Page 95 of The Guy Who Stole My Ranch

I wondered what my sister had done this time. Probably told the guy the truth about his company and the fact that we didn’t need it. “I thought this was about Dad,” I said.

“The client wants you, not Courtney.”

“Mother, the deal is barely worth negotiating for us. My opinion is that we should drop it.” I walked into the lobby, my boots squeaking on the expensive tile floor, and managed to catch an empty elevator before it closed.

“We can’t.” For the first time, I heard genuine tension in her voice.

“Why not?” I hit the button for the top floor.

Silence reigned for a few seconds, and I didn’t interrupt it. My mom cleared her throat before she spoke again. “Because we just found out that Luxury Holdings is run by the nephew of Matthew Grant.”

Matthew Grant was from my father’s generation, but the two men didn’t get along. In fact, they’d been at one another’s throats for twenty years because they were both petty. Was this about their old feud or something else? “Why does it matter?” I asked.

“Because Matthew Grant is threatening to sue us.”

I blinked. “Why?”

“Because your father propositioned one of the staff.”

I put my hand over my eyes as several things fell into place. My father had been insistent that we go through with this deal, even though it would likely lose money. He’d kept sticking his nose in the middle of it and disrupting Courtney’s negotiations. This must be the reason why. He’d acted foolishly, and now we would have to bend over backward to fix it. Worse even, it had given Matthew Grant a reason to come after Harris Inc. He would use the excuse of supporting his nephew’s company to stay involved with the issue. “You’re sure about this?”

“Yes.”

The elevator stopped, and I exited onto my floor.

Normally, Courtney could deal with the situation, but Matthew Grant hated working with women. He wouldn’t give Courtney respect, and we obviously couldn’t send my dad in.

Funny that Matthew Grant was threatening to sue us when he refused to work directly with women in business, something plenty of people could probably sue him for. Somehow, he’d kept himself from being dragged into that mire, and I suspected there had been a whole lot of money involved.

“When can you be back?” My mom sounded frantic. “I can send the plane out tonight.”

This wasn’t just about a mediocre merger and a woman my dad got too fresh with; no, there was something more at work here, and I was going to have to sort it out.

A bitter taste filled my mouth as I thought about leaving Brooke. I refused to tell her goodbye when she wasn’t feeling well, and I refused to leave without seeing her again and explaining. “I’ve got a meeting in the morning, but I can be on the plane by noon. Will they meet tomorrow?”

“No,” my mom said a little too fast.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Matthew is out of town, but I need you here as soon as possible so we can go over a strategy.”

I sighed. I could put off going back, but she would call every hour with another problem. Plus, I probably needed to get a handle on the situation and dig into the repercussions as soon as possible. I made a mental note to make certain Courtney would be in New York for the meeting as well. “Then we’ll meet with them first thing Wednesday morning. I’ll come back tomorrow.” I’d have to call the pilot to make arrangements, and I’d be sure to tell him that I’d be returning to Texas as soon as I could.

“Don’t forget about the garden party,” my mother said.

I winced. My original plans had had me back in New York before the party this coming weekend, and I’d already told my mother I would attend.

Unfortunately, that meant I likely wouldn’t be able to get back to Texas before then.

“William?” my mother asked. “You are coming to the garden party, aren’t you?”

I didn’t have much choice in the matter. Every high-profile company would be in attendance, and I needed to be there to represent Harris Inc. This was one ball I couldn’t drop. “Yes, Mother, I’ll be there.”

“Wonderful. I’ll send you a list of women you can ask. You’re not going alone.” Before I could protest, she hung up.

I’d stopped outside my room and had the keycard in my hand, but I couldn’t bring myself to go in. If I went in, I’d have to pack, and that meant leaving Brooke.

The real world had burst my romantic bubble, and now I was going to have to figure out how to tell Brooke goodbye.

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