Page 7 of Acquiring Ainsley
I didn’t take it. Instead, I whirled around. “Ashton, why the hell is Trevor McNamara sitting in Dad’s conference room on a Friday afternoon?”
“Ainsley, it’s—”
“Where are you trying to go with this? Dad hated his family.Hated.You know that.”
I sneered at Trevor as all the little comments I’d heard my father make about the McNamaras came back to me. Trevor’s father, Michael, had once been my father’s biggest competitor in New York, a man who raced through real estate deals and acquisitions almost as fast as Dad did. They’d started out as best friends at the University of Pennsylvania, but the friendship turned when I was twelve, and a big development they’d worked on together went south. The ugly spit-balling played out in the city tabloids, and my dad’s divorce from mom provided plenty of salacious details to keep the gossips talking.
After that, Dad and Michael spent most of the next two decades playing chess with companies. For a while, Dad had a bigger fortune, and a wider portfolio. But Michael had been ruthless and gathered his own fiefdom of crown jewels. He even paid four hundred million for a building valued at half as much, just so that he could say he owned 543 Madison Avenue, one of New York’s toniest addresses.
“If you think you’re going to take over what is left of my dad’s legacy, you’re wrong,” I said, trying to keep my tone as even as possible. Anger boiled in my veins. This was not the solution we needed.
“Ainsley, Trevor, just… Let’s take a seat, okay?” Ashton gestured at the leather chairs that circled the table. “Please.” He pulled one away from its resting spot. “Have a seat and let’s talk.”
I scowled at Trevor. “No. I don’t want to talk to him. Certainly not like this.”
“You don’t have to talk to me like I’m not here.” One side of Trevor’s mouth lifted into a half-smile. “Turns out you need me more than you think you do.”
He was enjoying this. What an asshole. Some things hadn’t changed. People had reputations for a reason, and Trevor McNamara could have been his father’s double.
I crossed my arms, considering a million ways I could quickly dismiss Trevor. “We don’t need someone like you. We never have. You’re nothing but a—”
“Please, stop it.” My brother’s voice sharpened. “Sit down.” He rapped the conference table with his index finger knuckle. “Now.”
“You can’t order me around. And if you think—”
“Ainsley, don’t make me tell you again.” Ashton’s words cut through the air and pinged off the walls. “Have a seat.”
“No.” I stared him down until he shifted his gaze toward one of the tall windows. By then, the tension in my shoulders had taken hold, causing a persistent ache to spread to the base of my skull. “Don’t talk to me like I’m your child, Ashton. I’m yoursister, and you better remember that. Family is the only thing that never fades”
A beat passed between us before the color drained from his face. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He gulped down a deep breath and revised his tone. “Now, will you please sit down?”
“Fine.” With a heave, I followed Ashton’s instructions and plopped down into the chair he’d pulled out for me.
Ashton slipped into a place across from me, and Trevor claimed the chair next to him. Behind them, the skyline of the city stretched out before the Hudson River. It might be winter in New York, but the sun shone across the city. What a fitting backdrop for all of this.
“Okay,” I gritted out after another awkward moment passed. “Why is he here?”
Ashton cleared his throat. “As you know, we’re underwater. The company is sinking, and fast.”
I glanced at Trevor. “Does he really need to hear this?”
“He does.” My brother pursed his thin lips.
“In that case, right about now, I’m regretting the fact that I trusted you to run the company after Dad died. Youwerealways the smart one, though.” I gave him a rueful smile, needing to lash out at him for ganging up on me with Trevor McNamara—ofallpeople. “So confident. So sure that you could handle a company worth half a billion dollars just because you are a Ross.”
Ashton twisted his lips to one side of his mouth. “You’re upset, Ainsley. I get it.”
“I’m upset?I’m upset?I’m more than just upset. I’m furious. I’m livid. You told me this company is in ruins, and that our lives are in shambles. Everything that we have is at risk.” I glanced at Trevor. “And I assume that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
Trevor nodded. “Yes.”
“Well, you can leave, because I promise you, you are just wasting your time. This doesn’t concern you. I’m sure you’re just here to pick up whatever scraps you can find, anyway. Isn’t that what you do? That’s the family business? You like to buy companies that are in trouble and then sell off the pieces.” I slapped my hand on the table and gave Trevor my hardest glare. “Just because I live in Palm Beach, that doesn’t mean I’m clueless about how things work in your world. I’ve read plenty about your antics over the last few years.”
I knew how I sounded—like an entitled bitch, but I didn’t care. Trevor needed to depart my father’s offices. Right then. No more hesitation. He should get up from his chair, wipe that smirk off his face, and leave us alone. He was the verylastperson that I wanted to see in my father’s beloved headquarters. The memory of his family’s rivalry alone was enough to endure.
To say nothing of the last time I’d seen Trevor, at the Whitney Museum two years before.
I shoved that reflection to the back of my mind. I wouldn’t let it fog me up. Besides, what had happened that night had been a mistake. For both of us.
