One More Taste

by Melissa Cutler

  Emily preceded Knox out the door. She didn’t realize until she was on the landing halfway down the stairs, that she was only dressed in a semi-sheer bathrobe. “Oh my God, I forgot clothes.”

  Just as panic set in, Knox showed her the bundle of fabric in his hands. Her clothes. “I think I grabbed them all.”

  “Well, that’s about the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me. Thank you.”

  “Besides the part where you actually got lucky a few minutes ago, you mean?” He extricated her black thong from the pile and dangled it in front of her face. “Here.”

  He made careful work of watching her slip into it. “What’s going on with Haylie?”

  What could Emily do but shake her head? Anything more would be talking out of turn. From the clothes pile, she pulled her jeans. “I can’t tell you that.”

  But Knox would not be deterred. “She’s the friend you were telling me about, isn’t she? The one in the abusive relationship.” His mouth screwed up as though he’d eaten a slice of lemon. “Wendell’s hurting her.”

  “Knox, come on. It’s not my place to say. It’s really not.”

  Rather than hand her the bra, he held out the straps so she could slip right into it. “I’m already keeping some of your secrets. What’s one more? Especially if it helps Haylie.”

  He had a point. There had to be a line in which Haylie’s safety trumped her privacy. No one had ever crossed that line for Emily. Who knows what might have changed in her life if they had?

  She shrugged out of the robe, then slipped her arms into the bra and adjusted the cups as she turned so Knox could latch it closed. That accomplished, she turned to face him again, modulating her voice on the off-chance that Haylie might be listening in on the other side of the door. “You’re right. He hurts her. I wasn’t sure until yesterday. I’ve always thought he was emotionally abusive, which is bad enough, but it’s so much worse. Haylie’s done an ace job of covering it up so her dad won’t find out. Carina, too. She’s known for a while.

  “They’re both afraid Ty would kill Wendell if he found out, and they’re probably right. Carina and I have been trying to get Haylie out of that situation since his true colors showed themselves right after they eloped, but she’s…” Frustration choked out Emily’s remaining words.

  Knox wrapped his arms around her, offering his strength so she could finish her thought.

  “It doesn’t take long for a battered woman to stop believing she’s strong enough or valuable enough to save herself.” She heard the edge of personal testimony in her voice and knew he heard it, too, but she no longer minded him seeing her at her most vulnerable.

  Though she could have managed on her own, Knox helped her into the sweater, then smoothed it down over her. “Thank God I’m getting rid of his worthless ass.”

  Such a noble gesture. “I wish that were the answer, but I’m afraid that if you fired him, Haylie would stick by him, even if we all know he’ll take his humiliation out on her. If anything, firing him might make the situation worse.”

  She dared a look at Knox again. His eyes had turned troubled and distant. When he caught her looking, he gathered her more tightly in his arms and kissed her hair. It was such a relief to be comforted in his sure embrace.

  “I might not have a choice about laying him off,” Knox said. “It’s already in the works, actually. He and about fifteen other employees who aren’t pulling their weight. I don’t know if I can justify stopping it.”

  “But you’re the boss.”

  “Yes and no. The minute Ty signed that contract with me at my equity firm, Briscoe Ranch Resort stopped being a family business. Every decision I make, I’m answerable to a group of investors who have committed more than fifty million dollars to this property. Until I buy out their shares, they’re the majority shareholders. I work for them, and they’re already skittish because of some structural problems my building inspectors found at the resort.”

  “Structural problems?”

  “A story for another time. The point is, the pressure’s on me to turn a profit, and if I can’t demonstrate to them that I’m taking action, then they’re not going to sell to me and, worst case scenario, they vote to shut down the resort or sell it off, and then Granny June and Carina and all the Briscoes wouldn’t have a place to live. And there wouldn’t be a five-star restaurant to offer you. I’m not going to let that happen. I can’t.”

