Brutal Prince (Brutal Birthright)

Aida interrupts us.

“As thrilling as this is, I think I’m gonna go get some food.”

She pushes past us, leaving us alone together.

Without Aida, the tension dissipates, and I find myself annoyed that I’m even talking to Oliver, let alone getting riled up about the fact that he apparently used to date my fake fiancée. Why should I give a fuck who Aida dated before me? She could have banged the whole Bears starting lineup, and what would it matter? Our arrangement is business, nothing more.

Still, it pisses me off when Oliver says, “Good luck, Griffin. She’s a live one.”

“I doubt you know a fucking thing about what she is or isn’t,” I snap at him.

Oliver raises his hands in mock apology.

“Sure, sure,” he says. “I bet you’ve got it totally under control.”

He’s giving me a wicked grin, like he can’t wait to see how Aida’s going to fuck up my life.

Unfortunately, I think he might be right.

I go find Riona—she’ll know the scoop on this.

“You know Oliver Castle?” I ask her.

“Yeah,” she says, tucking back a lock of her bright red hair. She has her phone out, checking work emails in the intervals between socializing. Riona got her law degree, mostly to prove she could, I think. Now she works for the firm that handles all our business interests.

“Did Castle use to date Aida?” I ask her.

Riona raises her eyebrows at me. They’re as red as her hair.

“Yeah,” she says, like I asked her if sushi’s made of rice. “They dated for over a year. He was obsessed with her. Completely head over heels, making a fool of himself, barely working, chasing her everywhere she went. She went to Malta on vacation, he ditched his job in the middle of some huge acquisition and chased after her. His father was furious.”

“So what happened?”

“She dumped him out of nowhere. Nobody could figure it out. Oliver’s a catch—he’s an only child, he’s going to inherit all of Keystone Capital. Plus, he’s good-looking, charming enough . . . and she just dumped him on his ass, wouldn’t tell anybody the reason.”

“Well, he’s a fucking moron, for one,” I say.

Riona stares at me.

“Is that jealousy?” she says, in disbelief.

“No,” I scowl at her. “I just don’t like finding out that my fiancée dated that ape. This is the problem with marrying a fucking stranger!”

“Lower your voice,” Riona says coldly. “None of us like this, but since our parents have apparently gone insane, we’ve got to make the best of it.”

At least Riona’s on my side.

It’s a shame my father always pits us against each other, because I do respect her. She’s disciplined, hardworking, intelligent. But she’s always nipping at my heels, waiting for me to fail so she can take my place.

Well, that ain’t happening. I’m powering through this, no matter how many trust-fund idiots Aida dated before me.

“Listen,” I say to Riona. “I’ve got to get in good with Madeline Breck. Can you work some kind of deal with Callahan?”

I explain the whole thing to her.

William Callahan is the chief of police in my district. It would be better if I could get the superintendent of the whole city on my side, but it’s a start at least. To show Madeline Breck that I’ve got sway with the cops.

Riona listens, her face skeptical.