Page 251 of Money Reigns
The door crashes open; Wilder saunters in first, Wesley on his heels.
I snap the feed closed, jaw tight.
“Is there another writer’s strike?” I mutter, not bothering to hide my irritation. “Why are you always here now?”
Wilder just grins, drops into the chair across from me, and swings his feet up onto my desk. “Don’t have to be there. You sent Brody over. I’ve got your little lapdog running my errands now.”
“Brody’s supposed to be managingBeaumont Realty,“ I bite out. “NotWilder Productions.”
Wilder shrugs like it doesn’t matter. “Details. He likes me better.”
Wesley sighs and takes the other chair. “Enough. You two argue like children. Glad to have Liv back, I see. I thought you two would beworking from homeforever.” His eyes flick to mine knowingly before he looks at Wilder. “You reallyshoulddo your own work. And we have an issue. Thethreeof us.”
I swat Wilder’s shoes off my desk, hard enough that he curses under his breath, and lean forward. “What issue?”
“Relax,” Wilder drawls. “It’s not that big of a deal. Wes is just pissed it interrupts his little love fest with the chubby girl.”
“Hey!” Wesley and I snap at the same time.
Wilder chuckles, hands lifted in mock surrender. “What? Ilikethem soft. I wasn’t being rude. I just forgot her name.”
“Hernameis Evie,” Wesley growls.
I level him with a look. “What’s the issue?”
“With Evie?” he deadpans.
“No!” I snap. “What’s our issue?”
Wesley straightens. “Miranda wants a meeting.”
I blink. “So?”
“I saw her months ago. We had lunch. She’s fine. I talked her off that ledge.”
“Apparently not enough.” Wesley’s tone is grim. “She’s coming for the building. She wants her cut.”
Wilder snorts. “Well, she doesn’t get a cut. She can fuck off to Paris and keep playing the golden daughter.”
“For once, I agree with Wilder,” Wesley mutters.
I lean back in my chair, smirking. “Then let her have her meeting. We’ll say no, asusual.She’ll storm off. In another two years, she’ll come back to bitch about it again. Rinse and repeat.”
Wesley’s jaw tightens. “What if she tells Dad?”
I laugh sharp and humorless. “What’s he going to do? Pull his funding? We haven’t needed him in over a decade. Let him pull it. He wants to play knight in shining armor for Daddy’s little girl, he can buy her her own damn building.” I pause, my smirk sharpening. “Oh wait, he already did.”
Wilder leans back, folding his arms behind his head, his Rolex catching the light. “She doesn’t need a meeting. She needs a man. Someone to keep her busy so she’ll leave us the fuck alone.”
Wesley actually chuckles. “We should pay someone to do it.”
I bark out a laugh, dry and callous. “Do you know how much we’d have to pay for her age?”
Wilder frowns, starts counting on his fingers. “She’s twenty-nine. That’s not old.”
I freeze. “She’s only twenty-nine?”
Wesley nods. “Eight years younger than you. Seven from me. Five from Wilder.”