  Well, shit. “I get that you’re under a lot of pressure, but be that as it may, you can’t go on pretending—” She bit her lip. That line of thought was taking it too far. Stupid, big mouth.

  “Pretending what?”

  So much for playing it cool. That really wasn’t her style, anyway. “Pretending that this is about your father anymore. Pretending you don’t care and this is all just business. I know you better than that.” And wasn’t that astounding in itself? She knew Knox Briscoe, inside and out. She got him and what made him tick, more than any other man she’d ever been intimate with.

  His only response was the rippling of his jaw.

  She knew what that meant, too. She’d hit a bullseye with her observation, though he was yet unwilling to admit to his shifting motives.

  She melted against the stairwell wall and closed her eyes, suddenly exhausted by life. “I don’t know where we go from here. You and me, Haylie, the resort. No idea what should happen next.”

  After a stretch of silence, he said. “I do. I’m going to delay the layoffs and find another way to appease the investors until I’m ready to make my buyout offer. And I’m going to offer Haylie a job at my Dallas office. A steady job with good pay might get her confidence up enough to take care of herself. And then, I’m going to invite the partners in my firm to that dinner party next weekend that I mentioned at The Smoking Gun. You’re catering it. It’ll be the best way to introduce you to them and showcase your skills as the secret weapon of the resort’s future.”

  She’d been following just fine right up until that last part. Could he mean … was it possible? She searched his eyes. In them, she read desperation and tenderness. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying you were spot-on when you warned me the day we agreed to the challenge that by the end of the month, I’d be begging you to take the restaurant. You were right. You’re a genius. I’ve known since the first meal you cooked for me. Hell, I’ve known since you overturned that bowl in my lap. Looking back at it, that was the day you wrapped me around your little finger. The restaurant is yours, Emily. Anything you want, it’s yours.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Wednesday was another lucky hat day. And not only because Knox had settled things in his mind with Emily. Their relationship was still up in the air, but now that they were no longer challenging each other over the restaurant, he felt free to pursue her. Which he fully planned to do. But, today’s donning of his lucky Stetson had everything to do with business.

  Because today was the day Ty and Knox were flying to Dallas for a meeting with the Briscoe Equity Group investors—the day of Ty’s reckoning, the day Knox would ask them to vote him in as CEO. The day that Ty Briscoe would officially lose all power. God, Knox wished his dad were there to see it unfold. Hopefully, he would be watching from up on High. Because Knox had no doubt that it was going to be epic.

  Since Ty’s and Knox’s confrontation over the structural engineers’ findings, Ty had spent his days stomping around the office, silently fuming and pretending that Knox didn’t exist. Which had been fantastic. Without Ty looming over his shoulder, trying to be buddy-buddy with him, Knox was free to run the resort and forward his expansion plans as he saw fit.

  When Knox arrived at the office to put in a few hours of work in advance of their midday flight, Ty had already shuttered himself away in his office, the blinds down, the door closed. No surprise there. In fact, the only surprise was the sight of Haylie at her desk, far earlier than she usually rolled in. She was hard at work typing up a memo for the retail division that he’d le
ft on her desk the evening before. The word overcompensating sprang to mind. Or perhaps, instead, enthusiastic denial of the professional boundaries they’d inadvertently crossed the Saturday before at Emily’s house. Enthusiastic denial was a solid plan, but not one Knox could go along with if he wanted to consider himself a good boss.

  He paused at her desk when she didn’t acknowledge his arrival, the same as she’d done every day that week. “Bright and early, I see. I appreciate that.”

  “There’s a lot to do,” she said without tearing her eyes away from the computer screen.

  “Right. Too true. But if you would be so kind as to join me in my office, there’s a matter we need to discuss.” And there he went again, in full stodgy butler mode. What a ridiculous affectation. “What I’m trying to say is that we need to talk about what happened on Saturday at Emily’s house.”

  “Oh, that’s okay. Really.”

  “I know, but I need to. Would it make you more comfortable if we talked cousin-to-cousin instead of boss-to-employee?”

