Wow.
The man was nerdy hot, was from small-town Kansas, and had worn blue jeans to an important meeting on Madison Avenue. But in that moment, Cori realized that he was absolutely going to be sure that her father got his way. And that determination was very attractive. She also admired his defense of someone he considered a friend. Even if it was her father. Funny? Generous? Goofy? How could this be the same Rudy Carmichael who had said “Seriously, Cori?” more times than she’d ever heard him say anything else?
“Dad was paying more attention than we ever thought,” Cori said.
Evan’s expression softened slightly. “He loved you all very much. He realized he hadn’t done a good job of being there for you, but he paid very close attention, especially over the past few years. He did a lot of soul searching, and talking with…local counselors.”
“He saw a therapist?” Cori asked. That might have been the biggest shock of all.
“Well, he had coffee every morning with a group of guys who were fathers and grandfathers and involved in their children’s lives in ways he never was,” Evan said.
Then his lips turned up in a half smile that was full of humor and affection, and Cori felt a little tingle. Dang.
“So a bunch of old guys in Kansas helped him see what a crappy father he was?” Cori asked.
“Pretty much,” Evan agreed. His smile grew bigger. And her panties grew warmer.
“Alright,” Ava interrupted, clearly out of patience. “Is that everything?”
Evan looked over at her, almost as if he’d forgotten she was there. He nodded. “It is. In a nutshell. You have the documents.”
“I do.” Ava turned on her heel and started for the door. “And I’m calling my lawyer. Dad was clearly out of his mind. Maybe it was the chemo or the cancer or whatever but I’m going to have Kevin look into his medical records and figure out a way—”
“Miss Carmichael.”
Cori didn’t know if Ava paused because she was surprised by Evan’s tone of voice or because the low, firm, I’m-in-charge-here quality had sent goose bumps skittering over her body the way it had Cori’s, but Ava stopped with her hand on the doorknob.
“Yes, Mr. Stone?” Ava asked, finally turning back stiffly.
“It would be in your best interest to understand a couple of things before you contact your attorney.” Evan hadn’t shifted his posture a bit, but his expression was now one of fierce determination.
Ava crossed her arms. “And what are those?”
“The first is that I took my job with your father very seriously and, while I may not have agreed with everything he wanted to do, my job was to make this trust what he wanted it to be. You are free, of course, to have your attorney look it over, but I can promise you that this document is well constructed and not something that you’ll be able to have overturned.”
Ava swallowed hard but didn’t say anything.
“The next thing you need to know is that I am fully prepared to take the stand in a court of law and testify that he was of sound mind when he wrote it. As will a number of people in Bliss, including his physician, our Mayor, and a district judge. His mind was absolutely not impaired by his cancer or his treatment, and while I understand that you all had a complicated relationship with him, I won’t allow you, or anyone else, to disparage him.”
Cori shifted in her chair. Damn. That was hot too. She didn’t often see people taking Ava down a peg, and typically she would have rushed to put herself between one of her sisters and anyone who dared challenge them. However, Evan was right. Ava was frustrated and Cori got that, but going after their father’s mental capacity because she didn’t like what he’d mandated in his trust was low.
“And finally,” Evan said when Ava took a breath that might have been fueling a heated response, “I think I should point out that the time frame in your father’s trust doesn’t begin until you and your sisters move into the residence in Bliss. Which means that if you take several weeks, or even months, questioning this document or the stipulations within, and then realize that you are, indeed, bound to it, you are only prolonging the time it will take for you to resolve the terms and claim your inheritance. So it seems to me,” he said, lifting a shoulder, “that your best move here is just to get your butt to Bliss and get this all over with.”
No one said anything for several ticks.
Then Ava raised her chin slightly and said, “Thank you for making all of that so clear, Mr. Stone. But if you’ll excuse me, I would like to consult with someone who is perhaps a bit more objective about the situation.”
Cori watched Evan. It looked like he tensed his jaw, but finally he gave Ava a nod. “Fine.”
“Fine,” Ava agreed. Then she again turned on her three-inch, seven-hundred-dollar heel, jerked the door open, and then shut it quietly behind her.
Wow, that right there was a really good example of how Cori and her sisters were different. Ava would shut a door firmly, but quietly, always the picture of poise and professionalism. Brynn would never stomp out of a room in the first place. And Cori would absolutely have slammed that thing. Maybe after a good, loud, “Fuck you.”
2
After a moment, Brynn sighed and got to her feet. “I’ll go check on her,” she said.
Cori nodded. She’d been expecting that. Brynn disappeared through the door and Cori turned her attention back to Evan Stone. He’d rounded the table and was gathering his papers.
“You’re leaving?” she asked, pushing up from her chair.
He looked up. “I’m happy to answer any questions you have. I can review anything we covered before you got here.”
Cori thought about that. Then glanced at Rudy’s note again. “I think I’m clear on everything, actually.”
“You sure?”
Rudy’s three main objectives were crystal clear. “Yep, I’m good.”
