A Merger by Marriage (13 page)

“She lost contact with them after coming to Las Vegas. I asked about them a couple times, but it really upset her so I stopped mentioning them.” Violet had gotten the feeling that her mother had been running from an unhappy place when she left home.

“I’m sorry you grew up like that.”

“It was okay. At the time I didn’t know any different. The lack of family didn’t really bother me until after college when I was in a friend’s wedding.” It had been a huge affair with six bridesmaids and groomsmen. The bride had looked radiant walking down the aisle on her father’s arm. “I was the only one of the wedding party that wasn’t a family member.”

“Does it bother you that we got married without your family there?”

Violet didn’t have to think about her answer. “A little. Mostly it bothered me that Tiberius wasn’t there to give me away.”

“When the shareholder meeting is over we should get married again. Properly this time. With friends and family around us.”

“You don’t have to do this for me.” But she was thrilled that he’d suggested it.

“I’m doing it for us. We should make a fresh start.” He kissed her on the forehead. “A real marriage deserves a real wedding. Don’t you think?”

Violet tilted her head back so she could read JT’s expression. His tender smile made her heart hiccup.

“It sounds like a perfect idea.”

Ten

JT
was in his office reviewing a capital expenditure request for remodeling the exercise room and upgrading the machines when his assistant hailed him on his phone’s intercom.

“Mr. Rhodes is on line one.”

It was three days until the stockholder meeting and JT remained short of the votes he needed to oust his father as chairman of the board and strip him of his CEO position. Was Preston calling to gloat?

“Hello, Father.”

“You didn’t really expect to beat me, did you, son?” Preston gave the final word a disparaging twist. “I’ve taken on much more skilled players than you.”

“I’ve no doubt you have.”

“Then you won’t be surprised when I tell you that I’m in negotiations to sell Titanium.”

“Not surprised at all.” JT had known that challenging his father would be a one-shot deal. He either secured the votes to get Preston voted out as chairman or went out on his own. JT wasn’t afraid to do the latter. He’d been ready to abandon any hope of saving Stone Properties before Violet had inherited Tiberius’s stock.

“I’m sure we can find you a hotel to manage somewhere,” Preston said. “I think the general manager of Platinum Macao plans to retire later this year.”

JT saw no reason to react to his father’s taunt. “I’m certain you have a number of managers who would jump at the chance to take over that hotel. I have several opportunities I can explore.”

“Perhaps your wife can find you a job working for Fontaine Resorts and Hotels.”

“In fact we’ve already discussed that,” JT lied. Why was his father trying so hard to get him riled up? “Fontaine is negotiating to buy the Lucky Heart. They’re planning to demolish it and build a new hotel. They want someone who can oversee the entire process.”

More lies. JT had no idea what would become of the Lucky Heart now that Tiberius was dead, but investigating the fabrication would distract his father for a little while.

“You were lucky to marry your heiress when you did.”

“Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?” JT glanced at his watch and saw it was almost time to rendezvous with Violet. They’d taken to enjoying late dinners in her suite. “Otherwise I have a meeting I must get to.”

“Nothing else. I’ll see you in Miami in a few days.”

“Looking forward to it.” JT hung up without saying goodbye, unsure if it had been worth his effort to try and shake his father’s confidence.

Before leaving his office, JT signed off on the exercise room upgrade, then made his way to the first floor and strolled through the casino. As much as he loved the hotel and was proud of all he’d done to turn the property around in the last six years, JT had always known that his time here was limited. As CEO, his father called the shots. JT could stay working for Stone Properties and do what Preston wanted or abandon the company and strike out on his own. Leaving would have been better for him financially and professionally, but he knew his grandfather would want him to stay and loyalty was deeply imbedded in his psyche.

Even at nine o’clock at night the air on the strip hung hot and thick with exhaust and the sweat of many thousands of bodies. JT sucked in a lungful. Leaving Las Vegas had just become inevitable. The investment opportunities he’d been investigating had involved properties in California, Arizona and the Caribbean. He would be traveling a great deal and setting up his corporate office here didn’t seem likely.

What did that mean for him and Violet? They had agreed to stay married. Maybe that had been shortsighted of him. Or she’d gotten him so accustomed to thinking positive that he hadn’t truly believed he would lose. Tonight they would have to discuss what changes the future would bring.

