Page 60 of Bitter Secrets

“I overheard a conversation about you.”

She tried to adjust the image in her mind with the man before her. She assumed a mathematical genius with a photographic memory would be dorky with a sweater vest and black framed glasses, not a brawny wrestler. His long list of accomplishments led her to believe he was in his late forties. She was sure he wasn’tthatold, and his odd personality quirks suddenly made more sense.

“You weren’t on the guest list.” When his eyes narrowed, she waved her hand. “The original one, I mean. The one I got two weeks ago.”

“Why would you have the guest list?”

“So I’d know who was attending.”

“Why?

She stared at him for a beat before she said, “This is my father’s party.”

There was a long pause and then, “Maximus Hennessy is your father?”

“Yes.”

His eyes traveled over her and paused on her hands, which she belatedly remembered were stained. Instinctively, they began to curl.

“I didn’t know he had another daughter.”

She kept the smile fixed on her face and ignored the pang in her chest. “I’m not as involved with the company as my sisters. I’m still in school.”

“You have a different mother than your sisters?”

That wasn’t a polite question, but she had a feeling he had no idea what normal, civil conversation consisted of. She also didn’t want to explain that Colette and Ariana had different mothers as well, so she nodded.

“What did you hear about me?” he asked brusquely.

“You graduated from high school at sixteen and got a scholarship to Stanford, where you studied mathematics and economics before you transferred to Columbia Business School. You’ve been playing the stock market since you were eighteen and…” She trailed off when she sensed she’d gone too far. “Sorry, James.”

“Roth.”

“Pardon?”

“I prefer to be called by my last name,” he said, coking his head. “And you know all this how?”

“I overheard my dad telling Colette about you. He was really impressed about what you’ve done.”

“Is that so?”

His flat tone made her frown.

“He invited you here tonight, didn’t he?”

He nodded.

She waited a beat, then two, before she blurted, “Then, why are you standing here by yourself?”

He stared at her for so long that she thought he wouldn’t answer. Just when she was about to give up, he spoke.

“I crossed paths with Maximus a month ago. He told me he was putting an investment pool together and that if I wanted in, I would have to attend some gathering and get to know the other partners.” He slipped his hand into his pocket, jaw flexing, as he finished, “But from the moment I arrived, neither he nor anyone here would acknowledge me.” His eyes roved over her face. “Until you.”

Her heart sank.

“You can understand my skepticism when you approached.” He eyed her coolly. “I assume I’m being hazed?”

She couldn’t meet his steady gaze. If she’d seen the final guest list, she was sure she would have seen a red asterisk next to his name. It meant not to engage. She was never given a reason why Dad singled out and isolated an unlucky guest, but Roth was quick on the uptake and hadn’t crumbled under the pressure, made a scene, or walked out. He withstood the humiliation of being deliberately excluded and decided to wait it out.

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