Millionaires' Destinies(174)

Richard rang the bell, then used his key and came on in. No one in the whole damn family ever considered that he might be busy or might not want to see them, Ben thought gloomily. Maybe Middleburg hadn’t been quite far enough to move when he’d wanted solitude. Ohio might have been better. Or maybe Montana.

“You in here?” Richard called out.

“If I weren’t, would you go away?” Ben replied, not even trying to hide his sarcasm.

Richard strode into the dining room, picked up the pot of coffee and poured himself a cup without bothering to respond.

“I’ll take your silence as a no,” Ben said. “If you’re here to make something out of the fact that I had dinner with Kathleen, don’t bother. I’m in no mood to discuss it.”

Richard regarded him with seemingly genuine surprise. “You had dinner with Kathleen? When was that? You certainly didn’t waste any time, did you? I thought you were made of tougher stuff than that.”

“Very funny,” Ben said, then frowned at his brother. “You mean Destiny didn’t tell you? I thought she’d announce it to the wire services.”

“Nope, and apparently she didn’t see fit to tip off her favorite gossip columnist, either,” Richard said with an exaggerated shudder. “Be grateful for small favors.”

“I’m not feeling especially grateful,” Ben told his big brother. “Okay then, let’s change the subject. Why are you out here on a weekday morning, if not to gloat?”

“I needed a sounding board,” Richard said.

His tone was so serious, his expression so gloomy, that Ben stared at him in shock.

“Is Melanie okay?” he asked at once. “There’s nothing wrong with the baby, is there?”

“Aside from being annoyed with me for hovering, Melanie’s perfectly fine. So is the baby,” Richard said. “This is about business.”

“And you came to me?” Ben asked, astonished. “Why not Mack? Or Destiny?”

“I didn’t go to Mack because he’s out of town,” he admitted with typical candor. “And I didn’t want to discuss this with Destiny, because the last time I brought up this particular subject, she got really weird on me.”

“Then I was third choice? That’s a relief,” Ben said. “I thought the business had to be close to collapse if you were desperate enough to seek advice from me.”

“Actually, in this instance, you really were first choice. You know Destiny better than Mack or I do.”

Ben groaned at the frequently-made claim. “That’s ridiculous and you know it.”

“Come on, Ben. It’s no secret that the two of you are tighter than the rest of us. Maybe it’s because you were the youngest when she came to live with us, so she was even more like a mother to you. Or maybe it’s the art thing, but you’re her favorite. I figure she’s bound to share things with you that she doesn’t confide in Mack or me.”

“You’ve said something like that before, and I still say you’re crazy,” Ben said. “Destiny doesn’t have favorites. Sure, we have a bond because of art, but that’s it. She loves all of us.”

“I know she loves us. That’s not the point,” Richard said impatiently. “Look, can we talk about this or not?”

Ben sat back. “Fine. Talk, but I have to tell you that Destiny does not sit around sharing confidences with me, either. She’s meddling in my life these days. She’s not letting me poke around in hers.”

“That doesn’t mean she hasn’t let something slip from time to time,” Richard insisted. “Here’s the deal. I’ve got a huge problem with the European division. We’ve nearly lost out on a couple of big deals over there because of some minor player who jumps into the mix and drives up the price. So far we’ve only lost one acquisition, but that’s one too many. And I don’t like the fact that it’s always this same guy whose name keeps popping up. It’s like he’s carrying out his own personal vendetta against Carlton Industries. This company of his is not a major player, but he’s smart enough to know precisely what to do to make a muddle of our negotiations.”

Despite his total lack of interest in the family business, Ben hadn’t been able to avoid absorbing some information over the years. Richard introduced the topic at almost every family gathering. Because of that, so far he was following Richard, but he didn’t see the connection to their aunt.

“What does any of that have to do with Destiny?” he asked.

“I’m not a hundred percent certain, but I think this was a man she was involved with years ago. It’s the only explanation I can come up with,” Richard told him.