Page 31 of His Custody

“How much time?”

Jasper’s lips thinned into a reluctant line. “Few months at least if we wait for all this press to die down, otherwise—”

“Otherwise what?”

“Otherwise, we’ll lose a fortune.”

“So what? You’ve got more money than you know what to do with and so do I. Who fucking cares? Do the right thing.”

“Keyne. Be reasonable. You can’t go making rash decisions all the time because it feels good. I understand you’re upset, I’m also unhappy about this. It was an unfortunate accident—”

Her vision went spotty and red, like it had rage chicken pox. “An unfortunate accident? Is that what you call it when six kids die? Is that what happened when the boat exploded? An accident?”

He’d told her that the Coast Guard and the other law enforcement agencies that had gotten involved had finally determined that there had been no foul play. And while it was a relief in some ways, Jasper hadn’t seemed to relax much.

After all, if they had missed something and it had been intentional, then the people who’d done it were so good at their trade that it was untraceable, and yeah, that idea sent chills down her spine, too. But that wasn’t the issue here, and she wouldn’t allow herself to be derailed by the overwhelming fear that gripped her sometimes when she thought about it too much. He certainly hadn’t been distracted by her pointed dig, because the man was made of stone, body and soul.

“I have an obligation to my employees and to you to manage my money in a fiscally responsible way.”

Jasper could take his responsibility and shove it.

“Then get rid of mine. You can drag your feet if you don’t mind knowing what you’re making money off of, but I do. And that’s my money, not yours.”

“Now,” he muttered, scrubbing his hands over his face. “All right. I’ll call Deja as soon as we’re done here and she’ll take care of it.”

She skimmed back over his words. Something didn’t feel right. It took her a few more mental passes to figure out what it was. “What did you mean, ‘now’?”

Jasper looked like he’d swallowed a bug, his normally implacable expression marred by widened eyes and, if she didn’t know any better, a faint flush. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

He studied her, gaze wandering over her face. She knew she was a bright pink. Blood always rushed to her face when she was angry. And she was angry now. Not to mention starting to feel self-conscious under his scrutiny. But she wasn’t going to let a blush get in the way of getting to the bottom of this. “Tell me, Jasper.”

“You sure you want to know?”

“Yes.” She didn’t like being lied to. It was one thing for him to sand off the rough edges of corners she might bump into trying to make it through the day. But she knew about those. The clothes she wore were curated, the food she ate was picked for her, the appointments she went to weren’t of her own making. But he wasn’t hiding any of that, and for as much as she knew she shouldn’t be, she was grateful for it. This was different though, it felt like it was behind a curtain. Or maybe a steel padlocked door if Jasper’s reluctance were anything to judge by.

“You should sit down then. Can we go to the den? Or the library?”

“No. I’m not giving you a chance to distract me. Tell me now.” She plunked down into one of the chairs on the far side of his desk and was immediately sorry. These chairs were not comfortable; they made her feel like she was in the principal’s office. No wonder Deja always stood to the side of the desk instead of sitting. That and because it was one of the few times she got to stand over Jasper. That man was too tall. No oneneededto be that tall.

“Your money... is yours. A hundred percent, no strings attached. I help your financial advisors manage it, but it’s yours. Do you understand me?”

“Yeah.” Of course it was hers. She’d had a trust her whole life. It hadn’t been a secret. Her parents had set it up so she’d get access when she graduated from college or when she turned twenty-five, whichever came first. And then of course there was her parents’ estate. Jasper had explained that it would take a while for all of it to make its way through probate court, but damn straight it was hers.

Jasper stared over her shoulder and she wanted to snap her fingers in his face. But a second later, he blinked his eyes to hers.

“When your parents died, there was not as much money as you’d expect. There were also larger debts than I’d anticipated. Once their estate makes its way through probate court...” He looked at her, grey eyes somehow intense but still filled with compassion. “It’s possible there won’t be anything left.”

What? That didn’t make any sense. They had houses, they had cars, they had money. A lot of it. She’d always had anything she could wish for, and then some. She’d never heard her parents fight about money, nor had they ever asked her to rein in her spending or tell her they couldn’t afford something. Ever. “That can’t be true.”

“It is true. I can show you the documentation if you don’t believe me, but I’d rather not. I don’t think you want to see it. Hell, I didn’t want to see it. Mostly Deja’s been dealing with it.”

“Does that mean I owe people money? I can pay them.” There were millions of dollars in her trust if nothing else. Settling debts wouldn’t be an issue. Money was something she’d always had. She had other problems—bitchy girls at school, finding the perfect dress to wear to the next formal, nailing that essay onPride and Prejudice—but money had never been one of them.

It shouldn’t have mattered, but this somehow had rocked her world in a serious and unpleasant way. Like the foundation her life was built on had cracked. She didn’t like to think she was shallow enough to consider money a key aspect of her personality, and she would’ve never said before that it defined her, but now, faced with its lack, she felt unsteady. Unmoored. She did not like it.

“No, you can’t.” Jasper flexed his hands on the table, the muscles of his arms bunching underneath his dress shirt, the sinews in his neck standing out. “Or I should say, you couldn’t have. There wasn’t a trust, Keyne. There was nothing. But the debts that aren’t likely to be covered by their remaining assets have been settled so you don’t need to worry about it.”

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