Page 4 of Counterfeit Connection

“Okay…that doesn’t sound like it would elicit murder of an electronic device.”

“He’s retiring soon, so he claims, and of course… yours truly is expected to take up the helm of Orion Worldwide Investments, with some Lachlan Shaw stipulations, of course. Lucky me.” I hold up my empty glass. “Cheers.” As if the universe is punishing me for my sarcasm, turbulence rocks the small jet we use for transatlantic trips. “Jesus fucking Christ.”I hate flying.

Tobias sits there silently for a moment, like his brain needs to reboot before he can reply. “What kind of stipulations? I don’t understand.”

I reach forward to set my empty glass on the table before I rise to stretch my legs. The sun is setting in the sky behind us. It seems like we’re trying to chase the light, but are constantly ending in darkness. “Father says it’s no longer ‘cute’ for me to continue in the playboy lifestyle…whatever that means.”

“Mate, he’s just jealous of the play you get. He’s not the lion he used to be.”

“My father wouldn’t understand or recognize the word monogamy if it came up and bit him.” My father cheated on my mother with so many women, I’ve honestly lost count. It got even worse about eight years ago. “I need to set a good example for the board and any potential clients we’ll entertain in the future.”

“What does that mean, exactly? Is he expecting you to get married?” Tobias laughs immediately. The thought is too ridiculous to be true, but when I don’t react, his face falls. “That must be a joke. Griff, that’s certifiably insane.”

“Insane as it may be, it’s apparently nonnegotiable.”

He pours a glass of alcohol for himself and takes a long sip. “How the fuck did I miss all of the serial drama your life has become?”

“If you want to fuck with me right now, the parachutes are under the seat.”

“Jesus, calm down.” For the next few minutes, all I can hear over the roar of the engines is the liquid in his glass swirling around and through the cubes of ice. When the motion stops, I open my eyes to find him staring at me. “So what are you going to do? You typically don’t let your bed see many returning players, and I’m certainly not going to offer myself as a solution. That’s too above and beyond duties as assigned.”

“As if you’d be my type anyway.” I sigh heavily. “I suppose I’m going to manage a way to follow his rules so I can do what needs to be done.”

“Explain that to me in more detail, because I’m not following. You’re plenty successful on your own merits. In fact, I’d call you nearly too well-known for your own good. You’re one of the most eligible bachelors in the United Kingdom. This isn’t some kind of requirement for you. Lord knows your father doesn’t deserve any of your help. Why not tell him to just fuck off? I know he’s your blood and all, but…”

“It’s what Joseph would want.”

My late brother’s name hangs in the air between us. The weight of it is unmistakable.

“You truly believe he’d want you to do something you didn’t want?”

Tobias isn’t wrong in his thought process. Joseph would never have wanted me to take a role and responsibilities that I find abhorrent. This was always supposed to be his place. He was father’s perfect protégé and was happy to be as such.

Now that’s all left to me.

“He wouldn’t want the family business to be in anyone else’s hands. That I know for sure.”

“Aw, man. Does that mean you have to carry the weight of the world in silence? You have as many connections as dear old dad, tell him bugger off. You can make it on your own. The question is, do you believe that?”

I wave him off with my hand as I start pacing. “It’s fucking irrelevant. I decided a long time ago I’d sacrifice whatever I had to for his dream. That’s what I’m doing.”

“What about your dreams, Griff?”

The last thing I want to do at thirty-five thousand feet is have a therapy session.

“My dreams?” I laugh with every ounce of sarcasm I can muster. “My dream would be avoiding this completely unnecessary meeting that could have been done over a videocall, but my father absolutely insisted I fly to New York City to take it. Why he couldn’t do this himself is a mystery.”

“Ah, so that is why you’ve asked me to come along. You needed the better-looking half of our partnership to lead. Position accepted.” Tobias links his fingers behind his head and reclines casually… arrogantly… with a grin.

“Don’t be a right prick. I know full well you’ll show up for anything free, especially free luxury and even more so if it involves America.”

“It’s the accents and the curves. Tell me it won’t be all work. You know how dull that makes me. I need to shine.”

“Jesus Christ. How have we stayed friends?” I ask.

“Because you need me, you fuck. I keep you fun. Sulking isn’t the vibe you need. Take the buttoned-up playboy and remove the damn buttons. If you’re really going to accept a deal with the devil, call this your farewell tour.”

Chapter 3

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