Page 42 of Overnight Inheritance

“What situation is that?”

She tipped her chin so she was looking directly in his eyes. “I was defending you, saying you had nothing to hide, and we somehow ended up here.”

“Right,” he said, wrapping a hand around the back of his neck. “But why did I need defending, exactly?”

She closed her eyes and winced, as if realizing she’d just given away more than she’d intended. Then she opened them again and her beautiful gray eyes were clear and certain. “If we want a future together, then we need everything out in the open once and for all. No room for doubts. So I wanted to prove to them that you’re an open book to me.”

Seb sighed, all the fight leaving his body. “Okay, sure.” He turned his head to the door. “Rosario? Can you get the private investigator’s file on Mae, please?”

“Can do,” his assistant called back, then her tone changed as she said, “Mr. Newport, I’m afraid this isn’t a good time.”

From Rosario’s office, his father’s voice boomed, “I’ll go in there whether or not it’s convenient to you or my son.” Then Christopher appeared in the doorway, scowling. “What the hell happened to the Sheridan property?”

Seb cast his mind around, working out what his father could mean. “Nothing, as far as I know. I was just meeting with Lisandro, the site surveyor, who was out there a couple of days ago—”

“Well,” his father interjected, “something’s happened. I just got off the phone with Laurence Sheridan and he says he’s not signing the contract. Has another buyer.”

Seb’s gut twisted. “I don’t know anything about this.”

“You should know everything about that property,” his father spat. “We’ll lose a mountain of money if this doesn’t come off. We’ve already invested too much.”

Seb racked his brain. He’d spoken to Laurence Sheridan himself last week. The man had been disappointed that Mae wasn’t there, but they’d ended up having a productive conversation, and Seb had asked the lawyers to draw up the contract.

Mae stepped out from behind him, into the center of the room, chin tipped up. “It was me.”

Seb frowned. “What was you?”

“I’m going to buy the property for our charitable trust. We’re going to build a playground for the kids, and a community center, and make it into something that contributes to the neighborhood.”

Seb’s blood chilled as he absorbed what she was admitting. “You met him here in my office and then used information you learned while speaking to him on behalf of Bellavista Holdings to follow up outside the company and then bought the property?”

Her mouth opened but no words came out. She simply stared at him, a deer in headlights. He wasn’t sure she knew what lines she’d crossed, but she was clearly picking up from his tone that there was a significant problem.

His father swore loudly. “You stupid girl. Besides the fact that you just lost your own company’s money, you can’t take information you got while here and undercut it with your own offer. You idiotic—”

Seb stepped forward to stand between Mae and his father just as Sarah drew in an audible breath from her position near the door.

“Stop right there,” she said, her voice threaded with steel.

His father froze, then very slowly turned and caught sight of Sarah for the first time. “Sarah,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Don’t you dare attack Mae over what’s the right thing to do. You have fewer morals and ethics than a slab of concrete.” Her expression was one of complete disdain and disgust.

“Sarah,” his father repeated, looking in danger of swaying on his feet. “I—”

She prowled closer, pointing a finger at his chest. “You have never done a principled thing in your entire life, Christopher Newport, and you have the gall to stand there and yell at a woman who is trying her best to do something good.”

His father took a step back and Sebastian blinked. He’d never seen his father back down from anyone. He was starting to wonder if he’d dozed off at his desk and this entire meeting was an elaborate, bizarre dream.

Sarah turned to Mae, her gaze softening. “He’s right, though. When you told us about the plan, you left this very important part out.”

“Wait, what?” Stunned, Seb looked down at Mae. “You’ve been working on a plan and told them, but you didn’t talk to me about it? Even though it’s a property you know I’m in the process of buying?” The betrayal bit so deep he almost stumbled. He straightened his spine, tensing himself. This couldn’t be true.

How had he been so blind?

Mae’s loyalty was to her brother and aunt, and likely always would be. To be fair to her, he was the one who’d said he loved her, the one who’d proposed marriage. She’d never professed her love for him and had fought to keep their relationship status casual.

She’d been accusing him or questioning him about whether he was conning her since the first morning she’d arrived on his doorstep. Had that been to cover her own agenda?

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