Page 69 of Beg for You

I just hoped like hell his love for his daughter outweighed his hate for me.

I strode up and stood beside him. “Nice party.”

Lyall turned to me, a forced smile on his face that quickly vanished as soon as he got a look at who was within punching distance. “What the hell are you doing here?” He started looking around the room frantically, no doubt to find someone capable of throwing me out.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” I said calmly. “Not if you don’t want a scene.”

“What do you want?” he bit out.

“Business,” I said. “Why don’t we talk in your office?”

Lyall nodded at someone who was looking our way, that false smile back in place. “Follow me.”

His office was what you’d expect. Lots of leather, big oversized desk to compensate for…a lot of things, I would imagine. Paintings of Cassy and Chris were on the wall, his perfect golden-haired children—at least that’s how he wanted it to appear to the rest of the world.

“What is it you want?” Lyall said into the silence, voice cold, getting straight to the point.

“I don’t want anything,” I said, pleased as fuck when I managed to get out the words without a pause or a stutter.

“Because if you think I owe you something, if you think you can come here begging for money—”

“Don’t need your money, Lyall. The way I hear it, it’s you that needs bailing out.” I had all that money from Harvey just sitting there, more than I knew what to do with, and until then I’d never had a reason to use it.

His spine straightened. “Whoever told you that is a damned liar.”

“You calling Cassy a liar? The daughter you’re forcing into a loveless marriage with that…fucking asshole out there to save your own ass.”

“What are you doing talking to my daughter?” he said, face flushing.

“I’m the least of your worries, Lyall. I would never hurt your daughter. Spencer, on the other hand…” I shook my head. “She’s doing this for you out of guilt. She blames herself for Chris’s death, when you and I both know Chris was in self-destruct mode long before he met me.”

Guilt was clear on the other man’s face, and suddenly he looked ancient. “She could learn to love him.”

“Even you don’t believe that bullshit,” I growled.

“What would you have me do? Lose everything. The roof over our heads—”

“You’d rather lose your daughter?” I said.

The guy’s eyes darted around the room like a cornered rodent.

“I have money, a lot of it. I can get you and Cassy out of this situation. No one needs to know, not even her. I’ll invest in the ranch, in Cassy’s breeding program. I’ll pay off your debtors, a fucking interest-free loan until you can pay me back.”

Lyall paled. “I won’t take money from you.”

“You don’t take this money, you’ll lose your daughter, because whatever love she has left for you will turn into resentment and eventually hate, and you’d deserve it.”

He was shaking his head, fury burning his face. “How dare you presume to know my relationship with my daughter? You know nothing about any of us.”

“I know a fuck of a lot more than you think. I know that Cassy is the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, inside and out, and you’re blind to it. So twisted in your own guilt, your failure in business, and with Chris that you’ve missed what is right in front of you.”

“Leave,” Lyall bit out, heading for the door. “Get the hell out of my office and my home.”

I followed him out. No fucking way was I taking no for an answer.

We hit the main room where the party was being held.

The drone of chatter had come to a halt, the room silent, and as I walked farther into the room after Lyall I saw why.