27
LINDEN
Estelle seemed different. I just couldn’t point my finger at it.
“I don’t like your silence, brother.” Striker joined me in the backyard as we watched Tate and Moses play golf.
“Something snapped at Estelle.”
“How do you know?”
“I met her for coffee yesterday.”
“So you two are back together.” There was hope in his voice. He didn’t know how hard it was for me to walk side by side with Estelle, and I couldn’t hold her hand because she had friendzoned me.
“I wish.” I checked my beer. It was empty.
“You’re not getting another bottle if you will drive home.”
“You sound like your father.”
“Because we love you, brother.”
“Why is it my personal business is everyone’s business?” I yelled enough for Tate and Moses to hear.
Striker just laughed beside me. “I’m serious. How can I help?”
“Since when did I ask for everyone’s help?”
“That’s the problem, Linden. You never asked, even if you needed it. You were there for me the entire time when I was not at my best. You were there for Cenric, Mykel, Rome, and you were there for—”
“For me when I was lost.” I turned my head when I heard London. “You’ve been there for everyone, even for my father. You risked your life to redeem his ass. It’s not that bad to ask for help once in a while. It won’t hurt your ego and masculinity. In fact, it will put the people you care about at ease.”
I looked at Striker, who just shrugged.
“You heard her.”
“What did you find about Estelle?” London asked, rubbing her growing belly.
“Nothing helpful.”
“You just don’t wanna tell us. Why is it so secret?” She joined us on the bench.
“She’s gonna kill me.”
“She’s killing you slowly anyway. I think she’s selfish.”
“How did you feel when you lost LH?” I looked at London.
She rolled her eyes. “Really, Linden? Is that how you gonna play it if we’re trying to help you.”
“No.” My brows wrinkled. “Because that would be what she would feel if she loses Star.”
“Why would she—” London stopped as she looked at her husband. “Cade. When I found out he bought LH, I felt a huge relief because I knew the brand would be in good hands.”
“Of course, baby. You worked hard to make LH where it was. I was just angry at you for putting our marriage in the middle of it when we could work it out together. I mean, you wanted—”
“Shush now. This isn’t walking down hurtful memory lane.” London turned to me. “What really happened?”
“Well, I’m sure you know why I went to Italy. I thought I knew the whole story of why she ran away because her father arranged her blah blah blah. Why do most fathers risk their daughters’ lives for marriage?”
“The hell I know.” London rolled her eyes again.
“Because I’m a catch, I understand that.”
“Oh, my God.” London stared incredulously at Striker. “Jeez, sweetheart. The world really revolves around you, huh?”
Striker and I fell into laughing.
“Continue, brother,” he said.
“Then she said she’s not ready to settle down. She still has a lot of things she wants to do, places she wants to go, some shit like that. Obviously, her father arranged for her to Weston because of a business alliance, and she doesn’t like Klayton.”
“Yeah, he’s a dick. I heard some nasty things about him.”
“Like what, baby?” Striker asked his wife with an excited tone and more amused than ever.
“Playboy, irresponsible, narcissist, something like that. He gets drunk and brings different women to his loft almost every night.”
“Wow. Really nice guy,” Striker said. “And that’s what she’s going to waste her life to? We need to convince that guy not to marry Estelle.”
“Yeah, a piece of shit. But that’s not gonna happen because if he doesn’t marry Estelle, he won’t have that kind of life. His father still gives him 50k bucks every month.”
“What the hell?” Even London was shocked to learn the truth. “He doesn’t have a job?”
“Maybe he has at Weston Yacht.”
“So he’s also gonna use Estelle as his credit card?”
I shrugged. “Maybe he has an agreement with his father. Once he settles down, he will inherit Tyrion’s fortune.”
“Well, of course. It all comes down to that.”
“I’m not,” Striker reacted to his wife.
London just gave him a side look.
“I’m sure she knows it’s not easy for her to get rid of him. I don’t know, man. I wanted to help her, but I didn’t know how, and she broke up with me because she didn’t want me to get involved with the mess of her family. I feel something is going on, bigger than us, that I didn’t know the full story. I already stopped Kye from digging into it. I didn’t want him to get into trouble.”
“Estelle borrowed money from Tyrion Weston. That’s all you should know,” Moses said. Of course, he knew everything. Why I even bothered asking Kye when I could just come and ask him? “This is just between me and Gabriel.”
There you go. I’m in trouble.
“Pa,” Striker groaned.
“No, son. He may be your best friend, but some things can’t be shared with everyone.” When he turned to me, I knew how this would end. “Come with me.”
I rose from the seat and told Striker and London. “We’re going on a date at the study.” I followed him.
His study was big, filled with books on dark wood shelving. “Lock the door behind you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was expecting you to use the resources you have.” His tone was firm, clearly not impressed with me. “Why didn’t you?”
