The Tycoon Read online

  Tears spilled down my cheeks. “Are you kidding me?” I asked. “Now? You tell me this now? Now, when I can’t possibly believe you? That’s a little desperate, even for you.”

  He stood there, silent, because he knew he had no defense. That there was nothing he could say that would change anything.

  “I agreed that I wouldn’t run away and I’m not. I’m not running. But I am leaving.” I pulled the ring off my finger and put it down on the counter.

  And then I walked out his door.

  24

  VERONICA

  I drove away. Not sure where I was going. Not back to the ranch. It was empty and cold and sister-less. Dog-less.

  I called Bea on speakerphone.

  “What up?”

  “I need to come to your house.”

  “Austin? Why? It’s, like, the middle of the night.”

  “I just do.”

  Something in my voice must have tipped her off. “I’ll be here,” she said. “Drive safe.”

  The door was open when I got there and I slipped in as quietly as I could, but still the dogs freaked out.

  “Shhhh,” I whispered to them, patting them and rubbing them and bathing them in my tears. “Hello. Yes. Hi. I missed you, too.”

  “Ronnie?”

  Bea was there, dressed for bed in pj’s with a big blue sweater over top. She had a spoon in her hand and I knew without having to ask it had recently been in a pint of Rocky Road ice cream. And that she had another one for me in the freezer.

  She was covered in dog hair.

  I wanted to be covered in dog hair.

  “What happened?” she asked. She jumped over the couch and pulled me into her arms.

  I didn’t have a black eye. And I didn’t have a Chihuahua and a couple of grand stuffed in my purse. But I couldn’t answer questions. Not yet. If I opened my mouth I’d start screaming. Or sobbing. All I could do was shake my head against her shoulder.

  And my sweet sister said nothing else. She put her arm around me and led me upstairs to her bedroom. Mine was empty. Most of my stuff had been moved to Clayton’s condo. She tucked me into her bed, between the two dogs, and fed me Rocky Road.

  “Just tell me,” she whispered when we got to the bottom of the pint. “Do I have to go murder him?”

  “No,” I sighed. I didn’t really know how to say that what he’d done wasn’t actually that bad. It was manipulative and low, but in a way he’d done it for me.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  It just wasn’t enough.

  What was wrong with me? I wondered. Did I demand too much? Or was I just that unlovable?

  Thelma, as if she read my mind, rolled over to lick my face and then she put her big head under my chin and sighed.

  The next morning Bea was leaving for work just as I was getting out of the pile of dogs in the middle of the bed.

  “You have a job?” I asked her. “Where?”

  “I’m working in a catering kitchen, but it’s only for two months and then I need to find something else,” she said. She paused in front of me, her hands on my shoulders. “The fridge is full of cheese and white wine. I expect when I get home to find you drunk and stuffed with Brie. And then we’re gonna talk.”

  That seemed impossible but I nodded.

  Ronnie left and I padded over to the fridge in my dirty clothes with my dirty hair and inspected the cheese selection. Not bad. Any other day I’d have dived right in. But I was too…broken for cheese and wine. I was too numb for anything but crawling back into bed with the dogs, who welcomed me with thumping tails.

  Knocking woke me up. Real knocking. Like it’s-an-emergency knocking, which the dogs added to with it’s-an-emergency barking. I scrambled out of bed and raced downstairs.

  “What?” I snapped, throwing open the door. “What happened?”

  The woman in the expensive suit walking to the curb, and the nice BMW sitting there, turned around.

  “Madison?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”

  “Being sent on the worst scavenger hunt ever,” she snapped and stomped back over to me in her perfect heels. “Despite this being miles beneath my paygrade, Clayton sent me to deliver this.” She held out a thick stack of papers in one hand and in the other was the faded jewelry box.

  “I don’t want it,” I said.

  “He thought you would say that. So I’ve been instructed to tell you that he is handing over King Industries.”

  “To whom?”

  “To you. Why else would I be here?”

  “That’s incredibly convenient,” I said. “And it’s not going to work.”

  “He had me draw these papers up a week after your father died. You came to my office that day, remember? To see what you could do about the will? It’s all in there. You can check the dates. I’m here as his lawyer to verify his actions. This was his plan all along, to hand you the company when your brother did not show.”

  I glanced through the paperwork and the date on it was January 15th. The funeral had been on the fourteenth. Oh, God.

  “Why didn’t he tell me?”

  “I imagine he was trying to protect you. And perhaps—himself.”

  I took the papers. And the ring box.

  “Thank you,” she said. “And I know my opinion doesn’t matter, but Clayton isn’t a bad guy. He’s just bad at being good. I don’t think anyone ever showed him how.”

  Fuck. I did not want to feel empathy for the guy. At all.

  But that was him, in a nutshell. He had his father and my father as role models.

  “Thank you, Madison,” I said, and the lawyer turned and walked to her car. I went back into the house, where the dogs had pulled themselves out of our heartbreak nest and were cleaning out their food bowls.

