Page 38 of Black Tie Billionaire
“Where’s your loyalty, Shay?” he hissed. “Your duty to family first?”
Pain struck her like a fiery dart to the breast. It spread through her until she vibrated with it. Reason whispered that he didn’t know all she sacrificed—was still sacrificing—for him. But it didn’t halt the hurt from his condemnation,his disgust.
“My loyalty is always to this family,” she whispered. “Who I’m seeing socially should have nothing to do with you or my love for you.”
“It does if you’re screwing a man I hate. Have always hated,” he snarled.
“Why?” she asked, lowering her arms and risking a step forward, closer to him. “Tell me why. Gideon told me you went to school together.”
That hadn’t been allhe’d said, but even as shameful and horrible as her brother bullying him was, surely there had to be more to the story. Especially on Trevor’s end. Yes, he was a snob, but she’d never seen him actively hate someone just because they came from humble beginnings.
“Yes, we went to school together, and he didn’t know his place back then, either.”
“Didn’t know his place,” she repeated slowly,not believing that he’d uttered those ugly, bigoted words. Yes, they were fortunate enough to be in that elevated percentage of wealthy Americans. But they were still black. They still endured racists who gave them the “you’re not our kind, dear” looks when they dared enter some establishments. How darehe...
“Why? Because he’s Chinese-American?” she rasped.
“No.” He slashed a hand throughthe air. “I don’t give a damn about that.” The vise squeezing her chest eased a little, and relief coursed through her. “After Mom died, all I had left was Dad.”
Oh God. “Trevor,” she said, moving forward, holding a hand out toward him.
“No,” he repeated, coupling it with another hand slash. “I know you were there, but she was something different to me than to you. She was the shield,the...insulation between him and me. When she died, she left me exposed to him. To his expectations, his impossibly high standards, his disapproval. I didn’t get time to grieve for her because I had Dad riding my ass, wanting to make a real Neal man out of me without my mother’s babying. His words,” he added, his tone as caustic as acid.
“I know,” Shay murmured. “I saw how hard he was on you.But, Trevor?” She lifted her hands, palms up. “What did that have to do with Gideon? Dad didn’t know Gideon.”
“But he did,” Trevor snarled. “Who do you think funded the scholarship that enabled Gideon to attend the prep school? One of RemingtonNeal’s charities. And Dad never let me forget it. Sports, academics, even the damn debate team—Gideon and I were always head-to-head in everything,and when he beat me, Dad was always right there to remind me that a poor scholarship kid was better than me. That maybe he should hire him to run the family company because he was smarter, stronger, quicker, more clever. He constantly compared us, and it didn’t end with high school, but continued in college and beyond, even following Gideon’s career after he graduated. The one thing I’m grateful foris that he’s not alive today to see you with him. He probably would claim him as his son, give him RemingtonNeal.”
Shock pummeled her. She’d had no clue. But now his animosity toward Gideon made sense, because she knew her father. Knew how denigrating and belittling and cruel he could be. Especially toward Trevor. Lincoln Neal probably didn’t even like Gideon, but using him as an emotionalweapon against his son sounded like something he would do.
And Trevor... God, if her brother didn’t let go of his bitterness, he would live trying to prove to their dead father that he was better than a man he might have counted as a friend once upon a time.
“Do you understand why you can’t be with him, Shay? That man has been the source of my pain and unhappiness for over a decade. Iwon’t allow him in my home or to eat at my table, much less date my sister.” He shook his head. “End it.”
I can’t.
The words bounced off her skull, pounded in her chest. To call off her relationship with Gideon would be to destroy her brother. But even in an alternate universe where she and Gideon had met under normal circumstances without blackmail and revenge, she still wouldn’t havebroken up with him based on what her brother had shared. Trevor’s antagonism for Gideon wasn’t his fault—it was their father’s. But with Lincoln Neal gone, Trevor had transferred all his resentment and pain to the one who was still alive.
“No, I won’t end it with Gideon,” she said. Sighing, she moved across the small distance separating them and covered his hand. “Trevor, I—”
He jerkedaway from her, taking several steps back and glaring at her. A muscle ticked along his clenched jaw. “You won’t break thisthingoff with him?”
“No, Trevor, I won’t.”I’m doing this for you, she silently screamed. But the words remained trapped in her throat.
“I didn’t want to do this, but you’ve left me with no other choice. Leida Investments, Shay.”
For the second time in the spaceof minutes, shock robbed her of speech. Icy fingers of astonishment and dread trailed down her spine.
Trevor cocked his head to the side. “You believed I didn’t know about your little company all this time? Nothing gets by me. And as long as you were discreet, I didn’t see the harm in letting you dabble in business. It didn’t interfere with your responsibilities to this family. But now, youractions are jeopardizing us. If you don’t end it with Gideon, I’ll ruin every business that has received money from you. And with my name and reputation, you know I could do it with just a whisper. Now, while you take some time to make your decision about who you’re giving your loyalty to, I’m going to insist you step back from your job at RemingtonNeal. I’ve already asked Madison to take oversome of your duties for the next few weeks. Consider it a leave of absence while you choose between a man you barely know and your family.”
With that parting shot, he exited the room, not pausing to spare her a glance. Not even bothering to glimpse the devastation he’d left behind.
Not only had he dismissed her easily, replacing her with his fiancée, but he’d threatened her company, aswell as the hard work and livelihoods of those she’d invested in.
He would cavalierly ruin others’ lives to bring her to heel.
Forcing her feet to move, she left the study and retraced her steps to her room. There, she removed her suit and went to her closet for her suitcases. Forty minutes later, she once more descended the stairs, not knowing when she would return.
She couldn’t stayhere any longer.
Not when she wasn’t sure who she was selling her soul to protect.
