Jude
“You got a time-controlled safe,” I deadpanned, staring at the suitcase-sized hunk of metal in the middle of the dining room table.
Aaric shrugged, unbothered. “It was the only way to be fair.”
Quentin undid his smartwatch, putting it in the safe, followed by his laptop, tablet, and cell phone. His jaw flexed as he released the phone like he had to force himself to let it go.
Cruz easily gave up his devices, saying, “Do you think the TVs here have pay-per-view?”
Aaric arched an eyebrow. “Asking for a friend?”
Cruz gestured at his lap. “My best friend.”
Bryce snorted out a laugh.
My teeth ground together. “This isn’t the time for fucking jokes.
” I roughly put my devices in the safe and hissed, “We’re on the verge of losing a majority stake in the company to the dying man upstairs, and the daughter he wants to give it to is up there with him!
” I raked a hand through my hair. “Do any of you take this seriously?”
Quentin narrowed his gaze, drawing up to his full, intimidating height. “You’re not the one who just walked down the aisle to save the company.”
Most guys would have shied away, but his response only made me want to punch a hole through the wall.
“Great, so while you and Bryce play house, the rest of us have to figure out what to do if Simon dies before his will’s updated.
And while we’re at it, we’ll figure out what that scheming woman is doing upstairs.
Aleyna may act stupid on TV, but that’s not reality. ”
Quentin’s jaw flexed, and Bryce balled his hands. Aaric and Cruz exchanged uncomfortable glances.
Finally, Bryce said, “What do you expect Q and me to do, oh mighty one? Be miserable fuckers until the one man who believed in us dies?”
“Whoa,” Aaric cut in. “No one’s saying that.”
Bryce didn’t back down. “Really, Jude. Let’s get it all out there, huh? You think I’m bad at my job? That I’m distracted?” He beat his chest, nostrils flaring. “Lay it on me.”
I sneered at him, refusing to back down. “Blame your goddamned self. You haven’t had much to contribute since meeting Jada.”
Bryce sneered, “Get my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.”
“Make me,” I hissed.
Bryce scrambled up from his seat, ready to round the table, but Cruz cut him off, holding him back. Cruz bit over his shoulder at me, “What the fuck is wrong with you? You’re instigating him at every corner.” He turned his gaze on Bryce and shoved him back. “You two used to be best friends!”
Quentin spoke up, voice low but firm. “They don’t need to be friends to act like adults.” He gave both of us a hard, threatening look. “Sit your asses down.” His lip curled like he’d make us if we didn’t obey.
Bryce and I glared at each other, and he walked back to his chair. I followed suit.
Quentin swung his gaze between us. “Now, show up to the table like the C-level execs you are or get the fuck out of this room.”
Silence washed over us five again, broken only by the sound of Aaric shutting the safe and pressing the digital buttons to seal it for the next three days.
Just when I was about to speak, I heard the squeak of a wheelchair and Aleyna’s high-pitched laugh from the hall nearby. “You are so funny, Daddy.”
Cruz’s face contorted like he’d smelled something bad.
With Aleyna pushing his chair, they rounded the corner into the open area. Aleyna stopped and gasped, gaze swinging around. “It is so pretty here in the daytime. Ugh, I wish my filming crew was here.”
“I have two good filming hands,” he said.
She laughed and pushed Simon to the table to join us. Ignoring the tension in the room, she walked away with her phone, filming all around.
“Delete that,” I grunted. “No phones.”
Aaric nodded. “It’s a device-free retreat.”
Aleyna opened her mouth to argue, but Simon waved his hands to stop us all. “She’s only here as my guest. But Aleyna, sweetie, no recording in the house so the guys can keep their privacy. Understand?”
I stared at him, wondering where this gentle, diplomatic side had come from. Simon was a shrewd, brilliant, hard-ass. Not whatever this was.
Aleyna pouted, but let the subject drop. Glancing at the spread of pastries and fruit on the kitchen island, she said, “Want me to get you some breakfast to go with your pills, Daddy?”
“That would be great,” he replied with a warm smile.
Aaric and Cruz exchanged another look, and a stupid childish feeling of being left out rose up in my chest like reflux. I swallowed it down, imagining the disparaging words my father would have for me if he knew.
Simon tapped his wrinkled, spotted fingers on the table. “I see you’ve all gotten started without me.”
Bryce said, “We were just wondering amongst ourselves why you’re here when you should be at home recovering.”
I pressed my lips together, still frustrated that he refused to tell us what was going on last night. Simon only said that it had been a long trip and that he and Aleyna would like a good night’s rest before getting into the details. Despite our protests.
“I was granted an early release from the hospital because my recovery is going so well,” Simon said with a nod that made his chin wiggle. “Besides, if I’m going to be miserable, might as well do it with a view.” He gestured out the windows.
Cruz studied him with an arched eyebrow. “Are you sure your recovery’s going well? You look like shit.”
Simon chuckled heartily and then dissolved into a coughing fit that made his splotchy face turn purple. Aleyna scurried to get him a glass of water while Aaric patted his pack. When Simon finally caught his breath, he said, “Guess it’s hard to argue at eight thousand feet.”
Bryce lifted his hands and let them fall in his lap like Simon was only proving his point.
In response, Simon said, “Aleyna’s been taking such good care of me at the hospital that the doctor released me for travel on the condition that Aleyna joined me. She’s the reason I’m here.”
Aleyna brought him a cup of coffee and a plate of fruit and pastry with an ingratiated smile on her face. “I’m happy to help, Daddy.”
He reached out and hugged her while she pressed a kiss to his cheek.
My eyes narrowed, wondering what she was playing at.
Aaric said, “Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to be out and about without the drug dealer who tried to poison you in jail?”
Simon’s lips pressed together. “It’s just the seven of us here, and you have security outside. Who’s going to harm us?”
No one wanted to meet each other’s eyes. There was a very real possibility that Aleyna would want to harm him to protect her inheritance.
Dipping my head to Aleyna, I said, “How can we have the type of retreat you require without privacy?”
Simon said, “Aleyna’s got plenty to keep her busy. She won’t be in our hair.”
“Right,” she agreed from the bar where she was doctoring up her own coffee. “I have a manicure, a pedicure, a facial, a salt soak, a mud—”
“Enough.” I cut her off. “Now that you’re here, Simon, why don’t you tell us if you approve of Aaric’s plan.” I got my folded joke of an itinerary out of my pocket and passed it to him. He opened the paper with shaking hands.
His brows puckered, forging deep lines on his forehead, and then he set it down.
“You five are the head of this business. Wherever the head points, the business will follow. This bonding time is crucial to ensure you’re all close and oriented toward the same mission.
A head divided only means the body will fail. ”
I glanced around at my co-founders. We were already more divided than we’d ever been before. It would take more than a miracle to bring us back together.