The Billionaire’s Bidding

Katie wrapped her in a tight embrace. “Oh, Emma. It’s going to be okay.”

But it wasn’t going to be okay. It might never be okay again.

Twelve

Alex was going to make things right. And he was going to make Clive Murdoch regret the day he even considered crossing Alex Garrison.

He slapped the envelope down on Murdoch’s desk.

“What’s this?” the old man asked, glancing from the envelope to Alex.

“Our counteroffer.”

Murdoch’s eyes narrowed.

Alex plopped down in one of the guest chairs. “To bring you up to speed. David Cranston’s authority to negotiate for McKinley’s has been revoked.”

Murdoch’s face went from pasty to ruddy. “That’s-”

“He’s lucky he’s not in jail. You’re lucky-”

“He has a duly executed power of attorney.”

“Had. I’m the man you have to deal with now.”

Murdoch snatched up the envelope. “We’d already agreed on a price.”

Alex nodded. “That you had. And I’m willing to stick to that price, provided you agree to the in-kind contribution McKinley’s requesting.”

Murdoch peeled away the envelope and stared at the first page of the contract. Then he stared bug-eyed over the page at Alex, and his ruddy complexion turned near purple.

For a second, Alex worried the man was going to have a heart attack.

“Free staffing?”

“For all McKinley properties, around the globe, into perpetuity.”

“That’s-”

“Perfectly legal, according to my, and your former, legal team. You are, of course, free to turn it down.”

Murdoch opened his mouth, but nothing emerged except a damp squeaking sound. It took him a few seconds to recover the power of speech. “This is outrageous.”

“This is business,” said Alex, clamping his jaw. “I told you to deal with me and me alone. What’s more, I told you nothing of McKinley’s was for sale.”

“Because you wanted it for yourself.”

“That’s true,” saidAlex. “And I got it.” But things had changed.

Murdoch’s mouth twisted in an ugly sneer. “I sure hope it was worth the mercy screw.”

Alex was out of his chair in a flash, reaching across the desk and grabbing Murdoch by the collar, Ryan’s warning obliterated from his mind. “Don’t you ever dare-”

“You trying to tell me this is something other than a media-palatable land grab? Don’t waste your breath, Garrison. You know as well as I do that this deal suits nobody but you. You screwed her in more ways than one.”

Alex’s fist clenched. He wanted nothing more than to smash the self-satisfied smirk from Murdoch’s face.

Trouble was, Murdoch was right.

Alex had screwed Emma. He’d used her, and he’d lied to her. And what he’d won was a half-billion-dollar property, a ridiculous prenup that forced her to stay with a man she probably hated, and half of her business, when she could have bailed herself out financially if he’d only been honest with her.

He got what he’d set out to win. But he’d lost so much more in the process.

He slowly let Murdoch go, then sank back into his chair.

How exactly was he different than Murdoch, or even David for that matter? If Alex could go back in time, he’d tell Emma all about Kayven Island, wait for her to sell it, then romance her, no strings attached.

He almost laughed at the absurdity.

He wanted Emma more than he wanted the island, more than he wanted the money, more than he wanted anything, really. All he wanted was for Emma to redecorate his house so they could throw party after party and fill that mausoleum with life and laughter.

Well, he couldn’t have that. Not anymore. But he didn’t have to take Emma down with him.

He took a deep breath. “I’ll sell it to you,” he said to Murdoch.

“Not with free staffing, you won’t.”

“I’ll sell it to you for double the agreed-upon price, no staffing, no other conditions.”

Murdoch’s eyes narrowed.

“That’s the only offer I’m making,” said Alex. “Take it or leave it.”

He could give Emma the money, and give her back McKinley. She could bail the company out of debt, and his partners…Well, his partners would just have to learn to live with it. Worst they could do is gang up and fire him as CEO.

If they did, he’d live with it. Just as long as he’d done right by Emma.

After two days and four pints of caramel pecan dream, Emma swore to herself that she was through with grieving. She had lost, and Alex had won. And that’s the way it happened in the big bad world.

At least she still had half her company. And she and Katie could still work toward buying him out. Someday, anyway. For now, he was her partner. She wouldn’t allow herself to think of him as anything more.

She wouldn’t divorce him, but she wouldn’t live with him either. If he wanted to talk to her, he could do it at the office. Her door was always open to all of her business associates.

An associate.

Yes. She liked that term.

In fact, she almost looked forward to seeing him again. She wanted him to know she was over him, that she’d picked herself up, learned from the experience and carried on.

Katie appeared in the bedroom doorway.

“This just came for you,” she said, entering the room, holding out a cardboard envelope.

“From downstairs?” asked Emma, coming briskly to her feet. It was time to get back down to the office anyway.

“Crosstown courier,” said Katie.

Emma took the envelope and tugged on the tab. The Garrison offices return address jumped out, but she refused to let it rattle her. There’d be plenty of correspondence between her and Alex from here on in. She could handle it.

“What is it?” asked Katie as Emma’s gaze focused on the letter.

Emma read the brief paragraphs then shook her head and started over again.

“What?” Katie repeated.

The message finally sorted itself into some kind of order inside Emma’s brain. “He sold Kayven Island.”

“What?”

Emma squeezed her eyes shut, then refocused on the bank draft clipped to the top of the letter. “Alex sold Kayven Island to Murdoch.”

Katie moved closer. “I thought the whole point was to not sell Kayven Island to Murdoch. How much…” She peered over Emma’s shoulder. “Holy crap!”

Katie tried to read the letter, but Emma’s hand was shaking too hard. So Katie had to still it.

“He’s giving it back?” asked Katie.

Emma reread the words. “He says we should use Murdoch’s money-” Her gaze went involuntarily to the amount on the bank draft. Holy crap indeed. “-to pay off McKinley’s debts. And then it’s ours. A hundred percent. Free and clear.”

“He’s tearing up the prenup,” said Katie as she continued reading. “What’s this about redecorating his house?”

“It’s a joke.” Emma laughed weakly. “When we were goofing around on Kayven…” When they were goofing