Page 26 of Bargaining

Bro? Nope.We shared DNA. It may as well have been from a sperm donor. I hadn’t known about this man growing up. Reuben’s mother had been my father’s secretary. Philip Thorner left us for them. Traded one family for another. This guy was supposedly the upgrade.

Just because Reuben had the same blue eyes and dark hair as the rest of us, it didn’t make us brothers. That suspiciously straight nose was definitely not a Thorner nose. It had to have come from his mother or the hands of a skilled surgeon. And that was definitely his mother’s cheesy grin. Smiling so widely and unashamedly wasn’t in the Thorner DNA.

Reuben held his tongue between his teeth as he lined up his shot. With a flourish, he launched his ball. It landed near mine in the rough. Surprising that he’d actually made contact.

I walked casually past Reuben. “How’s things with Philip?”

“Dad?” He fell in step next to me. “Oh, you know. Evil schemes. World-domination plans. Probably working on a piranha tank to torture his rivals.”

This was rich coming from the son my father had chosen. Philip Thorner had destroyed my mother. He’d made my life a living hell. This kid didn’t know how good he’d had it. I located my ball within the long grass.You’ll never make it, boy. You’re good fornothing.I lined up the shot and launched the ball. It bounced nicely onto the green and rolled gently toward the pin.

Planting his feet, Reuben swung his club. The shot was clean enough to make the ball leap back onto the green. A smile of pride lit his face. This was my chance to probe him while his guard was down.

“Anything new with the business?”

“Dad doesn’t talk to me about business stuff.” He adjusted his ridiculous baseball cap. “But this is great, isn’t it? Me and you hanging out. This is what I’ve always wanted. A chance for us to get to know each other. Maybe we could get Lucas and Theo to come next time? The four of us brothers hanging out?”

Lucas maybe, but Theo? Not a chance. Theo was as sociable as a rottweiler after a tooth extraction. On the green, I tapped the ball lightly with my putter. It landed just short of the hole. Irritation tightened my hands around the club.You need to toughen up, boy. Your mother made you soft.

Reuben tilted his chin and surveyed the grounds. “It’s beautiful up here, isn’t it?”

It was, but I was itching to get back to London. Time out of the office always made me angsty, and now I had an engagement ring to shop for, a wedding to plan, and Charlotte to get back to. She’d looked a little lost at the London house. It probably wasn’t the right place. I had to find somewhere for her to stay where she’d be comfortable.

Reuben slapped his cap back on his head backward. “Oh, there was one thing. You’ll never guess who Dad had over to dinner the other night. Gabe Rivers.”

I kept my voice level. “Gabe Rivers, huh?”

Reuben readjusted his position and drew his club back. He fired his ball just short of the pin. “They’re in talks about a hotel in Rome.”

You better be fucking kidding.“La Dolce Vita?”

Reuben shrugged. “Sounds right.”

I brought my club down too sharply and missed the ball. No way. Absolutely no fucking way was he getting his hands on that hotel. Why did he even want it? La Dolce Vita had been Mum’s favorite vacation spot. It was fucked up that my father wanted it after what he’d done, like a serial killer removing their victim’s finger as a trophy. All the times I’d try to talk to Gabe about it and he’d sell to my father? Over my dead body.

“How far has he got with it?”

“Not far. He hasn’t made a formal offer yet. But you know what he’s like. He won’t give up.”

No, he wouldn’t do that. A stubborn streak was as much a part of the Thorner genome as this fucking nose. My father must have caught wind of my plans. It wouldn’t be the first time. Now, he was out to sabotage me. If Reuben had nothing more to tell me, then I needed to jump on this immediately.

Reuben putted his ball. He flashed a shit-eating grin and shrugged. “Beginner’s luck.”

Smug fucker.I should have done better on that first swing. This was a waste of time. I’d had enough. Enough of Reuben’s grinning selfies and his vertigo-inducing outfit. It wound me up just looking at him.

I pulled out my phone and sent my PA a message to ready the jet. “Work emergency. We’ll have to cut this short.”

Reuben’s face dropped. “Already? We’ve only just started.”

“You know how it is. Work comes first.”

His laugh was all white teeth. “You’ve got it twisted, Bro. Work to live, not live to work.”

My father had wanted an heir, and instead he had a work-shy kid who spent his time racing fast cars and lazing around on yachts. Reuben hadn’t worked a day in his life. Hurtling around a racetracklike a madman didn’t count. Dad had played the worst game of poker when he’d left us for a new family. He’d twisted when he should have stuck.

He held up his phone on his selfie stick and flashed a hopeful smile. “One with my bro for the grid?”

Nope.“Goodbye, Reuben.”