Page 21 of So Close

“But—”

Here it came.

“—it’s on my terms until then.”

From her pocket, she produced a sheet of paper and held it out towards him. He took it.

“‘This is an agreement entered into by Trey Xavier, henceforth XAVIER, and Carl Philburn, henceforth PHILBURN.’ Who wrote this?”

“I did,” Auburn said.

“Did a lawyer even look at it?”

“Just read it.”

“‘XAVIER agrees to be a guest at Beachcrest, arriving June 30, checking out July 8. XAVIER agrees to attend every breakfast and every afternoon tea.’ Afternoontea?Of courseyou have afternoon tea.”

“Beware the power of afternoon tea,” Carl said. “You’re out of your depth, my son.”

Trey rolled his eyes.

“‘XAVIER agrees to participate in the following activities: one beach bike ride, the Tierney Bay July street dance, one Beachcrest-sponsored campfire with hotdog roast and marshmallows, the 4th of July parade viewed from in front of Beachcrest, the second annual Beachcrest-Cape House 4th of July barbecue, the 4thof July fireworks viewed from Tierney Bay Beach, and one beach hike, time and place to be determined. XAVIER agrees to participate to the extent dictated by Auburn Campbell (henceforth CAMPBELL) and to be reasonably polite to the other people involved.’”

He raised his eyes at that. “I’m always ‘reasonably polite.’”

“I beg to differ,” Auburn said.

“We can agree to disagree.”

“‘If XAVIER fails to carry out his part of this agreement, PHILBURN will sell Beachcrest to CAMPBELL for a going-concern value set by a mutually agreed-upon appraiser.’”

Jesus. “This is your big play? I’m going to go on abike ride? To aparade? You thinkthisis going to change my mind about anything? Look—” He thrust the paper back at her. “You know what a bike ride is to me? An Expresso Fitness S3R Novo in a climate-controlled gym with a personal trainer standing by. And a parade? That’s something that happens when the WNBA teamI ownwins the championship.” He omitted the fact that he’d had to sell his WNBA team—the point still stood. “And the only fireworks I have time for are the ones I give a woman in bed. So if you think a few breakfasts andteasand a bike ride and a parade is going to change anything, you are barking up the wrong fucking tree, sweetheart.”

Carl had coughed midway through his speech—at the fireworks comment—but Auburn hadn’t even flinched.

“If it won’t change your mind anyway,” she said, sweetly, “why not just sign the agreement?”

“Because it’s a waste of my time!”

“Not as much of a waste as a lawsuit.”

“Look, darlin’. I know you think I’m just some kind of rich asshole—”

The expression on her face told him he’d pickedexactlythe right phrase.

“—but I’mnotjust doing this to piss you off. The development my friend is building? It’s a retirement community. A beautiful, luxurious retirement community. The perfect place for my grandfather to live out the rest of his days in peace and contentment.”

It was his trump card, and thank theLord, he could see on her face that he’d gotten through to her. All her certainty had vanished. She looked—confused. She bit her lip, andoh,God, he wished she wouldn’t do that. It made his mouth go dry.

“I don’twantthat,” Carl said.

Auburn turned to face him. He was sitting up in bed, arms crossed, stubbornness written across his face.

“Beachcrestis the perfect place for me to live out the rest of my days in peace and contentment. I don’t want some prison cell for dying rich assholes. You can build it, Trey, but I won’t live there. Not while I can hold a pen and sign my own name.”

Now Auburn wasn’t even attempting to hide her smile. “You heard the man,” she told Trey. “He doesn’t want it. So all of this has been for nothing anyway. Let’s just cut to the chase, and you can sell Beachcrest to me.”

Trey shook his head and addressed his grandfather. “You’ll change your mind when you see it. Huge hurricane glass windows—140-degree ocean view in all the units.” He felt an unusual twinge of desperation. Why were his family members so opposed to being in clean, beautiful living quarters? Why were they all so determined to resist his attempts to keep them safe and happy?

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