Page 80 of Forgot to Tell You Something

“You’re persistent. What can I do for you?”

“So much for pleasantries. Can we start with a hello, first? It is tradition.”

“I already said hello, Charlotte.” The truth is, I have nothing to say to the woman. I never really did, but I wasted too many years figuring out that fact.

“Your mother says you’re doing well, adjusting to your new role.” Charlotte, for her part, is always polite. It wouldn’t do to be anything else, at least in public. In private, she’ll stab you while you sleep.

A light knock on my window brings me back to the moment, and my gaze swings to Tally standing outside the car, a perplexed look on her face. “Hang on a moment, Charlotte.” I roll down the window, giving my tiny vixen a smile. “Sorry, it’s a work call.”

“Do you have to go?”

“No,” I chuckle. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy. Can you get us a seat? I’ll be right in.”

She nods, and I grab her hand, brushing my lips across her fingers. I’m no fool. Tally needs reassurance, even if she’d rather tar and feather herself than ask for it.

I also need to broach the topic of my ex-fiancée. I need total transparency with Tally, everything out on the table. Any more lies and my beauty will never forgive me.

“Owen,” Charlotte’s high-pitched voice calls out from the phone.

I’m so wrapped up watching Tally’s sexy ass walk inside I forget Charlotte is on the phone. “Sorry about the interruption. What can I do for you?”

“No need to be short, Owen.”

I run my hand over my beard, willing my heart rate down. I know Charlotte. She doesn’t call people to catch up, or because she misses them. There is always an agenda. I just need to figure out what that agenda is and what role I’m playing in it. “I’m not trying to be rude, but I have someone waiting for me.”

“I’ll be in Fort Lauderdale next week.”

My blood turns to ice in my veins. “Why? You hate Florida.”

“Daddy has some business down there.”

“Since when does Mr. Auerback have business in Florida?”

I hear the clicking of Charlotte’s heels against the floor. She’s pacing, which is never a good sign. “Since one of his largest investments relocated to Florida.”

There it is.

I knew I’d have this conversation one day, but I expected it with Mr. Auerback, not his daughter. Looks like it really is a family business.

I’m grateful to the man, even if he detests me. He invested enormous sums of start-up capital into the robotic cath lab. He also made a windfall when the venture proved itself successful.

“Your father earned back four times his initial investment. They paid him off almost a year ago.”

Apparently, that’s not good enough. I grip the phone, awaiting a response. I’m not getting one.

I clench my jaw, beyond tired of the games played by the uber-wealthy. “Why isn’t your father conducting this business? Why are you the one making contact?”

“He’s not doing well. The whole stress of our broken engagement weighs heavily on Daddy.”

I roll my eyes, stifling a groan. “Charlotte, our entire relationship was more of a business transaction than a love affair.”

“Aren’t most marriages?”

I feel sorry for Charlotte because she’s serious with that question. In her world, they arrange marriages for alliance, not love. She defied her father’s demands when we started dating, but it wasn’t until I helped spearhead the robotics cath lab that I became a worthy contender for her hand. “No, Charlotte, not in the real world.”

Silence. The woman is so closed off, it’s impossible to gauge if my words have any effect.

“Be that as it may, I’ll be in town. I need to see you while I’m in Florida.”

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