Page 114 of All Bets Are Off

“You really should stop saying that,” Opal agreed. “It’s not happening.”

“Of course it is.” Dad shot Opal a dismissive look. “I’m the patriarch of this family. What I say goes.”

“You can’t force him to divorce Olivia and marry someone else,” Ruby argued. “He loves Olivia. She’s good for him. You should be happy about them being together.”

“Well, I’m not.” Dad shook his head. “The girl seems smart enough, but she can’t do anything for this family. That means she’s out.”

“She can love me,” I said. “In fact, she loves me better than anybody ever has.” Technically, Olivia had never told me she loved me. That was the point of the Husband-and-Wife game, though. We were both gearing up for it. I knew, without a doubt, she loved me as much as I loved her.

“We’re not letting you get between Zach and Olivia,” Pearl interjected. “It’s just not happening. I’m not sure what your plan is here—other than to drive Zach insane—but it’s not going to be a thing.”

“And who says you get a say in it?” Dad challenged.

“Who saysyouget a say in it?” Mom asked out of nowhere. She was clearly getting worked up. “It’s none of your business, Ryder.”

“Do you know what’s none of your business, Cora?” Dad shot back. “Anything that happens in this office, in this casino, is none of your business. You should go elsewhere.” He made a shooing motion, as if she was a cat walking across his keyboard.

“Don’t talk to my mother like that,” I growled.

“I’m going to do whatever I want,” Dad countered. “This is my company. I say what does and doesn’t happen here. If you don’t like it, well, you can get out too.” He bobbed his head insuch a way I knew he wasn’t going to back down gracefully. I was going to have to force him out.

“Except that’s not true, is it?” Opal, who had moved to stand next to Mom’s chair, fixed Dad with the sort of smug look I recognized from his repertoire. She was smug, just like him. She was determined to win at all costs just like him. Unlike him, I trusted her. Where was she going with this, though?

“What’s not true?” Dad asked, confusion lacing every word.

“It’s not true that this is your company,” Opal replied. “It’s Mom’s company. Grandpa Whitaker made sure to write that into the rules of succession when he put you in charge shortly before he died. He knew he was sick, and he protected Mom with his dying breath.”

She had my full attention now. “What are you talking about?”

“Technically, everything belongs to Mom,” Pearl answered. “We’ve been doing a little research. Mom wasn’t ready to run the company when Grandpa died, but he wanted her protected because he didn’t trust Dad. Dad owns shares of the company, but Mom owns the biggest chunk of the pie.”

“Your mother and I own shares together,” Dad snapped.

“Oh, no.” The way Pearl smiled reminded me of a cat that was about to pounce. “The shares aren’t community property. They’re in Mom’s name and can only be transferred to a blood relative. That means us.” She gestured between Ruby, Opal, and me. “You’re not on the list of acceptable recipients.”

The smoke in my brain started to clear. “That’s the answer to the riddle,” I said. I wasn’t specifically talking to anybody in the room but myself, but it didn’t matter. It was all coming out today. “That’s why you were stealing the money. It didn’t make any sense when I thought the money belonged to you, but it doesn’t. It belongs to Mom.”

Mom sat up straighter. “What money?”

“Zachary!” Dad’s voice boomed throughout the office as he made a last-ditch effort to stop me from telling them what I knew.

We were way beyond that, though. “Dad has been embezzling from the company.” Now it was my turn to smile as Mom gasped. “For the last year or so—I’ll have to look up the specific dates—he’s been taking out chunks of money. They were smaller at first. The last few months have been five-hundred-grand. He hid it under a shell company. Olivia figured it all out. That’s why she was here.”

“I knew I liked her.” Ruby pumped her fist. “Ha!” She jabbed a finger at my father. Her reaction seemed a little over the top, but it elicited a smile from me that I wasn’t expecting.

“Why would you steal from the company?” Mom demanded of Dad.

“I’m not,” Dad replied. He was back to staring at his computer screen. This time, though, it was impossible to miss the way his hands were shaking. “Olivia made that up. She’s a troublemaker. That’s one of the reasons I want her out of this family.”

“She didn’t make it up, and if you don’t stop casting aspersions on her, I’m going to punch you in the face,” I threatened him. “I won’t even feel a little bad for it.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary.” Pearl danced behind the desk, her long fingernails gliding over Dad’s hair in a sign that she wasn’t even going to pretend to respect him. “Daddy is going to punch himself in the face before this is all said and done.”

“I’m pretty sure he already did that,” Ruby drawled.

“No, he didn’t punch himself in the face.” Pearl leaned down so she was at an even level with Dad. “He punched himself in the nuts. I think we all know what he wanted the money for.” She sent an apologetic look toward Mom.

For once, my mother was not putting on a happy face for appearances. No, she was grim … and resigned. “Which one was it?” she asked in an icy voice.

---