Page 8 of How to Play the Player

The sound of the study door opening down the hall makes my spine stiffen. Whatever happens next, I need to be ready.

Chapter Five

Nathan

What the fuck just happened?

A few minutes ago, I thought tonight would be nothing more than strategic planning and looking at different color swatches.

Wrong.

Instead, when I walk into my brother’s home, I’m greeted by my family, friends—and my ex. Seeing her sitting there, dumbfounded, hit me like a freight train. What’s even more shocking is that Jonathan hired her without a second thought, without talking to me. Quinn Sanders is a liability we can’t afford.

No, she can’t work with them. I won’t allow it.

I need to save Jonathan from himself and assess the damage. How much sensitive information has he shared? What kind of media strategy could she be planning? And if it’s too far gone, what can I do to stop her from compromising us further, and how soon can I get started on damage control?

I trail behind Jonathan out of the dining room, down the hall, and into his study. The weight of what’s happening settles in my chest as I sink onto the dark leather couch, raking my hand through my hair.

After he closes the sliding doors, Jonathan takes a seat in one of the recliners across from me, leaning forward. His stature makes it clear he means business. “Everything okay? You seem…agitated.”

“Okay? Am I okay?” I let out a harsh laugh. “You hired my ex without even talking to me first.”

Jonathan pauses. “Ex? Which one?”

“Quinn, the blonde, is my ex.” The sooner I get her out of this house, the better.

“Oh, she’s your ex? Huh, who knew?” Jonathan acts as though he was just told some fucking general knowledge from a trivia game.

Why does he look amused at a time like this? “Yeah, a year ago.”

Jonathan’s brows furrow for a moment until realization seems to hit him. “Oh,thatex. Interesting.”

“Interesting? I just told you that you hired my betraying ex for your wedding, and all you have to say is ‘interesting’?”

“Did you ever find proof she was the leak?” He dodges my question entirely, going straight for my jugular with that question.

“Well…no, but?—”

“Then you only know what youthinkshe did.” Jonathan’s tone carries that infuriating older-brother certainty. “There’s a difference.”

I surge to my feet. “Why are you defending her? She’s the reason you lost NorthStar.”

“I’m making a business decision based on fact, not emotions or pride. Your idea of what she did is simply speculation.”He holds up a hand when I try to interrupt. “On top of that, Kiera and Ms. Clark both gave glowing recommendations when it came to hiring her. Based on what I’ve seen and what we’ve discussed today, her crisis management skills are exactly what we need.”

“Her ‘crisis management skills’ torpedoed our biggest acquisition!” I’m almost shouting now. “Or did you forget how that turned out?”

“Lower your voice,” Jonathan warns. “And no, I haven’t forgotten. But unlike you, I have eyes and ears. I did some quick research when she arrived. The Chen-Morrison merger? Not a single leak despite Quinn’s, rumored to be, pernicious ex-business partner. The Thompson celebrity wedding? Complete media blackout until they wanted to go public. She’s got an impressive track record.”

“Yeah, well, we were her exceptions.”

“Or maybe she wasn’t the leak in the first place,” Jonathan repeats, his voice hardening. “Think about it, Nathan. We never found a paper trail. Not a single electronic footprint. Nothing that would hold up in court.”

“Because she was careful.”

“Have you ever considered,” Jonathan says carefully, watching my reaction, “that there might have been someone else with access to that information? Someone neither of us thought to consider?”

The question lands like a stone in still water, creating ripples of doubt I wasn’t prepared to acknowledge. “Like who? The client? Their team? We vetted everyone involved, and the client was just as interested in making that deal as we were.”

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