Chapter Seven
Mason
“The meeting should’ve been somewhere else.” Jack’s eyes dart around the brightly lit room. “You’d better hope this goes well.”
I reach for my drink and take a sip. “It will.”
I’ve spent the past few days making sure every detail is tended to.
The Thayers won’t be able to refuse us.
A moment later, the door to the room opens, and Carlisle steps in first. He gives me a nod before melting into the shadows. Then a tall man with strands of silver in his hair and a goatee steps in, a hand immediately going to the button of his expensive Armani suit.
Two more men step in, with similar buzz cuts and bulging muscles that fill out their clothes.
Finally, a woman with midnight black hair and striking green eyes is revealed, and her face gives nothing away as she looks around. She hikes her purse up on her shoulders and wrinkles her nose at something.
My father steps out from behind the table. “Thatcher. I hope they’ve given you the welcome you deserve.”
Thatcher Thayer straightens his back. “Your welcoming committee needs a little work, Jack, but I’m willing to overlook that.”
Jack takes his hand and offers him a firm shake. “I’ll make sure to look into the details later.”
“A glass of your finest whiskey is a good way to apologize,” Thayer replies. “And how about something to eat?”
I signal to Carlisle, who steps forward. “We have an excellent menu—”
Thayer holds up his hand. “My chef is here with me tonight. He’s already familiarizing himself with the kitchen.”
I clear my throat. “Of course.”
I already hate that we’re licking this man’s boots, but I can’t afford to complain.
Given the rumors that are spreading, we need every ally we can get because Michael Fitzpatrick was right.
That disastrous meeting is already causing fissures far beyond anything we could’ve imagined.
I can’t underestimate the importance of finding powerful allies, even shallow and egocentric ones like Thatcher Thayer.
It’s just one more pill I have to swallow.
Thatcher glances around the room. “You should have asked me to help you with the décor. This place needs an overhaul.”
Jack laughs, and it sounds forced. “Of course. How ridiculous of us not to have thought of you first.”
Thatcher waves away his comment. “That’s quite right. Most people don’t think of these things, but I was talking to the Kardashians at this premier the other day, and…”
I tune him out and study his men intently.
The two of them stand near the door, their dark eyes scanning the room. I want to be offended that Thayer felt the need to bring security, but I also can’t blame him, given all the uncertainty.
Most of which you caused, remember? You’re meant to be figuring out a way to clean up your mess, not nursing your ego.
Half an hour later, Thatcher is in the middle of another story about a fashion show he helped curate, and my head is pounding. During the few times my father has tried to steer the conversation in another direction, Thayer finds a way to make it about himself or his family.
At the one-hour mark, I walk over to the drink cart in the corner.
Thatcher has an apron tied around his neck and is holding a lobster tail in one hand and gesturing with the other.
I pour a generous amount of bourbon and raise the glass to my lips.
I’m halfway through the drink and debating whether or not this alliance is worth the headache when Thayer’s daughter walks up to me.
She gestures to the cart, and I set down my drink.
I hand her a drink, and she adds a few ice cubes and tilts it in my direction. “You’ll have to excuse my father. He loves talking about his… conquests.”
I make a noise in the back of my throat. “Perhaps business matters should be left to someone else.”
She laughs. “That’s what I keep saying, but some of the families we’re in business with are a bit more traditional.”
“There are ways around that.”
She takes a sip of her drink. “So I’m told, but we’re not here to discuss that, are we?”
I eye her over the rim of my glass.
“I know your father has discussed an alliance,” Elise Thayer continues. “I’d like to further discuss the particulars.”
I glance at my father, who has a pained expression on his face as he listens to Thatcher discuss another gala. “Shouldn’t your father be the one having this discussion?”
Elise doesn’t reply.
“I’m listening.”
“You need allies for the upcoming war—”
“Potential war,” I correct. “Nothing is set in stone.”
If all goes according to plan, we’ll avoid a war, but I know better than to leave us unprepared.
Like it or not, the Thatchers are the only viable option we have.
I know they’re already being propositioned by the enemy, who is circling and looking for ways to cut us off.
Rumors about the meeting have already spread.
We can’t stay ahead of the damage, but I am doing everything I can to minimize it.
For the first time in decades, the Paynes are on shaky footing. I want to kick myself for not having seen this coming, but I know I’ve been played. I had gotten too complacent, and our enemies saw an opening.
