Page 93 of Delicious Surrender
She ripped up the paper and headed out of the stuffy room. Brynne heard him call after her, but she flew out the front door like the hounds of Hell were chasing her. She ran to the hotel without looking back. Out of breath and dizzy, she hid in a booth in the back of the bar.
Myrna came over. “My, don’t you look the spiffy girl!”
“Thanks, Myrna. I need a drink please—a Hendricks and tonic. Is Declan around?”
“He’s in the kitchen. I’ll let him know you’re here, love. You look pale. Are you sure you don’t want some food?”
“I’m sure. Thanks.” She tried to smile but knew it didn’t hit the mark. Myrna’s creased brow gave away her doubt.
Declan arrived shortly after she got her drink.
Brynne held the glass with both hands, willing them to stop trembling. Declan sat opposite her and waited for her to speak. He was a good and patient man. Brynne took two more large gulps of her drink and met his concerned gaze.
“Gage MacCallum is Magnus. I mean Magnus is Gage. He…he’s the man I worked for in London. The one I…I fell for, who hates me. He’s here. He wants Josie’s place. He wants to pay me a ton of money to disappear off the face of the earth. Either that or a pile of cash to let him put cables in the ground. Did I mention he hates me? I told him to kiss my ass. I channeled Josie and basically told him no. Nobody tells him no.” She took a breath and held her face in her hands. “I’m not feeling good. I might need to puke.”
“Breathe, lass. You stood up to Goliath. I’m proud of you, and Josie would be, too.”
She peeked at him through her fingers. “Thank you, but all I did was wave a bright red cape at a furious and unforgiving bull.”
Gage watched Brynne fly out of the room and forced himself not to chase after her. He’d lost the upper hand the moment she walked in, looking gorgeous and furious. That dress accentuated her hourglass figure, and every man in the room took notice. It shocked him to see her with short hair. Now shewas truly a pixie like Tink, with a fierce temper.
How the fuck did he miss that she was the niece?Because you walked in here, not having read the package, asshole.He’d shown up to the meeting cocky and ill-prepared, certain that Josie’s niece would back down and accept the very generous offer for the land and then kiss the old house goodbye. Why the hell didn’t his lawyers connect the dots when the same firm was handling both cases?
Alistair was a nice man, but he was out of his depth. Gage needed to exploit his weakness and find a way past her stubborn resolve. When he pushed for the redacted section of the will, she looked down to the right. He knew in his gut she was lying.
“Mr. Mackenzie, I think it’s safe to say that emotions are running extremely high under the circumstances. The fact that Brynne and I shared a personal relationship back in London has not helped matters. I wish I’d known she was Josephine’s niece. We could have avoided this misunderstanding.”
Alistair looked at him, his gray brows raised. “You were dating?”
“Yes, we were seeing each other before she came to Skye. Things ended rather suddenly between us, but I would never wish her any harm. I would like to try to resolve this—to her benefit and mine.”
Alistair nodded, processing that new piece of information, so Gage continued.
“I don’t want to tie up the estate needlessly. I think you can agree that what I am offering is very generous.”
He mumbled, “Yes, quite generous, but—”
Gage interrupted him. “I suggest we let Brynne calm down. After all, it was a shock seeing me. I won’t take any action for the next week, and I hope that she will see reason.”
Alistair fiddled with the large stack of papers in front of him, then he looked at Gage like a father would when a boy came to take his daughter on a date. “I will speak to her about the options you have presented; however, I hope your intentions are honorable, Mr. MacCallum. Brynne is a special girl. She was like a daughter to Josephine.”
“I understand. Rest assured, my intentions are honorable. I only wish to access the land so that we can provide reliable and affordable cellular and internet services to even the most remote inhabitants of the islands. This has been my dream for a long time. Many of these investments in infrastructure are funded by me personally.”
“I see.” The old man looked surprised, and Gage knew his plan was working.
“Do you mind if we use your boardroom for a few more minutes? I would like to consult with my team before we head out.”
“Certainly. Take your time. Good to meet you, gentlemen.”
Three heads nodded and mumbled their thanks as he left the room.
Gage waited for Mackenzie to be out of earshot before addressing his legal team.
“Jeremy, I need you to get the unredacted will before you leave here. I don’t care how you get it, even if you have to seduce his secretary.”
The young lawyer gawped at him. “I am sure that won’t be necessary, sir. I will make an official request under Section 57.5, Lodging of testamentary documents and filing of evidence. They must provide it if we plan to submit it to the court.”
“Whatever. Just get it. We will give her five days, and if she hasn’t caved by then, I want to turn up the heat.”