Page 49 of Greed
Evan choked on a laugh, almost losing his mouthful, then pointed at Griffin with a fork. “Look at your face, bro. You got it bad.”
“You make it sound like a venereal disease.” Grace screwed up her nose.
“Well, if he feels anything like I did when I first met you”—he paused for dramatic effect, then pointed again at Griffin with a smirk—“you got no chance.”
“Did you bring the paperwork?” Parker asked gruffly.
Wearing a tailored suit, Parker looked every bit the CEO he was. His long auburn hair brushed his expensive collar and was impeccably styled, just like his designer stubble.I’m waiting, his eyes said.
Griffin pulled a folded stack of paper from his blazer pocket and handed it to Parker.
It was hard to miss Tony at the end of the table, already finished dinner and sprawled back with a drunken lilt to his puffy eyes. Having wrapped up filming on the set of his latest movie, he appeared exhausted. His usually styled short hair was scruffy, his five-o'clock shadow looked days old, and if he’d portrayed a hobo in the movie, Griffin would have believed it. Sometimes Tony liked to dress down to avoid raving fans accosting him, however, he still looked like his multi-million dollar pay-check.
“So, what did you think?” Parker inspected Griffin’s notes.
“About the mating algorithm?”
Liza snorted.
Wearing a standard plain-clothed detective uniform, she must have come straight from work. She flicked her dark braid over her shoulder and leaned toward Parker to read Griffin’s notes.
“Do you mind?” Parker lifted his brows at her. “There is such as thing as personal space.”
“Not in this family.” Another snort from her and she kept reading. “Mating algorithm. What a whacked name.”
“Well, that’s what it is, isn’t it?” Griffin shook out his napkin and placed it on his lap. He smoothed it until the edges folded over his thighs.
“Who cares what it’s called? What’s the verdict? Will it work?” Parker asked.
“Just to be clear, the algorithm, I can’t comment on. I don’t know how to code, but as to the accuracy of the data pool…” He paused.
Liza leaned forward expectantly. Sloan stopped playing idly with her spring rolls and popped the end of her pigtail into her mouth, chewing as she stared at Griffin.
Everyone around the table hushed. Waited.
He didn’t want to disappoint them.
Thanks to the success of the Evan and Grace partnership, they were all eager to begin a life unburdened by their sin. Part of Griffin rebelled at that. He’d given them all a viable alternative—his timing protocol—but even he could see Evan’s mental health had improved dramatically. He had to admit the protocol took up valuable time in his schedule.
Griffin frowned at where his brother’s hand rested on Grace’s thigh under the table. They didn’t think anyone noticed, or didn’t care, but the two of them were constantly touching. It wasn’t a position Griffin could ever see himself in, especially now Lilo wouldn’t talk to him, but for once in his life, he considered he might have liked it. Those few moments he’d shared with Lilo in his office were… altering.
“So, not good.” Parker shook his head, already making his own conclusions based on Griffin’s extended pause.
“Well, it’s not ideal,” Griffin confirmed. His stomach grumbled, and he collected the last remaining spring roll from the center of the table to add to his plate. “The quality of the data you’re sampling isn’t accurate. People lie on social media all the time, plus, if you take Grace into account, you’ll notice she doesn’t have an online presence. So, this algorithm would have missed her entirely.”
“So it’s a big, fat waste of time,” Liza snapped.
“Don’t say that.” Mary reached across the table to her daughter.
Liza shook her head. “I’ll be the last one, I swear. Who the fuck has no lust in their system?”
Griffin shifted uncomfortably. “I didn’t say it was useless, but in my opinion, it’s not something easily quantified.”
“It’s better than nothing.” Parker dropped the papers on the table.
Most of the Lazarus family sat back in their chairs morosely.
The waitress came and took their orders—since Tony ate early, he went straight onto dessert and mumbled about the lack of good mousse since Wyatt left. As they waited for their meals to arrive, the conversation turned to an acceptable topic while the dining-room door was open. Soft sounds of chatter filtered through from the public area of the restaurant.