  I set the papers and the box on the kitchen counter in a bright square of sunlight that came in through the back door. The sunlight made the papers glow like they were more important than they were.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” I muttered and I flipped open the file.

  A contract giving me control of the company. The trust and the foundation. All dated that first week after my father died. Just a few days after Clayton had sent that letter to Dylan.

  The last page of the contract was a letter.

  Dear Veronica,

  The company is yours. It was my plan from the beginning. You are the King who should have inherited everything. For the last five years I have been telling myself that I was just keeping it for you. When your father died, I was sure the company would go to you, and taking care of it in those years was my honor. There are quality people in the organization who can hit the ground running. My former assistant, Denise, is one of them. She should probably be vice president, just so you’re aware.

  I wish I could give your father credit for seeing how this would all unfold, but we both know that’s a lie. He never saw your worth. And for that I am so sorry, Veronica. But I hope you understand it is his loss.

  The trust is yours to control for your sisters as you see fit. So is the foundation.

  I wish more than I can say that I had done this the day of the funeral. If I were more noble, I would have. If I were less selfish, I would have. If I had been able to dream of a way to keep you in the room with me long enough to tell you how sorry I was, I would have.

  But I saw you and I felt how I always feel in your presence—like I wanted more. More time. More you. Another chance to make it right.

  I’ve been so happy these last few weeks and I know you have been too. I had my window for honesty and I missed it. I’m so sorry.

  The ring is yours, as well. My mother would have loved you and my father was right, she would have wanted you to have it.

  You were right, what you said. We are terrible at understanding what we are worth and you, my beautiful Veronica, are worth everything.

  I choose you. I love you.

  Even though it’s too late.

  I put down the paper and stepped back.

&nb
sp; He gave me the company. He gave me…everything. I felt like I was floating. Or sinking. Yep. Sinking. I was suddenly sitting on the ground, the dogs stepping over me with concern. I heard the front door open and Bea coming up the stairs.

  She would talk me out of feeling this way, I thought. She would remind me that he lied. And that he manipulated. She will remind me that I am better off without him. Someone needed to, because all I wanted on this planet was to get to him as fast as I could.

  “What’s going on?” Bea asked, coming in to see me sitting in the middle of the kitchen, the dogs sitting nervously next to me.

  “Read that.” I pointed to the papers on the counter.

  “It’s like a contract. For the company?”

  “He’s giving it to me. He was going to all along. Read the last page.”

  Bea did, her lips moving a little, the way they always did, and I closed my eyes because my heart was full enough.

  “Holy shit,” Bea finally breathed.

  “It’s bullshit, right?” I asked. “It’s him thinking he can have everything.”

  “I don’t know, Ronnie,” Bea said. “He kinda gave you everything.”

  My breath caught in my throat. “He did, didn’t he.”

  “I mean…” Bea looked down at the letter and back at me. “I’ve had some guys try to win me back before, but…Bea…he just burned down his whole world for you.”

  I rested my head on Thelma’s back, and she held still and let me, and Bea got down on the floor with me.

  “Do you love him?” she asked, and I nodded.

  “Do you…believe him?”

  I lifted my head off Thelma, who took her opportunity to get away. “I do. I mean, the crazy thing is that he’s never lied. He hasn’t told me the whole truth, sometimes, but when he does tell me something, it’s always the truth.”

  “Those are some pretty fine hairs to split.”

  I thought of all my demands and how he’d met each one. How awkward but willing he’d been. Vulnerable.

  “I had you,” I said. “And Sabrina. When Dad taught us a shitty way to love people, I had you two to show me how to do it right. And I still messed up. He had no one.”

  “Well, I think the guy has figured it out,” she said.

  I got up and grabbed the ring box and the letters. My purse where I’d dropped it on the floor.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to find him.”

  Bea opened her eyes wide. “You literally slept with dogs last night. You might consider a shower before you go.”

  After showering and changing I was back on the highway, but I skipped Dallas altogether. I knew he wouldn’t be in his office. Or that penthouse that was full of my things. I took the exit for the ranch but turned left, heading for the cottage in the bend of the river.

  He’d be out here. With a man who didn’t remember him, but from whom Clayton could not walk away.

  And I was right. I got over the hill and saw Clayton’s car parked in front of the house and I pulled to a stop right behind it. The car was barely in Park before I was out the door. The men were on the porch. I could see them in the shadows. One of the shadows stood up and walked to the railing.

  “Veronica,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

  “Looking for you.”

  “Did Madison—”

  I held up the papers. The ring box.

  “You got it,” he said. “Good.”

  “You can’t do this shit anymore, Clayton!” I yelled.

  “I don’t think I can,” he said with a smile. “I’ll probably only own one company in my life and I just gave it to you.”

  “Are you making jokes?”

  “I guess…I am.”

  I looked at him, really looked at him, and was surprised to see how relaxed he seemed.

  “Are you drunk?”

  “No.”

  “Then why do you look…happy?”

  He shrugged. “You’re here. I never thought I’d see you again. And you’re here. Seeing you always makes me happy.”