Violet sent him a text as he entered the suite to say she was running fifteen minutes late and that the dinner she’d ordered would arrive before she did. JT saw her dining table was littered with copies of Tiberius’s files on his family. They’d been going through them the night before, talking strategy. A waste of time. It would take a miracle to topple his father’s solid base of supporters.

Was it idiotic of him to ignore the possibility that his father had committed a crime? Preston Rhodes, or George Barnes if he bought into Scarlett’s theory, was a ruthless bastard to those who stood in his way. He’d schemed to turn JT’s grandfather against his only son. He’d psychologically abused his wife until she’d turned to drugs and alcohol and overdosed. And he’d blackmailed a Stone Properties stockholder to manipulate the annual vote in his favor.

Maybe it was time someone pushed back. And who better than the son he was determined to hurt next.

Not wanting to start their evening by talking about his father, JT gathered the files and carried them into her home office. He set the pile on her desk and was turning to go when a lone file caught his eye.

JT looked closer and went cold as he spied his name in Tiberius’s handwriting on the tab.

Violet had a file on him.

If Tiberius had investigated Preston’s past, didn’t it make sense that he’d have looked at JT as well? And when he’d left his files to Scarlett, of course she would share his file with her sister.

Dread collecting in the pit of his stomach, JT opened the file and stared at the top sheet. It was the police report on his mother’s death. They’d ruled it an accidental overdose but right there in black and white was JT’s darkest secret.

How long had Violet pretended not to know what he’d done? Had she played him for a fool from the start? Acted as if it was important that he confide in her when she’d already known every agonizing truth of his childhood. Bile rose in JT’s throat at her betrayal.

Below the police report was a copy of the psychiatrist’s initial assessment when JT had been hospitalized for a severe concussion and broken ribs after trying to jump his bicycle over his father’s yellow Ferrari convertible. He’d attempted the risky stunt a month after his mother’s death. Based on the timing, the doctor had determined he was depressed and put him on medication. But no pill had been capable of taking away JT’s guilt.

A knock sounded on the suite’s front door startling JT. For a long black moment he’d been twelve again, hearing the news that his mother was dead. Lightheaded, he backed away from Violet’s desk and those horrible childhood memories.

His heart pounded madly as he shook his head to clear it. There was a second knock on the front door. Rousing himself, JT made his way through the living room and let in the waiter. The smell of the food turned his stomach as it passed and he stood in the doorway while the man unloaded the dishes onto the dining room table. Moving on autopilot, JT signed for their dinner and was about to close the door when Violet stepped off the elevator and headed down the hallway towards him.

“It smells wonderful,” she said cheerfully, lifting on tiptoe to press her lips to his.

JT stood with his hands at his sides and didn’t return her kiss. She pulled back with a frown and surveyed his expression.

“What’s happened?” she asked, closing the door.

“You have a file on me.”

Guilt flashed across her lovely features and drove a spear into his heart. “Tiberius had a file on all of us.”

“All this time you’ve been lying to me.” A heavy note of sadness weighed down his voice.

“That’s not true.”

“You’ve known everything all along and pretended you didn’t.”

“Scarlett gave me the file,” Violet explained. “But I’ve never opened it. If I’ve done anything wrong it was in not handing over the file to you as soon as I got it.”

“You really expect me to believe that you didn’t satisfy your curiosity about me by reading what my uncle dug up about my life?”

“If I had, why would I bother to ask you to share your past with me?”

“To make me believe you were the perfect woman for me. It’s all in there, you know. The psychologist’s report explains that before my mother’s death I badly wanted her love and when she chose my father over me I retreated into belligerence and bad behavior. The more I acted out, the less likely it was that anyone would love me. And then you came along, and knowing what I most wanted was what I most feared, you did everything you could to make me trust you.”

Violet looked stricken. “You don’t know me at all if you believe I would ever manipulate you.”

“No? You suggested we get married. You claimed my father threatened to sue us if we didn’t act like a real married couple.”

Now it was her turn to get angry. “I married you to help you.”

“You married me to help yourself.”

The part of him she’d touched with her compassion and optimism wanted very much to take her at her word, but he’d been protecting himself against being hurt for so long. It was a compulsion he couldn’t resist.

“I spoke with my father tonight and he let me know he’s selling Titanium. I’ll be leaving Las Vegas to pursue some investment opportunities.” He hadn’t intended to present the situation so bluntly, but in lieu of what he’d discovered here tonight, he wasn’t capable of being sensitive.

