Page 9 of For Always
Jagger took a gulp from his glass. His face contorted a moment while the sting of the aged whiskey he’d just swallowed made its way down his throat. A quick punch of sour, followed by a smooth glimmer of caramel. It was an interesting blend, one Tyler had become very familiar with in the weeks he’d been back. Liquor wasn’t good for the body, especially not a body that was on display as much as Tyler’s. But the moment he’d walked through those doors, Tyler had slowly begun to feel less like the man who owned Ty-Fitness Inc. and more like the young man who’d been desperate to get as far away from this ranch as he could.
Jagger finished the drink and looked toward the other couch. Brooke was sitting there, legs crossed, lips pursed.
“They created a brand and sold it for years,” Jagger told Tyler. “I can see that becoming profitable. But we’re not ranchers, Tyler. At least I know I’m not. So for my half, I say we’re selling. Brooke and I are planning to get married later this summer and I’d like to show her a fabulous honeymoon.”
“Your job at the PR firm not paying you enough anymore?” Tyler asked.
Jagger chuckled. “I pull in almost seven figures a year at Mason Partners. I made partner five years ago, one of the youngest in the history of the company. I have worldwide accounts. People and businesses that I’ve created and built a brand for, making them richer than they ever could have imagined.”
Tyler nodded. Nothing had changed. Not one damn thing.
“I don’t need to rundown my portfolio to you or anyone else. All I know is that Mom and Dad loved this place. They loved every inch of it and never wanted to leave. They nurtured and built this legacy for us and I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s not that easy to walk away from that knowledge.”
“Sentiment has no place in business,” Jagger replied.
“They’re dead Jagger!” Tyler roared as he pushed away from the couch. “Gone! Their bodies were left to burn to a crisp in that truck. But that was after bullets were planted in the back of their heads. And you waltz in here three weeks late rattling off how much fuckin’ money you make! What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Why don’t we take a breath here,” Brooke intervened.
Tyler turned his head sharply to stare at her. Up until this point he wasn’t sure she was going to do anything other than sit and look pretty.
Now, she was walking to stand next to Jagger.
“There’s some emotion to contend with. That’s only natural when lives are loss, especially to some type of violence,” she said.
Was she serious?
“But there’s also business to be discussed. So why don’t we—”
“Tyler?”
At the sound of his name being called, Tyler turned toward the doorway to see Stephen again.
“Sheriff Alvarez’s out front. He wants to see the place first,” Stephen said.
Tyler’s jaw clenched before he nodded. “I’ll be right out.”
“As I was saying before being rudely interrupted,” Brooke began the moment Stephen left. “We should sit down, have dinner and discuss this like adults.”
Tyler didn’t know why she was even involved in this conversation and so he ignored her.
“Some unauthorized person was on this land last night. I want to know who it was and why. If you’re only worried about the money, stay here and count yours over and over again. I’ll be back when I’m done.”
Tyler left them, not giving a damn if they were there when he returned.
Gabriella picked up her phone to check the time. Her plan was to spend a few hours at the pool relaxing before heading back inside the resort to have dinner. In the morning, she would drive to the airport. Her bags were already packed, the email she sent to her supervising agent at The Proctor Group explained that Tyler West had not yet decided what to do with the ranch at this time.
Gabriella totally understood. There was no way she could sell her parents’ house in Greenwich, nor did she think her brothers would ever sell or leave Bennett Industries. She suspected her family was quite different from Tyler’s. Although she didn’t know any of the West family well, she sensed that before his parents’ death there was more than just physical distance between Tyler, his parents and his brother. That would explain Tyler’s indecisiveness about whether or not to sell their property. As for the Bennetts, well, they were pretty close. So close that Gabriella hadn’t even been out of town for two full days before Alex was ready to send in the troops to find her. Luckily for her, she’d had the forethought to tell Adriana where she was going and why.
But this wasn’t about her family.
After noting the time, Gabriella ran her finger over the screen of her phone and watched as her list of text messages shifted.
It was gone.
She’d deleted it seconds after reading. It wasn’t coming back. She just had to make sure. Yes, the message was gone. Just as Gabriella had hoped to stay gone from Greenwich for a while. Distance would make it stop. All of it. She’d assured herself of this when she’d almost leapt with joy the day her mentor Mallory Klien of Klien Design Studios had called her with a proposition. Gabriella had done some freelance staging work for Mallory in the weeks immediately following her tumultuous break-up with Austin. There was no way she could have continued working with Austin’s real estate team on their properties. So Mallory had thrown her a lifeline, then and now. It was Mallory who had referred Gabriella to The Proctor Group.
“It’s the chance of a lifetime,” Mallory had said as they had lunch on the deck of the lavish home Mallory shared with her husband Patrick and their two adorable sons. “If you do a good job for them, they’ve guaranteed to keep you on. You can travel and work in exotic locales and make a ton of money. It’s perfect.”
