Chapter 11 #3
Axel lunged at him again, and that’s when she noticed Walker was still here because he pulled him back.
Bryce flinched but tried to cover it up with smarmy confidence. “I’ve got several business deals coming up, and it would be really helpful to show everyone that I’m married so I look like a responsible guy. Your parents want this, my parents want this, and it’s going to be beneficial to all of us.”
“To all of us? Except for me, right? I’m the only one who isn’t getting anything out of this. Or have you forgotten that?”
Lowering the ice pack, he grinned in a way that made her skin crawl.
“You’ll benefit because no one else is knocking down your door to marry you.
We all know it. Your parents are looking to unload you, and I’m willing to take you on.
You’ll have a nice house, an allowance, and someone who doesn’t mind all…
” Using his hand, he motioned to her body. “Of that.”
Axel cursed loudly, but Walker kept him in place.
Bryce paused, gently touching his face. “Although from the looks of that guy…” He motioned toward Axel. “He doesn’t seem to have an aversion to big girls either. Then again, he’s trash, so it’s all the same to him probably. Beggars can’t be choosers and all that.”
Her hand reached out and cracked across his face before she even realized she was doing it. Bryce was instantly on his feet, his hand tightly grasping her wrist, twisting it hard, making her cry out.
“You little bitch!”
Whatever he planned on doing, Connor, Walker, and Axel put an end to by immediately stepping between them. Axel grabbed Bryce by the throat and leaned in menacingly.
“Don’t you ever lay a hand on her again!” he said in a commanding voice. “You’re in no position to come here on private property and talk to Maisie or anyone like that, do you understand me?”
“You were supposed to get him out of here,” Connor snapped at Walker. “I said I’d handle this.”
Luckily, Axel released him—roughly—before going back and standing against the wall.
“You need to leave. Now,” Connor said, taking charge of the situation again.
Bryce laughed mirthlessly. “You think I don’t know who you are, Winslowe? Yeah, I’ve seen you around, and I also know you’ve been asking a lot of questions about me. What the hell business is it of yours?”
“Maisie’s a friend,” Connor said evenly. “And I would hate to see her end up with someone like you.”
That just made Bryce laugh again. “Someone like me? You mean rich? Powerful?”
“No, I mean a sociopath with a history of abusing women,” Connor leveled back at him.
“I guess it’s rather convenient that your family has enough money to keep buying these women off.
Personally, I believe you should be in jail by now, letting some big, burly guy named Tank do to you what you’ve done to all those women. ”
It looked like Bryce paled slightly.
Connor stepped in threateningly. “Leave Maisie alone, or your private history will be made very public.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. No one can say anything. They’ve all signed NDAs. Money buys people's silence, so…”
“You’re disgusting,” she spat. “Of all the people in the damn world, why does my family think so highly of you?”
“Because I’m a Chadsworth,” he replied. “We’re a powerful family, and your father wants to do business with us, and we’d like to do business with him. Our marriage just ensures that it happens.”
She hated being a pawn in a game that had nothing to do with her.
Bryce turned to Connor. “Maisie leaves with me now or I’ll own this pathetic little resort. Trust me. I can make it happen and happen fast.”
“Why?” she cried. “What do Connor or the resort have to do with anything?”
He sneered at her. “Because it clearly means something to you and that person you’ve obviously been sleeping with.” And with another glance at Connor, he added, “And Mr. Winslowe needs to learn to mind his own damn business.”
With her jaw practically on the floor, she couldn’t understand why Connor was allowing this. Why wasn’t he arguing? Why wasn’t he standing up for himself? For the resort? For her?
“Listen, Bert,” Connor finally said.
“It’s Bryce,” he corrected.
“Whatever, Brit,” Connor went on. “You’re not going to get your hands on Maisie or the resort, okay? Because I also have things I can make happen and make happen fast.” He leaned in close to Bryce again. “Trust me.”
“You’ve got nothing,” Bryce stated confidently.
Connor shrugged. “Hey, whatever you need to tell yourself to make you feel important, but that girl in Miami? And the one in Key West? Aruba? Cancun? Daytona? Vail?”
He continued to rattle off a list of locations that Maisie had no idea what he was talking about, but with each location, Bryce looked a little less confident.