I’d be impressed if I weren’t livid.
“Then a potential partnership is all the more important, don’t you think?” Elise turns to face me. “You and I can be useful to one another.”
I study her intently. “Can we?”
Elise smiles. “I know you’re a man who likes to have fun, Mason Payne, and that’s what I’m looking for.”
An image of London flashes to mind, and it takes me too long to brush it off.
Elise touches my arm and laughs. “I’m not proposing marriage or even anything real. Just a mutually beneficial partnership.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Why?”
Elise moves her drink to her lips, and her eyes move over my face. “I have my reasons. I see no reason why we can’t both get what we want.”
I grunt noncommittally.
“Non-exclusive, of course,” Elise adds quickly. “I don’t care what you do in your spare time.”
I down the rest of my drink and stare at her. “You want us to put on a show for everyone?”
Elise sets down her drink and shrugs. “It’s not all that different from what we do every day, but we will have to make a few public appearances to sell it.”
“For the cameras, you mean?”
Elise steps closer to me and drops her voice. “For everyone, including our families.”
“What’s in it for you?”
Elise pats my hand. “I think every relationship has to have secrets, don’t you? It keeps things interesting.”
“If you’re trying to screw me over…”
Elise arches a brow at me. “Why would I try to do that when there’s a potential war coming? I know better than to make an enemy of the Paynes.”
Her offer is intriguing, but I know better than to bite.
I need to know what her angle is because there’s no way she’s just agreeing to this without a caveat.
Elise Thayer’s endgame is the same as mine, but it doesn’t mean we can work together.
I don’t like being kept in the dark.
Still, I know better than to outright refuse her.
I have enough problems as it is without having to worry about offending the Thayers, too.
Isn’t that what you wanted? The appearance of an alliance without the hassle? It’s better than you could’ve hoped for, and you’d be an idiot to not consider it.
London isn’t going to like this.
It’s one thing to have an understanding between the families, but it’s quite another to have the press fawning over us and splashing pictures all over the news.
It’s not the kind of publicity I like or want, but Elise Thayer is a public figure.
She’s been on the cover of several lifestyle and fashion magazines. The press is obsessed with her, and as much as I hate to admit it, selling our relationship means flaunting it in public.
And it’s the only option I have.
“I can live with being your beard,” I murmur close to her ear. “So long as you don’t fuck with me. If you do, you’ll find out why I have a reputation.”
Elise turns her head so there’s an inch of space between us, a strange glimmer in her eyes. “Noted.”
I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “Any other terms you’d like to discuss?”
“What you do and who you do it with is none of my concern, but be discreet,” Elise says quietly. “I’ll offer you the same courtesy in return.”
My eyes move over her face again. “That sounds reasonable.”
Elise pats my hand. “I look forward to our partnership.”
I look away from her and see our fathers looking at us. “As do I.”
I spent the ride home trying to come up with a way to break the news to London. As we pull up to the estate, my father leaves the car and makes a beeline for an empty room that has been temporarily converted into his study. I follow in his wake. My phone pings, and I stare at the date.
Suddenly, my father’s impatience and surly mood make sense.
“I can take care of anything else business-related for today.” I step into the room and let the door click shut behind me. “Is there anything I can get you?”
He wheels to face me. “You and Elise seem to be getting along.”
I nod.
Jack sits behind his desk and drums his fingers against the desk. “Thayer and I will discuss a few more of the particulars of our alliance. We’ll need to offer a bigger portion than we initially thought.”
“I can take care of the details.”
He narrows his eyes. “I will not be sidelined. One battle doesn’t mean you’ve won the war, boy.”
I meet his gaze unflinchingly. “I know what today is.”
To his credit, his careful mask doesn’t slip. “Today is the day we secured an alliance with the Thayers.”
“It’s Mom’s birthday,” I add. “I can set up a call with Olivia and Oliver, and I’m sure Mathew is lurking somewhere—”
“Get out,” Jack interrupts.
“You can’t just ignore what today is, of all days. I know you miss her—”
Jack crosses over to me in a few strides and twists my arm behind my back. “If you value your life, you will not finish that thought.”
I offer no resistance as he pushes me toward the door. “She deserves to be remembered. You know that.”
“I don’t need her birthday to remember her.” His voice is deceptively soft. Then, he slams the door shut in my face.