Sylvia gives her a sharp look. “For what, dear?”

“For… whatever we did…” She trails off.

I sigh and shake my head. “Again, I don’t see how it has anything to do with me.”

“Then let me explain.” She turns her gaze back to me. Poor Maggie is bright red and I can tell she’s kicking herself for being so meek. “You’ve been going around to your board of directions, begging for support for some merger, is that correct?”

“I wouldn’t call it begging,” I say. “But yes, more or less.”

“Well. There have been rumors about that. Nasty rumors, and rumors that I’m sure aren’t true. But they come back to me, you see. Since my niece is intimately involved.”

“It’s business, Sylvia. I’m sure you understand that.”

“Yes, well. I understand better than you might think.”

“We’re trying to merge Cork Electric with Bushings Telecom. If we can do that, we stand a chance at competing in the wider marketplace and against the big players. But my board needs some… convincing.”

“You washed cars,” she says, her tone flat.

Maggie groans. “I’m sorry, Aunt—”

I put my hand on her knee and stop her midsentence.

“We did what we had to do to get a vote. I suspect you’ve done some similar things, Sylvia.”

“Maybe,” she says, and shrugs. “But I haven’t done them publicly.”

“I didn’t realize any of this was public.”

“Unfortunately, it’s gotten out. I believe someone on your board wants to put a stop to you, and so is leaking rumors, most of which are patently absurd, but some of which seem to be true. The cars rumor being the most popular.”

“That one’s true,” I say. “We washed cars to win a vote. I’d wash more if I had to.”

“I’m sure.” She purses her lips. “I like you, Josh. I know you can’t tell, but I do. And I’m happy you married my niece here. I’m sure you’ve realized how smart she is by now.”

“I have,” I say, glancing at her. “I realized it almost right away.”

“Good.” She smiles though it doesn’t touch her eyes. “I hoped you were putting her to good use.”

“If you’ll excuse my bluntness,” I say, taking a breath. “I’m trying to understand why you’re talking about this. I’m not entirely sure how it affects you.”

She blinks at me. “Perhaps you haven’t realized this quite yet, but by marrying my niece, you married into my family. And everything my family does affects me.”

I clench my jaw. I know what she’s trying to do here, and I resent it. The idea that she could swoop into my home and tell me what I should and should not do infuriates me, especially after everything I’ve already done to try to get this deal through. For her part, Maggie seems more annoyed than horrified now, but she still can’t seem to figure out how to make her mouth form words.

“Aunt Sylvia,” she starts, but Sylvia’s eyes fall on her and she stops herself.

“Yes, dear?”

“I think—” She stops again, seems to gather herself. “I think we’re doing the right thing.” The words come out in a rush. “Josh is trying to save our companies. He’s trying to give us a future. Maybe it doesn’t look good right now, but if the companies merge, it won’t matter anymore.”

“And if they don’t?” she asks.

“Then it won’t matter then. We’ll be out of the public world and we’ll have to figure things out on our own.”

Sylvia sighs. “Yes, darling, so you will. But that doesn’t change the fact that your actions now reflect on me. I’m here to ask you both to put a stop to it.”

“No,” I say. “I’m sorry, Sylvia. I’d gladly help you in other ways, but I won’t give up on this. Not after we’ve come so far.”

She gives me a flat stare and for a second, I can understand why Maggie’s acting so meek around her. This woman is intense and the head of a wealthy and powerful family. I know she can make my life very difficult if she wants to, and can probably make sure this deal doesn’t go through.

Instead, she only nods and stands. “I see,” she says.

“Aunt Sylvia.” Maggie hesitates. “I hope you understand. This is important to both of us. It’s important to our family, too.”

“I want you both to think about this,” she says. “Think about whether this is worth embarrassing yourselves over. And think hard about whether you want to drag the Lofthouse family name down with you.”

“It isn’t our intention to embarrass anyone,” I say, standing to see her out. “But it is my intention to win.”

She gives me an appraising look, nods once, and walks to the door. I follow her and hold it open as she walks down the stoop. She doesn’t glance back or say goodbye as she walks down the sidewalk.

I shut the door and turn to Maggie. She’s sitting at the table, staring into space. I can see the anxiety all over her. “Hey,” I say.

Tags: B.B. Hamel Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net