She sighed. She knew her father. He had the tenacity of a bulldog, and now that he was feeling better, she doubted she could put him off much longer about WW Architectural Design. Maybe she could set his mind at ease by sharing a small amount of information, and that would satisfy his workaholic tendencies. “Okay, but if your blood pressure so much as blips, we’re talking only about gardening the rest of the day.”
He grimaced at his least favorite topic, then crossed his heart. “I promise.”
“Okay.” She sat back and filled him in, starting with a brief recap of Farnsworth’s defection, followed by glossing over most of the setbacks on the Piedmont project, and finally, touting the positive aspects of her temporary alliance with Finn. She kept the news mostly upbeat, and left out all mentions of her elopement.
“You are working with Finn McKenna,” Henry said. It was a statement, not a question.
She nodded. “He has the experience we need. I could hire a new architect but we don’t have enough time to do another candidate search and then bring that person up to speed. The prelims are due the fifteenth.”
“Finn McKenna, though? That man is not one you should easily trust. He’s made an art form out of taking over small companies like ours. You know he’s our competition, right?”
“Yes, and we have worked out an amicable and fair arrangement. His business got into a little trouble—”
“Do you know what that trouble was? Did he tell you?”
“He didn’t give me specifics.” Dread sank in Ellie’s gut. She could hear the message in her father’s tone. There was something she had missed, something she had overlooked. Damn. She had been too distracted to probe Finn, to push him to tell her more.
She knew better. She’d rushed headlong into an alliance because her mind was on saving Jiao and nothing else.
“He got involved with the daughter of a competitor. In fact, I think he was engaged to her,” Henry said. “And when things went south in the relationship, several of his clients defected to the other firm, taking all their business with them. I heard Finn raised a ruckus over at his office, but it was too late. A lot of people said he only proposed to her so he could take over her company and when it ended badly, she stole his clients instead.”
Daughter of a competitor. Wasn’t that what she was, too? Had Finn married her for control of the company?
Oh, God, had she made a deal with the devil? Her gut told her no, that Finn was not the cutthroat businessman depicted by the media. But how well did she really know him? Every time she tried to get close to him, he shut the door.
Wasn’t this exactly why she had stayed away from marriage all these years? She’d seen how her parents had been virtual strangers, roommates sharing a roof. She didn’t want to end up the same way, married to someone she hardly knew because she mistook infatuation for something real.
Ironic how that had turned out. Well, either way, the marriage would be over soon. She told herself it was better that way for all of them.
“Just be cautious, honey,” Henry said. “I’ve heard Finn is ruthless. You know they call him—”
“The Hawk.” The nickname had seemed like a joke before, but now it struck a chord. Had she missed the point? Was this entire marriage a plan by Finn to get his company back—
By taking over WW Architectural Design?
Maybe his “help” was all about helping his own bottom line. “I’m sure Finn will be fine,” she said, more to allay her own fears than her father’s. Because all of a sudden she wasn’t so sure anything was going to be fine. “He’s really smart and has been a great asset on this project.”
“I’d just be very cautious about an alliance with him,” her father said. “He’s one of those guys who’s always out to win. No matter the cost.”
“He’s been very up-front with me, Dad. I don’t think he has a hidden agenda.” Though could she say that for a hundred percent? Just because she’d married Finn and kissed him didn’t mean she knew much more than she had two days ago. Every time she tried to get close to him, he pushed her away.
“Don’t trust him, that’s all I’m saying. He’s backed into a corner, and a dog that’s in a corner will do anything to get out.”
Anything. Like marry a total stranger.
And try to steal her father’s legacy right out from under her.
RILEY and Brody dragged Finn out for breakfast. The two brothers showed up at Finn’s office, and refused to take no for an answer.
“Why are you stuck in this stuffy office, instead of spending time with your hot new wife?” Riley said. “You’ve been married for almost a week now, and I swear, you spend even more time here than you did before you got married.”
Brody gave Riley’s words a hearty hear-hear. “Jeez, Finn. You’d think being married would change you.”
He didn’t want his brothers reminding him about his marriage—or lack of one. Or the fact that he hadn’t seen Ellie in a couple of days. He’d gone home after that night on the balcony, and had yet to return to her apartment, or her office.
He’d sent his senior architects to most of the meetings at WW, and only gone to one when Ellie wasn’t scheduled to be there. He conferred with his team back here at his office, and in general, avoided Ellie. Entirely. He used the excuse that the drawings were due in a few days, but really, he knew that was all it was—an excuse. An excuse to keep his distance. Because every time he was with her, he considered the kind of heady relationship he’d spent a lifetime avoiding. “I am changed.”
Riley arched a brow. Brody outright laughed. “Sure you are. Prove it and leave the shackles behind for a little while.”
Finn scowled. “I have work to do.”
“Come on, let’s get something to eat,” Brody said. Like the other McKenna boys, Brody had dark brown hair, blue eyes and a contagious smile. As the middle brother, he had a mix of both their personalities—a little serious and at the same time a little mischievous.
Riley turned to Brody. “What do you say we kidnap him?”
Brody put a finger on his chin and feigned deep thought. “I don’t know. He’s pretty stubborn.”
“We’ll just tie him up.” Riley grinned. “So there’s your choice, Finn. Either come with us or we’re going to haul you out of here like an Oriental rug.”
Finn chuckled. “Okay. I can see when I’ve been beaten.” He wagged a finger at them. “But I only have time for a cup of coffee, no more.”
The three of them headed out of the office, and instead of going down Beacon to their usual haunt, Riley took a right and led them toward a small corner diner on a busy street. The sign over the bright white and yellow awning read Morning Glory Diner. It looked cheery, homey. The opposite of the kind of place the McKenna boys usually frequented. “Hey, I really don’t have room in my schedule to go all over the city for some coffee,” Finn said. “My day is very—”
Riley put a hand on his arm. “You gotta ask yourself, what do you have room for?”
“Because it’s sure not sex.” Brody laughed. “I can’t believe you’ve been at work bright and early every morning. Haven’t you heard of a honeymoon period?”
Finn wasn’t about to tell his brothers that his was far from a conventional marriage. A honeymoon was not part of the deal. Nor was he even living with his “wife.” “Take advice on marriage from you? The eternal bachelor twins?”
“Hey,