The Ruthless Gentleman

She gasped. “No, I’m meant to be doing things for you. I just—”

“Avery,” I said, warning her as she put her hands on the arms of the chair as if she were about to stand. “Stay there. I’ve already had Skylar bring me some water.”

“You did?”

“Yes, I’ve been too demanding of you—”

“I don’t mind.” Her eyes went wide—open and honest—her professional veneer long since gone. “I like to be busy.”

“Stay there. I’m a grown man and I can fend for myself with the rest of the crew on board running around after me.”

She surrendered and sat back. Even if I couldn’t mend everything that was broken, at least I was able to provide her with a way of contacting home.

This was Avery Walker—all emotion and kindness. It was a raw, more honest version of the yacht stewardess. They were both beautiful, but I preferred this girl a lot more. This was the woman I’d held, kissed and was still desperate to devour. But now she was also the woman I wanted to cloak from sadness and protect from pain.

Eighteen

Hayden

I dialed Landon’s number and caught a strain of Avery’s perfume. It was sexier and more complex than her professional gloss would indicate—it hinted at the woman beneath the mask. I shook my head, frustrated at the way my thoughts slid to Avery more and more. I had enough to think about with Phoenix and the leak at Wolf Enterprises, but somehow Avery had taken up residence in my mind, day and night. In the days since the evening of fireworks and our kiss, we’d reverted to what we had been when I first arrived on the yacht—guest and crew. Perhaps that was really all we ever had been. Since her tears in my office, she’d only confided in me enough to say that her father had been discharged and that everything was going to be fine. I was relieved, but also disappointed that she’d shut down. I liked her. I enjoyed her smart mind and generous heart, but now all I got to see was the yacht stewardess.

“Any news?” I asked my brother as he answered the phone. Due diligence on Phoenix was uncovering opportunities rather than issues, the risks were as expected and the contract negotiations productive. I’d been on this yacht nearly four weeks and if things continued like this, I might be leaving early. But before I got back to the office—or bought Phoenix—I wanted to understand who’d been betraying me to Cannon all these months.

“Yes, I’m fine, thanks for asking. I had a great weekend, took a woman out for a second date on Saturday which went well, though disappointingly I didn’t get laid, and then on Sunday I played lacrosse.”

“Lacrosse? Since when?”

“Oh, so you do take some interest in my life beyond whether or not I’ve found your mole.”

“Not really, but if you’re going to demand attention like a five-year-old, I’ll indulge you a short while. You are my little brother, after all.”

“Christ, you’re a dick.”

Landon no more wanted to share details of his weekend with me than I wanted to hear them, but he liked to make it sound as if I was the less emotional and the more uptight of the two of us. But we both knew there was no way he could have done the job he had without being able to put aside everything other than the moment at hand. We had that in common. Most of the time, at least. “Do you have any news about the leak?”

Landon sighed. “Nothing. You getting Anita to request the information pack doesn’t seem to have tipped Cannon off. According to my intelligence, they haven’t placed a bid or so much as a made a phone call. But still no clue as to where that additional money came from that she has in her new bank account.”

I should be more relieved than I was. Anita was smart. And if she really was the leak, which even after hearing about her newly acquired nest egg, seemed impossible, she’d understand that if she was the only one who knew about the company I was looking to buy, she shouldn’t pass that information to Cannon.

“Right, and what about the finance team?”

“The treasurer is clear. We’re still digging around the financial controller.”

“So, no real progress?” The thought of having to go back to the office, knowing someone was betraying me, wasn’t something I relished. I wanted to leave this boat a winner, not still under threat.

“We’re eliminating people, which is helpful, and there is one thing. Looks like there’s been an attempted break-in at your building.”

“In my flat or the building?”

“The building.”

“Okay, well that happens from time to time. They weren’t trying to get to me, were they?”

“Difficult to say. A panel of glass was removed from the ground-floor windows but apart from that no one is reporting any damage or disturbance. CCTV from the street shows two masked men enter and leave but the building security cameras don’t show anything. I’m following up.”