Page 3 of The Cowboy's Second Chance Bride

Paul continued. “Okay, you don’t want to lose the project. Good. But this negative press is gonna make the launch of ProtectedLove even harder. I don’t think we can afford to wait. We need to launch now.” Paul held out his phone. “You know how much social media influences people’s beliefs. Well, here’s a trending post talking about how you have no family. Who knew being dedicated to your job would be your Achilles heel?”

I pointed to my mother. “I do have family. I have her and my sister.”

Paul quirked his brow in disbelief. “I apologize. You want me to correct the post? If we point out your mom and sister, what do you think the first questions will be? When was the last time you were at the ranch? A month, a year? How often do you see your mom and sister?”

Answer: I hadn’t been to the ranch in a decade, and in that same span of time, I’d seen Mom and Brynna three times. All those times, they’d sought me out while I was overseas, and the time together had been counted in hours, not days.

I saw his point.

My mother gave me her sad eyes. “Ten years is a long time, Cal.”

I had a good reason for that. Just not one most people would care about.

“I have a question,” Jace said, holding up a hand. “Why does Cal need to be the face of this project? Can’t Optium launch it but have someone else spearhead it?”

Paul shook his head. “Spoon is married, so that’s not gonna work for the dating app. Citra is already doing the LGBTQ portion because?—”

“I’m LGBTQ” Citra said proudly.

Jace tossed up his hands in frustration. “Why does his record not count for anything? He’s saved dignitaries and high profiles around the world by making sure their security was top-notch. He’s a freaking hero for what he does. He’s getting an award from the Global Safety Initiative for all his work globally. Why isn’t this having the impact it should?”

Hero was a bit much, but I appreciated my friend’s defense. “Besides, how does one have a family when one works all the time?” Again, I was the one in this scenario.

Paul looked between Jace and me. “That’s called being a workaholic, Cal, and that’s just one more flaw to use against you. I’ve seen smear campaigns work that have made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Dalton and Hitchens are feeding off the fear of others, and once that’s on a roll, and confirmation bias kicks in, what’s being said becomes the new truth. We have to get ahead of this, more to save the project than anything else. Are you sure you want to save this venture? Because it’s not going to be easy.”

All eyes swung to me. We’d all worked so hard on this concept, and there was an emotional attachment to it as well. It was the right kind of project. The good kind. The kind that helped and made a difference. The kind that could keep my single sister safe should she ever consider online dating sites as a way to find partners.

Goddamn my father.

“Of course I’m sure. And I heard what you said. You think we need to launch now even though we aren’t as ready as we want to be. I worry that launching early will make more problems than solve them.”

Paul continued to look cool and calm. “Time is of the essence here. We have a narrow window for taking control, and it’s slipping away quickly.”

“Your father is a terrible person,” muttered Mom.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” I splayed my hands wide in question. “What I can’t figure out is why now.”

“Oh, honey, it’s not ‘why now.’ You know he’s been gunning for you since you walked away. He’s just going all out now because”—she held up one finger—“I just so happen to know he’s been having some health issues lately, and I think the fear of passing the family business to someone who is not family spurred him into action.”

Since my mother left my father, they’d rarely talked, and when they did, it was through mediators whom I doubted were sharing that kind of info.

“How do you know this?” I asked.

She shrugged one shoulder and looked at her long maroon-painted nails. “Instead of going after you, he should have hired you to teach him some security, for Pete’s sake. The man hasn’t changed his password in years.” She met my gaze. “When you walked away ten years ago, it gave me the courage to do the same. Since then, everything has slowly been eroding around him, and he can see it. He has to go big now. Time’s not his friend.”

I arched a brow. “How sick is he?” I didn’t care, but I didn’t not care either. That was the plight of unwanted children.

She waved a dismissive hand. “He’s not dying or anything—the man will never die, because Satan is afraid of him. He just needs to eat better and exercise, or his heart will explode.”

“Jeez, Ma. That doesn’t sound good.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, it won’t be for him, because he can’t do either of those things consistently. For the humans who know they are mortal, it’s all completely reversible and manageable.”

Paul cleared his throat, drawing the attention back to him. “Let’s talk about the plan. It’s sexy and personable. And it will steal the show.”

I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair. “Would you be offended if I said it was a stupid plan?”

Paul chuckled. “No, I’ve heard that before. And usually, it’s the stupid plans that tend to be the most successful. Just one more reason to use it.” His brow went up as if he were ready for a challenge.

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