  My heart squeezed so hard in my chest it hurt.

  “You gonna invite her in?” Dale asked. “Smells like rain.”

  “Do you want to come in?” he asked, but he wasn’t just talking about this house. He was talking about his life. And I did. I did want to come in. I wanted him. And the life we were building.

  But we had to get everything out in the open.

  “Truth,” I said. “Not just no lies.”

  He nodded.

  “Do you love me?”

  “With all my heart.”

  I pulled in a breath, forced myself to keep going. To demand more. To remember what I deserved.

  “Did you love me five years ago?”

  “With all my heart.” He stepped forward, hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Can I ask you a question? Same rules. Truth. Not just no lies.”

  I nodded.

  “Do you love me?”

  “Yes.”

  He smiled like sunlight through clouds. It was bright and beautiful and it made me so happy to look at him. To see him so happy.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, “for hurting you. I was trying to protect you.”

  “I’m not the money in your shoe,” I said. “You can’t do this anymore. We’re in this together or we’re not.”

  “Are we? In this together?”

  “I’d like to be,” I said. “It’s what I want. More than—”

  He was down the stairs and in front of me. Close enough to touch, but not touching me at all.

  “You can forgive me?” he asked.

  “I can.”

  And then I was in his arms, my face against his chest. The smell of him in my nose. My throat. “I only ever wanted you,” he said. “It was only ever about having you in my life, any way I could get you. I never thought you’d choose me on your own. Willingly.”

  “That’s the only way I’d have you,” I said.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Are you coming in?” Dale asked. “Or am I playing this game on my own?”

  “Just a second,” Clayton said, and he took the ring box from my hand. He opened the old box and took the pearl ring out. “May I?” he asked.

  I held up my hand, my fingers shaking. We’d done this twice before now, but there was something significantly more…real about this one.

  Truth. Not just no lies.

  “I don’t know how to run the company,” I said.

  “I’ll teach you.”

  It was somehow the sweetest thing he’d ever said to me.

  I kissed him. Again and again.

  “June 17th seems like a long ways away,” I said.

  “I’ve waited for you my whole life,” he said. “I can stand a few more months.”

  I leaned back, ran my hand over the scruff of his face. He hadn’t shaved. I wasn’t sure when I’d last seen him unshaven. I wanted to give him something, something that showed him how much I loved him.

  And the company wasn’t what he wanted. I could see that now.

  “Let’s go get married,” I said.

  His brow wrinkled. “What are you talking about?”

  “Let’s elope. Dallas courthouse. Just you and me.”

  “You and me?” He said the words like he was savoring them. Like they were the most delicious words he’d ever said. “What about Sabrina?”

  “We’ll still do the big wedding. The show. Only you and I will know the truth.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Because I’ve been waiting for you my whole life and I don’t want to wait another minute.”

  “Oh, God,” he groaned, and he pulled me up into his arms. Holding me so close I could feel his breath. His heartbeat. “I love you so much, Veronica King.”

  “That’s good,” I said. “Because I come with a ton of baggage. My sisters are a mess right now. I’ve got a company I don’t know how to run. We’re adopting two dachshunds
and I have a brother who is a bit of a loose cannon.”

  He brushed the hair back from my face and smiled down at me. “My life has been cold. And it’s been empty. And you, my sweet Ronnie, and your sisters and your dogs…really?” he asked. “Two?”

  I held up two fingers.

  “I’m in, Ronnie,” he breathed. “I’m so in. Let’s go get married.”

  Prologue for The Body Guard

  King’s Land

  Hank’s Funeral

  The house was so filled with people no one even saw me walk in. I wore a coat and a tie. Slicked my hair back. Made sure I shaved. I just wanted to get a glimpse of her. In the crowd. Maybe work up the nerve to walk up to her. Shake her hand. Tell her something lame, like I’m so sorry for your loss.

  I wasn’t. I was glad Hank was dead. I had read enough of her texts back and forth with him to know he was a jerk to her. I had read enough of her texts back and forth to her sister Ronnie to know his treatment of her hurt her feelings.

  I knew everything there was to know about Sabrina King. Her likes, her dislikes. And not just because I watched every episode of Cowboy Princess. Which I did. I practically had every episode memorized. And I always made sure to edit it out any date she went on because I didn’t need to see that shit.

  Sabrina wasn’t my present but she was going to be my future.

  Our love was going to epic. I had known it for as long as I had known her even if it was from afar.

  I wandered through the various rooms filled with people. I took a glass of something off a tray a waiter was walking around. I looked like I belonged even if I wasn’t huddled up with a bunch of old men talking about what a great guy Hank King had been.

  That’s when I spotted her. Across what was a ballroom with a fancy grand piano in the middle of it. Someone was playing soft, comforting music. But I suddenly couldn’t hear or see anything else but her.

  She was smiling politely at everyone who came up to her to offer their condolences but I knew that smile wasn’t real. I had seen the real thing once and it was breathtaking.