Page 6 of My Three Rivals

I waited for Tegan to show me a hint of gratitude, but she turned her nose up at me, the perfect arch angled toward the ceiling now. “Let’s go, Bizzy.”

Wyatt snorted. “Bizzy,” he repeated.

Tegan heard him and whipped her head back around so fast, strands of black slapped her in the mouth.

“And by the way, you look more like frat boys than business owners,” she shot out. “If you want people to take you seriously, try acting lessons.”

She stormed from the boardroom, Beatrice on her heels like a puppy, causing me and Maverick to snicker as Wyatt fumed.

“Maybe we should start our own frat,” Maverick quipped.

I shot him a bemused look, but our lawyer interjected.

“There is nothing amusing about this, gentlemen,” Garrity informed us flatly.

“It’s alittlefunny,” Maverick argued. “She’s some spitfire.”

“Not an old lady, that’s for sure,” I agreed, finally flopping back into my chair, suddenly very tired. Somehow, the encounter with Tegan Pickett had drained me.

“It’s really not funny,” Garrity repeated. “If she refuses to give up her half of the property, your land is essentially worthless. The vineyard is in the red. It’s not turning profit, and it’s not apt to at this rate. It’s too far gone. This deal you made is a lemon.”

Garrity was right; it wasn’t really funny at all.

CHAPTER3

Wyatt

Islapped my hands on the table and stood, glowering at Maverick and Atticus. Despite his sepia complexion, he seemed to pale under my abrupt display of anger, but Atticus would never show it. Maverick groaned. “What are you getting all worked up about now?”

“I told you!” I barked. “I told you, buying half a defunct company was a bad idea. It’s risky enough with a whole one. But no, you were so sure we could get this broad to sell the rest of the ownership that her family didn’t sell to us.”

“You still went along with it, didn’t you?” Maverick replied sweetly.

I jerked my chin toward Maverick. “I’m glad you think losing millions of dollars is so hilarious,” I said coldly. “Because it’s coming out of your shares, not mine.”

“Bullshit,” Maverick retorted. “It was a group decision, just like everything else.”

He eyed me meaningfully, his aqua eyes shadowing as if challenging me to argue with him.

“All right, gentlemen,” Garrity interjected before things could get any more heated. “Why don’t we all take a break and discuss our next moves, all right?”

“The next move is to force that woman out,” I said hotly.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that simple,” Maverick commented, and I hated to admit that he was probably right.

Tegan Pickett was not going to roll over and play dead, not without making a lot of noise first.

“You can’t handle a spoiled child?” I demanded dubiously, blinking at him until he threw up his hands.

“Whatever you say, Wy. You always know best, right?”

“I know a royal bitch when I see one. That girl hasn’t worked a day in her life,” I spat contemptuously. “And now her family hands her a house and hundreds of viable acres of land? She’s really not a challenge, given our repertoire.”

“Wyatt’s right,” Atticus agreed, giving me a smidgen of pleasure.

I half expected him to argue, too, the attractiveness of Tegan Pickett distracting him from what really mattered. But I wouldn’t be swayed by her fiery beauty, the smoldering burn of her vibrant green eyes or the curve of her pouty lips. I didn’t give a fuck how good her ass looked in pants or how I’d caught glimpses of her ripe, perky breasts as she’d leaned down to confront us. Sexy women couldn’t sway me from what was important. I’d had too much experience with feminine wiles, my own mother’s proclivities training me against them from a young age. It was going to take more than a pretty face to throw me off my game.

“Is he right?” Maverick challenged. “Or are you both just a little off-put that Tegan Pickett isn’t some desperate, gray-haired boomer who we can work over?”

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