Page 56 of Bitter Heat

The cryptic messages were odd, but she wasn’t too worried. If it was a real emergency, they would tell her to come to the hospital. Her mind switched back to the book. She sifted ideas through her mental strainer and came up with nothing. She synced her manuscript to her phone and spent the rest of the ride butchering everything she wrote that day. By the time they pulled up to Hennessy Tower, she was beyond aggravated. She was completely lost and had no idea what she was going to do. Her deadline was looming, everyone was expecting a great ending, and she had nothing but a blank screen. This time, she wasn’t in the mood to act cool, calm, and collected, so it was a good thing no paparazzi were around.

During the elevator ride, her fingers tapped restlessly on her thigh as she counted the words in a sentence she couldn’t get out of her head. She repeated the sentence three times before Colette’s grand entry hall appeared before her. Eager for a distraction from her work, she strode into the penthouse and rounded the corner into the grand living room.

Her sisters stood in front of the fireplace. Ariana had a hold of Colette’s hands and was speaking to her urgently. When Ariana caught sight of her, she stopped talking, and they both turned. A bolt of fear rocketed through her when she saw Colette’s tear-streaked face.

“What’s going on? Is it Polara?” Jasmine asked as she rushed forward.

Colette didn’t answer. She just stood there with tears slipping silently down her face.

“What?” Jasmine demanded and pressed her hands over her tummy. “Is she okay? What happened?”

“It’s not the baby,” Ariana said.

Her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked somber as if someone had died.

“What the hell’s going on?” she demanded. “You’re freaking me out!”

“I’ve made a horrible mistake,” Colette whispered.

“Mistake? You?”

Colette gulped back tears. “An awful mistake. I don’t know what to do… I didn’t want you involved, but I don’t think there’s any other way, and I…”

“You what?” she snapped impatiently. “Spit it out, Colette!”

Colette stared at her through weary, defeated, and shame-filled eyes. “He’s going to destroy us,” she whispered and swayed.

Jasmine wrapped her arms around Colette before she fell. With Ariana’s help, they settled her on the couch. Colette grabbed her arm in a death grip.

“I have no right to ask, Minnie, but I don’t know what to do. Please help me.” Her voice was raspy as if she was suppressing a scream.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about!”

“It’s Roth,” Ariana said.

Her heart skipped a beat. “What about him?”

Colette was completely spooked and almost incoherent with panic.

She squeezed Colette’s knees to get her to focus. “Talk to me. Tell me what happened.”

Colette turned her face away as if she couldn’t bear to meet her eyes. “Two years ago, I decided to make some investments Dad didn’t approve of. I did it despite his warnings. They fell through, so I invested more to make up the difference, but we didn’t profit from those either.”

Jasmine glanced at Ariana who stared into the fire with a troubled expression.

“I lost so much money that I sold some shares. A year after, more investments fell through, so I sold more…” Colette swallowed hard and shook her head. “I was such a fool.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He bought the shares,” Colette whispered shakily.

“Who…?” Her blood turned to icy slush in her veins. “No, he didn’t.”

“He did.” Colette’s lower lip trembled. “Roth has a controlling share in Hennessy & Co. I sold some shares to separate partners thinking I could always buy them back. I thought I’d have time… I didn’t think he of all people would buy them, but he has and I don’t know if it’s a hostile takeover, but what else could it be? He hates us, right? Especially after what Dad did to him.”

Colette sounded more like a lost and frightened child than a badass CEO. Jasmine didn’t know what to say. Roth had a controlling share of Hennessy & Co? Why?

She looked toward her brother-in-law’s office. “Where’s Lyle?”

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