“How long will you be gone?”

“This is a permanent move. I’m going to sell the ranch and resettle elsewhere.”

Violet recoiled as if he’d struck her. “Just like that without discussing it with me?”

“What would be the point? As per our original agreement as soon as the annual shareholder meeting is over, I’ll be filing for divorce.”

“Can’t we talk about this?”

“There’s really no point. Your life, your career is here. I have no reason to stay.”

“You really don’t get it, do you?” Violet’s soft question resonated with compassion.

JT’s chest ached to the point where he couldn’t draw a full breath. “Get what?” he asked coldly.

“That I love you.”

* * *

“I’m sorry you said that,” JT told her, his voice low and flat.

Violet nodded. “I’m sure you are.”

He’d torn out her heart and thrown it at her feet, but Violet wasn’t about to let him think he’d won. His mask of indifference might have worked on her once upon a time, but she’d glimpsed his sensitivity. He’d rather be the most hated man on the planet than let people see his vulnerability.

Not that she was immune to what he’d told her. Stung by pain and disillusionment, he was going to isolate himself beyond anyone’s ability to reach him. In her heart, she knew that was the last thing he wanted. If she’d shown him anything, it was that being alone only made him miserable.

“I don’t think I’ll stay for dinner.” He stepped around her and put his hand on the doorknob.

“Before you go.” Violet headed to her home office where she found the file that had destroyed any hope of happiness for her or JT. She straightened the pages he’d disrupted while reading and closed the cover. In less than a minute she’d returned with his file and the one on his father. “You should take these with you.”

He looked ready to toss more angry words at her, but accepted the files in silence.

“If you need anything, just call,” she added as he opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

His back stiffened as if she’d cursed at him. “Goodbye, Violet.”

And then he was striding away, his long legs carrying him around the corner and out of sight. Only then did Violet turn into a puddle of shaking limbs and wracking sobs. She shut the door and slid onto the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees. Drawing a complete breath was impossible so she closed her eyes and let the storm roll over her. By the time she’d calmed enough to pick herself off the floor, half an hour had passed.

She stumbled into the living room and dropped onto the couch. Greeted by silence, she immediately grabbed her phone and texted her sisters.

I messed up. In my suite, could use some sympathetic company.

Harper was the first to respond.
Bringing both red and white wine.

Scarlett texted a minute later.
Got chocolate.

With a shaky smile Violet rubbed tears from her cheeks. How lucky she was to have two wonderful sisters who dropped everything in order to rush over to make her feel better. Fifteen minutes later, wearing sweats and feeling marginally calmer, Violet opened her door to admit Harper.

“Which one should we start with?” she quizzed holding both bottles out for inspection.

“Definitely the red,” Violet replied, knowing Scarlett would vote for that as well. She led the way into the kitchen to find the bottle opener.

“What’s with the uneaten dinner?” Harper quizzed.

“JT and I ended things before we had a chance to eat.”

“What?” Scarlett demanded from the living room, having come through the door to the hallway Violet had left open. “How is that possible? You two were doing great.” Scarlett came into the kitchen, and both her sisters stopped what they were doing.

Harper held up her hand as she took in Scarlett’s outfit. “Before we get to that, can you please tell me what you’re wearing?”

Scarlett looked surprised at the question. “It’s Princess Leia’s harem costume from
The
Empire Strikes Back
.”

“Were you wearing that in the casino?” Violet quizzed, imagining the ruckus her sister must have caused among the male customers.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I wore it for Logan.”

Harper looked sorry she’d asked.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your evening,” Violet said.

“Don’t worry about it. Logan understands that a call for help from one of my sisters will never be ignored.”

Tears surged in Violet’s eyes once more, causing Scarlett to curse and Harper to put her arms around Violet’s shoulders.

“You guys are the best,” she whispered past the lump in her throat.

Harper poured the wine and the three of them moved to the couch. Snuggled between her sisters, Violet sipped at the excellent red and told them about JT finding his file and accusing her of using its contents to trick him into marriage.

“How does he not realize that if anyone benefited from you two getting together it was him?” Harper demanded hotly.

“He’s used to being manipulated,” Violet said. “It’s made him guarded and secretive.”

Harper regarded her in dismay. “You’re still defending him?”