Read Online Love's Gamble by Theodora Taylor - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Theodora Taylor
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Two people, totally and unexpectedly in love.
* * *
“Sunny told me on the phone this morning that you and Pru made sense, and it looks like she was right. For once, you chose well, Max. I very much approve.”
Max had to work hard to keep his eyes from rolling. Judging from the self-congratulatory smirk on Cole’s face as they all sat down together in his master suite’s small seating area, Cole had fallen for their act, hook, line and sinker.
“Congratulations, you two,” he said after they were all seated, Pru and Max on the couch and him in a wingback chair made of cowhide.
Cole’s eyes floated to Pru’s wedding ring, on full display, since she was resting her left hand on top of Max’s right, which he’d placed on her knee. “That wedding was...a little unorthodox.” Cole took a moment to shoot Max a censorious look before apparently deciding to get over it. “But I’m sure we’ll be able to spin your wedding into a nice bit of publicity when we launch the Benton Inn this fall. The Benton Playboy finally settles down. End of an era.”
“Okay, sure we can do that,” Max said, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Cole was being polite, which naturally made Max suspicious, since everything was a chess game in Cole’s world. He never made a move without another one in mind.
“But before we sign the trust paperwork, I wanted to ask if you’d be open to a partial payout.”
And there it was. Cole playing the part of the controlling big brother again.
“No,” Max answered. “I’d like my money. All of it. Now.”
The expression on Cole’s face became a lot less polite and much colder. “This is a lot of money, Max. Millions that I have smart people diversifying and investing well for you. I’m thinking an annual payout might be the best way to make sure it isn’t wasted.”
Max met his brother’s infamously cold green gaze with eyes just as cool, if not more so. “You said if I got married you’d sign the paperwork. Were you lying?”
“No, I wasn’t,” Cole answered. “But contrary to what you seem bent on believing, I’m not your enemy, Max. You’re my brother, and I want what’s in your best interest.”
“You mean you want to control me, just like Granddad wanted to control me,” Max spat back.
Cole was the golden boy and Max was the screwup. Their grandfather had handpicked Cole and groomed him from a young age to take over the Benton Group when he died. Max, he’d just tried to manage.
Manage him as Cole was trying to do now that it was time to hand Max the reins to the money their grandfather had put in trust for him. Cole had gotten his payout at the age of twenty-five, no questions asked. On Max’s twenty-fifth birthday, he’d found out through their lawyers that his grandfather had increased the payout age on his trust to thirty-five without bothering to tell him.
His grandfather had carried little faith in Max back then, and Cole seemed to hold even less faith in him now.
“I’m not trying to control you,” Cole said, his face terse. “Maybe if you told me why you wanted all the money in one fell swoop...”
“Because it’s mine,” Max answered, cutting him off. “I wasn’t aware I needed your approval to spend
my
money.”
Cole looked at him for a hot, angry second. Then his green eyes flicked over to Pru. “Pru? Do you know what Max is planning to use the money for?”
Max glared, only now seeing the trap Cole had laid out for them. He’d known Max wouldn’t tell him. So he’d put the question to Pru. If Pru didn’t know the reason, if he was keeping secrets from her, then that would give him enough leverage to declare their conveniently timed marriage an obvious fake and refuse to sign over Max’s trust.
He began to open his mouth to say that what Pru did or didn’t know wasn’t any of Cole’s damn business—since it wasn’t. But Pru stopped him, squeezing her hand over his.
“Yeah, I do know,” Pru said, and that was all she
Two people, totally and unexpectedly in love.
* * *
“Sunny told me on the phone this morning that you and Pru made sense, and it looks like she was right. For once, you chose well, Max. I very much approve.”
Max had to work hard to keep his eyes from rolling. Judging from the self-congratulatory smirk on Cole’s face as they all sat down together in his master suite’s small seating area, Cole had fallen for their act, hook, line and sinker.
“Congratulations, you two,” he said after they were all seated, Pru and Max on the couch and him in a wingback chair made of cowhide.
Cole’s eyes floated to Pru’s wedding ring, on full display, since she was resting her left hand on top of Max’s right, which he’d placed on her knee. “That wedding was...a little unorthodox.” Cole took a moment to shoot Max a censorious look before apparently deciding to get over it. “But I’m sure we’ll be able to spin your wedding into a nice bit of publicity when we launch the Benton Inn this fall. The Benton Playboy finally settles down. End of an era.”
“Okay, sure we can do that,” Max said, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Cole was being polite, which naturally made Max suspicious, since everything was a chess game in Cole’s world. He never made a move without another one in mind.
“But before we sign the trust paperwork, I wanted to ask if you’d be open to a partial payout.”
And there it was. Cole playing the part of the controlling big brother again.
“No,” Max answered. “I’d like my money. All of it. Now.”
The expression on Cole’s face became a lot less polite and much colder. “This is a lot of money, Max. Millions that I have smart people diversifying and investing well for you. I’m thinking an annual payout might be the best way to make sure it isn’t wasted.”
Max met his brother’s infamously cold green gaze with eyes just as cool, if not more so. “You said if I got married you’d sign the paperwork. Were you lying?”
“No, I wasn’t,” Cole answered. “But contrary to what you seem bent on believing, I’m not your enemy, Max. You’re my brother, and I want what’s in your best interest.”
“You mean you want to control me, just like Granddad wanted to control me,” Max spat back.
Cole was the golden boy and Max was the screwup. Their grandfather had handpicked Cole and groomed him from a young age to take over the Benton Group when he died. Max, he’d just tried to manage.
Manage him as Cole was trying to do now that it was time to hand Max the reins to the money their grandfather had put in trust for him. Cole had gotten his payout at the age of twenty-five, no questions asked. On Max’s twenty-fifth birthday, he’d found out through their lawyers that his grandfather had increased the payout age on his trust to thirty-five without bothering to tell him.
His grandfather had carried little faith in Max back then, and Cole seemed to hold even less faith in him now.
“I’m not trying to control you,” Cole said, his face terse. “Maybe if you told me why you wanted all the money in one fell swoop...”
“Because it’s mine,” Max answered, cutting him off. “I wasn’t aware I needed your approval to spend
my
money.”
Cole looked at him for a hot, angry second. Then his green eyes flicked over to Pru. “Pru? Do you know what Max is planning to use the money for?”
Max glared, only now seeing the trap Cole had laid out for them. He’d known Max wouldn’t tell him. So he’d put the question to Pru. If Pru didn’t know the reason, if he was keeping secrets from her, then that would give him enough leverage to declare their conveniently timed marriage an obvious fake and refuse to sign over Max’s trust.
He began to open his mouth to say that what Pru did or didn’t know wasn’t any of Cole’s damn business—since it wasn’t. But Pru stopped him, squeezing her hand over his.
“Yeah, I do know,” Pru said, and that was all she
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