Page 33 of Ruthless Heir

What the hell am I going to do if I can’t talk to Harper without us ending up at each other’s throats?

Olga walks back into the living room with a pensive expression. I know she heard everything. The whole house would have heard us.

“Is everything okay?” she asks.

“Yes. It's fine.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

I shake my head. Olga is great because she keeps things professional. That's why I hired her. At the same time I know there's a side of her that cares. That’s come from our eight years of working together. But she'll only push as far as I allow.

“There's some stuff I have to figure out when it comes to my little house guest.

“I see. Well, if you need me for anything let me know.”

“Sure.”

With that Olga leaves me to my thoughts.

No one can help me with Harper. This is all on me.

Harper is going to be with me for the next…howeverlong. And that’s just the thing. I don’t know.

Earlier I realized there was a very real possibility that she might not get campus housing for a while, if at all.

College starts in seven weeks. Most people would have applied for housing well in advance. Harper's transfer was shortnotice. That means I'm stuck with her and stuck with whatever is going on inside me when it comes to her.

I haven’t even told my father about her staying here. It’s fine for now but there’ll come a point when things will go to hell.

If they haven’t already.

Harper avoids me the next day.

It's one of the rare Sundays that I'm home. I originally hoped to spend the day with her, but she’s acting like a ghost living in my house.

The only signs of life that come from her are the occasional shuffle in the kitchen, the tap of the keys on her laptop that I hear when I stand outside her door contemplating whether I should check on her, and then I hear her playing her violin later in the night.

I placed her on the other side of the house because I knew she’d need to practice. I didn’t want her feeling cautious about making noise.

Even if the whole house could hear her it would be fine. Harper is one of the most talented violinists I’ve ever heard. My parents are obsessed with classical music so we were always going to the opera and theater for one event or another.

They loved violin music in particular. That’s how I know Harper is talented. I’ve listened to some of the finest violinists the world has ever seen.

Harper has been playing since she was five. Thankfully those memories stayed with her after the accident. But she still had to spend a year relearning skills she’d developed in the years in between that she can’t remember.

As I listen to one of her signature pieces the notes soothe me. I want to go in and talk to her but I hold off.

I know her. The best way to deal with her silent treatment is to ride it out until she needs me. If that doesn’t work I’ll find a way to make her talk to me.

She stays in my mind all night and as I head out to work early the next morning.

Monday morning meetings can be a bitch at best. But a Monday morning meeting with my father, Hunter, Nigel, and Nolan is not the kind of meeting I want to have with my head all over the place.

I've known about this meeting since last week but I still feel as worked up as when I first found out Nigel and Nolan would be in the building today.

However, when I arrive at Le Blanche Global, I put my game face on then head to the boardroom where they’re already waiting for me.

I’m not late. They’re just early.

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