_OceanofPDF

“And Dad?”
“I came to you first.”
That had never happened before. Byron liked to come to me with our
father already sold, which meant I had to work twice as hard to unsell him.
The only reason he’d switch it up would be because he didn’t think he could
get Dad to say yes.
“Why?”
“Because…” He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, rubbing his
hands together between his knees. A real Ted Crowne gesture. “I want to
build shit, not move numbers around. And Dad’s the same as you. Doesn’t
like risk, and building’s a risky business. So I propose this.” He rubbed his
hands faster, then stopped. “I lease the land from Crowne under my own
corp. Release you from liability. Build shit.”
“That’s not going to work if you’re an officer.”
“I’ll back off the pipeline.” He sat back again. “There’s plenty else to do
around here.”
Byron was a live-in nemesis and a shrewd businessman who bent the
truth whenever it suited his goals. He couldn’t actually think this was going
to fly with our father, even if I advocated for it. He would have to choose
between this scheme and running the business with me.
“What are you thinking?” he asked. “I can smell brain cells burning.”
“Trying to work out your angle.”
“My angle’s personal. Olivia’s sick of me frowning. I’m a lot more use
to her and Garrett if I’m doing something I love.”
Olivia was a wise woman and he was smart to listen to her. They knew
each other well. They could nudge each other toward happiness. Encourage
decisions for the good of the family.
What was good for Ella and me?
It didn’t matter. First and foremost, I had to get rid of Byron. Getting
behind this meant he’d have to go. Once he was out, I could do for Ella
what he was doing for Olivia. Make her happy. Give her what she wanted.
“All right,” I said, standing. “Let’s talk risk.”
I went through the motions of hashing out the details, but I was phoning
it in. The puzzle I was really solving was how to nudge Ella toward
happiness.