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The Missing Heir(113)

By:Barbara Dunlop


                “That’s the idea.”

                “We have to talk.”

                “I know.”

                “There are a thousand decisions to make.”

                “Not tonight.”

                “But—”

                “Shh. Give me tonight.” He could hear a note of desperation in                     his own voice. “The world will come apart soon enough.”

                “It won’t be that bad.”

                But Cole knew it would. It was going to get very, very bad. He                     was Aviation 58, and she was Coast Eagle. And now he had Zachary.

                * * *

                When his office door burst open, Cole looked sharply up                     from his desk. He wasn’t a stickler for protocol, but the action seemed rudely                     abrupt.

                Then he saw that it was Roth.

                He set down his pen and sat back in his chair.

                Roth advanced into the room. “I want an                     explanation.”

                “Of what?”

                The only unexpected thing Cole had done so far was to                         not fire Roth. And that was only because he wanted to leave that                     option for whoever became the next president. And he doubted Roth would demand                     an explanation for keeping his job.

                “You were talking to Kevin Kent,” Roth announced.

                Cole was forced to hide his shock. Only Luca and Bartholomew                     had known about this morning’s call. He couldn’t imagine either of them telling                     Roth.

                He bought himself some time while he mentally calculated both                     the damage and his next move. “And?”

                Roth braced his hands on Cole’s desk, leaning forward. “And we                     both know what that means.”

                “Do we?” Cole asked. His tone was mild, but his brain was still                     scrambling.

                “It means you’re looking to sell. Are you going to liquidate                     your interest, Mr. Loving Half Brother? Do you care so little about the Coast                     Eagle legacy that you’d sell it off, maybe break it up, whatever it takes to                     free up the cash that kid got you?”