My One And Only (Very Irresistible Bachelors 5)

She grinned. “Well, no. Truthfully, you’re doing a great job, but I’ll never say no to even more pampering.”

Then why do you keep expecting the worst? I wanted to ask, but then I realized that in the grand scheme of things, she’d only known me for a few months. She had years of disappointments.

“So should we go first to your grandmother’s and then to Mom’s?”

I laughed. “Two thanksgiving dinners?”

“Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. And I’ve learned that you don’t upset a chef unless you want to risk an empty stomach.”

“I think there is zero risk of that.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Liam

Over the next few weeks, I did what I knew best. I buckled down to work, reviewing all contracts and looking out for any loopholes. I didn’t find any. I needed more information, the kind that wasn’t easily available, so I did something I’d never done before: I asked a detective to look into Albert’s personal life, get me any information he could. I didn’t condone such actions usually. It wasn’t my style. But desperate times...

“Holy shit, I can’t believe you actually did this,” Becca exclaimed on Thanksgiving afternoon. The report had been dropped off at the office because the person in charge insisted on not leaving any electronic trails.

“I just wanted more information,” I retaliated.

David looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “Yeah, but usually for you, that means taking some bullshit high road. Man, I can’t believe you’re finally turning out to be an actual human being like the rest of us.”

“Are you two done so we can look over this?” I asked.

“No, actually, I’m absolutely not done. But it can wait until later,” David said.

Becca moved to the edge of her seat. I opened the envelope and handed each of them a stack.

“You actually asked the detective for three copies?” David asked. “Okay, time out. I do need to give you more shit. You don’t even know how to be sneaky. Next time you’re dealing with a detective, just let me handle it.”

“David, I usually appreciate your lax attitude, but it’s annoying me right now.”

Becca held her hands in a T-shape, signaling a time-out. “Boys, behave. Let’s read this.”

“Yes, David. Let’s read it.”

He looked as if he wanted to add something sarcastic, but as both Becca and I started reading, he said nothing.

The report was a detailed overview of Albert’s moves over the past few years—financial and interpersonal.

“Fuck, the moron’s broke?” David exclaimed seconds after I just read the same information. There was no trace of humor in his voice anymore.

I saw red. My palms were itching with the need to punch something as the detective went into great detail about the amount Albert was in debt.

“Well, this is worse than I thought,” Becca said slowly. “I actually assumed that he wanted to sell right now just to put us in a bad position. Turns out he’s just desperate for money.”

I said nothing, but I’d come to the same conclusion and didn’t like it one bit. Albert was a problem even when he wasn’t desperate, but now?

“I guess this means there’s no talking him out of wanting to sell his side,” David said through gritted teeth.

“No, I don’t think there is,” I said.

“So that only leaves us with pulling out of the investment we did this year,” Becca said. “Our reputation will take a hit, but we’ll recover. And—”

“No,” I said. My voice was dangerously calm.

David blinked. Even he knew better than to joke right now.