Chapter 124
I spring off the table so fast I nearly break a heel.
“Where’s the bathroom?”
Aaron points to a corner of the room.
I rush over, still coughing and hoping he doesn’t smell or see.
When I get into the room I spit into the sink.
Blood.
Not a lot.
But enough.
Time is ticking. And no matter that I feel okay and the baby is growing, I’m still dying.
“Leah, you okay?”
It’s Aaron. He’s at the door. If I know him-and I do-he’s about two seconds from bursting
in here. “I’m good!”
I rinse my mo uth with water and spit.
AARON
Leah’s not acting right.
Maybe she’s shy.
* 6 ;,
The s*x was phenomenal and she waspletely exhausted afterwards, but we can’t exactly cuddle or
curl up for a nap. At least not here.
There is a President’s Suite on the top floor. But that hasn’t been used since her old man started king
off and I didn’t think she’d be asfortable in that space.
A
$*,, , ,$ ↓ ..
I scrub my hands with soap.
As I stare in the mirror I hardly recognize myself. My eyes are bright. My hair is a mess. My skin is
flushed.
I look like I’ve been thoroughly f**ked.
If it wasn’t for the blood and the pregnancy, I could pretend I was an average twenty-something
engaging in an office affair.
I couldugh about what had happened and relish the naughtiness of it.
Instead, I have to think about politics and my pack, and a baby who is going to enter a world of strife
and change, who won’t have me to love and protect him.
*, ,, , , € *
A
Then again, I wasn’t really ‘thinking’ when I f**ked her just
now.
I often lose my mind where this female is concerned.
She started acting weird when I mentioned children. But that is the inevitable oue for us. I don’t
care that she’s human. That alone should convey that I’m invested in her and our marriage. Why else
would I consider it?
L
There’s a knock on the door before Liam enters.
Smart boy to knock before entering.
His nostrils re, no doubt scenting that we’d had s*x.
Which is probably awkward as f**k for him, seeing as how it’s his sister and all that. But I’m not going to
Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.
apologize. I eye him hard. I’ll put his head through that conference table if he makes Leah feel
embarrassed in any way.
“Each board member has been escorted from the premises. All clearances have been revoked and
they’ve been locked out of all corporate servers.”
“Good,” Leah says. She steps out of the bathroom and has smoothed her hair back into some tight
knot.
I don’t like it like that.
She moves to the head of the table and sits.
“Please,” she holds out her hands indicating that we should sit. I move to her right hand side and take
the chair nearest to her.
Liam sits and opens aptop. He slides it to her.
Leah cues up a picture of the Roberts Corp headquarters.
“This building,” she begins, “and the surrounding acreage of grounds total some 16 acres.”
We have over 16,000 acres of just irrigated pasture on ournds.
“We could sell it,” Liam says.
She shakes her head.
“I have a different n. She pulls up drawings in quick session. They’re a series of
four-story residential developments. “Housing,” she says.
“The smallest house here is over two million dors. People need to work, but most can’t afford that
kind of mortgage. But they can pay between 5-10k a month.”
“That kind of rent or lease is way more than most people make in a year,” Liam counters.
“For sure,” she agrees. “But not in this part of the country.” Leah pulls up another set of charts and
diagnostics. “The cost of living
here is higher than in 97% of the rest of the country.”
Liam doesn’t look convinced. “So we just abandon the techpany? We have over a hundred
engineers employed here as well as marketing, data analysts, consumer services…We have two
government Defense contracts, Leah.”
I watch the intery between them. I can scent the anger building in Liam. I wonder if Leah can, on
some level, detect it
too.
“I’m not saying to discard years of work. I’m suggesting we downscale. Keep the products in
development that have been beta tested. Honor the contracts with the Military. Table the ones that have
not shown a profit.”
“So we can be housingndlords.”
Liam’s voice is thick with disdain.
Leah just smiles. “Yes. We own thend. We will own the buildings. We can continue to have a steady-
and increasing—revenue stream for the next century. Big tech projects are s*xier and more fun-when
they pan out. I’m just suggesting that we build our portfolio and diversify so we have revenue to protect
against the unpredictability of all the projects that don’t seed..”
“It’s a solid n,” I say.
Both siblings look at me. Leah gives a tiny smile. Liam still looks pissed, only doubly so now because I
inserted myself into the
conversation.
“Well,” Liam says. “I guess it’s good that you agree, seeing as how you have the controlling shares.”
“Precisely.”
“What’s the investment capital, Leah?” I ask her.
“150 million to break ground. Another 50 million to handle the interiors once the actualplexes are
built.”
“Counting the twenty I already gave you?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I need that for daily operating expenses. If my short term investments can turn
the profits I’m projecting they will, then the initial loan can be repaid more quickly.”
“Loan?” Liam looks surprised.
“Yes.” She stares at me, not her brother. “This isn’t a full takeover, Aaron. We’ll treat this as a loan, and
you can profit on a fair interest rate. When the loan is paid back, you sell back 2% of your shares to
Pack Roberts, again, at fair market value.”
“So you can regain control of thepany?”
“Yes.”
“Why should I agree to that?” I ask her.
M
S
She counters with a smile: “Are you addressing that question to
your wife or your enemy Alpha?” she says.