you. I won’t say I’m pleased about this particular development.”
“You know how it is with our kind. You know as well as I do that I could never hurt her.”
Jeremy sighed deeply. “I’m sure you do.”
“I would also appreciate it if you let me tell her about the mate thing on my own time. I get that she is somewhat used to our world because of you and your family, but this is different. I want to tell her at the right time. I don’t want to shock her or lose her. I just—”
Damn. It really was hard being vulnerable about his ooey-gooey feelings with a man he had spent his entire life hating. Actually, hate might have been too strong a word. There was tension, to be sure. But it didn’t belong to them. It was a history that was harming the present in a very real way. “I want Chantal to be happy,” he finally finished.
“I respect that. I won’t interfere with the mate thing. It is not my place.”
That was much more than Rush’s family had done. They had actively tried to keep George Henry from his mate. At least Jeremy wasn’t going to exact some kind of familial revenge. It was probably a testament to how sweet and wonderful Chacha was. Jeremy cared for her more than he cared about the past.
“I suppose you met Chantal at the masquerade.”
“I did, yes.”
“Do you agree that it was underhanded as hell to approach me that night?”
Rush bristled at the choice of words. “It definitely wasn’t my finest moment. I need to stop listening to my brother, but you know how it is with family. I always want to give him the benefit of the doubt to see if he will redeem himself.”
“Right, well. What has Marlon done this time?”
Marlon’s antics really were the talk of the shifter world. “Nothing I can’t handle. In fact, it has nothing to do with why I’m here. I have a business proposition for you.” Rush slid the folder toward Jeremy. “That is a business plan detailing a possible merger between Winslow Hotels and Jensen Hotels.
“You have a monopoly on all of the luxury locations. No one can compare to you. That being said, you don’t do so well with the family crowd or the more budgeted travelers. That is where we excel. If you fronted Jensen Hotels, the two companies would be linked. Not just a monopoly on the luxury side of things, but on the whole damn pie.”
Jeremy slowly flipped through the charts and reports. At least he was giving it the proper attention and not laughing Rush right out of the office like he had expected. The other shifter knocked on the table, deep in thought, his eyes glued to his distant relative. “This is all nice, but I don’t know that I can get the other members of the Winslows on board with this.”
“If you just explained to them what is laid out in the business plan.”
The other man shook his head. “It is not about that. You know what the issue is.”
“The jewels,” Rush hissed out. “Those fucking jewels.”
“You Jensens still have them. Use that to keep your business afloat.”
Rush jaw clenched down hard. “We don’t have any of the gems,” he ground out. “Those were probably exchanged for cash a long time ago. Cash, which my brother and I have never seen.”
Jeremy leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. Rush didn’t like the way the other shifter was sizing him up. Theoretically, they should have been in the same pack. Jeremy was the alpha of his pack, and Rush was the alpha of his own.
In a world where the families hadn’t been split, which of them would be the head of the family? Surely, Jeremy was thinking of the same thing. Rush tried to put himself in the other man’s place. Would he help someone in his position?
Rush couldn’t tell.
It was an impossible problem with so much history.
“I need time to think this through.”
Rush nodded. Of course, Jeremy needed time. He might be the head of the business, but he still answered to his siblings and parents. They would have a thing or two to say about getting into bed with the Jensens after all of this time.
“Take all the time you need,” he said even though there was a considerable time crunch on this.
Spike Hastings wanted his money—and the more Jensen Hotels went without financial help, the more money they hemorrhaged all over the market.