Page 79 of The Passion

Surprisingly she nods, and Harper and Tori turn and head inside I’m assuming to start working on it straight away.

Felisha turns to me. “Flynn, tell me what you already know about this man, because I know you wouldn’t have let me meet him last night without researching him.” She’s not surprised by the speed that I reply.

Little does she know that the moment the first photo surfaced of her with him in St. Tropez I was digging into this man.

“Fifty-seven-year-old property mogul who made his money off the crash in the nineties, preying on vulnerable people and buying up lucrative properties. Womanizer that travels the world doing business.”

Felisha’s eyes drop for a moment, but then she looks me straight in the eye and owns it. “He is smooth and makeswomen believe they are important. He sucked me in when I was vulnerable. Biggest regret of my life.”

I put my hand on her shoulder for reassurance. “It’s in the past now.” That’s all she needs to hear, knowing we can get past that.

“He is also known to love a good card game at the casinos and frequents them in most places he visits.” And as I’m saying it, the puzzle pieces are falling into place in my head.

“My father has been warning me since the first pictures were taken of us to stay away from him because he wasn’t a good man. He has never cared who I was out with before now—oh, except Flynn for obvious reasons, because he was using him as part of his plan.” She adds what she thinks is useful information on Fulton, but little does she know she is just helping to confirm what the rest of us are all thinking.

I look to Nic for support that I’m about to do the right thing before I fuck all this up further, and his simple nod is the reassurance I need. He has always been my sounding board.

“Baby, there is something that I think you need to know, can we sit?” Reluctantly she slips into the seat at the end of the table, and Cherie passes her a glass of water.

“I’m listening.”

“Broderick and Rem have been trying to find anything that we may be able to use against your father if everything went to shit. I didn’t want to tell you this and upset you if we didn’t need to, but from what you have just said, I think there is more to all this than we realized. I was looking at both your father and Fulton as two separate problems, but there may be a connection I didn’t even see until just now.”

“What now?” She throws her hands in the air, and I can tell she is coping, but only just.

There is no easy way to tell her, so I don’t sugarcoat it.

“Your father is a gambler and has been playing with the high rollers for years.”

“No, that’s not possible, I would know.” But the look of surprise is already being overtaken with doubt the moment she says it. “Who am I kidding, I know nothing about this monster I’m related too.”

“He is mixing with people who mean serious business, and although we were still in the early stages of digging deeper on his games and how much money he is spending or maybe what he owes to people, I think there might be some connection between him and Fulton if he is warning you away from him. Fulton sounds like he plays in similar circles, and I’m wondering why he was in such a hurry to trap you into a relationship with him. Did he say anything to you last night about getting married?” The words are like acid on my tongue.

“No, just that we needed to talk today about sealing our relationship, and he was not happy that I was leaving the dinner. He wanted to go to Harper’s with me, but I pretty much ran out on him.” Dropping her head into her hands, she lets out the biggest sigh.

Giving her a minute to digest what I’ve just told her, I crouch down in front of her, placing my hands on her knees, just letting her know I’m here.

“What more can there possibly be that I don’t know about my father? How can I have spent the last almost forty years with someone and never really know them?” In my head, I know there is probably so much more that she will never know about the kind of man Ewan Kentwall is, but currently, all my thoughts are of the shareholders of Kentwall Estates and the possibility that they are tied to his gambling too. But I’m not sharing that with her until I have secured the deals and that problem is sorted. While we are fighting the battle together on this front, securing her ownership is my backup plan B.

Looking up at me, she has pulled herself together again and is ready to tackle the problem.

“Harper and I have been digging into the financial records of the company because I suspected there was more to him being so against me taking control, but although there are a few things I have flagged to look into further, nothing has jumped out at me. I’m worried that we are running out of time and that he is going to do something stupid or reckless before my birthday. I just don’t know how to get him to stop this attack on me.”

“We need to attack back but in a different way,” I hear from the person I least expect it from, Forrest. He might have something going on, but when I need him the most, he is there. I know he is talking about our work on buying her the ownership she needs but won’t say anything unless I do.

“I’m so tired from the constant hits that I don’t even know where to start,” Felisha replies, turning to look at the guys beside me.

And then I’m shocked to hear Cherie’s voice, who I’d actually forgotten was here, speaking up in the silence.

“I do.” Her voice is low but strong as she gains all our attention.

“What do you mean?” Rem, who she is like a sister to, is staring at her, confused. This isn’t the type of business world she is used to, so I’m not sure what her thought is or how she thinks she can help.

She stands up a little taller, and her toughness that I have seen before, but not like this, is showing as she starts to talk. “Get me into a game with him.” She is looking at all of us with total confidence.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Forrest moves closer to her.

“Find out where he is playing and who with, and I bet I can get into the game.” Her arms are crossed over her chest, and herbody language defensive but also of someone who is ready to fight.

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