“Damn it!” Riley tried to roll over but was already on the edge of the bed. With a loud thud, he landed on the hardwood floor as Ben came back around the side and shook his head. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear it.” Riley pulled himself slowly to his feet and stood there, a bit unsteady, as Ben tried not to laugh at his friend.
“Listen, I know this is rough, but we have to start looking through these women.”
Riley waved him off and staggered to the bathroom to relieve himself. When he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he flinched. Man, I haven’t looked this bad since Meredith died. There were heavy bags under his eyes, and his scruff was coming back in, dark and already thick. He looked wan, almost sick. When was the last time he was this hungover? He might like to hang out with women, but he usually didn’t drink too much. After what happened, it had been a personal decision. He smoothed a hand over his rough face, then messed up his already messy hair some more. He called out to Ben that he was taking a shower and they could go over the issue of marriage when he was a bit more presentable.
It didn’t take long for the water to heat up, and Riley moved under the spray after he shed his crumpled funeral suit. He hadn’t even changed before he and Ben made it back to the penthouse and drank away his sorrows. They’d laughed, he’d cried, and at some point, they’d started to talk about marriage and what it would it would have been like if Meredith had lived. He would’ve already been married to the woman of his dreams. There’d be no need to find someone else.
And yet, she was dead and now, and his grandfather was forcing him to move on.
He was never one for tantrums, but all he wanted to do was throw one. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. Hadn’t he dealt with enough? Lost enough?
The hot water dripped down his chest and over his head, covering his eyes. It felt good just to stand there in the humid air. Part of him thought that maybe he should just turn down the offer and hand everything over to Diane. Run away from the city, start over. Somewhere people didn’t know who he was. He had enough of his own money stashed away. He could live anywhere he wanted. Work for another company remotely. Hell, he could start his own company if he really wanted to.
But could he really leave behind everything his grandfather had built?
No, I can’t, because that damn woman is involved with Yancey, he thought, growing angry. His hands curled into fists to think she’d dated his grandfather, acted like she was in love with him, cared for him, yet showed up at the man’s funeral with the enemy. They had to be planning something. Riley wasn’t going to leave town until he knew what.
After cleaning himself up, he got out of the shower, dried, and threw on some dark jeans and a black t-shirt. He thought about shaving but decided against it as he put his stud back in his ear. If he was going to find a woman to spend the rest of his life with, he wanted to look like himself. Not some damn suit.
“All right, Ben,” he said as he headed to the kitchen. Ben had files laid out all across the counter and sat, calmly sipping a glass of whiskey. He slid one to Riley, but he shook his head. “I’ll hold off for a bit.”
Ben’s brow twitched, and he grinned. “Suit yourself.” He pointed to the files before them. “So, these are some of the possibilities I’ve found for you. Each one is pretty acceptable for what you want, and most of them are also looking to be married sooner rather than later. They don’t mind a short courtship.”
“Really? Let me guess, they all need money for something.”
“Most likely, but we really don’t have a choice.”
“Great. I’m going to marry a freaking gold digger who’s going to take all my money,” Riley muttered as he skimmed over the profiles. Most of them were beautiful, definitely nice to look at, but their eyes were cold. He slid one to the side then another, muttering about their professions, if they even had one. Most of these women were unemployed. “This is going to be a long two months. And you couldn’t find any loopholes? Anywhere?”
Ben reached for the file that contained the old man’s will. “No, not one. Your grandfather was very thorough in eliminating any chance you might have to get out of this deal. Either you marry or you lose everything to do with his company and the inheritance.”
“Damn.” He didn’t even know where to start. The women staring back at him from their pictures…none of them looked like they could handle being his wife. Not that he was crazy by any means, but he wanted a partner, someone to whom he could talk, whom he could trust. These women looked like all the ones who wound up in his bed at night and snuck out by morning. “I can’t do this on an empty stomach. Need some food. Want Chinese or Italian? I’m going to order in…what?”