Page 101 of Rival to the Billionaire

"Something like that."

I'm not sure where my brother is going with this line of questioning, but I'm not sure I like it.

I exhale. "Look, I'm just struggling to get my head around some work stuff. I think I took it out on the road tonight. I'll probably be better company after a few hours of sleep. By the way, I’m sorry I dragged you into this so late. We all know you like to head to bed earlier than an eighty-year-old."

"You've got me," he says with a nod. Then, a little quieter, he adds, "But hey, if it’s work stuff that’s got you feeling on edge, then you might as well share it."

Still dressed to the nines in his gray suit and slicked chestnut hair, my eldest brother throws me a casual look that I know is anything but playful.

Alton is not one to waste time. His blunt, grumpy demeanor has been a fixture all of our lives. A perfectionist to the point of obsession with his work, as CFO at H&H, he loves to take no-nonsense and direct action.

And, as usual, that’s the side of him driving the conversation right now.

I sigh and look up from my feet. "Look, if you think I’m stirring up trouble for myself because of something that happened at work…” I stand, heading for my personal bar. "Then I'm going to need a drink. A good one."

Reaching into the fridge, I pull out a bottle of mid-sized Wofford bourbon and two glasses, pouring an ounce for Alton and several for me.

I hear Alton's voice behind my back. "What makes you think I came over to talk to you about H&H?"

I pause, squaring my shoulders as I turn around. "Oh, come now. You wouldn't have agreed to see me home for no apparent reason, would you?"

I down the bourbon in one swallow as Alton sits there, studying me, his blue eyes steady, assessing.

"No, I definitely didn't come for no reason."

I raise my empty glass, ready to pour more. "Like I said. I knew you had a reason." I turn back to the bourbon.

"I do." I hear him exhale. "But it has nothing to do with the business…and everything to do with whatever the hell's going on with you."

My hands freeze for a moment.

Setting the glass down, I turn and face him head on. "What is going on with me?"

"Yeah. Something's…off."

A feeling starts building in my chest, like the air's been knocked out of my lungs. And I'm not sure why it feels so, because nothing within the last few months of me working has been…off.

Nothing but the fact that Jenny's been running through my mind in a nonstop loop.

But I'm pretty sure that sort of thing isn't going to be noticeable to anyone but me.

It's not like I dance around the office singing her praises all the time.

"I don't know what you mean, Alton. I've been fine."

"'Fine'?" My brother snorts. "You've been anything but fine. You've been preoccupied and you've been…pissed off."

"I haven't been pissed off. Not exactly."

"You've been pissed all right. That dig you took at me the first night of the conference? That's not like you. The Ryder I know doesn't spontaneously spew mean shit like that. And he doesn't bring innocent people, like the niece he loves like his own, into the middle of things like that."

The bourbon sits untouched—another wasted attempt to break the tension.

"Shit, Al. I know I apologized for that last week, but if you need me to apologize again, I?—"

"I don't want another apology. I've got a few of those from you to spare." His lips slightly tick upwards into what for Alton can be considered a smirk, but then he turns serious. "I want some answers, man. Right now."

"Alton. Maybe you're right. Maybe I've been in a bad mood lately." I shrug. "And I pass it off as work stuff. But it's nothing serious."

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