“Okay, then.” Evan tucked a manila folder into the leather briefcase that looked like it had been taken out of the box that morning.
“They’re not planning to buy furs coats or build a vacation house in Vienna or anything, you know,” she said. For some reason, she felt compelled to make Evan Stone understand Ava’s and Brynn’s motivations. Provided Ava’s attorneys couldn’t undo the entire thing in the end. And the idea that they might actually get out of this sent a stupid twinge of disappointment pinging through her. She was definitely going to ignore that.
Evan gave her one of those half smiles. “Really? Rudy mentioned something about Brynn wanting a private jet.”
“Only because it would make it easier to travel with her research and teaching,” Cori said quickly. “And he probably also said that Ava has a limo, but that’s so she can work while she’s commuting. She never stops. Even on the way to the symphony or an art show, she’s on the phone or her computer.”
Evan’s smile went from half to full, and Cori cursed herself for loving it.
“I know all of that. I’m just pushing your buttons.”
Cori crossed her arms. She didn’t have many buttons, but her sisters—and anyone’s criticism of either of them—was definitely one of them. “Ava doesn’t want the money for limos and shoes. She thinks that heading up this company is the only way to ensure security and safety for us long-term. She wants me to be able to travel and Brynn to be able to continue her research and our mother to continue her charity work.”
“She thinks money can buy happiness?” Evan asked. He stood at the end of the conference table, his shiny had-to-be-new briefcase in one hand, the other tucked into the front pocket of the blue jeans that molded to his body in a way that said they definitely were not new.
Cori shook her head, pulling her thoughts away from the fact that she really liked a guy in blue jeans. “She knows that money can buy security and that the ability to pursue goals and dreams without limitation can lead to happiness.”
“Ah.”
Cori frowned. “This company’s money allows my mother to fundraise for nonprofit organiz
ations.”
In fact, their father had provided their mother, Jennifer, with enough money to take care of Cori and her sisters and to continue her nonprofit work long before Ava had taken over at Carmichael Enterprises. Their mom and Rudy had never been married. They’d met at a fundraiser and he’d swept Jennifer, his junior by almost fifteen years, off her feet and into a love affair that had resulted in a pregnancy. With triplets. But he’d never been able to talk her into walking down the aisle. They’d always been friendly though, and Cori could admit that the way he’d respected and supported their mom had made it easier for Cori to like him. She’d often wondered if her mom was the one that got away for Rudy. He’d never had a serious relationship after her. At least that Cori knew of.
“It also lets Brynn to do life-saving research without politics and policies getting in the way of her funding,” Cori went on. “They are literally working to make the world a better place with Ava’s support.”
“Ah.”
What did that mean? “What they’re doing is important. And it’s important to Ava to know that we’re all taken care of. She’s very protective of all of us.”
“I see.”
Okay, this was getting annoying. Even with his sexy smiles and his well-fitted blue jeans, Evan Stone was beginning to irritate her.
“This company isn’t just about making money to have money,” Cori insisted. “It’s about the things that money can help accomplish.”
“And what about you?” Evan asked.
“What about me?” But she knew what he meant.
“What’s your role in this make-the-world-better machine?”
Well, Cori did give money away. By the tens of thousands. And she had a lot of causes that could benefit from her share of twelve-and-a-half billion dollars. But no one knew that. Not even Ava. And Cori loved her even more because she supported Cori even thinking that all Cori was doing was partying her way around the world. That was part of why she kept those details to herself. Was it a way of testing the people who said they loved her because she’d had a father that she could never please? Well, that’s what her shrink said.
But Ava passed with flying colors. Ava just wanted them to all be safe and secure and happy. And putting up with their father and working her ass off to be in position to lead his company was her way of making that happen.
Until now.
Until Rudy Carmichael once again decided he knew better than everyone else.
Cori lifted her chin and gave Evan one of her signature, mischievous smiles that she could, at this point in her life, conjure in a snap. “Oh, they don’t need me to make things happen,” she said. “I just show up once in a while to ensure they have some fun while they’re kicking ass.”
Evan looked at her for a long moment, and Cori’s mind started to spin with what Rudy had possibly told Evan about her. But Rudy didn’t know that she’d given almost her entire trust fund away already or that her travels had included volunteer work with a variety of organizations. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed by any of that. But she liked being unexpected. It had given her a freedom that she appreciated greatly. No one in her family had ever valued enjoyment quite to the extent that she did, but she knew it was important to work and play. And if she sometimes had to force her sisters to have a good time, she didn’t feel bad about it. Too much.
“You and I have a lot in common, Cori,” Evan finally said.
“You’re in charge of manicures and karaoke and chocolate Kahlua milkshakes when you and your sisters get together?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I prefer whiskey and both of my sisters are horrible singers, but yeah, something like that.”
Cori felt a jolt of…something. Something that felt like…like. For Evan Stone. “Are sex and dating the same thing?” she asked without thinking. Which was how she did most things.
Evan’s eyes widened, but he didn’t react otherwise. “I assume we’re talking about the no-dating provision in the trust?”
“Right.”
