Merger to Marriage (Boardrooms and Billi - By Addison Fox Page 0,51
why you can’t see reason on this, Holt. You’re not her and you’re not responsible for her decisions. You run a good, honest business, and you’ve worked damn hard. That counts for something.”
A hard, bitter laugh rumbled up from his throat. “Until I sit in a business dinner, with my fake fiancée, unable to close a multi-million dollar business deal because my mother’s a thief and my opponent thinks the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.”
“Then he’s the idiot.”
“Easy words from a woman who’s accomplished every damn thing she’s set out to do, backed by a family with the entire town’s respect and admiration.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, come on!” Holt flung his arms wide as he turned to face her from across the room. “You can talk about how far above the wealth and the power you are, but it’s only because you have those things and have always had those things.”
Shock mixed with an increasing haze of red across her vision at his words. “My upbringing has absolutely nothing to do with how hard I work or how I see the purpose of wealth. It’s not a damn contest, Holt. No one wins at the end of their life because they’ve got the biggest pile.”
“You can’t deny you like the life you’ve got.” His gaze roamed the room. “You know as well as I do most people in this city don’t live in penthouse apartments overlooking the park.”
She knew this conversation wasn’t going to be easy, had known it the entire ride home from the restaurant, but nothing had prepared her for the vitriol that dripped from his every word. She knew he hadn’t built his empire because he sat back and refused to take action, but this was something else, something dark and dangerous. And deeply hurtful.
“Where is this coming from?”
“You don’t understand—and you can’t understand—the position I’m in.”
“And you refuse to let me try.” Hurt flared inside and she couldn’t stop the icy cold that spread through her limbs. Perhaps it was the lingering resentment of his attitude about her wealth. Or maybe it was the very real evidence that whatever had been tentatively built between them was crumbling. “Now, in this conversation. And even before at dinner, when I tried to take your hand in mine. When it’s on your terms, we have a relationship, but when I push for anything or attempt to offer comfort, you push me away.”
“We aren’t a match, no matter how hard we try to ignore that. You’re sunshine and flowers and weekends helping kids, and I’m the product of a thief. Oil and water at its best.”
“So how do you explain what we have when we’re together? When it’s nothing but the two of us?”
“Sexual attraction, nothing more.”
“I don’t believe that, and I know you don’t, either.”
“Oh no?”
Holt had her off her feet and in his arms in a matter of moments. Where the spontaneous kiss in the restaurant had been filled with unexpected passion, this was a kiss meant to make a point.
A kiss meant to bruise.
With a hard push, she shoved against his shoulders, dragging her mouth away from his. “You’re not a bully so quit the act.”
He dropped his hands to his sides, but she didn’t miss the icy chill that emanated off him in waves. “I’m a cold-hearted bastard. I tried to tell you that before, but you didn’t believe me. Hell.” He laughed, a cold, empty, mirthless echo that faded into the room. “I didn’t want to believe me, but it’s true. It’s always been true.”
He reached for the suit jacket he’d laid down when they came in. “I’m sorry. For everything.”
She said nothing as he dragged on the suit coat and walked out the door.
Chapter Eleven
“Honey, you have to tell us what’s wrong.”
Keira and Camryn hovered around her shoulders as the three of them sat in Keira’s office with the door closed. Mayson poured out everything that had happened at dinner the night before, stopping short of divulging the news of Holt’s mother.
“I can’t believe he threw out that bullshit about your upbringing.” Camryn punctuated the comment with a harsh snort. “It’s low, and it’s not even remotely true.”
“It’s a shield.”
Keira’s comment caught Mayson mid-snatch on a fresh tissue. “He said it, K. Right to my face. He used my background and how I’ve grown up with privilege as a reason we’re not meant for each other.”
It was Keira’s turn to snort. “Right. I hate to sound gauche, but that man has more money