“I don’t use the available resources for personal matters, boss.”
“That’s bull. It’s important to you. You were not even tempted?”
“I just wanna be a good example.”
“I call it bullshit. It’s been two weeks, and you did nothing for Estelle. Sometimes, I think she doesn’t matter to you more than I initially thought.” He gestured for me to sit down.
“That’s not true.” I slumped my ass on the comfy black leather couch. “She changed.”
“I know, and your life would change 180 if you find out what she’s been hiding from you.”
I ignored the twist in my abdomen. “Let me guess, you know.”
“I have every resource military intelligence envied me for. Why do you think they want me to sit on the golden chair.”
“Okay. Enough of that metaphor, boss.”
“It’s hyperbole.”
“Whatever.”
“They don’t have golden chairs, but yeah, whatever. You want to know? Ask her. Use your skills. Not skills over women, Gabe. Be a spy.”
I was offended. “No. I won’t do that.”
“Then I can’t help you.”
“Boss, please? What do you know?”
“Star started with Tyrion Weston’s ten million dollars. Weston would get 20% of the total profit for the first year. It was okay because, somehow, Star Cosmetics was a success. Estelle began another venture, Star Activewear. Also a success, but the clause in the contract was unnerving.”
I gulped down. “What was it?”
He went to his desk and took something from his drawer. “Read it.” He threw it to the coffee table. I picked up what seemed to be a copy of the contract. “Just so you know, I paid ten thousand dollars to get that.”
“From whom?”
“You don’t wanna know.” Yeah, I should not have even bothered asking.
“I’d rather not.” I began reading. “It seemed pretty regular contract of both parties.”
“Clause 6.”
I went to the page of Clause 6. I couldn’t even finish it.
“You need to pull your head out from your ass, Gabriel.” He used that name again. “You and my son have this kind of personality that I sometimes hate. You both like to be heroes. But now it’s time for you to be that man. This woman would be miserable for the rest of her life if you won’t help her. Weston maybe has money, but his son doesn’t have a backbone. You can give up on her when you know she is in good hands. Their marriage may be arranged, but Klayton won’t stop whoring around and bringing the company down with him. Trust me.”
“Why would she even agree on these terms?”
“Desperation? She was twenty-one, just finished college, and wanted to make a difference, and her father didn’t have her support. Linus may be a terrible father, but Gustav is way worse. I don’t even know that he has this in him. It makes me want to drag him through the mud and let the crocodile eat him.”
“She gets nothing.” I leaned back against the chair, completely appalled.
“She gets plenty. Plenty of debt and backache.”
I chuckled sadly. “Isn’t she a billionaire?”
“Technically, yes. Estelle owns Star LLC in papers but has five investors, including Weston and her father. Star LLC is actually worth 1.3 billion. Let’s say the fifty million is for the five investors. She has to pay Weston the amount of ten million dollars multiplied by ten, the value of his money today according to the profit. How much is that?”
“And if she won’t marry Klayton?”
“She’ll pay that amount and possibly loses her seat to Weston or her father.”
“I thought her father doesn’t fund her dream?”
“That son of bitch friend of mine finally came to his sense when Star LLC thrived. But Weston is a greedy businessman taking advantage of a girl with big dreams. My guess, is he intended not to help Estelle and baited her to Weston’s son. Sounds familiar?”
I sighed shakily. “Linus.”
“Exactly. And let’s not forget the terms that it’s terrifying that she should marry Klayton in a few months.”
I dropped the unsettling contract on the coffee table, still horrified. “So her father won’t do anything.”
“He wants this to happen. Only you could come between them if you want to stop this from happening.”
“What should I do?” I met his gaze.
“Blackmail Gustav or Weston.”
I bitterly laughed as I leaned back. I seemed to lose all my strength because I had no idea how to do that.
“Go for Tyrion Weston. His son beat a woman almost to death, and he let someone clean up the mess. So Kye did not find out anything about it.”
Another horrifying truth. Jesus. I shook my head.
“Maybe Klayton intended not to hurt that woman, but he practiced some sexual kink but went beyond without that poor woman’s consent. My point is— use anything you can. I have evidence.”
“I won’t ask how did get that.”
“Don’t. I told you, son. I will help you if you are willing to get your hands dirty.”
“What if he comes back to me?”
“He won’t. If he loves his son, he won’t, and I found out something, but this is way more complicated,” he said confidently.
“What are you going to do?”
“You better not know. My advice, keep Estelle at your arm’s length.”
“Is she in danger?”
“No, but you will find out soon what I’m talking about.”
“Boss, please?”
“No, son. I already showed you where to start. I won’t hand everything to you on a silver platter. Now get your ass up and do something for that poor woman.”
