From Fake to Forever (Newlywed Games 2)

“So anyway.” She drew the last word out lightly, but they needed to get back on topic before she fell apart. “A drumroll would be a little anticlimactic at this point, but I’m going to ask Avery to let me take her place at this meeting about the after-hours project so she can focus on Paul’s strategy concerns. She might say no, but it’s worth it to ask.”

“I’m impressed.” Jason crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, the same spot he’d been in since she returned from the bathroom. “It’s a good idea and I like it. When is the meeting?”

“I think it’s Monday.” Which meant she had the rest of the afternoon to work out how she’d get Avery to agree. It was all in the timing, especially if she could corner the busy woman right after the two-hour meeting Avery had booked with Paul Lynhurst later today.

Surely that meeting would end with a number of action items assigned to Avery with no relief in sight. Meredith, to the rescue.

And if Avery didn’t want Meredith to know her schedule, she shouldn’t leave her calendar open on her phone in plain sight.

“Will she go for it?” Jason asked. “Avery doesn’t trust anyone. Have you gotten close enough to her that she’d give you such an important task?”

Meredith shrugged. “Can’t hurt to try. But it’s the only shot I’ll have to get the designs into my possession without raising her suspicions and then oops. Maybe I accidentally set them on fire. You have backup files, right?”

“You bet.”

“And if I get lucky, she’ll fire me. I’ll be going home soon anyway, so it’s a chance to tell her what I really think of her. It will probably include swearing.” Judging by the way Jason’s grin widened, her plan met with his approval. “So you’re cool with all this? Without the designs, she has no strategy left and you’ll be able to expose her as a thief. We’re talking about ruining Hurst. A company run by your father and your sister. No second thoughts?”

“My father ruined Hurst all on his own when he split it apart,” Jason countered fiercely. “Whatever he gets is no less than he deserves.”

His entire demeanor changed in a snap. Distress warred with passion, and his body fairly vibrated with it. His vitality bled through the atmosphere to ping around inside her.

Open, vulnerable Jason from Vegas hadn’t grown up and grown cold—he’d transferred his angst and helplessness into his merger plans. How had she missed that? He’d talked about his plans before—a lot—but always in a factual kind of way.

This was different. He’d never revealed so much in so few words, especially not about his feelings toward his father.

“Tell me about it,” she commanded softly, terrified she’d shove him back behind his walls if she pushed too hard. But if she could bring out the wild and crazy in him, surely she could coax out more of the sensitive and passionate, as well. She had to try.

Intimacy and soul-baring conversations—it was the stuff of her fantasies. If she’d begged him to stay last night, could they have gotten there then?

He took a deep breath, clearly struggling to maintain his composure.

“That’s why it’s so important for me to reunite Lyn. I’m going to fix it. Paul failed, as a father, as a husband, as a CEO.” Jason’s hands fisted at his sides, his mouth twisting into a frown. “My mom never wanted to be in management. But he forced her into it when he left.”

His ravaged expression nearly undid her.

She ached for him and for his mother. Avery, too, as at least some of her abrasive personality probably stemmed from her hurt over the events of two years ago. Meredith had a lot of sympathy for them all. “I’m sorry, honey.”

“Don’t be. I’m going to step up and be the man he wasn’t. I’m going to make the company whole again, and if I’m CEO, then he can’t be. It’s the perfect payback for what he did to Lynhurst Enterprises because running things was always his role.”

“Oh, honey.” She shook her head and let a small smile bloom. “You might be telling yourself that this is all about revenge, but admit it. You’re working so hard on this merger for your mom.”

Surprise flitted across his expression. Had he not realized that until this moment?

“I’ll give you that one. It’s partially true. I forget how easily you read me,” he groused but didn’t seem too upset about it.

He’d designed his dastardly plans to right the wrongs his father had done to his mother. It was somehow sweet and her heart squeezed with raw emotion. Unable to stop herself, she slid from the chair and wrapped him in a tender embrace.