarded the flight bound for London, she accepted his kiss without batting an eye. He thought she couldn’t act? He was going to get front-row seats to a Jasmine he had never seen before. Even Sarai’s sensitive radar didn’t pick up on any tension, but the long glances Mo and Johan exchanged told her they weren’t fooled. She ignored them. Their boss had nothing to be mad about. Everything was going his way. He was getting his revenge while simultaneously increasing his net worth. Everything was on track for him.

She shivered in her damp clothes. The moment they got to the penthouse, she was taking a hot shower and calling it a night. The end of this fake honeymoon was near. Once they were back in New York, she would be on solid ground. She was going to create a routine that didn’t include him and busy herself with family, friends, and work.

She made the mistake of checking her social media and was greeted with disgruntled comments from readers who weren’t happy that the book wasn’t finished. There was no way she could deal with Juliet and Rex in her current state. To write that book, she would have to deal with Dad’s passing and the new development between Rex and Juliet, which mirrored the change in her and Roth’s relationship that never should have happened in a million years. Since she was dealing with it in real life, she couldn’t in fiction. Not yet. She could buy time by explaining that she recently remarried. But on the heels of her announcing the death of a family member, it would sound like a made-up fabrication, and she couldn’t answer the questions that would crop up anyway. So, she took the flak from her audience, apologized for the delay, and promised she would have news soon. She hoped she was telling the truth.

When the car slowed, she peered through the window at a familiar lobby. The memory of the last night they spent here together flickered at the edges of her consciousness, but she ignored it. It was just one more incident in a long line that would never be discussed or resolved.

She took Johan’s hand as she stepped out of the car and crossed her arms over her chest as she hurried to the building to get out of the cold and wet. Somehow, Roth managed to reach the entrance before her. She paused when he opened the door for her. As she slipped past, she caught a whiff of him. His cologne was dampened by the smell of rain and something that was uniquely him. She was relieved when his phone rang, and he answered with a curt, “Roth.” She preferred him occupied with business rather than quietly brooding. He crossed the lobby by her side and paused when she did, beside a majestic Christmas tree the building’s residents would never see.

The tree was decorated as grand as any that graced her father’s lobby’s. Although Maximus didn’t care for the holidays, he understood that people swarmed to New York at that time of year. He hired the best decorators to turn his properties into must-see winter wonderlands. Would that tradition continue this year? Grief bloomed, unexpected and so sharp that, for a second, she couldn’t breathe. To distract herself, she brushed her finger over branches dusted with fake snow and focused on one of the ornaments, which was as large as a grapefruit.

She stepped back, using the guise of admiring the tree to buy more time. She prepared to turn away when something caught her eye. She ducked her head and came back to the tree, parting the branches to expose an owl that had been placed at a child’s height. She glanced around the deserted lobby. What child would walk through these doors and have the joy of actually finding it?

Holidays had been largely ignored by her family, who never stopped working. Presents came in the form of stocks or a donation to a charity, so they could write it off on their taxes. It was very impersonal. Dad took a stab at making something of the holidays in his last years by having everyone come to Tuxedo Park, but it had been extremely awkward. Kye and Bailey’s presence stopped the get-togethers from being a total flop.

Roth was still on the phone, but hadn’t said a word for several minutes. Had he forgotten he was holding it to his ear? Even as she straightened, he grunted.

“No.”

He didn’t offer further explanation to the person on the other end of the line. He just stood there, watching her. She bit back a sigh and continued across the lobby.

“No,” Roth said again.

That seemed to be the only word that came out of his mouth lately. She hoped it meant things weren’t going in his favor.

“And?”

She wasn’t sure how he managed to make that word sound so menacing, but he did. Something definitely wasn’t going his way, which pleased her. Movement out of the corner of her eye made her turn her head. She held up a hand in acknowledgment of the concierge, who were bright-eyed and alert despite the hour. Her gaze moved to the lone figure occupying the seating area. He sat with his back to her, staring straight ahead with his hands steepled in front of him, seemingly deep in thought. He wasn’t fiddling with his phone or looking around. It was clear he was waiting for someone. The suit suggested it was business related, but who had meetings at this hour? Maybe he was having an affair with a resident whose husband was out of town? As her writer’s mind churned up scandalous scenarios, he turned his head. Once she got a look at his face, she stopped in her tracks.

She wasn’t one to be bowled over by looks. Being raised with two gorgeous sisters and in the presence of people who could afford the best trainers, nutritionists, and plastic surgeons, one became immune to perfection. But this man’s striking looks were almost otherworldly. Even across the distance, she could see he had stunning gold eyes framed by dark golden brows and perfectly styled, wavy blond hair. As he got to his feet with an innate grace she secretly envied, she saw that he wore a gray tweed three-piece suit with no tie and a silver handkerchief in the pocket.

“Fuck.”

Roth’s curse made her jolt. Under other circumstances, she would have looked at him to see what his problem was, but she didn’t want to take her eyes off the man candy heading their way. He really was spectacular. If Daiyu ever laid eyes on this man, she wouldn’t bother trying to hit on him, she’d just leap on him and get down to business.

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