Page 74 of King of Deception

“You and Triston can come in now.”

Gris comes toward me, stopping to place his forehead against mine. “Are we staying or going?”

“Going?” Triston barks. “Where the fuck would you go?”

“I don’t know yet. They’re thinking on what I said.”

“Griswold Smith,” Triston thumps his brother on the back. “I think we might need a meeting of our own.”

“Don’t bother,” Mason sighs. “I vote to honor the original terms of the Smith contract.”

“Nia?” Roman asks.

Mason looks at Gris. “Thoughts?”

Gris glances down at me, and then back up at my brother. “I think I might start with some groveling.”

Several smiles greet those words.

“Wait,” Triston is still thumping his hands on Gris’s back repeatedly and hard enough, they’re reverberating through me. “We’re back to paying for the tunnel?”

Gris ignores his brother, bending down to wrap his arms around my waist, and lifting me in his arms. “Vegas, huh?”

“Vegas,” I sigh. “No one is as surprised me.”

He chuckles as he kisses me long and slow. “Don’t worry, we’re going to take plenty of vacations to England and Italy.”

“And New York,” I smile against his lips.

“Not too many,” Luke moves closer. “I’d like to add an addendum to the agenda. I think we each donate two percent of our shares to Arabella, making her a ten-percent shareholder in Kincaid Enterprises.”

“You’re not selling,” I gasp and then smile. Finally. I got through their thick skulls.

“No,” he shakes his head. “But I am stepping back from my duties. And with Roman involved in the charity division, we might need to restructure the hierarchy.”

Mason lets out a frustrated moan. “Can we please not make any more changes today?”

Gris lightly sets me down and crosses to Mason. “So… we’re going to be family.”

Mason looks like he might spit nails, but he holds out a hand to Gris. “I’m an even worse family member than I am a business partner.”

“I noticed,” Gris shakes his hand. “But that’s nothing new. The Smiths and the Kincaids have always had that in common.”

I smile. They’re about to have me in common. What a rollercoaster keeping them together is going to be.

But honestly, this was the job I was meant for.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Arabella

Two weeks later…

I shimmymy dress down over my hips and then smooth my hair in the mirror. We’re late.

Gris and I spent all day signing papers and meeting with lawyers. It’s official. I now own ten percent of Kincaid Enterprises.

Luke joked that in one stroke of my pen, I had taken on a massive amount of debt.

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