  Then she did look at him, her eyebrows pursed. Then she sighed. “Actually, I think boss-to-employee would probably be better in this case.”

  He tapped the edge of her desk with his knuckle. “Good. Come on into my office. Shut the door behind you.”

  He gestured to the chair across from his desk and waited while she assumed a seat, her back rigid and her expression wary.

  “I just want to say right off the bat that I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry you saw what you did, I’m sorry I’ve put you in an awkward position.”

  She seemed to relax a little. “That’s what I was going to say, word for word. But I mean, like, seriously, you and Emily? I had no idea.”

  “Yeah. It came as a surprise to me, too.”

  She tilted her head and eyed him quizzically. “Although … now that I’m thinking about it, your whole there’s nothing seductive about her line makes sense now. You were trying to throw your sister off the scent.”

  Knox was unsuccessful at stifling a cringe. “I forgot I’d said that. If you could forget about it, too, that would be great. Because obviously, you’re right about why I said it. In fact, if you could just keep it to yourself that Emily and I were … that we are…” Whatever the hell they were at the moment. Knox had no idea, and even if he did, he wasn’t about to go sharing it with Haylie.

  She waved her hands. “I won’t say anything. You have my word. As long as you don’t tell anyone you saw me at Emily’s apartment, either. I really need that to stay a secret.”

  Her request conjured Knox’s frustrated anger all over again. Goddamn that animal, Wendell, for whatever he was doing to Haylie that made her need a secret, safe haven from him. “Understood. You have my word, too.”

  “Thank you. I know I said I wanted us to talk boss-to-employee, but I can’t help it. I hope you don’t mind me saying that I like you for Emily. I hope you’re not just using her because she needs someone who appreciates her unconventional style.”

  There was that refrain again, that Emily and Knox’s relationship was mercenary. Someday soon, people would get it that Emily and Knox weren’t just using each other for material gain. “I do appreciate it, and her, very much. And, no, I’m not using her. But until she and I decide to make something public, I’d rather it not get spread around.”

  Haylie pretended to zip her lips closed.

  Knox tapped a pen on his desk as a new idea occurred to him. “You know, your dad and I will be leaving for Dallas around noon to meet with our investors. We chartered a private jet. I know it’s last minute, but is there any chance you’d like to tag along and shadow Shayla in the office for the afternoon? It might be fun to get out of town for a few hours, and maybe you can pick up some tips.”

  Haylie pulled her face back, clearly taken off guard by the invitation. “Oh, wow. That would be cool, but I’d have to check with Wendell. He likes me to have dinner on the table by six. Would we be back in time?”

  Knox ground his molars together and took great pains to school his features and his tone before answering. “Probably not, but I’ll make sure you get overtime pay. He wouldn’t have a problem with a little extra money, would he?”

  Her eyes rolled to the ceiling and her mouth bunched up as she considered. Finally, she nodded. “You’re right. He wouldn’t. Sure, I’ll go. That would be fun.”

  Knox clapped his hands. “Great. Then if you’ll excuse me, I’d better get on with my workday.”

  Haylie sprang up, full of energy, but she lingered at the door, her hand on the handle and her back to him. “And Knox? Thank you. Thank you for giving me so many chances.”

  “You’re welcome. But really, it’s self-serving. You’re a terrific secretary. I’d love to steal you away from this place for my Dallas office someday, if you ever wanted a change of scenery. We always need more qualified help at Briscoe Equity. Shayla, in particular. She’s been looking for an assistant office manager for ages. And I have an empty condo just sitting there. I’d be happy to give you a good deal on rent.”

  He pressed his lips together, annoyed with himself for taking the offer too far, too fast.

  Haylie’s head dropped. “I don’t know what Emily told you about me and why I was using her apartment, but she’s wrong. I’m fine. I’m happy. Thanks for the offer, but my life and my family are here.”

  Damn it. Him and his big mouth. “Understood. Just … there’s no time limit on the offer, so if you ever change your mind, just say the word.”