“You didn’t get them all to sign NDAs, and you certainly didn’t offer them settlements. I believe your dad’s legal team was having a hard time keeping up on that spring break. You may not remember their names, but they all remember the name Bryce Chadsworth.”
“You’re lying,” Bryce countered. “We settled with every single one of those girls. All charges were dropped. There’s not one stitch of evidence out there.”
All Connor did was smile serenely. “If you say so.”
“Listen, Winslowe…”
“I don’t have to,” Connor interrupted. “It’s not just the women, Chadsworth. I also know about the gambling. Both yours and your father’s. I know you’re planning on latching onto the Quinnlands as a way of recouping your losses. But the real question is, does Maisie’s family know?”
“But…how?” Maisie asked, even though she wasn’t sure exactly what she was asking.
Before anyone could say anything, Milo walked in.
Great. More people to witness my humiliation…
Without a word, he placed a folder on the stainless-steel island. Then he stood on Connor’s other side.
Her head was spinning.
“You should leave, Bryce,” Connor said. “The report on your finances has gone to Maisie’s father.”
“It’s already been received and read,” Milo chimed in.
For a moment, Bryce’s jaw moved, but he didn’t utter a single word.
Then he looked at her and called her the one word all women hate before storming out.
It didn’t seem possible for it to be so quiet you could hear a pin drop, but it was until Connor, Walker, and Milo came to stand in front of her.
Axel kept his distance, and honestly, she couldn’t blame him.
“Are you okay?” Connor asked, concern lacing his voice.
“I…I honestly don’t know. You never mentioned having any information.” Her voice was shaking. “You said…”
“We were making sure we had enough information,” Connor explained. “It’s just a coincidence that Bryce showed up the same day we sent the information to your father.”
“And you never mentioned that you were going to share it with my father. I mean…what happens now?”
“Your father read the report,” Milo began.
“How do you even know that?”
“It was hand-delivered by one of the members of my legal team who also does business with your father. Small world, right?”
“And getting smaller,” she murmured, even though she was still confused. “So what happened when he read it?”
“Unfortunately, not much. Your father took the papers, looked them over, and asked my guy to leave. All I can safely say is that he read everything.” He paused before adding, “And if you ever need leverage against him…”
“Jeez, Milo,” Connor muttered.
“What? I’m just saying, you never know what skeletons are in people’s closets. I’m just offering to give her a little leverage in case she needs it.”
Her heart was hammering so hard that she thought she was going to be sick. Could this really mean this part of her life was safely over? Were her parents going to back off and maybe learn from this? Or did they already have someone else lined up that they were going to force on her?
“Oh God…” With one hand on her stomach and the other on her head, it felt like the room was spinning.
“Okay, okay, we’ve got you,” Connor said as he and Milo guided her across the room and sat her down on one of the stools. “Get her some water.”
“On it!”
It took a few minutes for her to compose herself, and when she finally felt like she could breathe, she tried to relax. “I…I don’t even know what to say. I mean, other than thank you. Both of you. I don’t know how you found out everything you found out, but…”
“Are you kidding? Milo’s a tech whiz in every sense of the word. There isn’t anything he can’t find out about anyone. And if he can’t find it, he knows people who can,” Connor said. “I wish I could say this fixes everything, but you’re still going to have to contend with your parents.”
She nodded. “I know. I’m almost afraid to be the one to reach out first.”
“That’s understandable.”
“I can’t even imagine what a conversation with them is going to sound like.” She groaned. “But I don’t think I should wait too long. The sooner this is all over, the sooner I can have my life back.”
“If there’s anything else I can do,” Connor said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Just ask.”
“Thank you. I can’t believe you were able to accomplish as much as you did.” Looking up, she looked at Milo. “I appreciate all the work you put into this. I’m so embarrassed that all my dirty laundry is out there. You all must wish you had hired someone else.”
“That’s not even a little true,” Milo assured her. “The work you’ve done here in the lodge is amazing. It’s exactly what we all hoped for but couldn’t seem to make happen on our own. I know I personally can’t wait for you to get started on the cabins.”
Another nod.
The cabins.
Axel.
Shit.
Slowly, she got to her feet and looked at him. His expression was completely closed, guarded; she had no idea what he was thinking.
And she seriously wished everyone would just leave so she could talk to him.
“Axel, I…” she began, but stopped when he pushed away from the wall and started to walk over. But instead of looking at her, his eyes were on Connor.