Page 29 of Ruthless Lord
Every conversation with my grandfather is like entering into a duel to the death.
He’s settling into his armchair with a tablet in his lap. The TV’s off now and he’s got glasses perched on the end of his nose. He’s frowning and tapping at the screen, trying to get his email to load and grumbling the whole time. I wait a second before walking over, pulling down the menu screen, and turning on his Wi-Fi.
“Ah, there we go,” he murmurs as his messages populate. “God, how I hate this devil’s machine.”
“That devil’s machine can beam TV shows straight into your face from electric impulses in the walls.”
“The devil always did love his miracles.” Grandfather adjusts his glasses, not looking at me. He moves through his emailsquickly, pausing to respond to a few with agonizing finger jabs. It’s amazing that this man runs a billion-dollar multinational chemical corporation, but has trouble using his own tablet.
I can’t take it anymore. I’m on the verge of screaming when I finally break.
“I want to talk about my marriage.” I pause, waiting for a reaction. He doesn’t give me one. “I’m done playing this game of chicken.”
“I didn’t realize that’s what we were doing.”
“You’re going to keep pushing this marriage thing until you get what you really want. And don’t tell me it’s some deal with the Marinos. You don’t need me for that. You have lawyers.”
He snorts, tapping rapidly at the screen. “You clearly don’t understand how the Marinos operate. They prefer handguns to briefcases.”
“They’re a business, Grandfather, not a bunch of Neanderthals.”
“Why can’t they be both?”
“Stop acting like this is reasonable. You’re not really going to marry your only granddaughter to some—” I wave a hand in the air, scowling. “Pit-fighting criminal.”
He pauses and frowns at me over his glasses. “And yet you were perfectly fine with having sexual relations with that pit-fighting criminal.”
My jaw grinds and my cheeks turn red. I know what he’s doing. Throwing the sex in my face to embarrass me and knock me off my game. I don’t take the bait. “Sex and marriage aren’t thesame thing. And don’t act like you haven’t been sleeping your way through the secretary pool for the past thirty years.”
He gestures vaguely in the air like he’s already bored with this. “What would you have me do? Everything’s been agreed. If you back out of this, your father will release his little blackmail packet. Do you want him to do that? At least marrying the criminal gives you some plausible deniability.”
“That’s the thing.” I start to pace, easing into the argument. “I don’t think Dad will do it. I’m his daughter, and if he makes me look bad, it’ll only blow back onto him. I think he’s bluffing, and I think you’re bluffing too.”
Grandfather lowers his tablet. He studies me carefully as I keep moving, masking my discomfort with motion. After a moment, his face twists into a very small, very narrow smile.
“You know something, Charlie? You always impress me.”
That’s a surprise. I stop and look at him, feeling like a mouse inches from a snap trap. “I’m an impressive woman.”
“But you’re wrong about the bluff. Your father is so angry and so deeply vindictive that he’ll happily burn us all to hurt me and you in the process.”
I wilt slightly, looking away. “I don’t want to think you’re right.” But deep down, I know he is. Dad’s always been that way. A bastard of a human with a shriveled, prune-like heart.
“However, you were right about the other part. I do want something, and it isn’t just the deal with the Marinos.”
That perks me up. Finally, we’re getting somewhere, and we can stop playing this stupid marriage game. “What is it? Let’s lay it all out and negotiate. We can come to an agreement.”
“I want you to marry Stefano Bianchi.”
I laugh lightly, but he’s clearly not kidding. “I thought we were about to be reasonable.”
“He’s a good match for you.”
“Please, that man’s twice my age. You do realize that, right?”
“Age is just a number.” Grandfather’s lips curl.
“Make me a deal. Don’t do this. Maybe I have a bit of my father in me because I’m about to burn everything down too.”