  She opened the door and stepped out. “I won’t.”

  * * *

  Roger Healy tossed his copy of the structural engineering report on the conference table in Briscoe Equity Group’s meeting room. He pulled his glasses off his nose to chew on the earpiece while he glared at Ty. “This report is troubling in more ways than one.”

  Seated next to Knox, Ty sat a little straighter. “Agreed. I’m sure no one was more surprised than me at the extent of the problem.”

  Linda Yamaguchi, one of the firm’s lawyers, cleared her throat. “We evaluated several of the property assessments you provided before we invested. None of them indicated even the possibility of an issue, including the sections of the reports specifically about hydrological and geological integrity. Are you saying that every one of the reports got it wrong?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Then how do you explain the proof Knox provided that you were the one who orchestrated the false documentation?”

  “Excuse me?” For the duration of the meeting, Ty’s expression had remained blank, his posture unyielding, as the investors and lawyers took him to task on the report. But at this new information, Ty blanched. His façade cracked.

  Yamaguchi slid a bound stack of papers across the table. “Along with the structural engineering report, Knox provided us with an evaluation by a second team of structural engineers and geologists of the appraisals and inspection documents you’ve provided the county records office and loan officers for years, comparing them against blueprints of the resort. The picture they paint isn’t pretty. Or legal. But whether the erroneous information was a result of willful negligence on your part or the purposeful falsifying of documents and bribery is something for a judge to decide.”

  Ty very deliberately removed his Stetson and set it on the table in front of him as he seemed to be carefully picking his words. “It was a different time. And there was no harm done. It was an honest mistake. Despite what it looks like today, I would never endanger the people at my resort—the employees or the guests.”

  The investors shifted uneasily at that. Healy slid a copy of the proof and analysis of Ty’s misdeeds across the table. The stack of papers displaced Ty’s hat. Ty eyed it as one might regard at a poisonous plant.

  “By inflating the value of the business, you’ve swindled us out of millions,” Healy said.

  Ty crumpled the brim of his hat in his grip. “I can make this right. You have to give me a chance.”

&nbs
p; Boris Sandomir tipped back in his chair and laced his fingers over his ample waist. “Are you suggesting that you’ll return the money from our initial investment?”

  “I don’t have it to return,” Ty stammered. “You know that.”

  To Knox’s dismay, it was not as enjoyable as he’d expected to watch Ty get taken to task. For all his faults and lies, Knox had come to know Ty’s humanity these past few weeks. Despite his flaws, he was still a human being with feelings—a father, a husband, an uncle—but there was no way Ty was leaving this meeting with anything resembling pride. Knox tried to remind himself that Ty had brought this on himself, that Ty had not shown compassion to Knox’s dad when he exiled him from the family. But, try as he might, Knox couldn’t shake the feeling that this dressing down was unnecessary. Stripping him of his title and ownership of the resort was enough.

  “But I do,” Knox said. All eyes turned to him. It was a relief to have the floor once more, to shift the tone of the meeting away from berating Ty and back to Knox’s plan to exact justice for his father.

  Healy snorted, clearly unimpressed. “I’m not sure anything you say is going to carry much weight. This investment was your brainchild. You convinced us that this was a short-term, high-yield investment. But we were misled. Whether or not you were a party to this deception, it doesn’t make you come out smelling like roses.”

  “I understand.” In fact, that had been one of Knox’s worries when he’d originally devised the strategy to take over Briscoe Ranch so he could sell it off. But the potential rewards eclipsed the risks, turning Knox’s plan of justice into yet another high-stakes gamble, the same kind he’d based his career on. At least, in that way, he was on familiar ground. “Even with all of this … unpleasantness, the selling points of the resort haven’t changed. Its ideal location, its international reputation. And both teams of engineers I’ve consulted with think the hydrological and geological problems are reversible. The bottom line is that we could all still make a lot of money. The only difference is that it will take more time than we’d previously allowed for.”