Chapter 18
I waved out the window at Jada’s smiling grandma as we drove away. “So that’s your famous grandma?” I asked Jada once Meredith was out of view.
Jada nodded, a small, exasperated smile on her lips. “The one and only.”
“I can tell you love her,” I said. It was the same for me and my family. “The people closest to you are always the ones best at getting under your skin.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” she mumbled, then looked over at me. “You seem to be good at pushing my buttons though.”
“Pushing buttons is my job,” I teased. “At least, that’s what my dad thinks.”
She shook her head at me, her curls bouncing as she did.
“You know, I was hoping you’d take a car, but I’m realizing this is even better.”
“Why’s that? You like picking up hitchhikers?” She faced me again, eyes showing her curiosity behind the joke.
I bit my bottom lip and then released it. “Now I get time to get to know you better.”
Her lips twitched for a moment before she looked back out the window. “What do you want to know?” she asked.
Everything, I thought, knowing even that wouldn’t be enough. It seemed like each new thing I learned about her only introduced more questions. “Did you go to college?”
An expression I couldn’t decipher flickered over her face before she said, “I did. I have a degree in early childhood education.”
“Where did you go?” I asked. My college had a great child development program. Wouldn’t it be crazy if we’d been on the same campus without ever meeting? Although, I’m sure I would have noticed her.
She named a private school in Austin. “They recruited me for volleyball.”
I studied her, impressed. “A collegiate athlete? You would have been out of my league then too.”
Her gaze flicked down to her hands in her lap. Her nails were painted bright orange, like the color guys wore hunting. “Out of your league?” she echoed skeptically.
“I was a total nerd. Spent more time in the computer lab than anywhere else.”
Her lips quirked up, and she looked at me like I was a damn puppy dog. “That’s adorable.”
I shook my head, despite wanting to stick my head out the window and let my tongue loll like a happy, adorable, golden retriever. “Sure.”
Genevieve must have hit a pothole because the car shifted, making Jada and I bounce. Both our hands went to the middle seat to steady ourselves, her palm landing solidly atop my hand.
Heat zipped up my arm from the contact, and when I met her gaze, I swore she could feel it too. But she quickly tugged her hand away.
Then she reached for the door handle, and I panicked, because was touching me really that awful that she wanted to jump out? But when I looked out her open door, I realized the car had stopped; we’d arrived at The Tower.
“Thanks for the ride,” she said, and then shut the door behind her.
I hurried out of the car so I could catch her before she went inside. “Jada,” I called.
She stopped on the sidewalk, adjusting her purse and looking over her shoulder at me. “Yes?”
My lips formed a crooked smile. “We forgot the mimosas.”
“Guess we’ll have to do this again then,” she replied.
Feeling like a success, I got back into the car and had Genevieve take me back to the parking garage. When she got to the drop-off spot near the private elevators, she said, “Have a good day, lover boy.”
I quipped back, “Try not to hit any more curbs while eavesdropping.”
She cackled as I got out. I hid a smile of my own.
However, the levity only lasted for the elevator ride. As soon as the elevator doors opened, Maya greeted me with a grim expression on her face. “Jasper is early.”
“But we were supposed to meet to prep for his ten a.m.”
She nodded. “Apparently he’s an ‘early riser’.”
If we weren’t so screwed, the joke would have been funny. “Where is he?” I demanded as I strode toward my office. The last thing I wanted was someone like him skulking about the building and gathering intel.
“Owen’s babysitting him in the waiting area by your office, drinking sun tea out of a pickle jar.”
It was hard to keep a straight face. “You’re kidding me.”
Her dark eyebrows lifted. “Okay, it’s a mason jar, but still.”
I shook my head at her, knowing my meeting with Jasper was no joking matter. He’d chosen to see me, for some unknown reason. And now the guys were depending on me to sway him toward a sale. To save us from the requirement of a forced marriage with an unreasonable prenup.
As we rounded the corner and my corner of The Tower came into view, I saw Jasper wearing a beige linen outfit with leather sandals, twisting the lid onto a mason jar as he licked his lips. Owen stood awkwardly near him.
