Chapter Seventeen

As Vincent Ferguson stood in the back corner of the room and listened to his CFO address the men and women sitting around his conference table, he knew three things with absolute certainty: this deal would make them superbly wealthy, he would finally be in a position to acquire other tech companies like his own, and it didn’t mean anything if he couldn’t have Reece Rowe in his bed every damn night for the rest of his life.

Shit.

Unlike the other investors, Landon leaned against the wall next to Vin. “What?”

“Nothing.” Vin shot Landon an annoyed look. Had he cussed out loud? Somehow in the last month, he’d convinced himself that if Reece had broken up with him on the advice of her oldest brother and her best friend, then she valued their opinion above her own feelings. He didn’t think he could change her mind, even if he admitted he’d fallen in love—

Shit.

This time Landon hissed a little louder. “What?”

Vin looked at his CFO in the front of the room, briefing the investors on their final prospectus and the game plan for IPO day. Red herring, bankers, public offerings, initial price point, all the vocabulary blurred together into a single thought. Reece. In four days, they’d price the IPO, at the closing of the markets on Thursday. The stock would begin trading on the exchange on a “when issued” basis on Friday morning. Four days after pricing, the underwriters would purchase their shares, and after the SEC quiet period for twenty-five days, it would be game on.

Without thinking things through, Vin pushed open the door beside him and slipped out.

Landon followed. “Cold feet?”

“What?” he snapped, sick of being polite.

“Cold feet about losing so much control over your company?”

“I wish it were that simple.” Yes, he’d be giving up a lot of control, but he’d managed to keep a good percentage for himself. And he had enough board members on his side to guarantee he’d have even more control than the numbers let on.

Landon shot him a shit-eating grin. “If it’s cold feet, I’ll tell you you’re not the first.”

“What?” Reece’s brother. Landon was Reece’s brother. He wanted Reece. Not her brother.

“Come on, Vin. You’re not my first IPO.”

Mentioning the IPO did the trick, and Vin caught on to the conversation. “Well, now, that’s disappointing.”

“Seriously, what gives?” Landon’s grin flattened to a firm line.

“I have to tell you something, and I don’t want it to come between us, but honestly, I could give two shits what you decide to do. Blackball me, if you think that’s necessary.”

“Aw, now, isn’t that sweet.”

“I mean it. This is completely separate from that.” He gestured between them and then toward the conference room.

Landon crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels, a smug expression on his face. “You’re in love with my baby sister.”

“Damn right I am.” He hadn’t planned on admitting it out loud. Not to Landon, anyway. He needed to tell Reece. But at this point, with the deal so close to being done, would she even believe him?

“I could play mad and maybe throw a punch or two. Threaten to tear down the entire empire you’re building. But somehow I’m okay with this.” Arms still crossed, Landon gave a casual, one-shoulder shrug.

“What?” The man had threatened his livelihood. Had issued a damn threat. Had insulted him. Had reiterated Reece was out of his league. And now he was okay with everything?

Landon shrugged again, this time uncrossing his arms in a what can I say gesture. “As soon as I told her I’d threatened to ruin you, she ended things. But I can see she’s miserable.”

Vin flexed his fingers and inhaled sharply through his nose. “You said I wasn’t good enough for her.” Not that he hadn’t agreed wholeheartedly with Landon’s assessment, but if he still thought that, then nothing had changed.

“News flash. No one is good enough for her. She deserves to be worshiped.”

Vin would’ve rolled his eyes if it wasn’t so true. “How poetic of you.”

“Well, she’s had a hard life.”

“Reece?” Were they still having the same conversation? About the same woman? Pampered, spoiled, princess Reece. The girl who had everything handed to her?

“She went through a lot as a kid. Remember your eleventh birthday party?”

“As if I could forget.” How did Landon know? Had Reece told him?

“Well, that’s the last time my parents were in the same room that she remembers. And on that day, they’d been fighting as always, and I couldn’t wait for them to just drop us off at your house. She was so excited to come with me, and she begged my parents to let her wear this new dress, and then she spilled something on it, and it started a whole new argument between our parents. I can’t remember what really happened, but she changed into another dress and didn’t even have a piece of your birthday cake because she didn’t want to get it dirty. She thought she caused them to fight. She always thinks everything that doesn’t go right is her fault, and I think she was afraid they might return her, because that was right around the time they told her about being adopted. Anyway, it’s been tough on her, always trying to be so good and quiet and—clean.” Landon blew out a breath and shook his head. “Geez, if you repeat any of that to her…”

All while Landon had been talking, Vin’s throat clogged. His image of that day had kept his grit strong during middle and high school, working extra jobs, calculating career paths for success, and giving him the courage to take risks when necessary. He’d built his life around wanting to be good enough for a five-year-old girl to not cringe when he wanted to hug her. Now he was days away from achieving that tangible goal he’d set for himself.

And it wouldn’t mean anything without the girl who’d started it all. The sweet woman who’d offered her body and given her heart. She’d sacrificed what they might have had so her brother wouldn’t ruin him. But Vin had gone along, sort of just let go of the reins, because the ball was rolling and his head wasn’t in the game.

Vin raked a hand through his hair. “I may have messed up.”

“So fix it.”