Page 73 of Obsessed Heir

There’s no way in hell I could tell him. Dante and his group work covertly, and his version of a nondisclosure agreement comes with dire consequences.

“I have good contacts,” I reply, skirting the answer.

Austin turns back to the screen. “Any chance you can introduce me to this contact?”

I lean my head to one side. It’s not that he couldn’t afford it; he’s successful enough to have the money for Dante’s group. He just may not be the ideal client for the group.

“Take advantage of what I’m sharing with you. We’ll see where things go from here.”

He shakes his head. “She’s a real piece of work.”

“Hmm.” That’s putting it mildly.

“I doubt the scene she caused will reflect on the club.” He turns to face me. “That was all her.”

“I’m not a get-out-of-jail-free card.” I close the document. “What would you suggest?”

“Ban her from the club,” Austin says, without hesitation.

That would solve a lot of problems. “I like the idea.”

“One thing I’ll mention,” he says, typing on his phone. “Holly was out of her element.”

“Yes. She had no business being there,” I mutter. “Thanks for watching out for her.”

“Rhys Davenport was here,” he says, giving credit where credit is due. “He stepped in before things could escalate and got her out of there.”

The mention of Rhys brings some relief, but the gnawing in my gut doesn’t ease. Holly shouldn’t have put herself in that situation. What if she’d ended up hurt…

“Holly wasn’t supposed to be at the club,” I confess. “She invited my mother to join the trip as a surprise. She assumed she could cover for me so the club wouldn’t come up in conversation and upset my mother’s sensibilities.”

Austin raises an eyebrow, his professional mask slipping into concern. “Is she going to be a problem?”

“My mother?” I scoff. “Only if I’m not minding my manners around her.”

He comes back to the chair he was occupying. “Well, you never know with family, Barron.”

I blow out a breath, acknowledging the truth in his words. “My mother is my only parent now.” The words linger between us, heavy and more revealing than I intend. “Although she’sfrom a small town in South Texas, she’s not the delicate flower people assume. You know how that goes.”

Austin’s gaze meets mine. “I understand the small-town mentality,” he says with a flicker of shared understanding. “But the only reason I call my only living parent ‘father’ is because of biology.”

“Fair enough.” I know what it’s like to have a hard, absentee father. For all that he tried instilling his values in me, I wasn’t able to meet his expectations. That’s the main reason for my drive to make my first billion on my own. “As it happens, I have friends in Nueces.”

“That right,” he says, returning to the stoic expression. “Learned about my ties there from one of those reports?” He motions toward my cell.

“Recommendations, actually.” I recline in my chair. “I have friends and investors who are from your hometown.”

Austin chuckles. “Funny how I can move to the other end of the country, yet I keep getting dragged back.”

“Cherish your friends and family, Austin,” I say softly, the advice as much a reminder to myself as counsel to him. “No matter how complicated, they’re a part of us.”

He meets my eyes, that invisible wall going up in his eyes. “Whether we like it or not.”

He’s dead-on. “Whether we like it or not.”

He stands. “I’d better get out there. I’ve briefed my team on Bronwyn. We’ll escort her out when and if she shows up.”

“Sounds good.” He heads to the door as I close the folder in front of me. “Let’s keep a close watch tonight. We don’t need any more surprises.”

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