I had to turn around to keep from laughing. “Damn it, Maya,” I whispered.
But she was unphased, going forward. “Jasper, Bryce has arrived. Can I get you anything to drink?” She walked to my etched-glass office door, pulling it open for us.
Jasper shook his tea and smiled, all his leathery skin crinkling with the movement. “I’m good.”
“Wonderful.” She gave him a bright smile in response, then shuddered at me once he walked past her.
I felt the same inside as I sat across my small meeting table from the man. There was something... off about Jasper. His eyes were pale blue like his father’s, but instead of the ever-present spark in Simon’s gaze, there was something eerily flat about Jasper’s.
His skin was like leather, baked and cured by the sun. It crinkled with each word he spoke, each microexpression past the hemlines of his outfit.
“Bryce, it’s a bright day to meet with you,” Jasper hummed.
I couldn’t tell if that was one of the cult’s phrases or if he was referring to the autumn sun pouring in through the wall of windows. Regardless, I said, “To what do I owe the pleasure?” We had to appease him, after all.
He frowned, deep lines gathering at the corners of his mouth and between his sun-bleached eyebrows. “The terms of our meeting are not of the sun. They are of the night.” His voice was drenched in sadness.
“Right.” My shoulders stiffened. “I’m very sorry about your father. He’s an incredible man.”
But Jasper shook his head. “My father’s ailment is a mere reflection of his inner core and the lack of light he let in.
More time in the sun could have chased away his darkness, but that is neither here nor there.
My network has informed me of your team’s shadow work to overturn the goodness coming to the Daybreak Dominion. ”
My lips parted as I stumbled for a response, but Jasper continued, “My siblings may not have found the light yet, but the money coming our way will be life-changing for the Daybreak Dominion and all its Rays. Imagine, expanding the clear domes, giving tourists a taste of the twenty-four-hour light we enjoy. Someone standing in the way of that brilliance is very dark indeed.” His voice shook with anger, indignance.
Hairs rose on the back of my neck, and I suppressed a shiver.
Logically, I knew I had fifty pounds on him.
But seeing him practically vibrating with rage unsettled me.
He didn’t act based on logic, not any I understood at least. So I did my best to placate him.
“Jasper, we at MyHome have nothing but goodwill for the Daybreak Dominion. What we’re proposing is something mutually beneficial. ”
His lips pressed together, squishing the lower half of his face.
Taking it as a sign to continue, I said, “My co-founders and I will purchase the shares from you and your siblings at a premium rate. Imagine all you could do for your... Rays with a windfall like that.” If only Cruz could see me now—attempting to speak to my audience.
He might be proud, even if I was incredibly uncomfortable.
“You know, Bryce, I came to you because I see you as a source of brightness within the company. Both in mind and spirit.”
The compliment didn’t exactly land.
“But you underestimate my brightness, just like one might underestimate the sun on a cloudy day. No matter how both of us like to deny it, I am my father’s son. I am well aware that a recurring source of revenue is one the Daybreak Dominion can use long after I’m gone.”
He wasn’t wrong, but I had to get him to see the big picture.
“What if you only sold the voting rights of your shares? You could continue cashing out without the extra responsibility. You could boost your clothing line, build even more clear domes, purchase more property, expand your marketing efforts.” The guys and I hadn’t discussed it, but I bet they’d be open to it.
Jasper tilted his head to the side, considering. “I’m not so sure.”
“If it’s about the price, we’re open to negotiating,” I said, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice. Weakness was never helpful in a business deal. Especially not with someone so power obsessed.
Jasper signaled for me to stop and got up, walking to the window and into the sun’s rays.
He closed his eyes, humming to himself. Then, his gaze snapped open, and he looked back at me.
“The sun has lit my path, and it will not include selling my shares or my votes.” He pressed his hand over his chest. “Working with you shall be... illuminating.”
My heart sank. I couldn’t find it in me to speak, so I simply nodded, sitting back down while he left my office.
My throat tightened as it hit me.
I’d failed us all.
The five of us would have no choice but to get married to save the company we’d worked so hard to build.