Evan took a breath and moved around the edge of the table. When he was on the same side of the mahogany monstrosity, he half sat, one ass cheek on the table, facing her.
“Your dad thought you were using partying and being the good-time girl as a way of being important to the people you care about without doing anything that’s actually serious or responsible…because you don’t want to mess up bigger things that really matter. You don’t want to help them make career decisions that might not turn out well. You don’t want to give them relationship advice in case you’re wrong. You want to stick with Kahlua milkshakes. Because they always love Kahlua milkshakes. You can’t screw that up.”
Damn her father and his stupid, too-late insight. She swallowed hard. “Why would he think that?” she asked, acting as if she couldn’t care less. Or trying to anyway.
“Because that’s what I do.”
Cori’s gaze zeroed in on Evan’s. “Oh.”
“Yeah, your dad figured out that we’re a lot alike early on. As he got to know me, he gained some insight into you.”
“Great,” she said dryly. “I really appreciate that.”
“Sorry.” He didn’t look sorry. He looked a little stunned actually. Like maybe he hadn’t been expecting to see all of this up close and personal.
“But that doesn’t really answer my question,” Cori said.
“Okay. Yes. I would say it’s safe to assume that he wanted you to focus on something other than casual sexual relationships while you’re in Bliss. Something bigger and more important. Like your sisters. The business. Yourself.”
She cleared her throat. “Myself?”
“When the relationships are short and mostly about sex, it’s easy to avoid really thinking about what you can—or can’t—bring to a relationship and what it means to be a real partner, in good and bad times.” He shrugged with another small smile, this one self-deprecating. “I’ve found that if all you’re promising is a good time, then you don’t have to feel bad about not delivering on what they need during the not-as-good times.”
Whoa. Cori stared at Evan. So they were a lot alike. “Okay,” she finally said with a nod. “Got it.”
There was a stretch of silence where it felt like Evan wanted to say something more. And where Cori kind of wanted him to. She hated it, but she was curious about what other things her father had figured out and said about her and her sisters.
“I should go,” Evan finally said, pushing to his feet.
“Yeah. Okay.”
“Okay.” He hesitated. Then said simply, “’Bye, Cori.”
Cori watched him leave the room with his briefcase in one hand and his—or rather her—caramel macchiato in the other. After a moment, she started after him, paused, went back for her bag and whipped cream gun, and then followed him to the elevator. She stepped on with him just as the doors were beginning to slide shut.
“You’re not staying to talk to your sisters?” Evan asked as he pushed the button for the lobby.
Hell no, she wasn’t staying. The building was beginning to feel claustrophobic. Even if it was sixty-four floors. Cori shrugged. “They don’t need me for what they’re doing.”
“What are they doing?”
“Ava is bossing people into figuring out how to fix this and Brynn is researching inheritances and trusts.”
“And you’re going to go home?”
“I’m going shopping.” She waited for a beat—the length of time it took for people to think “of course” when an heiress to billions of dollars said something like that—then added, “For vodka, tiramisu, bacon and Nutella.”
He looked mildly surprised. And interested. “Quite a combo.”
“The vodka is for Ava—for chocolate martinis—and the tiramisu is for Brynn. Things they love, but never buy for themselves. That whole thing about being there for them but not getting too serious about it, you know?” And she knew that he did know. Somehow. So what if Rudy had kind-of nailed that right on the head?
Evan just nodded. “And is the Nutella or the bacon for you?”
“Both.”
“Bacon and Nutella?”
“Bacon in Nutella,” she said. “And don’t think for a second my sisters will pass that up either.”
He looked a little amazed and Cori liked that. She liked being amazing. If it was for something simple like junk food. And temporary. Being amazing temporarily was so much easier than sustaining it.
“You put the bacon in the Nutella?” he asked.
She nodded. “I dip it. I mean, you can make sandwiches or brownies with bacon and Nutella in them. Or coat the bacon with it. But that’s all a lot more work than just dipping it.”
“The bacon would have to be pretty crisp, right?” he asked, acting like he was taking mental notes about all of this.
“Definitely. And you have to melt the Nutella some. Of course.”
“Of course.”
Okay, she hadn’t bonded with a guy over Nutella before. That was probably a good thing. She liked to keep things light and casual and that would be very difficult to do if there was Nutella involved.
The elevator arrived on the first floor and the doors swished open. Evan held a hand against one side and let her step off first. She walked to the middle of the marble floor of the lobby and turned to face him, not quite ready to say goodbye for some reason. It was probably the tennis shoes. She liked surprises, and somehow she sensed that this guy had a few more he could pull out.
“I better go,” she said, stupidly wishing there was a good reason to stay.
This was the guy her father had hired to make sure she and her sisters behaved and did exactly what he wanted them to do even when he wasn’t around to ensure it himself.
For a second, she felt like something had jabbed her right in the sternum. Again. Dammit. That sadness kept sneaking up on her. Yes, she’d lost her father. But she didn’t think she’d ever really had him.
Diamonds and Dirt Roads Page 3
