Page 65 of The Elusive Billionaire
“You’re right,” I say. “But they have no idea who her family is now.”
“Greyson.” Quinn steps into the conference room and shuts the door. She visibly stiffens when she spots Brax in the chair.
“What?” I’ve lost the ability to control my emotions, and my lethal tone is the only warning I give.
Braxton watches us both closely, too closely. Does he see something in Quinn that I’ve missed?
Quinn smooths down her skirt. “I have the press release you asked for, but Kristen is suggesting I implore one more time that you truly think about this, and she is the only crisis PR specialist here. You have a company depending on you, and this is the kind of scandal that won’t go away anytime soon. After the mess with…” She waves an indifferent hand in Braxton’s direction.
“After the mess with my father, and our grandfather’s company, you mean?” Braxton’s cool demeanor is a shock. The guy goes around doing daily good deeds for strangers, for fuck’s sake. Unlike me, he doesn’t have an assholish bone in his body.
“Well, yes. We’re still trying to recover from all the…changes, and to be frank, Grey has been forced to handle a lot on his own. I believe another scandal will push us to a point of noreturn. Ace built this company on honor and integrity. Marrying a goddamn stripper is just reinforcing the narrative that all the gossip columns and competitors are perpetuating about you.”
The way I suddenly want to fire this woman has me clenching my jaw so tightly I might crack a molar. If I open my mouth, a lawsuit will undoubtedly follow.
It’s my own fault, perhaps. Over the years, I’ve given Quinn more responsibilities and freedoms than most. When I ran back to California, she’s one of the only reasons I didn’t fail. She stepped in when I was at my lowest with no one to turn to. She’s essentially become my executive assistant at the office and the COO of my messy family life.
That’s why I’m surprised when Braxton stands slowly and with purpose, making him seem even bigger than his six feet four inches.
“Let me explain something to you, Quinn, aboutourgrandfather’s company.” Braxton’s voice is rough, as though he’s containing a terrarium full of venom beneath his words. This is not the Braxton she’s ever met before. Hell, I’ve only seen him come out a handful of times.
Braxton’s methodical as he rounds the table to stand at my side, a visual representation that we’re on the same team.
“It doesn’t matter that Grey isn’t related to Ace by blood. Family is family, and our great-grandfather, our grandfather, and now we have built this company to be what it is for one reason and one reason only. Do you know what that is?”
Quinn visibly swallows even as her posture screams her displeasure.
“No?” Braxton’s tone is mocking, and again, I wonder what I’m missing between these two. “This company was built on and thrived because of the love we have for the women in our lives. Great-grandad started Omni-Reyes so his wife could publish whatever she wanted in a time when women weren’t supposedto have a voice. Ace transformed the company so his wife could direct film and television projects before society thought women should be in control. And us?”
“We’re evolving again to build Sunshine Studios into the platform best suited to help our wives succeed,” I finish for him. And nothing has ever felt more right. Savvy Monroe may not want to be my wife yet, but sometimes destiny is more powerful than our own stubborn minds.
“That may be true, but your grandparents were acting on love. Love makes you go to unimaginable lengths. What happens when this—this farce implodes, and the world feels betrayed by your lies?”
“Fortunately for you, that irrational fear is above your pay grade.” The jab hits exactly as Braxton intended. “As you’ve said a number of times, this is a family business, and you are not family. Your job is to assist Grey in whatever he deems appropriate. Are you able to do that, or should we reassign you?”
“I’m excellent at my job, Braxton, and I’ve more than proved that every time you shirked your responsibilities.”
“Hmm,” he hums. “We might need to agree to disagree here. But perhaps it’s time that some lines were rebuilt. Mr. Reyes seems appropriate here from now on.” He turns to me with a raised brow. “For both of us.”
It feels as though he’s daring me to contradict him, but I’ll never go against my brother, and I will find out what the hell’s going on sooner rather than later.
“While the engagement may be sudden,” I say, needing to defuse the situation, “I assure you, there’s nothing fake about my impending marriage. Savvy and I have been in a relationship almost as long as Brax and Madi have.”
It feels like the most honest statement I’ve shared in a long time, and if there weren’t already such a shitstorm waiting for us, I might have dug deeper into the hidden meaning behind it.But for now, all she needs to know is that I mean it with my whole fucking chest.
It’s not Quinn’s business that the relationship I speak of has mostly consisted of sex and verbal sparring. If I can make her believe it, then we’ll have no problem convincing the world too.
Quinn raises a skeptical brow, but Braxton chuckles. “I told Madi it wasn’t a coincidence at Christmas when Savvy went into the kitchen put together and came out with her pants on inside out.”
His words seem to irritate her more, and she pales.
“That’s all for now, Quinn.” My tone is dismissive and unyielding. “Please leave the press release on the table, and I’ll call if I require anything else today.”
She opens her mouth to speak, then appears to think better of it because she tosses the folder onto the table and walks out without a word.
I follow her to the door and quietly shut it.
“Care to tell me what the hell that was about?” I ask. My voice isn’t raised—Braxton and I will always be a team, but he has some explaining to do.
